British ace Lambert chasing No.2 in Torun Speedway GP
Words and images courtesy SGP
Great Britain racer Robert Lambert is already hungry for his next FIM Speedway Grand Prix win as he bids to seal SGP World Championship silver at the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on Saturday.
The two-time FIM Speedway of Nations winner ended months of talk about when he would land his first SGP victory by topping the podium at the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on September 14.
With Bartosz Zmarzlik taking second place that night, the Polish icon sealed his fifth Speedway GP World Championship – becoming only the second rider in history after New Zealand legend Ivan Mauger to win three in a row, as well as moving within one gold medal of Mauger and Swedish great Tony Rickardsson’s all-time record of six.
Zmarzlik will collect the trophy at Torun’s iconic Marian Rose Motoarena, which stages its 17th Speedway GP round on Saturday. He will be joined on the podium by Lambert, whose Vojens victory guarantees him either a silver or bronze medal as he becomes only the third Brit to reach the podium in the SGP era since 1995 – joining triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden and 2000 Speedway GP world champion Mark Loram.
Lambert is on 137 championship points – 10 ahead of Swedish rival Fredrik Lindgren, who has 127. Reaching the final or finishing third in one of the semis would guarantee the Brit second place in the championship – regardless of Lindgren’s result.
Meanwhile, current world No.2 Lindgren needs eight championship points to make certain of at least third place, with Slovakia’s Martin Vaculik on 114 and Britain’s Dan Bewley on 111 still within reach.
The stakes are certainly high for Lambert on his Polish home track and, while he ended his Speedway GP victory quest in Vojens, it hasn’t quenched his thirst for podium champagne.
He said: “Like Bartek [Zmarzlik] said to me, the first win is always the best one. I am the kind of person who is never happy with where I finish. I am happy for the moment, but we obviously push for the next one now.
“I have finally done it, and I can tick that off in my career book and move on to bigger and better things. Winning another one would be awesome. Let’s start collecting them up.
“I hope I go on to win more and more. It’s obviously a goal of mine to be in Bartek’s position one day. I’m going to keep pushing and fighting and doing all I can. We don’t know what will happen in the future, so I can only act in the moment. We will work on it, keep pushing and the hunger will never go away.
“Standing on the podium is going to be great. Whatever the medal is, I will be super happy. Winning a medal was the goal of the season, so that’s ticked off. I will just fight in Torun and see what I can get. If I can get a level up from bronze, it would be amazing.”
Lambert can’t wait to race in front of friends and family at the Marian Rose Motoarena – a track he has called home in Poland’s PGE Ekstraliga since 2021. While some will assume this gives him home-track advantage, Lambert knows he faces no easy task on one of the sport’s most popular racetracks.
He said: “I will just do the best I can in Torun. It’s my home track, but everything is different for a GP. We will just focus, give 100 percent and I’ll just ride and enjoy my bike.
“It’s going to be great. There are a lot of home fans there and local sponsors as well. Family and friends are going to be there. It’s going to be incredible – whichever way it goes. I am looking forward to it. Let’s finish off strong.”
Zmarzlik, Lambert, Lindgren, Vaculik and Bewley are all guaranteed places in the Speedway GP World Championship’s top six – and therefore qualification for the 2025 Speedway GP series.
There is one final top-six spot up for grabs in Torun. Denmark’s Mikkel Michelsen currently occupies sixth place on 101 points but misses the meeting due to injuries sustained in the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga on September 7.
Australia’s Jack Holder is just four points behind in seventh spot on 97 and needs five points to be sure of overhauling Michelsen. But the 2022 FIM Speedway of Nations world champion needs 11 to guarantee sixth place with Poland’s Dominik Kubera – eighth on 88 – also in the running.
Four riders will earn 2025 Speedway GP places at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice, Czech Republic on October 4, with four riders also receiving wild cards from the SGP Commission.
One rider who heads to Torun without the pressure of fighting for his Speedway GP future is Latvia’s Andzejs Lebedevs, who sealed this year’s Speedway European Championship title in Chorzow, Poland last Saturday – earning himself a guaranteed place in Speedway GP for next season.
Lebedevs became Latvia’s first-ever SGP finalist at the Deluxe Homeart FIM Danish Speedway GP, taking fourth place. He has been elated with the response to his success from fans in Latvia and beyond as he prepares for his second full season in the World Championship in 2025.
Lebedevs said: “I am seeing what’s happening around me, on the internet and on social media, and people are saying that I deserve this place in Speedway GP, and I have shown I am one of the world-class riders.
“I am really happy when people start to look to me as a world-class rider and say, ‘The GP is your place, you must be here, and you have shown it during the season.’
“I am proud of myself. I have always said it was my dream to race with the best riders and I am here finally. It was a long way to get here, and I worked hard all my life to do it. I am here, but I still want to work and do more. These successes have come a little bit slower in my career, but I am still learning and growing every day. Hopefully in Speedway GP, success will come soon.”
2024 DeWALT FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF POLAND – TORUN LINE-UP:
95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
54. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia)
25. Jack Holder (Australia)
30. Leon Madsen (Denmark)
505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain)
99. Dan Bewley (Great Britain)
46. Max Fricke (Australia – substitute for 69. Jason Doyle)
71. Maciej Janowski (Poland – substitute for 108. Tai Woffinden)
233. Kim Nilsson (Sweden – substitute for 155. Mikkel Michelsen)
29. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia)
744. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany)
415. Dominik Kubera (Poland)
48. Szymon Wozniak (Poland)
201. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic)
16. Patryk Dudek (Poland – wild card)
17. Oskar Paluch (Poland – first track reserve)
18. Krzysztof Lewandowski (Poland – second track reserve)