Australia won the Speedway World Cup at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw on Saturday, claiming their first title in 24 years as host nation Poland finished third.
Brady Kurtz secured victory for the team by finishing second in the 19th heat, giving Australia an unassailable lead before the final race of the night.
Australia finished top of the standings with 38 points, while Denmark mounted a late comeback to claim silver with 30 points. Poland took bronze on 29 points, ahead of Great Britain in fourth place with 23 points.
The Speedway World Cup is the premier international team tournament in motorcycle speedway, held every three years. Poland entered the event as defending champions after winning the 2023 tournament in Wrocław, but faced tough competition from strong Australian and Danish squads at Warsaw's national stadium.
Dominant opening performance
Australia, wearing yellow helmets, took control of the meeting from the opening series of races. All four Australian riders won their opening heats to give manager Mark Lemon's team a maximum 12 points from the first four races.
Ryan Douglas won heat two, Brady Kurtz took heat one, Jason Doyle won heat three, and Max Fricke won heat four. Australia established their early lead despite arriving in Warsaw without injured star rider Jack Holder.
Poland, competing in red helmets, struggled to match the pace. Captain Bartosz Zmarzlik suffered a surprising defeat in heat four, finishing third behind Fricke and British rider Adam Ellis.
Denmark, managed by Nicki Pedersen and wearing white helmets, had a difficult start. Mikkel Michelsen scored their only points of the opening round by finishing second in heat three behind Doyle.
Mid-race battle and tactics
Australia extended their lead over Poland to eight points during the second series of heats. Zmarzlik produced Poland's first win in heat eight by passing Kurtz, while Fricke finished last in heat five to record Australia's only zero of the early rounds.
Great Britain, managed by Oliver Allen and wearing blue helmets, stayed in medal contention through strong scoring from Robert Lambert, who won heat six ahead of Doyle and heat 11 ahead of Denmark's Michael Jepsen Jensen.
Poland manager Stanisław Chomski brought on substitute Kacper Woryna in heat 11 to replace Maciej Janowski. Woryna passed Fricke on the track to claim a point, before winning heat 13 ahead of Anders Thomsen.
Zmarzlik missed out on victory in heat 12 when Thomsen passed him on the final lap. After 12 of the 20 heats, Australia led with 23 points, followed by Poland on 17 points, with Denmark and Great Britain tied on 16 points.
Track drama and altercation
Poland's gold medal hopes faded as Denmark improved in the second half of the tournament. Woryna won heat 13 for Poland, but was excluded from heat 15 following a collision with British rider Charles Wright.
Before the final four heats, Denmark moved past Poland into second place with a three-point cushion over the hosts, while trailing leaders Australia by seven points. Poland had won only two of the first 16 heats during a disappointing home performance.
Woryna gave Poland hope by winning heat 17 ahead of Leon Madsen and Douglas. With three heats remaining, Australia, Denmark, and Poland all remained in mathematical contention for the title.
Drama erupted in heat 18 during a battle for second place between Zmarzlik and Michelsen. Zmarzlik launched an inside attack without making contact, causing Michelsen to fall. The Danish rider then confronted Zmarzlik with his fists on the track and was excluded from the re-run by the referee.
Title victory and final points
Fricke won the heat 18 re-run ahead of Zmarzlik and Ellis, leaving Australia needing just one point from the final two races to clinch the championship. Kurtz delivered the required result in heat 19 by finishing second behind Thomsen to seal Australia's first Speedway World Cup title since 2002.
Doyle won heat 20 ahead of Lambert, Woryna, and Jepsen Jensen to close out the tournament. Poland's third-place finish marked a major disappointment for the host country, long regarded as a powerhouse in international speedway.
Complete heat results and team scores
Australia secured gold with 38 points under manager Mark Lemon:
- Brady Kurtz: 11 points (3, 2, 1, 3, 2)
- Ryan Douglas: 10 points (3, 3, 3, 0, 1)
- Jason Doyle: 10 points (3, 2, excluded, 2, 3)
- Max Fricke: 7 points (3, 0, 0, 1, 3)
- Rohan Tungate: did not start
Denmark claimed silver with 30 points under manager Nicki Pedersen:
- Mikkel Michelsen: 12 points (2, 3, 2, 3, 2, excluded)
- Anders Thomsen: 8 points (0, did not ride, 3, 2, 3)
- Leon Madsen: 5 points (0, 1, 0, 2, 2)
- Michael Jepsen Jensen: 5 points (0, did not ride, 2, 3, 0)
- Frederik Jakobsen: 0 points (0)
Poland took bronze with 29 points under manager Stanisław Chomski:
- Bartosz Zmarzlik: 11 points (1, 3, 2, 2, 1, 2)
- Kacper Woryna: 9 points (1, 3, excluded, 3, 1, 1)
- Patryk Dudek: 5 points (2, 1, 1, 1, did not ride)
- Maciej Janowski: 2 points (1, 1, did not ride, did not ride, did not ride)
- Dominik Kubera: 2 points (2, 0, did not ride, did not ride, did not ride)
Great Britain finished fourth with 23 points under manager Oliver Allen:
- Robert Lambert: 14 points (1, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2)
- Charles Wright: 5 points (1, 2, 1, 1, 0)
- Adam Ellis: 3 points (2, 0, 0, 0, 1)
- Leon Flint: 1 point (0, 1, did not ride, 0, 0)
- Tom Brennan: did not start
The heat-by-heat finishing order was:
Heat 1: Kurtz, Dudek, Lambert, Thomsen. Heat 2: Douglas, Kubera, Wright, Jepsen Jensen. Heat 3: Doyle, Michelsen, Janowski, Flint. Heat 4: Fricke, Ellis, Zmarzlik, Madsen. Heat 5: Michelsen, Wright, Dudek, Fricke. Heat 6: Lambert, Doyle, Madsen, Kubera. Heat 7: Douglas, Michelsen, Janowski, Ellis. Heat 8: Zmarzlik, Kurtz, Flint, Jakobsen. Heat 9: Douglas, Lambert, Dudek, Madsen. Heat 10: Michelsen, Zmarzlik, Kurtz, Ellis. Heat 11: Lambert, Jepsen Jensen, Woryna, Fricke. Heat 12: Thomsen, Zmarzlik, Wright, Doyle (excluded). Heat 13: Woryna, Thomsen, Fricke, Flint. Heat 14: Jepsen Jensen, Doyle, Dudek, Ellis. Heat 15: Kurtz, Madsen, Wright, Woryna (excluded). Heat 16: Lambert, Michelsen, Zmarzlik, Douglas. Heat 17: Woryna, Madsen, Douglas, Flint. Heat 18: Fricke, Zmarzlik, Ellis, Michelsen (excluded). Heat 19: Thomsen, Kurtz, Woryna, Wright. Heat 20: Doyle, Lambert, Woryna, Jepsen Jensen.
