Skip to main content

2025 SPEEDWAY GP WILD CARDS CONFIRMED

10 October 2024

poster

Riders from nine different nations will compete in the 2025 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series after the four permanent wild cards were confirmed.

Former Speedway GP world champion Jason Doyle of Australia, three-time Speedway European Championship winner Mikkel Michelsen from Denmark, Czech champion Jan Kvech and German racer Kai Huckenbeck all take their places in the 2025 series after being nominated by the SGP Commission.

This means Poland, Great Britain, Sweden, Slovakia, Australia, Denmark, Latvia, Germany and Czech Republic are all represented for the second straight season in a truly international 2025 Speedway GP field.

The four wild cards are joined by this season’s Speedway GP top-six automatic qualifiers – five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik of Poland, Great Britain’s silver medallist Robert Lambert, Swedish world No.3 Fredrik Lindgren, GB’s two-time FIM Speedway of Nations world champion Dan Bewley, Slovakia’s nine-time SGP winner Martin Vaculik and Aussie ace Jack Holder.

Speedway European Championship winner Andzejs Lebedevs from Latvia also gains automatic entry, and he’s joined by the top four from the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice, Czech Republic on Friday – Brady Kurtz (Australia), Anders Thomsen (Denmark), Dominik Kubera (Poland) and Max Fricke (Australia).

Doyle, who won the 2017 Speedway GP World Championship, missed eight rounds of the 2024 Speedway GP season after undergoing surgery on a torn rotator cuff suffered in a crash at British track King’s Lynn in May.

Prior to that fall, he was firmly in world-title contention, having raced to victory at the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw on May 11 in front of around 50,000 people at PGE Narodowy – just two weeks after he took second place at the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia on April 27.

Michelsen was also in medal contention, standing fourth in the championship when his campaign was halted by multiple injuries, suffered in his opening race at the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on September 7.

The 2023 Danish champion picked up his first SGP victory at the Trans MF FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on May 18 and also reached the finals at two of the Polish rounds in Gorzow and Wroclaw, where he was third and fourth respectively.

Former German champion Kai Huckenbeck reached three Speedway GP semi-finals in Croatia and Polish cities Warsaw and Gorzow in his SGP debut season.

He also made history with his country, leading Germany to fourth place in the FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester in July – the country’s best performance in an FIM Speedway team world championship event since 1997.

This year saw Czech charger Jan Kvech became his country’s first full-time Speedway GP rider since Lukas Dryml raced in the 2008 series.

His first season on the sport’s biggest stage culminated in him winning his first Czech Republic Championship as well as reaching his first SGP semi-final at the series-closing DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on September 28.


The 2025 Speedway GP substitutes list has also been revealed as the SGP Commission nominates the riders who will step into the starting line-up, should any of the 15 regular miss a round due to injury, illness or other reasons.

Denmark’s two-time SGP silver medallist and double European champion Leon Madsen is named as first substitute, with Poland’s former world No.2 Patryk Dudek listed as the second reserve.

Great Britain’s triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden is waiting in the wings as third substitute after a previously unbroken 12-year stint in the SGP starting line-up dating back to 2013.

Double Swedish champion Jacob Thorssell is fourth substitute after finishing just one point and one place short of Speedway GP qualification at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice.

FIM North America champion Luke Becker from the USA is fifth substitute, with France’s former FIM Long Track world champion Dimitri Bergé named as sixth substitute.

The top three riders from the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship (SGP2) round off the list as SGP2 champion Wiktor Przyjemski of Poland is seventh reserve, Ukrainian silver medallist Nazar Parnitskyi becomes eighth reserve and Norwegian bronze medallist Mathias Pollestad is ninth substitute.

The 2025 FIM Speedway season gets underway with the FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Landshut on May 3. 

Visit FIMSpeedway.com and follow @SpeedwayGP social media throughout the winter for all the news from across the sport and all the build-up to 2025.

