Polish hero Bartosz Zmarzlik was elated to hold his nerve in the most high-stakes race of his career so far to become a record-equalling six-time Speedway GP world champion at Denmark’s Vojens Speedway Center on Saturday.
Zmarzlik joined late New Zealand great Ivan Mauger and Swedish legend Tony Rickardsson in the sport’s most exclusive club of six-time FIM Speedway world champions, as well as becoming the first rider in the sport’s history to win four gold medals in a row – adding to his 2022, 2023 and 2024 triumphs, as well as his 2019 and 2020 victories.
Zmarzlik and Australian title rival Brady Kurtz zoomed straight through to the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens final, setting up a four-lap shoot-out for a place in the history books.
Despite Kurtz racing to a record-breaking fifth straight Speedway GP victory – adding to his recent wins in Gorzow, Malilla, Riga and Wroclaw – Zmarzlik took the second place he needed to retain the SGP crown by just ONE point, before receiving the trophy from fellow six-time winner Rickardsson.
Danish national champion and wild card Michael Jepsen Jensen delighted the home crowd as he finished third in the GP on his first SGP appearance since 2018 – on a night when his full-time return to the championship for 2026 series was confirmed – 11 years after his last full SGP season in 2015.
Great Britain racer Dan Bewley finished fourth in the GP to claim Speedway GP World Championship bronze – his first appearance on the series podium – after defeating 2024 bronze medallist Fredrik Lindgren of Sweden in last-chance qualifier two (LCQ2) to seal the final spot on this year’s podium.
2025 Speedway GP top three Zmarzlik (centre), Kurtz (left) and Bewley (right). PHOTO: Taylor Lanning
But the night belonged to Zmarzlik. Despite finishing in the world’s top two every year since 2018, even the ice-cool Lublin and Lejonen star felt the strain as he pursued Kurtz in his quest for gold.
He said: “When I was second, I had to tell my head to stay calm because I felt like it was spinning on the bike. It was very tough and hard for the head to do this.
“But overall, I wasn’t super stressed. Since I woke up, I felt really nice, and a little bit of stress was taken off after the first few heats.
“This is an amazing moment for me because when I was young, I was always dreaming about becoming world champion.
“Now I am 30 years old, I have six world titles, and this is unbelievable for me. I can’t 100 percent take in this moment that I have achieved with my team.
“I am super happy because Brady gave me a really big challenge, so thank you, Brady. All season we have produced a good show for the sport. I am happy I have won, and I don’t know what more to say at this moment.”
Zmarzlik sent the travelling Polish fans wild at Vojens. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning
The Polish national anthem echoed across Vojens, sung by a passionate crowd of travelling Polish fans, on the night when the home of Danish speedway celebrated its 50th anniversary of racing. Zmarzlik was delighted with the backing he received. He said: “I really felt good at Vojens, and I want to thank the fans from Poland for their big support. The gold medal is coming back to Poland.
“When I was on the way here, whenever I stopped, a lot of people came over and took photos with me. I could see how many people were coming for this beautiful night.”
Zmarzlik heads into 2026 bidding to become the first rider ever to claim seven FIM Speedway World Championships, and the Polish great knows he has time on his side.
The 30-year-old said: “I am still young, and I still want to do this. I am super happy with what I have done. I love speedway, I love racing, and I love the bikes. I don’t think, ‘I must’, only ‘I can.’ I must have fun, and you never know what will happen in the future. I will always do my best and we will see.”
Kurtz claimed the win on the night, but Zmarzlik grabbed gold. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning
New world No.2 Kurtz was proud to have taken the fight to Zmarzlik by racking up five straight SGP wins, surpassing the previous record of four set by Rickardsson on his way to a sixth and final world title in 2005.
But he had mixed emotions after falling just a point short of the sport’s biggest prize. He said: “Obviously it’s tough to come that close to winning, but I am also so grateful and happy to win silver in my first year. To win five GPs is absolutely unbelievable. To get the silver medal is a hell of an achievement.
“I have to say congratulations to Bartek. You have to respect him and admire him. He’s a hell of a competitor. I am not sure what I have to do to beat him, but I need to keep working on that. Congratulations to him and his team. They did an unbelievable job for the entire year. I am glad to be here.”
Kurtz admits staying cool and speeding up his starts as an unforgettable year progressed helped him to take the fight to Zmarzlik. He said: “When I won for the first time in Gorzow, I properly started to believe that I could win and suddenly, my starting ability really went up from there. That’s pretty much all that has happened. I have been making good starts and just trying to stay calm.
“To be honest, even today, I was not worried about winning the World Championship at all. All I was focused on was just trying to make each start and get to the final. I knew I would have a good gate pick, and after that, it wasn’t really up to me. I just tried to do my thing, but it wasn’t enough.”
Belle Vue and Wroclaw teammates Kurtz (left) and Bewley (right) reach the rostrum. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning
Bronze medallist Bewley sealed a career-best SGP finish. The Cumbrian has often insisted his focus is on strong performances and chasing wins rather than worrying about medals.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t care,” he said. “It was more that as far as I am concerned, if you go about your job and do your best, the medal will be there. It’s good to finally get there. Between me and Freddie, it went down to that LCQ, and it was quite cool having that last race with him.
“It has been a good year. I want to say well done to these two boys (Zmarzlik and Kurtz). We had a good battle, and it has been fun. Thanks to the whole team behind me and everyone for their support all the way through the season. It has been pretty cool everywhere I went.”
Pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for Poland. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning
Zmarzlik’s triumph saw him join FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship winner Nazar Parnitskyi of Ukrainian and Denmark’s FIM SGP4 World Championship winner Tino Stjernegaard Olsen in claiming an FIM Speedway World Championships gold medal on Vojens’ Weekend of Champions.
Zmarzlik, Kurtz and Bewley are joined in qualifying for the 2026 Speedway GP series by fourth-placed Lindgren, Australia’s Jack Holder in fifth, Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs in sixth, with Great Britain star Robert Lambert snatching the seventh and final automatic qualification place.
They are joined by the top four riders from the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted on August 9 – Polish duo Dominik Kubera and Kacper Woryna, as well as Denmark’s former world No.2 Leon Madsen.
With Lebedevs finishing fourth in the Challenge and sixth in the SGP standings, the qualification place he earned in Holsted passes to Jepsen Jensen, who was fifth in the Challenge.
The FIM Speedway season wraps up with the 2025 FIM Speedway of Nations, which sees 15 countries battle it out for the sport’s world team title at Torun’s Marian Rose Motoarena in Poland from September 30-October 4.
Vojens Results
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Final Championship Results
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