2026 FIM Speedway of Nations
SON2 – Prague
Poland regains SON2 crown in Prague thriller
Poland returned to the top of the FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 podium in Prague on Friday night, winning a tense last-heat decider against Denmark to clinch the 2026 FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship.
The Poles went into heat 28 on 38 points, with Denmark still very much in the title hunt on 35. With the gold medal on the line, Wiktor Przyjemski and Bartosz Bańbor delivered under maximum pressure, defeating Bastian Pedersen and Villads Nagel 7-2 to seal victory at Marketa Stadium.
That final race lifted Poland to 45 points, eight clear of Denmark, with Przyjemski finishing as Poland’s top scorer on 24 and Bańbor adding 21. It was Poland’s 18th FIM Team Speedway Under-21 World Championship success, and a major bounce-back after Germany broke Poland’s long winning run in 2025.
For Przyjemski, the Prague result also marked a special personal farewell to SON2 competition. He turns 21 this weekend, making this his final appearance in the under-21 team world championship, and he now adds the 2026 Prague gold medal to SON2 titles won in Vojens in 2022, Riga in 2023 and Manchester in 2024.
The Polish skipper called the Prague victory his “sweetest” SON2 success, with the title only secured after the final heat of the night.
Bańbor also had to show plenty of nerve. He crashed out of Poland’s penultimate outing in heat 24 while battling Germany’s Mario Hausl, but recovered in time to partner Przyjemski in the decisive race. The pair then made the starts they needed and converted the last-heat decider into a gold-medal-clinching 7-2.
Denmark second again
Denmark had pushed Poland deep into the meeting and was still within three points heading into the final race. Villads Nagel led the Danish scorecard with 23 points, while Bastian Pedersen contributed 14.
But heat 28 proved decisive. Denmark needed to outscore Poland to keep the fight alive, while Poland needed only to protect its advantage. Instead, Przyjemski and Bańbor made it emphatic, racing clear to give Poland a commanding final margin.
It left Denmark with silver for the second straight season, another strong result but one that will still sting after going so close to the title.
Germany wins bronze on bonus points
The bronze-medal battle was even tighter, with Germany, Great Britain and Australia all finishing level on 33 points.
That tie was settled on bonus points, awarded when a nation’s riders finished first and second, or second and third, in a heat. Germany got the verdict with five bonus points, ahead of Great Britain on three and Australia on two.
Mario Hausl led Germany’s bronze-medal campaign with 17 points, while Janek Konzack added 13 and Hannah Grunwald contributed three. Grunwald also made history as the first female rider in SON2 history, scoring her three points with a second place in heat 24 as Germany beat Poland 5-4 in one of the most important races of the night.
Aussies miss podium on countback
Australia’s young team came agonisingly close to a SON2 medal, finishing level with Germany and Great Britain on 33 points but ultimately classified fifth after the bonus-point countback.
Mitchell McDiarmid led the Australian charge with 19 points, winning his opening ride and remaining a consistent threat throughout the 28-heat program.
Beau Bailey was also excellent, adding 14 points after being brought into the action, while Tate Zischke finished scoreless from his two rides.
The result means Australia matched the eventual bronze medallists on race points, but two bonus points were not enough to beat Germany’s five or Great Britain’s three in the tie-break.
Hosts Czech Republic finished sixth on 27 points, led by Adam Bubba Bednar with 23. Sweden was seventh on 23 points, while Ukraine finished eighth on 21, with Nazar Parnitskyi scoring all of his nation’s points.
2026 FIM Speedway of Nations
SON2 – Prague results
Rider scores are race points.
