POLISH ACE DUDEK PLOTS SPEEDWAY GP QUALIFYING BID

Polish racer Patryk Dudek has set his sights on securing an FIM Speedway Grand Prix return as he eyes FIM SGP Challenge and Speedway European Championship spots in 2025.

Dudek serves as second substitute rider in this season’s Speedway GP series, meaning he could be called into action if members of the full-time SGP field are forced out of a round due to injury, illness or other reasons. But the 2017 Speedway GP silver medallist is determined to secure a guaranteed place in the 2026 line-up.

Victory in the four-round Speedway European Championship series this summer or a top-four finish at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted, Denmark on August 9 would punch his ticket for the 2026 Speedway GP series. Dudek has both routes in mind. He told SpeedwayEkstraliga.pl: “The long-term plan is to go through the Golden Helmet – then the SGP qualifiers and the SGP Challenge. A similar plan is to start in the SEC series.”

Dudek makes no secret of the fact he would love a call-up for the PZM FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw on May 17 as a wild card. He added: “I hope that if the beginning of the season is good, there will be a chance for a wild card in Warsaw this season. 

“I don't wish bad on any of the guys, but I am the second reserve and in recent seasons, these reserves often raced. I wouldn't want to enter this series ‘by accident’, though, for injured riders.”

Whether or not Dudek lines up in Warsaw this year, he would love to return as part of the Polish team for the much-anticipated FIM Speedway World Cup Final at PGE Narodowy in 2026.

He said: “There will definitely be a lot of fans. This could be the best competition in my career and in such a stadium. To be in the team at PGE Narodowy, we will have to work hard this year and next year to represent Poland.”