FIM SPEEDWAY: WOFFINDEN, DOYLE, FRICKE IN 2026 SPEEDWAY GP
Three multi-time FIM Speedway World Championship gold medallists complete the 2026 FIM Speedway Grand Prix line-up.
Aussie icons Max Fricke and Jason Doyle and Great Britain’s most successful speedway rider Tai Woffinden take their places on the sport’s biggest stage after being selected by the SGP Commission, which comprised representatives from incoming FIM Speedway global promoter Mayfield Sports Events Ltd and the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).
Returning to Speedway GP after a year’s absence, three-time Speedway GP world champion Woffinden famously topped the podium as a 500/1 outsider in 2013, before title triumphs in 2015 and 2018 saw him become Britain’s first-ever three-time individual world champion. One of the sport’s most engaging stars also won the 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations with Great Britain in Manchester.
After his 2024 season was ended by a broken elbow, Woffinden has shown incredible grit and determination once again this year, making an astonishing recovery from an early-season crash at Polish track Krosno in March, which ended his season before it truly began as he suffered multiple injuries. He is already back on the practice track as he prepares to chase Speedway GP glory once again in 2026.
Former Speedway GP world champion Doyle extends his Speedway GP career into a 12th straight season – just two days after he won his second FIM Speedway of Nations world title with the Australian team.
Like Woffinden, Doyle has also been hampered by injuries, having seen his 2024 campaign ended by a torn rotator cuff. A hip injury kept him out of this year’s FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague and impacted on his performance at the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester double-header in a year when he finished 10th in the Speedway GP standings.
Joining Woffinden and Doyle in the 2026 Speedway GP line-up is 2022 FIM Speedway of Nations and 2016 FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship gold medallist Fricke.
The three-time Australian champion finished eighth in this season’s Speedway GP series – falling just three points short of the top-seven automatic qualification places in a year when he reached seven of the 10 last-chance qualifiers and matched his career-best finish in the standings.
The permanent wild cards are joined in the 2026 Speedway GP World Championship by this season’s top seven – led by Poland’s six-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik and Aussie silver medallist Brady Kurtz, who raced to five straight SGP wins in 2025 as he fell just one point short of denying Zmarzlik gold.
Kurtz ended 2025 on a huge high after winning the FIM Speedway of Nations world title in Torun, Poland last Saturday (October 4). His Aussie teammate Jack Holder – fifth in the SGP standings – joins him in next season’s series.
Great Britain’s two-time FIM SON world champions Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert were among the automatic qualifiers, along with Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren and Latvia’s double European champion Andzejs Lebedevs.
Polish racer Patryk Dudek secured a return to the Speedway GP line-up after two seasons away by winning this season’s Speedway European Championship. He was also crowned national champion, led Polish PGE Ekstraliga club Torun to their first league title since 2008 and won FIM SON silver with Poland on Saturday night.
The 2026 Speedway GP field is completed by the qualifiers from the FIM SGP Challenge. Former FIM Speedway World Cup winner Dominik Kubera and Speedway GP debutant Kacper Woryna take their places in the series.
They are joined by Denmark’s two-time Speedway GP silver medallist Leon Madsen and Danish champion Michael Jepsen Jensen, who is promoted into the SGP line-up after Lebedevs, who was placed fourth at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted, qualified by finishing in the SGP top seven.
The substitute riders for the 2026 Speedway GP series have also been confirmed, with Ukraine’s new FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion Nazar Parnitskyi heading the list.
He will be called into SGP action if any of the Speedway GP regulars are forced out of a round due to injury, illness or other reasons.
Joining him on the substitutes list are second reserve, three-time Danish champion Anders Thomsen. Czech charger Jan Kvech is third in line, with Germany’s Kai Huckenbeck the fourth reserve.
The list is completed by fifth substitute Mathias Pollestad of Norway, who led his country to FIM Speedway World Cup qualification for the first time in their history at last week’s FIM Speedway of Nations in Torun.
The calendar for the 2026 FIM Speedway season will be revealed in due course.
2026 FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX LINE-UP – IN FIM RANKING ORDER WITH RIDER NUMBERS:
95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
101. Brady Kurtz (Australia)
99. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
25. Jack Holder (Australia)
29. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
46. Max Fricke (Australia)
69. Jason Doyle (Australia)
415. Dominik Kubera (Poland)
30. Leon Madsen (Denmark)
52. Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark)
692. Patryk Dudek (Poland)
223. Kacper Woryna (Poland)
108. Tai Woffinden (Great Britain)
SUBSTITUTE RIDERS
785. Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)
105. Anders Thomsen (Denmark)
201. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)
744. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