Bonus points were used only to separate teams tied on total points.
| # | Nation / Rider scores | Pts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Poland Wiktor Przyjemski 24 Bartosz Bańbor 21 Kevin Malkiewicz DNR |
45 |
| 2 | Denmark Villads Nagel 23 Bastian Pedersen 14 Mikkel Andersen 0 |
37 |
| 3 | Germany Mario Hausl 17 Janek Konzack 13 Hannah Grunwald 3 |
33 |
| 4 | Great Britain Will Cairns 18 Luke Harrison 12 Cooper Rushen 3 |
33 |
| 5 | Australia Mitchell McDiarmid 19 Beau Bailey 14 Tate Zischke 0 |
33 |
| 6 | Czech Republic Adam Bubba Bednar 23 Adam Nejezchleba 4 Bruno Belan DNR |
27 |
| 7 | Sweden Rasmus Karlsson 16 Erik Persson 5 Sammy Van Dyck 2 |
23 |
| 8 | Ukraine Nazar Parnitskyi 21 Roman Kapustin 0 Danko Hladkovskyi 0 |
21 |
Bronze medal countback
| Nation | Pts | Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | 33 | 5 |
| Great Britain | 33 | 3 |
| Australia | 33 | 2 |
More Speedway on MCNews
Catch up on more Australian and international speedway coverage from MCNews.com.au.
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Related: Madsen wins Prague Speedway GP as Brady Kurtz takes second
Heat-by-heat results
The order shown is first to fourth.
Team scores use SON2 heat scoring of 4-3-2-0.
Fd = fell/disqualified.
| H | Result order | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bednar Harrison Nejezchleba Cairns |
CZE 6-3 GBR |
| 2 | McDiarmid Hausl Konzack Zischke |
GER 5-4 AUS |
| 3 | Pedersen Nagel Karlsson Van Dyck |
DEN 7-2 SWE |
| 4 | Przyjemski Bańbor Parnitskyi Kapustin |
POL 7-2 UKR |
| 5 | Nagel Konzack Hausl Pedersen |
GER 5-4 DEN |
| 6 | Harrison Karlsson Cairns Persson |
GBR 6-3 SWE |
| 7 | Przyjemski McDiarmid Bańbor Zischke |
POL 6-3 AUS |
| 8 | Bednar Parnitskyi Nejezchleba Kapustin |
CZE 6-3 UKR |
| 9 | Bańbor Przyjemski Bednar Nejezchleba |
POL 7-2 CZE |
| 10 | McDiarmid Bailey Karlsson Van Dyck |
AUS 7-2 SWE |
| 11 | Nagel Cairns Harrison Andersen |
GBR 5-4 DEN |
| 12 | Hausl Parnitskyi Konzack Kapustin |
GER 6-3 UKR |
| 13 | Parnitskyi Karlsson Persson Kapustin |
SWE 5-4 UKR |
| 14 | Nagel Pedersen McDiarmid Bailey |
DEN 7-2 AUS |
| 15 | Bednar Konzack Hausl Nejezchleba |
GER 5-4 CZE |
| 16 | Bańbor Przyjemski Cairns Harrison |
POL 7-2 GBR |
| 17 | Cairns Harrison Hausl Konzack |
GBR 7-2 GER |
| 18 | Nagel Pedersen Bednar Nejezchleba |
DEN 7-2 CZE |
| 19 | Parnitskyi Bailey McDiarmid Kapustin |
AUS 5-4 UKR |
| 20 | Bańbor Przyjemski Van Dyck Persson |
POL 7-2 SWE |
| 21 | Nagel Parnitskyi Pedersen Hladkovskyi |
DEN 6-3 UKR |
| 22 | Bailey Cairns McDiarmid Harrison |
AUS 6-3 GBR |
| 23 | Bednar Persson Karlsson Nejezchleba |
SWE 5-4 CZE |
| 24 | Przyjemski Grunwald Hausl Bańbor Fd |
GER 5-4 POL |
| 25 | Karlsson Konzack Hausl Persson |
GER 5-4 SWE |
| 26 | Bailey Bednar McDiarmid Nejezchleba |
AUS 6-3 CZE |
| 27 | Cairns Rushen Parnitskyi Hladkovskyi |
GBR 7-2 UKR |
| 28 | Bańbor Przyjemski Pedersen Nagel |
POL 7-2 DEN |
