September 12, 2025

KURTZ: ONE STEP AT A TIME FOR SPEEDWAY GP WORLD TITLE SHOWDOWN WITH ZMARZLIK IN VOJENS, DENMARK

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Australian Champion Brady Kurtz admits he is keeping his eyes off the prize as he takes it race by race in his quest to become the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series’ first-ever debut-season World Champion this Saturday, September 13.

History is guaranteed to be written at the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens as the iconic venue – opened by triple world champion Ole Olsen in 1975 – celebrates 50 years of racing on a weekend that will see three FIM Speedway World Champions crowned over two days.

The Weekend of Champions kicks off with the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship finale – the Deluxe Homeart FIM SGP2 of Denmark – Vojens on Friday at 19:00 CEST. The FIM SGP4 World Championship for the sport’s 190cc 11-13-year-old riders then takes place on Saturday morning from 11:00 CEST.

The main event sees the 2025 Speedway GP series reach its climax on Saturday evening from 19:00 CEST, with Poland’s five-time world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, who has 165 points, bidding to defend the slender three-point advantage he has over fast-chasing Kurtz (162).

Zmarzlik has the chance to match Swedish great Tony Rickardsson and New Zealand legend Ivan Mauger’s all-time record of six FIM Speedway World Championships, as well as becoming the first rider in the sport’s history to win four world titles on the bounce.

Meanwhile, Kurtz has the opportunity to become the first rider to be crowned World Champion in their debut season since Speedway GP was launched in 1995. He is also seeking to become the first rider in SGP history to win five rounds on the bounce after racking up a record-equalling four victories in Gorzow on June 21, Malilla on July 5, Riga on August 2 and Wroclaw on August 30, matching the four in a row won by Rickardsson in 2005.

The stakes may be high in Denmark this weekend, but Kurtz remains remarkably relaxed for a rider approaching the biggest meeting of his career so far.

He said: “Everyone wants to know what my mindset is about the world title and why I am acting relaxed. But I am genuinely not even thinking about it.

“At the last round in Wroclaw, my only concern was that GP, making good starts and making sure everything was right. If you keep worrying about one GP at a time, you can look at the points at the end.

“There’s no point worrying about what the result is going to be before it has happened. I’ll worry about Qualifying in Vojens and then take it heat by heat.”

Chasing No.6 – Bartosz Zmarzlik. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning

Kurtz has posed Zmarzlik’s biggest test in Speedway GP since Artem Laguta pipped him to the 2021 SGP World Championship by three points – despite the Pole recording five Speedway GP wins and a career-best championship points total of 189.

Zmarzlik admits the competition has brought out the best in him. He said: “This is so hard for me, but so fun. I am really happy and proud about this year. Brady has given me a big challenge and together I think we have made a really nice show for the fans.

“I am happy about this. When I win too much, there is much speculation that ‘He has it too easy.’ But speedway is never easy.

“This year has been so hard, but it’s always hard in speedway racing. Everyone who races speedway knows what I am saying. I have been in many situations like this in the GP. I am ready for everything.”

Will it be gold for Kurtz? PHOTO: Taylor Lanning

Kurtz made his professional speedway debut on April 25, 2013, at Vojens Speedway Center, racing for Holsted in a Danish First Division match aged just 16. He hasn’t competed at the home of Danish speedway since, so returning to lift the sport’s biggest prize 12 years on would be an incredible moment that could take his career full circle.

“We will see what happens in Vojens,” he said. “I haven’t raced there in a very long time, so I will have to learn quickly in free practice hopefully.”

Kurtz has proved himself able to adapt fast, having won the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on his debut in the Latvian capital.

“I think I was probably a little bit more worried about Riga than I am about Vojens,” he said. “Riga is a really special track – like Landshut and Warsaw. But I think Vojens is a pretty standard track. There isn’t anything really special or too difficult about it. It just goes left! If I keep making the starts that I have been, then I will be able to learn it in front hopefully.”

Kurtz chases a record five Speedway GP wins on the spin. PHOTO: Jarek Pabijan

Kurtz admits working hard on his trapping technique has paid dividends in helping him take charge in four straight finals. He said: “There has been a massive improvement from the starts for sure. That’s obviously how I have been winning the finals – just making the starts.

“That’s down to my team. They have been working so hard, and not only this year. They have been working to perfect everything and make sure everything is as it should be. Maybe we’ve found the winning formula.”

Kurtz’s parents Steve and Sue jetted in from their Cowra home in New South Wales, Australia to watch Brady’s Wroclaw win two weeks ago. The 28-year-old is delighted to have them at trackside in Vojens too.

