The opening two FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) Qualifying rounds powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann were staged on Saturday (7 June) at Žarnovica in Slovakia and Lonigo in Italy where five riders from each earned their places behind the tapes at the 2025 SGP Challenge event at Holsted in Denmark on 9 August.
- FIM Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying rounds staged in Slovakia and Italy
- First ten riders selected for 2025 SGP Challenge at Holsted
- Permanent places in 2026 SGP series up for grabs
At stake at Holsted are four permanent places in the 2026 SGP series and with such a potentially career-changing prize up for grabs, the action in Slovakia and Italy was understandably intense and unrelenting with a number of current SGP riders – looking to guarantee their places in next year’s championship – choosing to compete.
Racing got under way at the famous Speedway Stadium Žarnovica where Ukrainian rider Marko Levishyn drew first blood in the opening Heat of the afternoon ahead of Denmark’s Anders Thomsen – who currently sits inside the 2025 SGP top-ten – and Sweden’s Oliver Berntzon.
Following the first block of Heats, Levishyn was joined on maximum points by Vaclav Milik from the Czech Republic along with Poland’s Kacper Woryna and home hero Martin Vaculik, who is also a permanent 2025 SGP rider, before Woryna’s second win of the programme moved him into an uncontested lead.
Also taking victories from their second Heats, Berntzon along with Slovenia’s Matej Zagar and Latvian Andzejs Lebedevs – who has been on an SGP podium this season – moved into contention, but Thomsen could only add a disappointing third-placed finish to his score.
French racer David Bellego got the third block of racing under way with a victory ahead of Lebedevs before twenty-year-old Norwegian Mathias Pollestad took his first win of the afternoon with Thomsen and Zagar also coming home first in their Heats.
Following two poor finishes, Milik raced to his second win in the fourth block with Zagar, Thomsen and Vaculik adding further victories to stay in contention before a dramatic fifth and final block of Heats to decide the five qualifying riders.
Woryna and Vaculik were the first riders to book their places in Holsted when they ran one-two in their final Heat race and they were joined by Thomsen and Zagar before Lebedevs snatched the final transfer position with victory in his fifth Heat.
With the top-three tied on points, a run-off decided the podium positions with Thomsen taking the top step flanked by Zagar and Woryna.
Focus then switched to Lonigo in northern Italy for the second Qualifying round where Denmark’s Rasmus Jensen got his evening under way with a victory at the expense of rising Polish star Mateusz Cierniak as home hero Michele Paco Castagna, the Czech Republic’s Jan Kvech and French rider Dimitri Bergé all opened their accounts with wins.
Jensen added a second win to his total to move into a clear lead following two blocks of racing with Latvia’s Francis Gusts, Kvech, Cierniak and Castagna all firmly in contention.
Victories in their third Heats ensured Gusts, Kvech and Cierniak remained in control and there werefurther wins in the fourth block for Gusts, Cierniak and Jensen before the fifth and deciding block determined the riders heading to Holsted next month.
Cierniak, a two-time SGP2 champion, signed off with his fourth victory of the night ahead of Gusts and the pair made the cut for Denmark in first and second, although behind them the battle for the remaining three places was raging.
The evening’s first run-off to decide third and fourth was won by Jensen from Kvech which left five riders – Germany’s Kevin Wölbert, Castagna, his fellow Italian Felipe Nicolas Covatti, Jacob Thorssellfrom Sweden and Australia’s Rohan Tungate – tied for the final place in Holsted.
In total it took another four run-offs before Wölbert, who had scored just two points after his opening two Heats, completed a memorable comeback to secure the fifth and final Qualification position.
Huckenbeck on top as Abensberg stages final FIM Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying round
The third and deciding FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) Qualifying round powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann was staged at Abensberg in Germany this afternoon where the final five riders who will progress to the 2025 SGP Challenge event at Holsted in Denmark on 9 August were decided.
- FIM Speedway Grand Prix Qualifying rounds conclude in Germany
- Kai Huckenbeck’s the home hero at Abensberg
- Third and final Qualifying round completes field for SGP Challenge
With four permanent places in the 2026 SGP series at stake next month in Denmark, the action in the Wack Hofmeister Speedway Stadium was fast and uncompromising with riders from fifteen separate nationalities battling for the chance of a potentially career-changing place behind the tapes among the sport’s elite.
Only the top seven from the 2025 SGP series are guaranteed a start next season and there were three current SGP permanent riders in action in Abensberg hoping to book their places early for 2026, but standing between Jack Holder, Dominik Kubera and Kai Huckenbeck and a place at the SGP Challenge event was a full field of ambitious racers all sharing the same goal.
With the home fans cheering him on, Huckenbeck won his opening Heat from Holder before Kubera got his afternoon under way with a win, a feat emulated by Denmark’s Michael Jepsen Jensen and Germany’s double FIM Long Track World Champion Erik Riss.
Huckenbeck won again in his second Heat – taking a point from Kubera – and Jensen matched him to keep it tied at the top while Holder and Czech racer Daniel Klima claimed their first victories of the programme.
Jensen then defeated Huckenbeck to take his third straight win and move to the top, but victory for Kubera ahead of Riss and Holder kept the Pole in contention and at the end of the fourth block there was a three-way tie for first as Kubera and Huckenbeck took their third wins of the afternoon and Jensen dropped his first point after being beaten by Holden.
With the final two Qualification places also subject to a three-way tie – disputed by Holder, Riss and Kim Nilsson from Sweden – everything rested on the fifth and final block of Heats.
A strong second from Jensen behind Finnish racer Jesse Mustonen was good enough for the Dane to go through in second along with Kubera who fell, but was not disqualified and ended the meeting in fourth. A vital victory in his final Heat then elevated Holder to third before the home fans were treated to the sight of Huckenbeck racing to the overall win in the concluding Heat and Riss following him home in second to snatch the final place up for grabs at Holsted.
Global attention now shifts to Holsted in Denmark on 9 August for the 2025 SGP Challenge.
ŽARNOVICA OFFICIAL RESULTS HERE
ABENSBERG OFFICIAL RESULTS HERE
Fans who sign up for an SGP Qualifiers and Challenge 2025 Streaming Pass can watch the Qualifying action and the 2025 SGP Challenge from Holsted LIVE on FIM-MOTO.TV. Priced at €42.50, last month’s 2025 FIM Speedway Under 21 World Champion (SGP2) Qualification round from Glasgow is also included in the package along with unlimited replay of all events.
Alternatively, a LIVE streaming pass for the 2025 SGP Challenge from Holsted, complete with replays and special contents, is priced at just €9.90.
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