2017 Speedway Grand Prix
23rd season of the Speedway Grand Prix
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The 2017 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 23rd season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, and decided the 72nd FIM Speedway World Championship.[1][2] It was seventeenth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports International, an IMG company.
| 2017 Speedway Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
| Season details | |
| Dates | April 29 — October 28 |
| Events | 12 |
| Cities | 12 |
| Countries | 9 |
| Riders | 15 permanents 1 wild card(s) 2 track reserves |
| Heats | 276 (in 12 events) |
| Winners | |
| Champion |  AUS Jason Doyle |
| Runner-up |  POL Patryk Dudek |
| 3rd place |  GBR Tai Woffinden |
The world title was won by Jason Doyle, who finished ahead of debutant Patryk Dudek and former two-time champion Tai Woffinden. It was the first title of Doyle's career, and the first time an Australian had lifted the trophy since Chris Holder in 2012. Defending champion Greg Hancock was unable to complete the season after suffering an injury, competing in only six of the 12 rounds.
Qualification
For the 2017 season there were 15 permanent riders, joined at each Grand Prix by one wild card and two track reserves.
The top eight riders from the 2016 championship qualified automatically. Those riders were joined by the three riders who qualified via the Grand Prix Challenge.
The final four riders were nominated by series promoters, Benfield Sports International, following the completion of the 2016 season.[3]
Qualified riders
| # | Riders | 2016 place | GP Ch place | Appearance | Previous appearances in series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 |  Greg Hancock | 1 | — | 23rd | 1995–2016 |
| 108 | Tai Woffinden | 2 | — | 6th | 2010, 2011, 2013–2016 |
| 95 | Bartosz Zmarzlik | 3 | — | 2nd | 2012–2015, 2016 |
| 23 | Chris Holder | 4 | — | 8th | 2010–2016 |
| 69 | Jason Doyle | 5 | — | 3rd | 2015–2016 |
| 777 | Piotr Pawlicki Jr. | 6 | 9 | 2nd | 2015, 2016 |
| 85 |  Antonio Lindbäck | 7 | — | 8th | 2004, 2005–2007, 2009–2010, 2011–2013, 2015, 2016 |
| 88 |  Niels Kristian Iversen | 8 | — | 7th | 2004–2005, 2006, 2008, 2009–2010, 2013–2016 |
| 55 |  Matej Žagar | 9 | — | 7th | 2003–2005, 2006–2007, 2008–2009, 2011, 2013–2016 |
| 71 | Maciej Janowski | 10 | — | 3rd | 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015–2016 |
| 66 | Fredrik Lindgren | 11 | 3 | 8th | 2004, 2006–2007, 2008–2014, 2016 |
| 12 | Nicki Pedersen | 13 | — | 17th | 2000, 2001–2016 |
| 692 | Patryk Dudek | 17 | 1 | 1st | 2016 |
| 54 |  Martin Vaculík | — | 2 | 2nd | 2012, 2013 |
| 89 |  Emil Sayfutdinov | — | — | 6th | 2009–2013 |
Qualified substitutes
The following riders were nominated as substitutes:
| # | Riders | 2016 place | GP Ch place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Peter Kildemand | 12 | — |
| 84 |  Martin Smolinski | 17 | 5 |
| 46 | Max Fricke | 35 | 10 |
| 225 |  Václav Milík Jr. | 25 | 17 |
| 52 | Michael Jepsen Jensen | 16 | — |
| 29 |  Andžejs Ļebedevs | — | — |
Calendar
The 2017 season consisted of 12 events, one more than the 2016 series.[4]
Final Classification
| Qualifies for next season's Grand Prix series |
| Full-time Grand Prix rider |
| Wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve |
| Pos. | Rider | Points | SVN | POL | LAT | CZE | DEN | GBR | SWE | PL2 | GER | SCA | PL3 | AUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
(69) Jason Doyle (C)
|
161 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 10 | 19 |
 |
(692) Patryk Dudek
|
143 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 18 | 15 |
 |
(108) Tai Woffinden
|
131 | 8 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 16 |
| 4 | (71) Maciej Janowski
|
122 | 6 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 9 |
| 5 | (95) Bartosz Zmarzlik
|
121 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 13 |
| 6 | (89) Emil Sayfutdinov
|
117 | 12 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 8 |
| 7 | (55) Matej Žagar
|
107 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| 8 | (66) Fredrik Lindgren
|
107 | 16 | 16 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 9 | – | – |
| 9 | (54) Martin Vaculík
|
99 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 9 |
| 10 | (23) Chris Holder
|
85 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 3 |
| 11 | (777) Piotr Pawlicki Jr.
|
81 | 7 | 7 | 18 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 |
| 12 | (85) Antonio Lindbäck
|
77 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| 13 | (25) Peter Kildemand
|
61 | – | – | 1 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 4 | – | 10 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| 14 | (45) Greg Hancock
|
45 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 18 | 7 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | (88) Niels Kristian Iversen
|
44 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | (225) Václav Milík Jr.
|
31 | – | – | – | 13 | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | 11 | – |
| 17 | (84) Martin Smolinski
|
25 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 18 | (46) Max Fricke
|
11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 6 | 4 | – |
| 19 | (16) Paweł Przedpełski
|
10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 10 | – |
| 20 | (16) Maksims Bogdanovs
|
8 | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | (52) Michael Jepsen Jensen
|
8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 8 | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | (12) Nicki Pedersen
|
8 | 3 | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23 | (16) Kenneth Bjerre
|
7 | – | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 24 | (16) Krzysztof Kasprzak
|
6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 | – | – | – | – |
| 24 | (20) Rohan Tungate
|
6 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6 |
| 26 | (16) Kai Huckenbeck
|
4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – |
| 26 | (17) Jacob Thorssell
|
4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – |
| 26 | (17) Justin Sedgmen
|
4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 29 | (16) Przemysław Pawlicki
|
3 | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 29 | (19) Brady Kurtz
|
3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| 29 | (18) Davey Watt
|
3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 |
| 32 | (16) Craig Cook
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 32 | (18) Josh Bates
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 32 | (16) Linus Sundström
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 32 | (16) Kim Nilsson
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – |
| 32 | (16) Sam Masters
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| 37 | (16) Nick Škorja
|
1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 38 | (17) Josef Franc
|
0 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 38 | (18) Matěj Kůs
|
0 | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 38 | (17) Adam Ellis
|
0 | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 38 | (17) Tobias Kroner
|
0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – |
| 38 | (18) Filip Hjelmland
|
0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – | – |
| 38 | (17) Bartosz Smektała
|
0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – |
| Pos. | Rider | Points | SVN | POL | LAT | CZE | DEN | GBR | SWE | PL2 | GER | SCA | PL3 | AUS |