Belle Vue skipper Brady Kurtz isn’t expecting too much home advantage as he takes on the best in world at the ATPI FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester on June 13 and 14.
One-day tickets are now available HERE for Britain’s biggest speedway event, and they are expected to sell fast, with the main grandstand already sold out for both days of the National Speedway Stadium’s first Speedway GP weekend.
Kurtz will be lining up on his Rowe Motor Oil Premiership home track, where he has led the club to two league championships in three seasons. He will be joined in the event by fellow Belle Vue hero, Great Britain star Dan Bewley.
Double FIM Speedway of Nations champion Robert Lambert will also be flying the British flag, with the likes of five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik and world No.3 Fredrik Lindgren also in action, along with British speedway regulars Jason Doyle, Jack Holder, Max Fricke and Jan Kvech.
In his Speedway GP debut season, Kurtz will be determined to make his mark on a track he has called home in the UK since 2021. But he isn’t expecting too much home advantage on a circuit rated as one of the best in the world.
He said: “I am looking forward to it. I can be happy that it’s here at Belle Vue, but I think when you get to that level, it doesn’t really matter which track you are on. All of those guys can ride on any track – no matter what size it is.
“I shouldn’t be hoping for too much home advantage or anything like that. But I will look forward to being on a track I feel comfortable on – that’s for sure.”
Kurtz was due to make his Belle Vue debut in 2020 until the Covid-19 pandemic brought the sport to a halt. His move came following Poole’s decision to drop down to the Cab Direct Championship at the end of the 2019 season and the Cowra-born racer now sees Manchester as very much his UK home.
“The move feels like a lifetime ago!” he said. “I can’t even remember not being a Belle Vue rider – I think that’s how it feels at the moment. I feel like I put the red suit on, and I was settled in.
“I feel good here. I live in the area now. I feel like this is my club and I am happy to be here.
“I had dinner with (Poole owner) Matt Ford recently. It had been a while since I had seen him. We were reminiscing about Poole, and I think he said I was one of the only riders he knows who has left Poole and become better for it. Coming from him, that’s a massive compliment. When I did leave Poole, it was time for me to do it. This was the place, and I am glad I ended up here.”
Kurtz also races for another Speedway GP host club Wroclaw and spent last season with Swedish team Dackarna, whose home track stages the FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla.
“It’s nice to be familiar with some of the tracks,” he said. “But the GP is a different animal, and it doesn’t matter how well you know each track. All of the guys know all of the tracks.
“I think I have prepared the best I can for the season. We still have a little while before the GPs start, so I am looking to get some good results in before then.”
Kurtz has made a stellar start to 2025, winning his second Australian Championship in January and retaining his Peter Craven Memorial crown in Manchester earlier this month. He’s keen to maintain this momentum.
He said: “I worked hard in the winter and Australia went really well. Obviously winning the Aussie Championship was a great start to 2025. It feels like it was a long time ago now. It doesn’t feel like it was just a couple of months ago. It feels like last year.
“I was super happy with it. It was something I wanted to accomplish, and it was nice to actually do it. I am looking forward to hopefully accomplishing a few more things.”
Tickets for the ATPI FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester are available online HERE now.