Aussie ace Max Fricke admits he has realised “a childhood dream” after roaring to his first-ever FIM Speedway Grand Prix victory at FST Grupa Brokerska Torun SGP round seven on Friday.
The Victorian racer topped the podium ahead of title-chasing trio Maciej Janowski, Tai Woffinden and series leader Bartosz Zmarzlik.
Zmarzlik overcame a crash in heat five to reach the semi-finals. He now just needs to reach the final of the title-deciding round eight on Saturday night to become Poland’s first double world champion after registering 14 points, giving him an eight-point cushion over nearest rival Woffinden in second spot.
But the night belonged to Fricke, who raced to 10 points in his heats, before delivering one of the rides on the season to pass Janowski and Fredrik Lindgren in semi-final one. He then made a world-class start in the final to leave three of the sport’s finest trailing and crown the greatest victory of his career so far.
The Wroclaw racer says he realised a boyhood dream as he enjoyed the Australian national anthem atop the Torun podium.
He said: “It’s unbelievable. I think it will take a while for it to sink in. I have been to Torun before and watched GPs. To win a GP has been a childhood dream for almost as long as I can remember – since I started racing.
“To actually be here and get a Grand Prix win is great. I have had a tough start to this year, so to have a win is unbelievable.”
Fricke nearly threw victory away when he lifted dramatically on the run to the line. He said: “I was doing everything I could to stay in front. I could hear Magic behind me. I just picked up a little too much right at the end. But I managed to bring it across the line.”
He was delighted to lead a Wroclaw one-two-three on the rostrum. Fricke added: “It was great to be on the podium with Tai and Magic. They are both great friends and we obviously ride together in Wroclaw. It was a really cool podium and great to be up there with some good friends.”
Fricke would love a repeat performance in Saturday’s final SGP round of 2020, but admits he will take things step by step.
He said: “I just want to keep consistent. My plan is to make the semis and once you make the semis, anything can happen. I am just trying to keep that attitude and give it 110 percent in every race I go out in.”
Fricke wasn’t the only Aussie star to claim a huge international victory tonight. His former Belle Vue team mate Jaimon Lidsey was crowned FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship winner at Czech track Pardubice.
A delighted Fricke said: “It has been an unbelievable night. We were watching the results earlier and checking out how Jaimon was doing. We are really excited for him as well.
“He has been coming along really well over the last couple of years and has done awesome this whole season in Poland. He definitely deserves it – good on him!”
Runner-up Janowski was delighted to be back on the SGP rostrum for the third time this season.
The fourth-placed star said: “It’s great to be on the podium, especially here in Torun. I am very excited. See you tomorrow!”
Third-placed Woffinden raced to his third podium finish on the bounce. He said: “I am happy with tonight’s performance. It could have been better and I am still making silly mistakes. But it’s another podium and another trophy.”
Ahead of Saturday’s FST Grupa Brokerska Torun SGP round eight, fans can catch episode four of Talking Dirt – Fuelled by Monster Energy – live on Speedway GP Facebook and YouTube from 17:00 UK / 18:00 CET.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 113, 2 Tai Woffinden 105, 3 Fredrik Lindgren 103, 4 Maciej Janowski 89, 5 Leon Madsen 79, 6 Jason Doyle 76, 7 Martin Vaculik 73, 8 Emil Sayfutdinov 72, 9 Artem Laguta 68, 10 Max Fricke 60, 11 Matej Zagar 43, 12 Patryk Dudek 33, 13 Niels-Kristian Iversen 31, 14 Mikkel Michelsen 30, 15 Gleb Chugunov 16, 16 Antonio Lindback 14, 17 Anders Thomsen 10, 18 Jack Holder 5, 19 Vaclav Milik 1, 20 Eduard Krcmar 1.
FST GRUPA BROKERSKA TORUN SGP R7 POINTS: 1 Max Fricke 20, 2 Maciej Janowski 18, 3 Tai Woffinden 16, 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik 14, 5 Emil Sayfutdinov 12, 6 Fredrik Lindgren 11, 7 Martin Vaculik 10, 8 Leon Madsen 9, 9 Artem Laguta 8, 10 Jason Doyle 7, 11 Matej Zagar 6, 12 Jack Holder 5, 13 Patryk Dudek 4, 14 Mikkel Michelsen 3, 15 Antonio Lindback 2, 16 Niels-Kristian Iversen 1, 17 Viktor Trofymov DNR, 18 Igor Kopec-Sobczynski DNR.
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LATEST RESULTS...
