EUROPEAN REPORT - Week 13

Image courtesy of Phil McGlynn

Bewley was third for the second GP running, as the top three from Round 7 exactly matched the result from Round 6 at Gorzow with Brady Kurtz and Bartosz Zmarzlik again taking the top two places.

This time Zmarzlik had to come through the Last Chance Qualifier, which he did with a stunning third to first move at the end of the opening lap, whilst Bewley’s excellent win in the second LCQ had the added bonus of eliminating Fredrik Lindgren, the rider he is chasing for third overall.

The Final saw Kurtz and Zmarzlik initially battle for the lead before Jason Doyle to grief on turn four, whilst the re-run saw Kurtz make an even better start whilst Bewley headed Zmarzlik for a lap before the World Champion made into second to limit the damage being inflicted by his title rival.

Kurtz reeled off his second straight GP win and now trails Zmarzlik by nine points with three rounds remaining, whilst Bewley is now just two points behind Lindgren.

It was also a positive night for Robert Lambert, who won his last two qualifying races to finish on a strong 11 points, and although he missed out in his Last Chance Qualifier there were still good net gains.

Max Fricke failed to make that stage of the meeting whilst Andzejs Lebedevs could not convert a strong performance in the qualifiers into major points, and therefore Lambert is currently eighth overall but just two points behind Fricke and Lebedevs.

Weekend action in Poland was restricted to the second and third tiers as the PGE Ekstraliga took a weekend off.

There was an excellent performance from Tom Brennan, who played a starring role in a 49-41 win for Bydgoszcz at Poznan, as he scored 10+1 from five rides to help his side to both to the win and the bonus point.

That saw them keep pace with Leszno, who recorded a bigger away win with a 56-34 margin over Ostrow, whilst Krosno’s busy weekend resulted in one win and one defeat.

The team in third place won 57-33 at bottom side Tarnow, but the following day they lost out 49-41 at Rzeszow, and they are now three points behind Bydgoszcz, who trail the leaders Leszno by two and their top four finish is all but secure.

In the National Speedway League, Adam Ellis scored a four-ride paid maximum for Gniezno with 11+1 as they raced to an emphatic 57-33 win at Krakow, for whom Richard Lawson scored six points from six rides.

The other main title contenders Gdansk secured a 50-40 win over Pila, and it means Gniezno and Gdansk are level on 16 points from eight matches, with Pila on 14 from nine.

Tuesday’s action in Sweden was headlined by the clash of the top two, and it was second-placed Smederna who got the better of Vastervik with a 51-39 win at Eskilstuna. In-form Michael Jepsen Jensen continued his SEC preparations with 13+1, whilst Lambert scored 11 from six rides, including three race wins, for the visitors, but Brennan only took two outings and failed to score before they attempted tactical changes.

Third placed Lejonen also slipped up, albeit in the absence of Zmarzlik, as they went down 49-41 at Rospiggarna, for whom Ellis scored 6+1 from four rides. Kai Huckenbeck (14) and Ryan Douglas (13) led the way for the hosts, with Mateusz Cierniak impressing with 16 for Lejonen.

Elsewhere, Indianerna defeated bottom side Piraterna 56-34 with Patryk Dudek scoring 14, whilst Dackarna made ground on the top three with a 51-39 win at Vargarna.