Kurtz Wins
Manchester
SpeedwayGP
A
ussie rider Brady Kurtz was
thrilled to finally secure a vic-
tory at the doubleheader in Man-
chester, taking over the Speed-
wayGP World Championship lead
from Poland's Bartosz Zmarzlik
on Saturday night, June 6.
Kurtz achieved victory at
the FIM SpeedwayGP of Great
Britain, winning the final on Satur-
day, round four, ahead of Danish
Champion Michael Jepsen Jen-
sen and Poland's reigning World
Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik.
In a thrilling final on Saturday,
Kurtz surged from last to first,
exploiting a gap as Zmarzlik and
Jensen battled for the lead, then
stormed through for victory with a
precise pass on the third lap.
Kurtz's triumph completed a historic
weekend for Australian speedway rac-
ers, which saw Max Fricke lead an Aus-
sie 1-2-3 in round three on Friday, with
Kurtz in second and Jack Holder third.
After scoring 39 points from a pos-
sible 44 over two nights in Manchester,
Kurtz now leads the SpeedwayGP
World Championship on 65 points,
three clear of Zmarzlik, who is on 62
in second. Aussie star Jack Holder
is third on 55 after finishing fourth in
Saturday's final.
Having finished third and second in
the two Manchester rounds in 2025,
Kurtz was elated to top the podium
on his British home track at the fourth
attempt.
"I have been in all the finals in
Manchester now and hadn't managed
to get the win before," Kurtz said. "I
am happy to get up there. I learned a
lot from Friday's round. I didn't feel at
my best, and I didn't have much speed.
I wasn't making good starts. But we
were much, much better on Saturday. I
am super happy with that."
Kurtz admits Saturday's white-
knuckle final was a blur. "I don't know
what happened," he said. "I haven't
seen the replay. I made an awful start.
I was actually quite confident with gate
four that if I could get to the outside, I
knew I had a lot of speed. It took me a
few laps to get up there, but I found my
way through."
CN
Friday Final Rnd 3 (Top 4)
1. Max Fricke
2. Brady Kurtz
3. Jack Holder
4. Bartosz Zmarzlik
Saturday Final Rnd 4 (Top 4)
1. Brady Kurtz
2. Michael Jepsen Jensen
3. Bartosz Zmarzlik
4. Jack Holder
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 23 JUNE 9, 2026 P21
Brady Kurtz (left)
and Michael Jepsen
Jensen high-five
each other after
Saturday night's
main event in
Manchester.
