VACULIK, BEWLEY AND LAMBERT INTO FIM GP CHALLENGE

Speedway GP trio Martin Vaculik, Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert are five good rides away from guaranteeing their place in the 2023 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series after reaching the FIM GP Challenge in Glasgow on August 20.

The riders all made the top four in Zarnovica, Slovakia this afternoon to book their places in Glasgow, where the top three become the first riders to qualify for the 2023 Speedway GP series.

They are joined by fellow Speedway GP stars Jack Holder, Anders Thomsen and Max Fricke, who secured their places via the qualifiers staged on Monday.

Vaculik won the Zarnovica event at his boyhood club on 14 points, with only Bewley getting the better of him in their final heat. Bewley followed this victory up by beating Lambert in a run-off for second place on the day after they tied on 13 points.

Danish racer Rasmus Jensen clinched the final spot at the Zarnovica qualifier on 12 points after winning his final heat to pip Peter Ljung to fourth place, with the Swede fifth on 11. American ace Luke Becker finished sixth on 10, while French international Dimitri Berge notched nine.

Elsewhere, Polish shooting star Dominik Kubera took a step closer to realising his Speedway GP dream by winning the other qualifier at Hungarian track Nagyhalasz this afternoon.

The man who reached the final at both rounds of the 2021 FIM Lublin Speedway GP double-header defeated Swedish rider Oliver Berntzon in a run-off for first place, with in-form Berntzon also making it through to Glasgow as he bids to secure an instant return to the World Championship after losing his place at the end of last season.

French racer David Bellego took a stride closer to becoming his country’s first Speedway GP rider after finishing third, beating Czech charger Vaclav Milik in a run-off for third place after they tied on 12. Both riders line up in Glasgow, with Aussie star Brady Kurtz falling just short in fifth with 11. Danish prospect Patrick Hansen missed out on 10.

FIM GP CHALLENGE LINE-UP (not in riding order): Jack Holder, Andzejs Lebedevs, Rohan Tungate, Szymon Wozniak, Anders Thomsen, Kai Huckenbeck, Max Fricke, Kim Nilsson, Martin Vaculik, Dan Bewley, Robert Lambert, Rasmus Jensen, Dominik Kubera, Oliver Berntzon, David Bellego, Vaclav Milik.

ZARNOVICA SCORES: 1 Martin Vaculik 14, 2 Dan Bewley 13+3, 3 Robert Lambert 13+2, 4 Rasmus Jensen 12, 5 Peter Ljung 11, 6 Luke Becker 10, 7 Dimitri Berge 9, 8 Jan Kvech 7, 9 Jacob Thorssell 7, 10 Eduard Krcmar 6, 11 Matic Ivacic 5, 12 Daniils Kolodinskis 5, 13 Tero Aarnio 3, 14 Max Ruml 2, 15 Daniele Tessari 2, 16 Erik Bachhuber 1, 17 Jakub Valkovic 0, 18 Patrik Buri 0.

NAGYHALASZ SCORES: 1 Dominik Kubera 13+3, 2 Oliver Berntzon 13+2, 3 David Bellego 12+3, 4 Vaclav Milik 12+2, 5 Brady Kurtz 11, 6 Patrick Hansen 10, 7 Nick Skorja 9, 8 Chris Harris 8, 9 Marko Levishyn 8, 10 Jevgenijs Kostigovs 7, 11 Paco Castagna 7, 12 Lukas Fienhage 4, 13 Fernando Garcia 3, 14 Cristian Zubillaga 2, 15 Dennis Fazekas 1, 16 Mark Barany 0, 17 Richard Fuzesi 0.