Aussies sweep Speedway GP podium as Fricke wins Manchester thriller

2026 FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain

Fricke leads historic all-Aussie Speedway GP podium in Manchester

Max Fricke led Brady Kurtz and Jack Holder to one of Australia’s great Speedway Grand Prix results in Manchester, the Victorian breaking a four-year wait for another SGP victory as Australians filled all three podium positions at Round Three of the 2026 FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship.

Fricke won the ATPI FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain – Manchester R3 final ahead of Kurtz and Holder, with reigning World Champion Bartosz Zmarzlik fourth after a dramatic finish to a rain-affected night at the National Speedway Stadium.

The result carried weight beyond the win itself. It was only the second time in Speedway GP history that one nation had locked out the podium, following Poland’s previous sweep, and it came with three riders who have raced one another since their junior days in Australia.

Fricke, Kurtz and Holder have spent more than two decades crossing paths on speedway bikes, going back to their junior days across country Australia. In Manchester, they did so again at the sport’s top level.

A long time between drinks for Fricke

Fricke’s victory also came at a timely point in his season. He had endured a difficult opening two rounds and had crashed out of the last-chance qualifier in Prague, but Manchester gave him the chance to reset his championship.

He took full advantage, although not immediately.

Fricke’s evening changed after a poor start. He finished last in his opening heat, behind Patryk Dudek, Anders Thomsen and Robert Lambert, leaving himself with no early margin for error.

From there, however, the Victorian was faultless.

Fricke won Heat 7 ahead of Zmarzlik, Michael Jepsen Jensen and Andzejs Lebedevs, then backed that up in Heat 12 by beating Kurtz, Nazar Parnitskyi and Kai Huckenbeck. He won again in Heat 13, this time ahead of Holder, Jason Doyle and Tom Brennan, before completing his heat-race programme with victory over Leon Madsen, Jan Kvech and Kacper Woryna in Heat 18.

That sequence took him from a scoreless opening ride to direct qualification for the final, removing the need to survive the last-chance qualifier and allowing him to carry momentum straight into the deciding race.

One change, then five wins

Fricke later said it had been “a long time between drinks”, while also pointing to a change made after his opening ride as the key to getting his night moving in the right direction.

The numbers backed that up. After his opening last place, Fricke won his next four rides and then the final.

The rain late in the meeting added another layer of difficulty. By the time the last-chance qualifiers and final arrived, getting to the dirt line first became increasingly important. Fricke did exactly that in the final, making the start count before riding the high line under pressure to secure his third Speedway GP victory.

It was his first SGP win since Warsaw in 2022, and his third overall.

Kurtz and Holder do it the hard way

Kurtz and Holder both had to take the longer road to the podium.

Kurtz had been strong through the middle of the meeting, with wins in Heat 5 and Heat 19, but a scoreless Heat 14 against Zmarzlik, Kvech and Lambert left him needing the last-chance qualifier.

He delivered when it mattered, winning LCQ2 ahead of Lambert, Dudek and Doyle to book his place in the final.

Holder also had to come through the LCQ. He had already collected extra championship points earlier in the day by winning the sprint race ahead of Lambert, Brennan and Kurtz, but his heat-race tally still left him outside direct final qualification.

Holder responded by winning LCQ1 ahead of Jepsen Jensen, Thomsen and Madsen.

Once in the final, both Australians made the most of the opportunity. Fricke got the decisive run, Kurtz followed him home in second, and Holder completed the Australian sweep in third.

Holder, from Appin in New South Wales, summed up the moment afterwards with a simple line: “We’re taking over!”

Zmarzlik still led, but Kurtz was right there

Zmarzlik’s fourth place still allowed him to retain the championship lead after Round Three, but his advantage had been cut to a single point.

The Polish star ended Friday night on 46 points, with Kurtz just behind on 45. Holder’s podium and sprint race win moved him to 41 points, keeping him firmly in the title fight, while Fricke’s breakthrough lifted him to sixth in the championship on 30 points after starting the evening down in 14th.

For Kurtz, second place in Round Three was his third straight Manchester Speedway GP podium. It also proved to be the launchpad for an even bigger Saturday night, as he returned for Manchester R4, won the final, and claimed the Speedway GP World Championship lead from Zmarzlik.

That Saturday result pushed Kurtz to 65 championship points, three clear of Zmarzlik, with Holder third on 55 after reaching another final.

Doyle adds to the Aussie presence

The Australian strength in Manchester was not limited to the podium.

Jason Doyle opened the night with a win in Heat 1, beating Kvech, Jepsen Jensen and Huckenbeck, and later qualified for LCQ2 after a consistent if ultimately unrewarded run through the heats.

Doyle finished 10th overall on seven points, giving Australia four riders inside the top ten.

Gate one tells part of the story

The heat data also underlined how much the meeting changed as the rain arrived.

Gate one proved the strongest across the night, producing 10 race wins, while gate four was the least productive lane and accounted for 11 fourth places. In that context, the talk from Fricke, Kurtz and Holder about getting to the dirt line first was not just rider instinct; it matched the way the meeting was unfolding on the scorecard.

For Fricke, the win ended a long wait. For Kurtz, it moved him to the edge of the championship lead before he grabbed it 24 hours later. For Holder, it continued a strong opening to the season.

Australia has had plenty of great Speedway GP results over the years, but an all-Aussie podium featuring three lifelong rivals on one of the sport’s biggest stages will take some beating.

2026 FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain
Manchester Results

Sprint, final and last-chance qualifiers

FIM SGP World Championship standings after round three

Manchester heat results

The order shown is first to fourth. Race times were not listed in the official FIM Speedway results view at the time of preparation.

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