Madsen Wins
SpeedwayGP
of Czechia
D
anish racer Leon Madsen
was delighted to defy the
"worst start of my career" and
storm to victory at the FIM
SpeedwayGP of Czechia in
Prague (round two) on May 23.
As Marketa Stadium cel
-
ebrated its 30th consecutive
season of SpeedwayGP action,
Madsen recovered from earning
only one point in the first round
in Landshut, Germany, to win
in Prague, finishing ahead of
Australian Brady Kurtz in second
and Polish champion Bartosz
Zmarzlik in third.
After an exciting evening of
Speedway GP action, witnessed
at trackside by Czech President
and motorsport enthusiast Petr
Pavel, Zmarzlik leads the cham
-
pionship with 32 points, while
compatriot Kacper Woryna is
hot on his heels with 31 points in
second place.
However, this night belonged
to Madsen, who has been battling
injuries, bike problems and off-
track issues in the opening weeks
of the season. He was elated
to turn things around in Prague,
where he raced to third spot on
his one and only SpeedwayGP
appearance of 2026 so far.
It has been a tough year for
me. The start of the season has
probably been the worst start of
my career.
"I have been struggling with
a lot of things that people don't
know, which have been going
on behind the scenes," Madsen
said. "It has been tough, and I
had to work very, very hard to
get back. I really had to dig deep.
But, nevertheless, it's a nice
feeling that all the hard work is
paying off, and I am happy to be
back. Hopefully all the bad luck
and bad things are behind me
now, and I can look forward to a
more positive future."
World number two, Kurtz,
hounded Madsen for four laps in
the final and was content with a
solid second place that moves
him up to third in the Speedway
-
GP standings on 26 points.
Having registered eight points
at the opener in Landshut, Kurtz
was pleased to close in the top
spot.
"I really needed to have a good
one and get back up there in the
standings to put myself in with a
chance of doing something for
the rest of the year," Kurtz said.
Third-placed Zmarzlik was
pleased to capture the Speed
-
wayGP World Championship lead
after topping the heat score chart
on 13 race points to go straight
through to the final, avoiding the
last-chance qualifiers.
"I am happy," he said, "be
-
cause I was consistent again
and in the final, which is impor-
tant. Congratulations to Leon
and Brady. They did a nice job in
the final. There was some good
racing with the boys."
CN
FINAL (Top 5)
1. Leon Madsen
2. Brady Kurtz
3. Bartosz Zmarzlik
4. Michael Jepsen Jensen
5. Jack Holder
WIND
IN THE
P36
Leon Madsen (center), Brady Kurtz
(left) and Bartosz Zmarzlik (right)
celebrate on the podium after the
SpeedwayGP of Czechia.
PHOTO:
MARCIN KARCZEWSKI
