Speedway GP 2022 Wraps Up With Polish Finale

Torun, Poland has become the spiritual home of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series and the 2022 edition wrapped up with an epic race in front of a sold-out crowd at the MotoArena.

We knew heading into the series finale that the gold medal was going to be draped round the neck of Polish sensation Bartosz Zmarzlik, but there was still plenty to race for – and what a brutal battle it was.

Whilst Zmarzlik knew his fate, there were plenty of guys still fighting for position, with only the top six racers guaranteed a spot in next year’s series and anybody outside of that sweating on receiving a ‘wild card’ pick from the FIM.

Our guys Freddie Lindgren, Patryk Dudek, Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden were all in that top six tussle, but there was agony and ecstasy between them with only two making the cut.

Dudek headed into this round in third place overall and the favourite to get the bronze medal, but he had his worst round of the season and his P15 finish meant he dropped down to overall seventh place. 

Bewley was also fighting for the top three, and he sneaked into the semi-final stages on the night to give himself a chance of making it. He knew that he needed to beat Maciej Janowski in the semi-final to maintain his medal charge but after an epic duel it was Janowski who finished ahead, handing him overall third and his first world championship medal – but it was still enough for Bewley to secure sixth place in what was a special rookie year.

Lindgren was one of the night’s big winners, despite missing out on a place in the grand final. His P6 result was enough to catapult him up to fourth place in the championship standings – an impressive result considering he’s been battling health issues all year – and sets him up for a title charge in 2023.

Woffinden was fast and looked dangerous in the early stages of the meeting, but a race disqualification for jumping the start dented his hopes of making the semi-final’s and that meant he had to make do with eighth place overall.

The night belonged to Zmarzlik, but it was actually Slovakian Martin Vaculik who took the GP win with a display of unbelievable consistency. He was sharp off the start and didn’t put a wheel wrong when he hit the front to take a big win and end his season on a high.

That wrapped up another epic year of GP racing with 10 rounds across seven countries and 13 of the permanent 15-man lineup finishing on the podium throughout the season, but ultimately it was Zmarzlik who again dominated and secured his third world championship.

We’ve had our cameras with our guys behind the scenes all year long, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on – keep your eyes peeled because we’ve taken a deep dive into the lives of the men who put it all on the line. Watch this space.

2022; in the books. We’re excited to do it all again next year.
 

SPEEDWAY GP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL STANDINGS 
1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 166, 2 Leon Madsen 133, 3 Maciej Janowski 106, 4 Fredrik Lindgren 103, 5 Robert Lambert 103, 6 Dan Bewley 102, 7 Patryk Dudek 102, 8 Tai Woffinden 93, 9 Martin Vaculik 91, 10 Jason Doyle 83, 11 Mikkel Michelsen 82, 12 Jack Holder 67, 13 Max Fricke 52, 14 Anders Thomsen 51, 15 Pawel Przedpelski 29, 16 Andzejs Lebedevs 26

FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF POLAND RESULT
1 Martin Vaculik 20, 2 Bartosz Zmarzlik 18, 3 Leon Madsen 16, 4 Maciej Janowski 14, 5 Mikkel Michelsen 12, 6 Fredrik Lindgren 11, 7 Andzejs Lebedevs 10, 8 Dan Bewley 9, 9 Kacper Woryna 8, 10 Jason Doyle 7, 11 Robert Lambert 6, 12 Tai Woffinden 5, 13 Jakub Miskowiak 4, 14 Jack Holder 3, 15 Patryk Dudek 2, 16 Krzysztof Lewandowski 1, 17 Pawel Przedpelski 0, 18 Mateusz Affelt 0.