2025 SPEEDWAY GP LINE-UP (IN FIM RANKING ORDER WITH RIDER NUMBERS):
95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
99. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
54. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia)
25. Jack Holder (Australia)
155. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark)
415. Dominik Kubera (Poland)
29. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
46. Max Fricke (Australia)
744. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
201. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)
69. Jason Doyle (Australia)
105. Anders Thomsen (Denmark)
101. Brady Kurtz (Australia)

2025 SPEEDWAY GP SUBSTITUTES:
30. Leon Madsen (Denmark)
692. Patryk Dudek (Poland)
108. Tai Woffinden (Great Britain)
24. Jacob Thorssell (Sweden)
22. Luke Becker (USA)
96. Dimitri Bergé (France)
Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland) - rider number to be confirmed
785. Nazar Parnitskyi (Ukraine)
999. Mathias Pollestad (Norway)

Contacts

WBD Sports (Europe)

Contact us here.

Latest news

26/3/2026

HBO MAX IS NOW STREAMING TNT SPORTS IN THE UK IN MAJOR INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Catch HBO’s biggest shows of the year including the first season of the hugely anticipated Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, debuting Christmas 2026 and the next instalments of Euphoria in April, House of the Dragon later in the year Watch new titles including Rooster, DTF St. Louis, the third season of The Comeback* and award-winning Max Original The Pitt, alongside Oscar®-winners One Battle After Another and Sinners.* HBO Max becomes the new Streaming Home of TNT Sports in the UK.*** In the UK and Ireland, HBO Max is available direct-to-consumer, with launch partners Sky and Prime Video** and via a range of platforms and services. HBO Max welcomes launch sponsor Mazda and Box Set sponsor Miele in the UK and Ireland.

23/3/2026

CANARY ISLANDS AND WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY LAUNCH A NEW INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN TO CONTINUE PROMOTING THE ARCHIPELAGO AS A YEAR-ROUND TRAINING DESTINATION FOR PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES

• The campaign features Paris 2024 Olympic champions Ellie Aldridge (Formula Kite) and Marta Maggetti (iQFOiL), alongside beach volleyball world leaders Anders Mol & Christian Sørum, gold medallists at Tokyo 2020. • The production will launch in March 2026 across Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports channels and platforms

19/3/2026 - Last updated 26 March 2026

TNT SPORTS SET TO STREAM ON HBO MAX IN THE UK FROM 26 MARCH

HBO Max becomes the new streaming home of TNT Sports in the UK from Thursday 26 March All live sport currently shown on discovery+ will move to HBO Max TNT Sports customers can save between £60 and £131.88 per year1 when choosing TNT Sports Saver Plans with a 12-month term2 HBO Max will be available via hbomax.com and through launch partners Sky and Prime Video Customers can also pre-register for HBO Max now via Apple Pre-Order and Google Pre-Registration  

18/3/2026

GOPRO ANNOUNCED AS OFFICIAL WEARABLE CAMERA SUPPLIER OF WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES

GoPro continues as the Official Wearable Camera Supplier of the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series for a fourth year.

10/3/2026 - Last updated 12 March 2026

KINOMAP PARTNERS WITH GTWS TO BRING THE TRAIL RUNNING EXPERIENCE HOME

• Kinomap becomes an official long-term partner of the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS), bringing elite trail running closer to fans worldwide through immersive training experiences • Fans will be able to run iconic GTWS courses from home with high-quality videos available on Kinomap and race previews integrated into broadcasts and social media channels • The partnership amplifies GTWS visibility, enabling athletes and fans to share activities and connect with a worldwide running community

27/2/2026

EVIE RICHARDS AND LACHLAN STEVENS-MCNAB FEATURE IN NEW DOCUMENTARY: THE CYCLE

Brand-new documentary, The Cycle, follows five riders across different cycling disciplines and career stages, including WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series stars Lachie Stevens McNab and Evie Richards.

