AUSSIE HAT-TRICK HERO KURTZ CLOSES ON SPEEDWAY GP LEAD WITH RIGA VICTORY!

Australian champion Brady Kurtz admits it felt “pretty crazy” to complete a hat-trick of FIM Speedway Grand Prix wins with victory in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on Saturday.

Kurtz, racing an incredible SGP debut season, slashed five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik’s World Championship lead from nine points to three after topping the podium in the Latvian capital ahead of Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren in second and Latvian hero Andzejs Lebedevs, who finished third to send the home crowd wild with his second podium of 2025. Zmarzlik claimed fourth place.

Victory on his first-ever visit to Bikernieki Speedway Stadium saw Kurtz follow up his Speedway GP triumphs in Gorzow, Poland on June 21 and Malilla, Sweden on July 5 to turn up the heat in the SGP world title race.

Kurtz heads to his Polish home track Wroclaw for the penultimate round of the series on August 30 with a fantastic opportunity to capture the series lead going into the final round at the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on September 13.

The 28-year-old was elated to win his third Speedway GP on the bounce after bouncing back from a last place in his opening race, before fighting his way through a last-chance qualifier for the first time to reach his seventh final in eight rounds this season. 

He said: “Three in a row is pretty crazy really. It was a tough night. It started off terribly, but we got the bike working and I started making really good starts, which was super important. I made two good starts at the end.

“I didn’t really know which gate to choose for the last-chance race. I went with gate one and no-one else really seemed to want gate one. I am not sure why.

“I made it work and it was nice to hit the front. I was actually really happy to make the final. After the way the night started, I was super happy just to be in the final. To make another start then and win it was cool.” 

Kurtz heads into the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw bidding to make it four in a row on the Olympic Stadium circuit he has called home since joining PGE Ekstraliga club Sparta Wroclaw for the 2025 season.

“It would be nice,” he said. “Wroclaw is a super nice track and hopefully I will have a little bit of home support there. I am really looking forward to it. We have two rounds to go, and I am looking forward to both of them.” 

Riga top trio Brady Kurtz (centre), Fredrik Lindgren (left) and Andzejs Lebedevs (right). PHOTO: Taylor Lanning

Lindgren finished second in Riga for the third straight season and was delighted to reach the rostrum, especially after scoring just one point from his opening two rides. 

The Orebro-born ace overcame a crash in heat seven in fine style as he moved on to 117 points in the Speedway GP World Championship, nine clear of fourth-placed Great Britain’s Dan Bewley, who has 108, in the battle for bronze.

Lindgren, chasing his fifth Speedway GP World Championship podium, said: “I am really happy with the result considering that I have had a couple of tough weeks lately in my racing. It didn’t start very well either, with one point after two races. I hit the deck in my second one.

“I was a bit battered and bruised and a bit beaten mentally. I had to dig really deep to turn things around and I am really proud that I managed to do that.

“I’m going to do the best I can in every round, and we will see where we end up. If we can get a medal again, I will take it.” 

Winner Brady Kurtz and home hero Andzejs Lebedevs embrace. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning

A delighted Lebedevs whipped the Bikernieki crowd into a frenzy after finishing second on the heat score chart with 11 points to storm straight through to the final of his home event. 

The energy in the stands was palpable as Lebedevs headed for the tapes, before he fended off a determined Zmarzlik challenge to claim third place.

While he would have loved to end his wait for an SGP win, Lebedevs was pleased to match his career-best third place at the season-opening WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on May 3.

The Daugavpils-born man admits he is getting more comfortable in the role of Latvia’s home hero. He said: “I wished that I would get my first GP win here because my family and friends were here – the whole city of Daugavpils came to support me, and also the fans from Riga.

“It was such a nice feeling when I came out to the track and most of the crowd was supporting me. That was special, and I didn’t stress about this because I really enjoyed it. Last year I had this support, and I had big stress about that. Everyone comes here for success from me. It’s something special. This time I just enjoyed it – what happened around me – and I just enjoyed the speedway like a kid who has just started racing.”