Danish racer Mikkel Michelsen warmed up for the new season with victory in Gniezno’s famous King Boleslaw the Brave Tournament on Thursday.
Michelsen won the final of the long-running individual event, seeing off former Speedway GP rivals Andzejs Lebedevs in second, Bartosz Zmarzlik in third and Artem Laguta in fourth place.
After scoring 10 points across his five heats, the triple European champion had to fight his way through the last-chance qualifier, winning that ahead of Zmarzlik to take his place in the final.
Lebedevs made it straight through to the final after five rides on 13 points and was joined by 2021 Speedway GP world champion Laguta, who tallied 12.
Like Michelsen, Zmarzlik had to contest the last-chance race after scoring 11 – three wins, a second and one last place in his opener.
But he followed the Dane home, with European champion Patryk Dudek eliminated in third place after scoring 10 in the heats, while Oskar Fajfer finished fourth. Speedway GP duo Fredrik Lindgren and Jason Doyle missed the LCQ cut on seven and six points respectively.
Elsewhere, Aussie shooting star Ben Cook continues to impress in Leszno, powering to 13 points to win the club’s Alfred Smoczyk Memorial meeting in the stadium that bears his name.
Cook topped the podium ahead of compatriot Ryan Douglas, who scored 11 points, before winning a run-off with local favourite Piotr Pawlicki, after the pair tied on points in the battle for second.
Leszno duo Grzegorz Zengota and former SGP2 rider Keynan Rew tied on 10, with former Speedway GP winner Janusz Kolodziej scoring eight. Speedway GP newcomer Nazar Parnitskyi picked up seven points, along with Nicolai Klindt, Jan Kvech and Oskar Paluch.