He said: “My dad was in Gorzow, but he went home. Now he’s back with my mum, so it was really cool to win while she was here. The sacrifices they have made over their lives for me to be here is something no-one will ever understand. It was nice to win for them.”

Battle for bronze – Lindgren (left) and Bewley (right). PHOTO: Jarek Pabijan

It isn’t just the world title on the line in Vojens. Great Britain’s Dan Bewley bids to seal the Speedway GP World Championship bronze medal. He is third in the standings on 128 points, holding a five-point lead over Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren, who is fourth on 123.

While Zmarzlik, Kurtz, Bewley, Lindgren and Australia’s Jack Holder have already made certain of top-seven finishes, guaranteeing their places in the 2026 Speedway GP World Championship, two more qualification places are up for grabs on Saturday night.

If Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs reaches the last-chance qualifiers, scoring at least seven points, he is guaranteed to make the top seven. Seventh spot is currently occupied by Aussie star Max Fricke on 75 points, with British racer Robert Lambert – winner of the 2024 Vojens round – chasing on 72 in eighth.

Denmark will be represented by Vojens rider Anders Thomsen and triple European champion Mikkel Michelsen, along with Danish champion Michael Jepsen Jensen, who is guaranteed a spot in the 2026 SGP series if Lebedevs retains his spot in the top seven – as the Latvian will not need the qualification place he earned at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted, Denmark on August 9.

2025 DELUXE HOMART FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF DENMARK – VOJENS LINE-UP:

95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)

505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)

66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)

99. Dan Bewley (Great 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. Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark – wild card)

17. Jonas Knudsen (Denmark – first track reserve)

18. William Drejer (Denmark – second track reserve)

SGP4 kicks off a huge Saturday in Vojens. PHOTO: Taylor Lanning

SGP4 ACTION AND VOJENS FANZONE

Fans can enjoy not one, but two FIM Speedway World Championship events on Saturday, with the sport’s top 11-13-year-old riders from 11 different countries battling it out for the FIM SGP4 World Championship from 11:00 CEST.

The competition, launched by SGP global ambassador Rickardsson, the FIM and global promoter Warner Bros. Discovery Sports in 2023, takes full world-championship status for the first time.

The historic event takes place on the Vojens training track close to the fanzone and features the SGP stars of the future going wheel to wheel over 20 heats.

The Vojens fanzone will be open near the stadium’s main entrance from 10:30 CEST, and it features the official Speedway GP autograph session, where fans can meet all 18 riders from 16:30 and grab a signature or selfie.

Pick up a hero card from Monster Energy athletes Fredrik Lindgren, Dan Bewley and Jack Holder from 17:00.

We will have an interview with special VIP guests from 17:45, and fans can win Speedway GP prizes in our quiz at 15:15.

Pose for a photo with the Speedway GP trophy throughout the afternoon and the best of the 2024 SGP events will be playing on the big screen, where fans can catch all the SGP Qualifying action from 14:00.

Meet FIM Speedway mascot Speedy and Vojens mascot Felix, who will be in the fanzone at 10:50. There will be a vintage speedway bikes exhibition, other photo opportunities, the We Love Speedway sign, food and drink stalls, the Speedway GP merchandise shop and much, much more.

The fanzone closes at 18:30 ahead of the opening ceremony at 18:45, with racing getting underway at around 19:00.

Vojens star Anders Thomsen meets his young fans. PHOTO: Marcin Karczewski

WHERE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: TUNE INTO HBO MAX

Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens – Saturday, September 13 at 19:00 CEST

Fans can catch every moment of FIM Speedway action live on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platforms HBO Max or discovery+. Coverage of every Speedway GP Qualifying session, featuring a brand-new knockout format for 2025, is also available on these platforms.

HBO Max is available in Europe in France, Iberia, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe. And discovery+ is the streaming platform for Germany, Austria, Italy and the United Kingdom ahead of HBO Max launching in these countries in 2026.

Speedway GP is available worldwide with digital and linear coverage – see below for more details of where to watch.

ACROSS EUROPE: Live on HBO Max and discovery+

BRITAIN: Live on discovery+ and TNT Sports

POLAND: Live on TVP Sport and HBO Max

SWEDEN: Live on HBO Max

DENMARK: Live on 6’eren and HBO Max

AUSTRALIA: Live on Fox Sports

GERMANY: Live on discovery+

ACROSS THE BALTICS: Live on Go3 and TV3 Sport channels

CZECHIA: Live on HBO Max and CT Sport

SLOVAKIA: Live on STVR Sport and HBO Max

CROATIA: Live on HBO Max