Speedway GP stars Dominik Kubera and Andzejs Lebedevs punched their return tickets for the 2026 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series as Danish ace Leon Madsen secured a comeback and Poland’s Kacper Woryna earned his World Championship debut.

The quartet finished in the top four at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted, Denmark – the final round of the Speedway GP qualifiers – on Saturday.

Polish racer Kubera – third in the 2024 FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice, Czechia – went two better this season, topping the score chart on 13 points, before winning the final to secure first place, guaranteeing his spot in Speedway GP for a third straight season.

His fellow Polish ace Woryna scored 11 points over five rides, before finishing second in the final as he follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, two-time FIM Speedway World Championship bronze medallist Antoni Woryna, in reaching the sport’s biggest stage.

Third place was claimed by meeting wild card Madsen, a two-time Speedway GP silver medallist and the current SGP first substitute rider, who returns to the starting line-up after a year’s absence. He scored 12 points in the heats.

Latvian star Andzejs Lebedevs, the reigning European champion, claimed fourth place in the final after qualifying with 12 points as he prepares for his third full SGP season.

Should Lebedevs or Kubera finish in the 2025 Speedway GP World Championship top seven, fifth-placed Danish star Michael Jepsen Jensen will be promoted into the 2026 SGP line-up. If both Lebedevs and Kubera reach the top seven, sixth-placed Danish racer Anders Thomsen will also receive a place in the Speedway GP series for next year.

Victory in the FIM SGP Challenge – always one of world speedway’s most dramatic meetings – went to an elated Kubera, who is currently ninth in the Speedway GP standings on 58 points – nine short of the top-seven automatic qualification places. The Lublin and Lejonen star is elated to have secured his SGP status after a tough season in the World Championship.

He said: “I feel great. It was a tough meeting in the Challenge. It was my first time on this track, but I kept pushing all the time and scored the points.

“I am really happy to stay in the GPs because this year has been a really tough one in the series. I haven’t scored a lot of points. I knew I had to keep pushing in the Challenge, and I did it. I won the meeting, and I am so happy.”

Woryna heads into his Speedway GP debut season, determined to do much more than simply make up the numbers.

He said: “I was asked earlier how it feels to achieve my dream. The difference here is that it used to be a dream – until I grew up and it became a goal for me.

“Now being in the GPs isn’t just about being there, which is super cool for me, I want to be there and make it mean something. I don’t want to be dead last.

“We will see how it goes. The competition is tough, but the main goal is to have fun and enjoy my racing. When you do that, you can achieve great things.”

Madsen, whose only SGP appearance this season saw him finish third at the FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague, is delighted to be back where he feels he belongs after missing out on a full Speedway GP place for 2025.

He said: “I just want to celebrate and enjoy this. It has been a long season on the sidelines, watching the GPs. In one sense, it has been nice to have those relaxed Saturdays. But I have been missing it so much. I feel like I should have had a wild card for this year.

“I have proved over the last five or six years that I belong in the GP and, because of some personal issues last year, I was struggling. When I had the chance in Prague, I got on the podium. In the Speedway European Championship series and the leagues, I am doing well.

“I still had to deliver and do the job, and I managed to do it. I had great support from my family and my team. Everyone has worked so hard and it’s a big relief. I am so happy and this is for my two daughters, Marika and Manuela.”

It was job done for history maker Lebedevs. Having become the first Latvian rider to reach the Speedway GP podium, finishing third at the German round in Landshut on May 3 and also in his home event in Riga on August 2, Lebedevs has one more goal for 2025 – his maiden SGP victory. He said: “In terms of qualification, it is mission completed! I came here for an ‘easy’ job to make the GP, and now I can go into the final two rounds of the GP relaxed and enjoy it.

“It doesn’t matter what happens; I can just enjoy the rest of the season. I think that will help me win my first GP this year.

“I lost my focus for the final and finished fourth. My motivation went for that after I had qualified. I was thinking about the podium. But it doesn’t matter. We did the job. I am happy and my team is happy. What more could I wish?”

Kubera, Woryna, Madsen and Lebedevs are joined in the 2026 Speedway GP line-up by this year’s top three, Poland’s Bartosz Zmarzlik, Australia’s Brady Kurtz and Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren, as all three have confirmed their places in the World Championship’s top seven with two rounds to spare. The SGP series resumes with the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw on August 30.

2025 FIM SGP CHALLENGE RESULT:
1. Dominik Kubera (Poland) 13 + 1st in final
2. Kacper Woryna (Poland) 11 + 2nd in final
3. Leon Madsen (Denmark) 12 + 3rd in final
4. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia) 12 + 4th in final
5. Michael Jepsen Jensen (Denmark) 10
6. Anders Thomsen (Denmark) 9
7. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia) 8
8. Mateusz Cierniak (Poland) 7
9. Jan Kvech (Czechia) 7
10. Matej Zagar (Slovenia) 6
11. Kim Nilsson (Sweden) 5
12. Kevin Wolbert (Germany) 4
13. Bastian Pedersen (Denmark) 4
14. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany) 4
15. Francis Gusts (Latvia) 3
16. Mathias Pollestad (Norway) 3
17. Rasmus Jensen (Denmark) 1
18. Mikkel Andersen (Denmark) 1

SGP QUIZ | SPEEDWAY GP BRONZE MEDALLISTS

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