KURTZ IS 2025 AUSTRALIAN SOLO CHAMPION!

Speedway GP newcomer Brady Kurtz has ended his nine-year wait for his second Australian Championship win after sealing the trophy with rides to spare at Albury-Wodonga on Wednesday, January 8.

The final round of the series in North Brisbane this Saturday has been cancelled due to a forecast for heavy rain, which meant Wednesday’s round three was declared the last leg of the championship.

The 2024 FIM SGP Challenge winner came to the tapes with an eight-point lead over nearest rival Jack Holder. The pair had collected seven points apiece in their opening three rides, meaning victory in his fourth outing in heat 13 would be enough to seal the championship for Kurtz.

The Cowra-born (NSW) racer delivered, seeing off Zach Cook, former SGP3 rider Mitchell McDiarmid and former Aussie Under-21 champion Michael West to lift the title with a heat and the semi-finals and final to spare, before ending the series on 53 points by taking second spot in the final behind winner Rohan Tungate.

Kurtz, who won the Australian Championship at the first attempt in 2016, also earns a spot in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualification rounds, where he will battle for a place at the FIM SGP Challenge in Holsted on August 9. If he can replicate his top-four finish from the 2024 event in Denmark, Kurtz will be guaranteed a spot in the 2026 Speedway GP series.

Holder joins him in the Speedway GP qualifiers as championship runner-up, having sealed second place with victory in his final heat, which took him to 13 points from five rides. He ended up on 42 points overall.

One further Speedway GP qualification place is up for grabs for the winner of the FIM Oceania Championship at Adelaide track Gillman on January 25.

Kurtz was unable to complete a clean sweep of round wins. Despite victories at Gillman and Mildura, outgoing champion Tungate won the final to top the podium on the night at Albury-Wodonga. Kurtz had to make do with second place ahead of 2012 Speedway GP World Champion Chris Holder in third and Ben Cook in fourth spot.

Third on the night for Chris Holder was enough to hand him third place overall on 38 points – one point ahead of former SGP2 star Keynan Rew, who was fourth on 37. The SON2 bronze medallist made it through the heats on nine points, but his semi-final exit dashed his hopes of reaching the rostrum.

Tungate’s victory left him fifth overall on 35, with Ben Cook repeating his sixth-place finish from 2024, scoring 27 – leaving him one ahead of brother Zach Cook, who registered 26.

The series ended in disappointment for Speedway GP star Max Fricke, who pulled out of the Albury-Wodonga event, having been forced to withdraw from round two in Mildura on Sunday.

Fricke crashed in the opening race and, despite taking third place in his second outing, he did not continue in the meeting at Olympic Park.

Posting on social media on Wednesday, Fricke said: “Unfortunately, after my fall on Sunday at Mildura, I will be withdrawing from the remainder of the Australian Championships.

“Full focus on plenty of rest and physio over the next few weeks to get me fully fit and ready for the start of the season in Europe. Thank you everyone for your messages and support.”

FINAL AUSTRALIAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:

1. Brady Kurtz 53

2. Jack Holder 42

3. Chris Holder 38

4. Keynan Rew 37

5. Rohan Tungate 35

6. Ben Cook 27

7. Zach Cook 26

8. Josh Pickering 25

9. Jaimon Lidsey 23

10. James Pearson 16

11. Max Fricke 12

12. Mitchell McDiarmid 11

13. Sam Masters 10

14. Harrison Ryan 10

15. Michael West 10

16. Mitchell Cluff 7

17. Patrick Hamilton 5

18. Dayle Wood 1

ALBURY-WODONGA HEAT SCORES: 1 Jack Holder 13, 2 Brady Kurtz 13, 3 Ben Cook 11, 4 Rohan Tungate 11, 5 Chris Holder 10, 6 Sam Masters 10, 7 Keynan Rew 9, 8 Josh Pickering 8, 9 Zach Cook 8, 10 James Pearson 8, 11 Jaimon Lidsey 6, 12 Michael West 4, 13 Harrison Ryan 3, 14 Mitchell McDiarmid 3, 15 Mitchell Cluff 3, 16 Alex Adamson 0.

SEMI-FINAL 1: B Cook, C Holder, J Holder, Rew.

SEMI-FINAL 2: Kurtz, Tungate, Masters, Pickering (exc tapes).

FINAL: Tungate, Kurtz, C Holder, B Cook.