Australian racer Brady Kurtz insists he is still chasing Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik, even after going top of both the Speedway GP World Championship and Monster Energy Triple Crown races last Saturday evening.
Kurtz finished third at the FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Lodz to tie on 109 points with Zmarzlik at the SGP summit.
With Kurtz victorious at Manchester R4 and Zmarzlik winning round five in Wroclaw, the Cowra-born star’s two second places in Prague and Manchester R3 place him above the Lublin and Lejonen rider on countback.
Kurtz also maintained top spot in the Monster Energy Triple Crown series, a competition that echoes the storied FIM Speedway World Final era, which counts the race points scored by riders in the first 20 heats across the three FIM Speedway GP of Poland events in Wroclaw, Lodz and the final round in Torun, which takes place on September 26.
Having scored 12 race points at both Polish home track Wroclaw and old club Lodz, where he starred from 2020 until 2022, Kurtz is top on 24 points, with Monster Energy athlete Patryk Dudek and Robert Lambert tied on 21 in second and third respectively – the Pole is ranked higher after registering more race wins.
Czech charger Jan Kvech in fourth, Zmarzlik in fifth and Danish racer Leon Madsen in sixth place are chasing them down on 19, with Max Fricke in seventh and Andzejs Lebedevs in eighth spot both on 17.
While Kurtz now leads the Speedway GP World Championship on countback, donning the Golden Race Jacket, he still sees himself as the hunter rather than the hunted as he bids to deny Zmarzlik a record-breaking seventh world title, having fallen just a point short of gold, despite an historic haul of five straight SGP wins at the end of 2025.
He said: “I am definitely still chasing! I am just chasing him a little bit earlier. I left the run too late last year. Since the start of the year, my goal has been to keep getting into the finals and keep putting the points on the board. That’s what Bartek has done for the last six or seven years. It’s the method that works.
“I would like to get a couple more wins. It feels like the season is getting away. It has been a tough year for me in the finals. Last year everything just fell into place when I won all the rounds. This year, it really hasn’t gone my way in the finals. I think the important thing is to keep coming back and try to execute a bit better. Hopefully I can do that in Riga.”
While Kurtz topped the championship, Great Britain racer Robert Lambert surged into the title picture with victory in Lodz, moving him within eight championship points of Kurtz and Zmarzlik on 101.
Following up on Lambert’s second places in Wroclaw and Malilla, it’s a result that has blown the title race wide open, but little changes in Kurtz’s mind.
He said: “I was not expecting it to be anything other than a three-horse race after the last three rounds. I am happy with where I am, and the goal is no different.
“I have still been making finals and scoring points. At the end of the year, they all add up. It’s important to stay consistent, try and stay calm and we’ll see what happens.
“It wasn’t my best day in Lodz, I would have said, but we got better and better as the night went on. That’s usually what I aim for. At my good GPs, I usually seem to start badly and get better.
“Obviously, I would have liked to have really executed well in the final and got a win, but I am still happy with it.”
Next up is the DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga this Saturday. Kurtz topped the podium on his Bikernieki debut in 2025 and will be seeking a repeat performance.
The track has undergone a major revamp for this weekend’s event, which also includes 11.lv FIM Speedway World Cup Semi-Final 2 – Riga on Friday, as hosts Latvia take on Denmark, Sweden and Norway for a place in the BOLL FIM Speedway World Cup Final – Warsaw on August 29.
Kurtz looks forward to testing out the new Bikernieki track, he said: “Hopefully they have made some good improvements, and we can see even better racing than we have before. We will see what Saturday brings.”
