FIM SPEEDWAY: PROUD DAD, ZMARZLIK’S SEARCH FOR NUMBER 7 LAUNCHES IN LANDSHUT, GERMANY

Poland’s six-time Speedway GP World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik admits making memories for his children inspires him to keep chasing the sport’s biggest prizes as he bids for a record seventh gold medal in 2026.

Zmarzlik bids to eclipse the mark of six FIM Speedway World Championships that he shares with New Zealand legend Ivan Mauger and Swedish great Tony Rickardsson as he heads into the WWK Schwaiger & Partner FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on Saturday, May 2.

The 31-year-old saw off an epic challenge from Brady Kurtz to pip the Aussie to the Speedway GP World Championship by just one point in 2025, despite the Belle Vue and Wroclaw rider winning a record-breaking five SGPs on the bounce at the end of last season to take the title race to the wire.

Having won an unsurpassed 29 Speedway GP rounds and three FIM Speedway World Cup gold medals alongside his six world individual crowns, some might suggest there is little left to prove for Zmarzlik in the sport.
But with so many years ahead for a rider who still loves his racing, Zmarzlik admits winning for his two sons Antek and Franciszek drives him to keep delivering the big prizes.

He said: “I love riding the bike and I love racing good speedway for my kids when they are watching. It gives me extra motivation because my oldest son Antek is starting now to ask me the crazy questions about why I am winning or why I am not winning – stuff like this. I really want to show him what Dad can do. My kids are a big motivation for me.”

Zmarzlik remains steely focused on his racing and spends very little time contemplating the records he sets. But a sixth Speedway GP World Championship – his fourth in as many years – was a feat to savour. He said: “When I stop for a minute and think about this, and what I have done up to now, it is a little bit crazy for me. I am really, really happy and very proud about this. But I am still young.

“For me, when I come to the first round of the year in the GP, we all start from zero and I am fully focused on this season and on doing a really good job throughout the year.
“I am not thinking too much about records or winning. My plan is to put on a good show for the people, get good results and later, after the last round, we will see how many points I have and where I am.”

Kurtz put Zmarzlik under immense pressure for top spot in the closing five rounds of the season. He could extend his record number of consecutive wins to six with victory in Landshut.

The Cowra-born racer won’t dwell on what might have been in 2025. He said: “Obviously it was a good year. I didn’t win exactly what I wanted to win, but nonetheless, I was super happy with it.

“Last year doesn’t really matter anymore. We are all starting from zero again, so whatever happened last year is kind of irrelevant now.
“I have spent the winter focusing on what we are going to do this year, and I am ready for action. I am just focused on the first round, and we’ll see what happens there.”

Great Britain racer Dan Bewley, who leads his country into Friday’s WWK Schwaiger & Partner FIM Speedway World Cup Semi-Final 1 – Landshut, has a busy weekend ahead.

As well as bidding to fire GB into the BOLL FIM SWC Final – Warsaw on August 29, he hopes to build on the second place he achieved in last year’s Speedway GP event in Landshut.
That was the first of six SGP finals Bewley reached in 2025, and he’s keen to bring that consistency into this season.

He said: “I got over the hump of going out in the semi-finals or LCQs, and now I am making some finals more consistently. I felt I was more consistent in general. I feel like I have always ridden well enough. It’s just about putting yourself in the right positions and being more consistent from the starts. I feel like I made a big improvement there last year, and I am keen to keep building on that.”

Three riders re-enter the Speedway GP line-up in Landshut as Denmark’s Leon Madsen returns after missing the 2025 series, while Polish Champion Patryk Dudek is back after a two-year break, having qualified as Speedway European Championship winner.

Meanwhile, Danish champion Michael Jepsen Jensen is a full-time Speedway GP rider for the first time since 2015, having completed an astonishing return to the top of the sport – 14 years after winning the FIM Speedway World Cup, FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship and FIM Nordic Speedway GP in an unforgettable breakthrough season in 2012.

Two riders make their full-time Speedway GP debuts in Landshut as Poland’s in-form Golden Helmet winner Kacper Woryna and Ukrainian SGP2 world champion Nazar Parnitskyi join the line-up for the first time.

2026 WWK SCHWAIGER & PARTNER FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF GERMANY – LANDSHUT LINE-UP:
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)
785. Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)
16. Norick Blodorn (Germany – wild card)
17. Kevin Wolbert (Germany – first track reserve)
18. Valentin Grobauer (Germany – second track reserve)
Fans can catch every moment of Speedway GP and SWC action live on global broadcaster Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platforms HBO Max or discovery+. Coverage of every Speedway GP Qualifying session is also available on these platforms.
HBO Max is available across Europe, with FIM-MOTO TV providing coverage around the world.
ACROSS EUROPE: Live on HBO Max and discovery+
REST OF THE WORLD: Live on FIM-MOTO TV
BRITAIN: Live on HBO Max and TNT Sports
POLAND: Live on Eurosport 3, HBO Max and Player
SWEDEN: Live on Kanal 9 and HBO Max
DENMARK: Live on 6’eren and HBO Max
AUSTRALIA: Live on Fox Sports
GERMANY: Live on Servus TV, HBO Max and discovery+
ACROSS THE BALTICS: Live on Go3, TV3 Sport and HBO Max
CZECHIA: Live on HBO Max
SLOVAKIA: Live on STVR Sport and HBO Max
USA/Canada: Live on Racer.com