Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik insisted “it’s not my first time living under pressure” as he launches his quest for a record-equalling sixth FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship on Saturday.
Zmarzlik lines up in the series-opening WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut – a venue which staged its first SGP event since 1997 last year.
The OneSolar Arena was packed to the rafters as Denmark’s Mikkel Michelsen won his first-ever Speedway GP round, while Zmarzlik came out on top after a fantastic duel with Australia’s Jack Holder to finish second and gain the World Championship lead – an advantage he held until the end of the season to become a five-time SGP world champion.
Zmarzlik is chasing more history in 2025. Another title triumph would see him match New Zealand legend Ivan Mauger and Swedish great Tony Rickardsson’s record haul of six FIM Speedway World Championships. The 30-year-old could also become the first rider in history to win four in a row.
While such high stakes would be daunting for most, the record 26-time Speedway GP winner is no stranger to having a weight of expectation on his shoulders. Having won five world titles in six years, Zmarzlik knows the size of the task ahead and how to approach it.
“Winning four in a row is not easy,” he admitted. “It’s really very hard. But I don’t think about this during the season.
“When I start the season, I am not thinking about records, numbers or medals. I am only thinking about what I am doing tomorrow or in the next meeting, and what I can and must do – things like having a good sleep after the meeting. These details are the most important thing for me. I go step by step – I will take it like this all the time.
“It’s not my first time living under pressure like this. I have had this pressure for a minimum six, or maybe eight years. Everything is normal for me now because I have experienced this atmosphere for a lot of seasons.
“I want to have fun with my riding. This is the most important thing for me. When you have fun, you often have the results. I am always looking for good racing because I love riding my bike. How the points will be later, you never know. But I will do everything I can to get a good result.”
Speaking about Zmarzlik’s quest for No.6 recently, Great Britain’s world No.4 Dan Bewley suggested Zmarzlik’s love for riding must play a key role in helping him to manage the pressure and demands of chasing Speedway GP gold. “This is really true,” the Pole said. “When you love something, and you love your work, it doesn’t feel like work.
“This is the same for me when I am racing on the bike. It’s my whole life. Of course there is always pressure, but sometimes pressure can be positive pressure – when you take energy for what you are doing.”
Zmarzlik can’t wait to test himself against the sport’s biggest stars in Bavaria once again. “Landshut last year was a good meeting,” he said. “I hope everything will be good for me this year and I can’t wait for the first round.”
HOME HERO
This year’s Speedway GP line-up once again features riders from nine different countries – Poland, Australia, Great Britain, Denmark, Sweden, Slovakia, Czechia, Latvia and this weekend’s host nation Germany.
German racer Kai Huckenbeck represents his country on the sport’s biggest stage for a second straight season, bidding to build on his 12th place and three semi-final appearances in 2024.
He can’t wait for his home event on a OneSolar Arena track he called home for two seasons in 2022 and 2023, when the Landshut Devils competed in Poland’s First Division – now rebranded as Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga.
“I am very excited,” he said. “I wouldn’t say I am nervous. I was nervous last year. But right now, I am excited and really looking forward to it. I hear they have sold many tickets already, so it’s going to be a big German crowd, and it’s always a good feeling to race in front of your home crowd.”
Huckenbeck, who is joined in flying the German flag by wild card Erik Riss, scored five championship points in the 2024 event and admits he has learned lessons for this year.
He said: “The track was completely different compared to how it is for league racing – or how it was when I raced for the club before. That confused me a little bit and I couldn’t really find the setup. That was the main problem for sure.
“But I have learned from that and now we know what to do. Hopefully the track will be as it was last year, so that we know which direction to go.”
Huckenbeck is yet to reach a Speedway GP final. He would love to end that wait and maybe even top the podium in front of a sizeable German crowd on Saturday. “That would be awesome!” he said. “I will do my best and it would be a crazy feeling to win in front of my home crowd. That’s the biggest wish of any speedway rider.”
Tickets for the WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut are still available online. Secure your spot at the OneSolar Arena HERE now.
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NEW FOR 2025
The 2025 Speedway GP series features a number of new innovations – semi-finals are replaced by last-chance qualifiers, meaning the top two riders after 20 heats progress straight through to the final, with the riders placed third to 10th battling it out in LCQ1 and LCQ2, with the winners completing the final four.
