Australian racer Brady Kurtz insists he has loads of work to do to safe a World Championship medal and says his solely focus goes for gold forward of the Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla this Saturday.
Kurtz returns to the Skrotfrag Enviornment, the place he raced for Swedish giants Dackarna in 2024, bidding to shut the 11-point hole between him and Speedway GP sequence chief Bartosz Zmarzlik, with the Pole on 113 and Kurtz on 102.
Swedish hero Fredrik Lindgren heads into spherical seven positioned third within the championship on 87 factors – buoyed by reaching 4 Speedway GP finals on the bounce as he seeks his first win of 2025 in entrance of a partisan residence crowd within the forests of Malilla, the place he’s joined by Swedish wild card Kim Nilsson. Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs represents host membership Dackarna within the occasion.
Final yr’s FIM SGP Problem winner Kurtz raced to his maiden Speedway GP victory in Gorzow, Poland on June 21 – beating second-placed Zmarzlik on his boyhood monitor.
Following that occasion, it was put to the Cowra-born racer that the silver medal was in his palms. However Kurtz scoffed on the suggestion, preferring to proceed his quest to grow to be the primary rider within the sequence’ 30-year historical past to win the Speedway GP World Championship of their debut season.
He mentioned: “Silver could be very, very distant from being carried out! The considered that hasn’t crossed my thoughts as soon as. I’m nonetheless going to be pushing exhausting in each spherical for certain – and never just for silver; I’m chasing Bartek.”
Kurtz has missed simply one of many six Speedway GP finals thus far this season, and that was solely after he misplaced a series on the ultimate flip of his last-chance qualifier at spherical three in Czech capital Prague on Might 31. As a substitute of a assured 14 championship factors for reaching the ultimate, the 2024 FIM Speedway of Nations silver medallist was left with seven.
That underlines to Kurtz simply how rapidly an 11-point deficit within the Speedway GP title race could possibly be closed and he’s decided to pile the stress on Zmarzlik. He mentioned: “One ninth or tenth place or if somebody doesn’t make the ultimate, and that’s a straightforward 10 factors made up. It may occur on any night time – because it did to me in Prague. I’m going to have to remain targeted and maintain doing what I’m doing.”
Kurtz spent final season racing his Swedish residence matches in Malilla. This season, in addition to captaining British champions Belle Vue in Manchester, he competes for Polish membership Wroclaw, host for spherical 9 on August 30. Nonetheless, the 28-year-old has by no means visited this season’s two different venues – Latvian capital membership Riga and Danish venue Vojens.
So he’s decided to make his native data rely this weekend. He mentioned: “For certain, Malilla and Wroclaw might be good. Riga and Vojens will most likely be robust. They’re each tracks I haven’t ridden in any respect. That might be about pondering quick and studying fast once more.
“It’s what it’s. It doesn’t matter what monitor you go to, you need to be in your recreation to beat Bartek. I’m going to need to discover a solution to do it once more.”
Tickets for the Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla are nonetheless accessible on-line. Safe your spot at Sweden’s greatest and greatest weekend of racing HERE now.
2025 VIRKVARN FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF SWEDEN – MALILLA LINE-UP:
95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
505. Robert Lambert (Nice Britain)
66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
99. Dan Bewley (Nice Britain)
54. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia)
25. Jack Holder (Australia)
155. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark)
415. Dominik Kubera (Poland)
29. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
46. Max Fricke (Australia)
744. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
201. Jan Kvech (Czechia)
69. Jason Doyle (Australia)
105. Anders Thomsen (Denmark)
101. Brady Kurtz (Australia)
16. Kim Nilsson (Sweden – wild card)
17. Rasmus Karlsson (Sweden – first monitor reserve)
18. Sammy van Dyck (Sweden – second monitor reserve)
MALILLA FANZONE
Get pleasure from a packed programme of leisure on the Skrotfrag Enviornment and go to the Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla fanzone, open from 12:00 CEST on Saturday.
Positioned close to the principle entrance to the stadium behind bend one, the fanzone options the official Speedway GP autograph session, the place followers can meet all 18 riders from 16:30 and seize a signature or selfie.
Decide up some unique freebies from Monster Vitality athletes Fredrik Lindgren, Dan Bewley and Jack Holder on the Monster Vitality Rig Riot from 17:00. The Monster Vitality space might be open from 12:15.
We could have an interview with a particular VIP visitor from 17:35, and followers can win Speedway GP prizes in our quiz at 15:15.
Pose for a photograph with the Speedway GP trophy all through the afternoon and the perfect of the 2024 SGP occasions might be enjoying on the massive display screen, the place followers can even catch all of the Qualifying motion from 14:00.
Meet FIM Speedway mascot Speedy, who might be within the fanzone at 12:30 and 15:30. There might be a classic speedway bikes exhibition, different photograph alternatives, the We Love Speedway signal, food and drinks stalls, the Speedway GP merchandise store and far, far more.
The fanzone closes at 18:00 forward of the opening ceremony at 18:45, with racing getting underway at round 19:00.
WHERE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: TUNE INTO MAX
Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla – Saturday, July 5 at 19:00 CEST
Followers can catch each second of FIM Speedway motion reside on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platforms Max, HBO Max or discovery+. Protection of all 9 Speedway GP Qualifying classes, that includes a brand-new knockout format for 2025, can even be accessible on these platforms.
Max is obtainable in Europe in France, Iberia, the Nordics, Turkey and Central and Japanese Europe. HBO Max is WBD’s streaming platform in Belgium and the Netherlands. And discovery+ is the streaming platform for Germany, Austria, Italy and the UK forward of Max launching in these international locations in 2026.
Protection of Speedway GP is obtainable worldwide with digital and linear protection – see under for extra particulars of the place to look at.
ACROSS EUROPE: Reside on Max, HBO Max and discovery+
BRITAIN: Reside on discovery+ and TNT Sports activities
POLAND: Reside on Max
SWEDEN: Reside on Kanal 9 and Max
DENMARK: Reside on 6’eren and Max
AUSTRALIA: Reside on Fox Sports activities
GERMANY: Reside on discovery+
ACROSS THE BALTICS: Reside on Go3 and TV3 Sport channels
CZECHIA: Reside on Max and CT Sport
SLOVAKIA: Reside on STVR Sport and Max
CROATIA: Reside on Max
USA/Canada: Reside on Racer Community
AUSTRIA: Reside on discovery+
NORWAY: Reside on Max
FINLAND: Reside on Max
REST OF THE WORLD: Reside on Racer Community
Phrases by SpeedwayGP – Characteristic Picture by Taylor Lanning
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