THURSDAY OCTOBER 22:
PETER CRAVEN MEMORIAL – at Belle Vue
1. Jason Doyle
2. Dan Bewley
3. Brady Kurtz
4. Richard Lawson
5. Rory Schlein
6. Sam Masters
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21:
BRITISH UNDER-21 FINAL, Berwick 1 Dan Bewley (Belle Vue) 15 2 Leon Flint (Berwick/Armadale) 14 3 Anders Rowe (Swindon/Somerset) 13
Abandoned - Curfew - Result declared after heat 20
SATURDAY OCTOBER 17:
FIM MONSTER ENERGY SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS - FINAL, Lublin, Poland 1 RUSSIA 23 (Emil Sayfutdinov 15, Artem Laguta 8) 2 POLAND 23 (Barosz Zmarzlik 15, Szymon Wozniak 8) 3 DENMARK 19 (Leon Madsen 10, Marcus Birkemose 5, Anders Thomsen 4) 4 SWEDEN 19 (Fredrik Lindgren 14, Oilver Berntzon 5) 5 AUSTRALIA 17 (Max Fricke 12, Jason Doyle 5, Jaimon Lidsey 0) 6 GREAT BRITAIN 12 (Robert Lambert 6, Dan Bewley 6, Drew Kemp 0) 7 CZECH REPUBLIC 11 (Vacliv Milik 11, Eduard Krcmar 0, Petr Chlupac 0) Abandoned after 14 Heats - Result stands (Russia crowned 2020 FIM Speedway of Nations Champions)
FRIDAY OCTOBER 16:
FIM MONSTER ENERGY SPEEDWAY OF NATIONS - FINAL, 1st leg, Lublin, Poland OFF - Track Waterlogged The Final will now be a one-legged event (Saturday October 17)
SATURDAY OCTOBER 10:
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 5, Belle Vue 500cc (a) 1 Dan Thompson 2 Harry McGurk 3 Jake Mulford 4 Elliot Kelly Dan Thompson is 500cc Champion
500cc (b - support class) 1 Danny Smith 2 Alex Goldsbrough 3 Sam Peters 4 Katie Gordon
250cc 1 Luke Harrison 2 Max James 3 Cameron Taylor 4 Ashton Vale Luke Harrison is 250cc Champion
125cc (a) 1 Sonny Springer 2 Ace Pijper 3 William Cairns 4 Ben Trigger Sonny Springer is 125cc Champion
125cc (b - support class) 1 Stene Pijper 2 Oliver Bovingdon 3 Owen Booth 4 Caydin Martin
SATURDAY OCTOBER 3:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 8 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Torun 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 20 2 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 18 3 Artem Laguta (Rus) 16 4 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 14
FINAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 8 of 8) 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 133 2 Tai Woffinden (GB) 117 - after run-off 3 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 117 4 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 107 Bartosz Zmarzlik crowned 2020 World Champion
FRIDAY OCTOBER 2:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 7 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Torun 1 Max Fricke (Aus) 20 2 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 18 3 Tai Woffinden (GB) 16 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 7 of 8) 1 Bartosz Zmarslik (Pol) 113 2 Tai Woffinden (GB) 105 3 Fredrik Lindgren 103 4 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 89
CALEDONIAN RIDERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
1. William Lawson
2. Kyle Bickley
3. Leon Flint
4. Elliot Kelly
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 29:
NATIONAL LEAGUE CHALLENGE
Plymouth Select v Leicester Select - OFF
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 28:
BRITISH FINAL, Belle Vue 1 Rory Schlein (Wolverhampton/Somerset) 2 Richard Lawson (Sheffield/Eastbourne) 3 Jason Crump (Ipswich) 4 Steve Worrall (Belle Vue/Poole)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26:
BRITISH FINAL, Ipswich - OFF Re-staging date: Monday September 28 @ BELLE VUE
THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 24:
CHALLENGE
Belle Vue Select 49 – Dan Bewley 13+1
ATPI All Stars 41 – Rory Schlein 11+1
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 22:
CHALLENGE
Plymouth Select 51 – Henry Atkins 18
British Young Lions 39 – Dan Thompson 10
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21:
BRITISH UNDER-19 CHAMPIONSHIP, Scunthorpe 1 Drew Kemp (Ipswich/Eastbourne) 15 2 Dan Gilkes (Kent) 14 3 Jordan Palin (Scunthorpe/Belle Vue) 10 (after run-off)
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20:
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP Round 4, Edinburgh
500cc 1 Joe Thompson 2 Dan Thompson 3 Harry McGurk 4 Archie Freeman
250cc 1 Max James 2 Ashton Vale (Two riders only in Final)
125cc (a) 1 Max Perry 2 William Cairns 3 Sonny Springer 4 Ben Trigger
125cc (b) – Support class 1 Stene Pijper 2 Owen Booth 3 Rebecca Weston 4 Harry Fletcher
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 6 CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX, Prague 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (POL) 20