Riders now have just 90 seconds to be ready to race – down from two minutes – in an effort to speed up the progress of a Speedway GP event.
Another exciting change sees the brand-new knockout Qualifying format debut in Landshut at 14:00 CEST on Saturday, with coverage live on Max, HBO Max and discovery+. Riders will kick off the session with two free practice runs of two minutes each (FP1 and FP2).
They will then be drawn into pairs for Q1, which features eight 60-second duels as riders bid to set the fastest lap time. The fastest rider in each duel advances to Q2, where they compete in another 60-second head-to-head showdown.
The four Q2 winners advance to the four-lap sprint race, where the winner earns four Speedway GP World Championship points, with three for second, two for third and one for fourth place.
The sprint race winner also earns first choice of starting positions for the evening’s WWK FIM German Speedway GP, with the second, third and fourth placed riders next to select. The four riders eliminated in Q2 choose next in an order determined by their fastest Q2 lap time and the riders eliminated in Q1 choose last – in an order determined by their fastest Q1 lap time.
Sprint races take place in Landshut, Warsaw, Manchester R4, Gorzow and Wroclaw this season.
There will be no Qualifying at R5 in Manchester due to the National Speedway Stadium staging Friday action, and the four rounds in Prague, Malilla, Riga and Vojens will not culminate in a sprint race due to these venues hosting SGP2 or SGP3 racing 24 hours earlier.
Instead, the four Q2 winners will contest Q3, with all four riders taking to the track at the same time for 60 seconds. The rider who sets the fastest lap time earns first choice of starting positions for racing, with no championship points up for grabs.
2025 WWK FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF GERMANY – LANDSHUT 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 (Czech Republic)
69. Jason Doyle (Australia)
105. Anders Thomsen (Denmark)
101. Brady Kurtz (Australia)
16. Erik Riss (Germany – wild card)
17. Kevin Wolbert (Germany – first track reserve)
18. Valentin Grobauer (Germany – second track reserve)
LANDSHUT FANZONE
Fans can enjoy a packed programme of entertainment before racing gets started as the WWK FIM German Speedway GP fanzone opens at 12:00 CEST.
Located behind bend one, the fanzone features the official Speedway GP autograph session, where fans can meet all 18 riders from 16:30 CEST and grab a signature or selfie.
Pick up some exclusive freebies from Monster Energy athletes Fredrik Lindgren, Dan Bewley and Jack Holder at the Monster Energy Rig Riot from 17:00. The Monster Energy area will be open throughout the afternoon.
Win Speedway GP prizes with our quiz on the big screen at 15:15. Fans can also pose for a photo with the Speedway GP trophy throughout the afternoon and Qualifying will be live on the big screen from 14:00. Fans can also relive the best of the 2024 SGP action on the screen before Qualifying.
Meet FIM Speedway mascot Speedy, who will be in the fanzone at 13:45, 15:30 and 18:00.
There will be VIP guests, 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, just before racing gets underway at 19:00.
WHERE TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND: TUNE INTO MAX
WWK FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut – Saturday, May 3 at 19:00 CEST
Fans can catch every moment of FIM Speedway action live on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platforms Max, HBO Max or discovery+. Coverage of all 10 Speedway GP Qualifying sessions will also be available on these platforms.
Max is available in Europe in France, Iberia, the Nordics, Turkey and Central and Eastern Europe. HBO Max is WBD’s streaming platform in Belgium and the Netherlands. And discovery+ is the streaming platform for Germany, Austria, Italy and the United Kingdom ahead of Max launching in these countries in 2026.
Coverage of Speedway GP is available worldwide with digital and linear coverage – see below for more details of where to watch.
ACROSS EUROPE: Live on Max, HBO Max and discovery+
BRITAIN: Live on discovery+ and TNT Sports
POLAND: Live on Max
SWEDEN: Live on Max and Kanal 9
DENMARK: Live on 6’eren and Max
AUSTRALIA: Live on Fox Sports
GERMANY: Live on discovery+ and ServusTV
ACROSS THE BALTICS: Live on Go3 and TV3 Sport channels
CZECHIA: Live on Max and CT Sport
SLOVAKIA: Live on STVR Sport and Max
CROATIA: Live on Max
USA/Canada: Live on Racer Network
AUSTRIA: Live on discovery+ and ServusTV
NORWAY: Live on Max
FINLAND: Live on Max
REST OF THE WORLD: Live on Racer Network