23/2/2026 - Last updated 9 March 2026

WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY REPORTS BEST-EVER STREAMING OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES WITH TRIPLE-DIGIT GROWTH AS AUDIENCES IN EUROPE EMBRACE INNOVATIVE VIEWING EXPERIENCE

• Milano-Cortina 2026: number of viewers grew on both linear and streaming services vs Beijing 2022* • Best-ever streaming Olympic Winter Games featuring 1000+ hours on HBO Max and discovery+ and popular new viewing features such as Olympics Multiview • Social video views exceeded 4 billion (+580% vs Beijing 2022) on Eurosport (Europe) and TNT Sports (UK & Ireland) accounts

18/2/2026

LOONEY TUNES BRINGS COLOUR AND COLLECTABILITY TO MILANO CORTINA 2026

As Milano Cortina 2026 enters its final days, the Official Olympic Pin Trading Center is proving a hit with fans of the Looney Tunes and the Olympic Games.

12/2/2026

SCOTT SPORTS ANNOUNCED AS OFFICIAL PARTNER OF WHOOP UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD SERIES

The international sports brand signs a two-year deal as the Official Cross-country Bike Partner SCOTT Sports will also serve as the Event Presenting Partner for Soldier Hollow, Midway, Utah (USA) and renew its support as local partner for Lenzerheide (Switzerland) 

11/2/2026

SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN WINTER OLYMPICS VIEWERSHIP ACROSS ALL WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY PLATFORMS

• Milano-Cortina 2026: viewership and engagement growth on Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and pay-TV platforms in Europe vs Beijing 2022 • Best streaming Olympic Winter Games ever on Warner Bros. Discovery services (HBO Max and discovery+) vs Beijing 2022 and PyeongChang 2018 • Total streaming subscribers viewing the Games exceed the entire Beijing 2022 in just 3 days • Linear television viewing remains robust with strong linear growth in many of Europe’s biggest territories

08/2/2026

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WBD HOUSE AND THE SNOW DOME STUDIOS AT MILANO CORTINA 2026

On Friday, Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled the two incredible studios that will be used in both Cortina and Livigno as part of its coverage of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

06/2/2026

GOLDEN TRAIL WORLD SERIES UNVEILS ITS 2026 CALENDAR

• The circuit will span three continents and eight countries from May to October, introducing three new venues and two unprecedented countries, while maintaining its presence at some of the most iconic races in the sport • The season will open at Zegama-Aizkorri (Spain) on May 17 and culminate with the Grand Finale at Muju Trail (South Korea) on October 24–25• The new season sets a new benchmark for elite trail running with increased prize money and major sporting innovations, including a revamped points system, the introduction of a team ranking and a strengthened integrity program

06/2/2026

MADE IN ITALY: WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY’S UNIQUE ALPINE STUDIOS SET TO DELIVER MAGICAL OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES COVERAGE FOR FANS ACROSS EUROPE

• Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) unveils its purpose-built studios in the heart of Olympic venues in Cortina and Livigno, Italy that will host live coverage of Milano Cortina 2026 • Immersive storytelling with a local flavour as Italian sets paired with state-of-the-art studios across Europe for Eurosport, TNT Sports, HBO Max and discovery+ viewers • WBD’s first live studio show will air on 6 February ahead of the Opening Ceremony

04/2/2026 - Last updated 5 February 2026

FINALE OUTDOOR REGION, LIGURIA TO HOST THE 2026 UCI MOUNTAIN BIKE ENDURO AND E-ENDURO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

From October 16 to 18, 2026, the “Home of enduro” will welcome the world’s best riders

02/2/2026

FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP REMAINS ON EUROSPORT AND TNT SPORTS THROUGH EXTENDED RIGHTS AGREEMENT

Every FIA World Endurance Championship race, including the historic 24 Hours of Le Mans, will be shown on Eurosport, TNT Sports, HBO Max and discovery+ for fans in Europe and India Renewed long-term partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and FIA WEC extends the broadcaster’s association with world-class endurance motorsport beyond 20 years Trojan Paillot: “Motorsport is in our DNA and we are committed to connecting fans with the biggest races on the planet.”