SGP QUALIFIERS | THOMSEN, VACULIK, KVECH & LEBEDEVS INTO FIM SGP CHALLENGE

Danish champion Anders Thomsen took a giant step towards guaranteeing his place in the 2026 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series after winning his SGP qualifier at Slovak circuit Zarnovica on Saturday.

Thomsen finished joint top of the score chart with Slovenian star Matej Zagar and Poland’s Kacper Woryna. And it was the Dane who came out on top in a run-off for the win with Zagar second and Woryna third as all three riders booked their place at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted, Denmark on August 9.

They will be joined by Slovakia’s Martin Vaculik, who finished fourth in his hometown with 11 points, with Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs bagging the fifth and final qualification place on 10 points.

The top four riders in Holsted will be guaranteed spots in the 2026 Speedway GP series as Thomsen, Vaculik and Lebedevs all bid to defend their places in the World Championship. Zagar seeks an SGP return for the first time since 2021, while Woryna has his sights set on becoming a regular Speedway GP rider for the first time.

Norway’s Mathias Pollestad just missed the cut on nine points, along with American racer Luke Becker. But Pollestad at least has an SGP2 season to look forward to this year after winning his qualifier for the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship in Pardubice.

Czech rider Vaclav Milik exited on eight, along with French racer David Bellego and 2012 Speedway GP world champion Chris Holder, who replaced the injured Brady Kurtz in Zarnovica.

In the day’s other qualifier, double SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak took a big step closer towards realising his Speedway GP dream after topping the podium on 14 points at Italian track Lonigo.

Former SGP2 star Francis Gusts made it two Latvian riders in the FIM SGP Challenge by taking second spot on 13.

Holsted hero Rasmus Jensen will go for a spot in Speedway GP on his home track. He finished level on 10 points with Czech Speedway GP star Jan Kvech, with the former Danish champion winning a run-off for third place.

The battle for the final qualification place ended in a marathon five-rider, four-heat run-off after five riders tied on nine points.

The first race saw Italian star Nicolas Covatti progress to the final, beating compatriot Paco Castagna and Kevin Wolbert, who retired. Sweden’s Jacob Thorssell won the second heat to reach the final, sending second-placed Rohan Tungate into a three-rider eliminator. This was won by Castagna, with Wolbert second as Tungate was eliminated from the race for qualification.

The final, four-man run-off saw Wolbert defy his initial retirement to take the chequered flag and claim the last place on offer at the FIM SGP Challenge, with Castagna second, Covatti third and Thorssell fourth.

France star Dimitri Berge missed out on eight, with Great Britain racer Tom Brennan exiting on seven.

The remaining SGP qualifier will be staged at German circuit Abensberg on Monday afternoon. This features Speedway GP regulars Jack Holder, Kai Huckenbeck and Dominik Kubera, as well as the in-form Danish racer Michael Jepsen Jensen.

FIM SGP CHALLENGE LINE-UP SO FAR: Anders Thomsen (Denmark), Matej Zagar (Slovenia), Kacper Woryna (Poland), Martin Vaculik (Slovakia), Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia), Mateusz Cierniak (Poland), Francis Gusts (Latvia), Rasmus Jensen (Denmark), Jan Kvech (Czechia), Kevin Wolbert (Germany).

ZARNOVICA SCORES: 1 Anders Thomsen (Denmark) 12+3, 2 Matej Zagar (Slovenia) 12+2, 3 Kacper Woryna (Poland) 12+0, 4 Martin Vaculik (Slovakia) 11, 5 Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia) 10, 6 Mathias Pollestad (Norway) 9, 7 Luke Becker (United States) 9, 8 Vaclav Milik (Czechia) 8, 9 David Bellego (France) 8, 10 Chris Holder (Australia) 8, 11 Marko Levishyn (Ukraine) 6, 12 Oliver Berntzon (Sweden) 5, 13 Adam Ellis (Great Britain) 4, 14 Matic Ivacic (Slovenia) 4, 15 Andrei Popa (Romania) 1, 16 Antti Vuolas (Finland) 1, 17 Jakub Valkovic (Slovakia) 0, 18 Anna Hajkova (Slovakia) 0.

LONIGO SCORES: 1 Mateusz Cierniak (Poland) 14, 2 Francis Gusts (Latvia) 13, 3 Rasmus Jensen (Denmark) 10+3, 4 Jan Kvech (Czechia) 10+2, 5 Kevin Wolbert (Germany) 9+R+2+3, 6 Paco Castagna (Italy) 9+2+3+2, 7 Nicolas Covatti (Italy) 9+3+1, 8 Jacob Thorssell (Sweden) 9+3+0, 9 Rohan Tungate 9+2+1, 10 Dimitri Berge 8, 11 Tom Brennan (Great Britain) 7, 12 Anze Grmek (Slovenia) 4, 13 Sebastian Kossler (Austria) 4, 14 Gino Manzares (United States) 3, 15 Richard Geyer (Germany) 2, 16 Alex Acuna (Argentina) 0.