POLISH ICON ZMARZLIK SEEKS MORE GOLD IN TORUN AS FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS STARTING LINE-UP REVEALED
Poland’s six-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik is determined to deliver another golden night in Torun as he leads his side into the 2025 FIM Speedway of Nations Final on Saturday, October 4.
The starting line-ups for the sport’s ultimate test of team riding have been revealed as hosts Poland take on reigning FIM SON world champions Great Britain, plus Semi-Final One winners Sweden, Semi-Final Two victors Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark and Latvia.
The six teams that progressed through Semi-Finals One and two on Tuesday and Wednesday all name unchanged starting line-ups, with Poland seeded straight through to the Final as hosts, and spearheaded by skipper Zmarzlik, who won a record-equalling sixth Speedway GP world title this season. He is partnered by new European champion Patryk Dudek and No.3 Piotr Pawlicki, a former FIM Speedway World Cup winner, who makes his FIM SON debut.
Saturday’s final FIM Speedway action of 2025 features 13 riders who either raced in Speedway GP this season and/or have qualified to compete in the 2026 series, and the Poles are determined to come out on top in the FIM SON for the first time.
Zmarzlik has won four Speedway GPs at Torun’s Marian Rose Motoarena and collected all but one of his SGP gold medals at the iconic venue. He would love to add an FIM SON victory to the collection.
He said: “This is a special place for me. I have had a lot of good moments here. I collected my first five Speedway GP gold medals here, so I am happy to come back to Torun for a good meeting like the SON. I welcome the fans to the stadium and the Polish team will do the best they can for our country.”
Zmarzlik has a chance to become the first rider to complete the modern-day grand slam of Speedway GP, FIM Speedway World Cup and FIM Speedway of Nations world titles this Saturday. The three-time SWC winner would be proud to win his 10th world title in all competitions representing his country. He said: “I always want the same – I just want to do the best I can. It’s always good racing with our national kevlars and representing our country. Everyone will do the best they can for us.”
The 2025 FIM SON world champions will earn more than just this year’s gold medals – they will also seal a guaranteed spot in the 2026 FIM Speedway World Cup Final at Warsaw’s PGE Narodowy. If the Poles win on Saturday, the FIM SON runners-up will head for the Polish capital next year as Poland is seeded into the event as host nation.
Every team must track two starters at No.1 and No.2 for Saturday’s FIM SON Final and one reserve at No.3, who can be called into action by their team manager at any time.
All six successful semi-finalists have opted for unchanged starting orders after securing their spots in the FIM SON Final.
Great Britain defends the FIM SON world title they won on home shale at Manchester’s National Speedway Stadium last summer, with Torun and GB team captain Robert Lambert, world number three Dan Bewley and reserve Tom Brennan going for their third world title as a trio – and the Lions’ first on foreign soil since England won the 1984 FIM Speedway World Pairs Championship in Lonigo, Italy.
Australia tracks world number two Brady Kurtz, skipper Jack Holder and 2017 Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle at number three as they bid to regain the FIM SON trophy that they won in Vojens in 2022.
Sweden’s challenge is led by world No.4 Fredrik Lindgren, with double national champion Jacob Thorssell and Timo Lahti also selected after the trio combined to win Tuesday’s Semi-Final 1.
Danish boss Nicki Pedersen keeps faith with 2026 Speedway GP qualifiers Leon Madsen and Michael Jepsen Jensen, with Torun rider Mikkel Michelsen selected at No.3 on his Polish home track.
Another Torun rider, Czech charger Jan Kvech, led his side to their first Final since 2022 as they took third place in Semi-Final Two on Wednesday. He teams up with Vaclav Milik and talented teenager Adam Bubba Bednar, who remains at No.3, and could play a key role in the biggest meeting of his career so far.
Latvia’s world No.6 Andzejs Lebedevs ends the best season of his career by leading his country into their third FIM SON Final in four years, having only led his fast-rising speedway nation into its first FIM Speedway world team final in 2021. He joins forces with Jevgenijs Kostigovs and Daniils Kolodinskis once again.
Having won three silver medals and a bronze since the FIM SON was launched in 2018, Poland would love to complete the set with gold in Torun.
Polish team manager Rafal Dobrucki said: “Of course, we always focus on good results, and this weekend will be the same. It’s another very important meeting for us. Everybody wants to win, and we do as well. We have some really good riders. We have a pretty good chance to win, and we will focus on that.
“Everything was okay in practice. Two riders practised on Wednesday – Bartosz and Piotr. This is Patryk’s home track, so he didn’t need a lot of practice. The other thing is he had a little crash last Sunday, so we wanted to save him, let him relax and be strong for Saturday.”
Dobrucki is expecting an exciting night of action on Torun’s famous Marian Motoarena circuit and hopes a passionate home crowd can roar his side to victory on Saturday.
He said: “I think we will have good Polish fans here, and especially after the big success Torun had a few days ago in becoming Polish league champions. We are expecting a big crowd, which will give us extra power.
“This is the perfect track to find good lines on and have good races on. Like anywhere, you need the speed and that is the most important thing. This is one of the best tracks in the world, so we will try to find good lines and go for the gold medals.”
Ahead of Saturday’s Final, the FIM Speedway of Nations continues on Friday with SON2 – the FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship.
Hosts Poland chase an 18th gold medal against Australia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Latvia and Sweden.
Tickets for Friday and Saturday’s title deciders are still available online. Secure your spot in Torun HERE now.
2025 FIM SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS FINAL STARTING LINE-UPS:
TEAM A – CZECH REPUBLIC: 1. Vaclav Milik, 2. Jan Kvech (captain), 3. Adam Bubba Bednar. Team Manager: Zdenek Schneiderwind.
TEAM B – SWEDEN: 1. Jacob Thorssell, 2. Fredrik Lindgren (captain), 3. Timo Lahti. Team Manager: Linus Sundstrom.
TEAM C – POLAND: 1. Patryk Dudek, 2. Bartosz Zmarzlik (captain), 3. Piotr Pawlicki. Team Manager: Rafal Dobrucki.
TEAM D – AUSTRALIA: 1. Brady Kurtz, 2. Jack Holder (captain), 3. Jason Doyle. Team Manager: Mark Lemon.
TEAM E – DENMARK: 1. Leon Madsen, 2. Michael Jepsen Jensen, 3. Mikkel Michelsen (captain). Team Manager: Nicki Pedersen.
TEAM F – GREAT BRITAIN: 1. Robert Lambert (captain), 2. Dan Bewley, 3. Tom Brennan. Team Managers: Simon Stead and Oliver Allen.
TEAM G – LATVIA: 1. Andzejs Lebedevs (captain), 2. Jevgenijs Kostigovs, 3. Daniils Kolodinskis. Team Manager: Vladimirs Ribnikovs.
