Brady Kurtz powers to 2025 Speedway GP of Sweden victory – Report and Results

Aussie racer Brady Kurtz admits he was pleased to prove his first FIM Speedway Grand Prix victory “wasn’t a fluke” after making it back-to-back wins at the Virkvarn FIM Speedway GP of Sweden – Malilla on Saturday.

After claiming his maiden victory at the Events.com FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on June 21, Kurtz repeated the feat in Sweden’s biggest speedway event.

Kurtz – second in the Speedway GP World Championship standings on 122 points – topped the podium ahead of five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, who has 131, to close the Pole’s series lead from 11 points to nine with just three rounds remaining.

Great Britain’s Dan Bewley finished third – completing a carbon copy of the Gorzow podium two weeks earlier.

After beating Zmarzlik on his boyhood track in Gorzow, Kurtz was elated to follow it up with another win in Malilla, where Kurtz raced for Swedish giants Dackarna from 2022 until last year.

While he admits his first Speedway GP win two weeks ago will always be the most cherished, the Australian champion was delighted to prove he could back up that big performance in Gorzow with more glory in Malilla.

He said: “Winning in Gorzow was pretty special. I think that’s the one I will definitely remember. But winning twice is great – more so because I know the first one wasn’t a fluke. That’s the coolest part in my mind – that I could win again.

“It was nice to do it here in Sweden on kind of my home track. I raced here for a few years, and it was nice to be back.”

The afternoon Qualifying session was cancelled as rain fell in Malilla at regular points throughout the day. But Kurtz is gaining a strong reputation for big performances in the wet – a reputation enhanced by his victory at a very damp 2024 FIM SGP Challenge at Czech club Pardubice to qualify for Speedway GP last October.

Kurtz insists he was never going to be concerned about a wet track. He said: “I love it! I have ridden at Belle Vue for quite a few years in a row. We race in the rain a lot in Britain. I just kind of like to get on with it.

“I went for the track walk, went back to my pits, told the boys what setup we were going to use and away we went.”

Kurtz won five of his six races at the Skrotfrag Arena and was only denied a six-ride maximum when heat 11 was stopped with him leading the first staging of the race. He eventually finished third and feared that misfortune was going to be repeated when the final was also halted following a crash for fourth-placed Jason Doyle on turn four.

But Kurtz hit the front with a fine start in the rerun, while Zmarzlik was forced to fight his way past Bewley for second place.

Belle Vue and Wroclaw star Kurtz said: “There’s nothing worse than seeing the red lights come on when you are in front. But luckily, I made another good start. It was a difficult track – that’s for sure. I was doing some funny stuff out in front. But I managed to hang on.”

Kurtz knows Zmarzlik’s nine-point advantage in the Speedway GP world title race could be closed or extended rapidly if either rider fails to reach a final at the remaining rounds in Latvian capital Riga on August 2, Polish city Wroclaw on August 30 and Danish venue Vojens on September 13.

Both men have reached six finals in the first seven rounds and Kurtz is keen to keep up the pressure in his quest to become the first rider in the series’ 30-year history to win the world title in their Speedway GP debut season.

“Closing the gap is the goal,” he said. “I am not sure what to think about the next track in Riga. I have never seen it. But I will try to learn quickly like I have done on all of the other tracks. We will go for the free practice and hopefully find something that’s working, and we’ll go from there.”

Runner-up Zmarzlik battled his way through the last-chance qualifiers to take his place in the final, winning LCQ1 with an astonishing first lap to hit the front and guarantee he left with top spot in Speedway GP tonight.

The Lublin and Lejonen rider was pleased with a brilliant battling performance. He said: “This was not a bad night, but for me and my team, this was really hard work. I’m happy that I got on the podium and took second place; it’s a really nice feeling. I didn’t have the best day, but I am still on the podium, and I am happy about this one because it was hard work.”

Like Kurtz, third-placed Bewley is also a former Dackarna rider and adapted superbly to the wet conditions to deliver his third Speedway GP podium in four rounds, which leaves him fourth on 97 points – just two behind Swedish star Fredrik Lindgren, who is third on 99.

The Cumbrian said: “To be honest, the track wasn’t too bad. I thought it was actually pretty good. I raced here for a couple of seasons and it’s always a pretty special track here. It’s pretty unique. Every week when we came here in the Swedish league, the track was a little bit different. That kept you on your toes. I felt like I had nice speed. It’s nice to come back here – I always like it.”

While Bewley says his focus is on winning Speedway GPs in the closing rounds of the season, he is firmly in contention for his first-ever World Championship medal. But with around a month until round eight in Riga on August 2, he insisted: “It’s one meeting at a time for me.

“If we can keep making finals, we will see what happens. I have been a lot more consistent this year, so I am happy with that.”

Malilla Result

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Standings After 7 Rounds

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Words by SGP – Feature Image courtesy of Jarek Pabijan