2 Tai Woffinden (GB) 18
3 Jason Doyle (Aus) 16 4 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 6 of 8) 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 99 2 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 92 3 Tai Woffinden (GB) 89 4 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 71
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 18:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 5 CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX, Prague 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 20 2 Tai Woffinden (GB) 18 3 Martin Vaculik (Slk) 16 4 Emil Sayfutdinov (Rus) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 5 of 8) 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 79 2 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 78 3 Tai Woffinden (GB) 71 4 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 62
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 4 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Gorzow 1 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 20 2 Leon Madsen (Den) 18 3 Jason Doyle (Aus) 16 4 Emil Sayfutdnov (Rus) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 4 of 8) 1 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 66 2 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 59 3 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 57 4 Tai Woffinden (GB) 53
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 3 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Gorzow 1 Bartosz Zamarzlik (Pol) 20 2 Jason Doyle (Aus) 18 3 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 16 4 Leon Madsen (Den) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 3 of 8) 1 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 48 2 Bartisz Zmarzlik (Pol) 47 3 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 46 4 Tai Woffinden (GB) 43
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHALLENGE Leicester Select v Scunthorpe Select - OFF
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 8:
THREE TEAM TOURNAMENT, Plymouth
Eastbourne 31 – Tom Brennan 10, Jason Edwards 10
Isle of Wight 30 – Ben Morley 13
Plymouth 28- Alfie Bowtell 12
MONDAY AUGUST 31:
NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE CHALLENGE Scunthorpe Select 53 (Jordan Palin 14+1) Leicester Select 61 (Dan Thompson 13+1)
SUNDAY AUGUST 30:
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 3, King’s Lynn 500cc 1 Joe Thompson 2 Harry McGurk 3 Elliot Kelly 4 Dan Thompson
250cc 1 Luke Harrison 2 Max James 3 Ashton Vale 4 Jody Scott
125cc (a) 1 Sonny Springer 2 Billy Budd 3 Jamie Etherington 4 Jack Shimelt
125cc (b - support class) 1 Rico Joyce 2 Becky Weston 3 Caydin Martin
SATURDAY AUGUST 29:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Wroclaw 1 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 20 2 Tai Woffinden (GB) 18 3 Bartosz Zmarzlik (Pol) 16 4 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 14
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (After round 2 of 8) 1 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 38 2 Artem Laguta (Rus) 32 3 Tai Woffinden (GB) 32 4 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 30
FRIDAY AUGUST 28:
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 POLISH GRAND PRIX, Wroclaw 1 Artem Laguta (Rus) 20 2 Maciej Janowski (Pol) 18 3 Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 16 4 Tai Woffinden (GB) 14
SATURDAY AUGUST 22:
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 2, Leicester 500cc 1 Dan Thompson 2 Joe Thompson 3 Elliot Kelly 4 Harry McGurk
250cc 1 Luke Harrison 2 Max James 3 Ashton Vale 4 Cameron Taylor
125cc (a) 1 Max Perry 2 Sonny Springer 3 Ben Trigger 4 Ace Pijper
125cc (b) - support class 1 Charlie Wood 2 Caydin Martin 3 Rico Joyce 4 Owen Booth
SUNDAY AUGUST 9:
BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP - Round 1, Scunthorpe 500cc 1 Jordan Palin 2 Dan Thompson 3 Archie Freeman 4 Joe Thompson
250cc 1 Max James 2 Luke Harrison 3 Ashton Vale 4 William Hocaniuk
125cc (class A) 1 William Cairns 2 Sonny Springer 3 Ben Trigger 4 Max Perry
125cc (class B - support class) 1 Billy Budd 2 Stene Pijper 3 Jake Lee 4 Owen Booth
SUNDAY MARCH 15:
50TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING, Peterborough - OFF
SATURDAY MARCH 14:
BEN FUND BONANZA, Scunthorpe 1 Danny King (Ipswich/Poole) 2 Steve Worrall (Belle Vue/Poole) 3 Josh Auty (Scunthorpe) 4 Lewis Kerr (King’s Lynn/Eastbourne)
