2019 Speedway Grand Prix
World Championship motorcycle speedway season
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The 2019 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 25th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, and decided the 74th FIM Speedway World Championship.[1][2] It was the nineteenth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports International, an IMG company.
| 2019 Speedway Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
Zmarzlik after winning the Slovenian Grand Prix | |
| Season details | |
| Dates | 18 May – 5 October |
| Events | 10 |
| Cities | 10 |
| Countries | 7 |
| Riders | 15 permanents 1 wild card(s) 2 track reserves |
| Heats | 230 (in 10 events) |
| Winners | |
| Champion |  POL Bartosz Zmarzlik |
| Runner-up |  DEN Leon Madsen |
| 3rd place |  RUS Emil Sayfutdinov |
The title was won by Bartosz Zmarzlik, who beat debutant Leon Madsen by two points with Russia's Emil Sayfutdinov finishing third. Zmarzlik became the third Polish world champion after Jerzy Szczakiel won in 1973 and Tomasz Gollob took the title in 2010. Defending champion Tai Woffinden's season was hampered by injury and he finished in 13th place.
2019 changes
Qualifying for each Grand Prix was introduced for the first time in the 2019 season.[3] On the day before the Grand Prix every rider completed a timed lap, with the fastest rider getting to select their position in the draw, followed by second and so on. Matej Žagar was the first ever rider to win a qualifying session when setting the fastest time at the 2019 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland.[4]
Qualification
For the 2019 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 2018 championship qualified automatically. These 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 2018 season.[5]
On 2 May Greg Hancock announced he would not be competing in the 2019 season to support his wife's battle with cancer.[6] The FIM and BSI unanimously supported Hancock's withdrawal.
Qualified riders
| # | Riders | 2018 place | GP Ch place | Appearance | Previous appearances in series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 108 |  Tai Woffinden | 1 | — | 8th | 2010, 2011, 2013–2018 |
| 95 | Bartosz Zmarzlik | 2 | — | 4th | 2012–2015, 2016–2018 |
| 66 |  Fredrik Lindgren | 3 | — | 10th | 2004, 2006–2007, 2008–2014, 2016, 2017–2018 |
| 71 | Maciej Janowski | 4 | — | 5th | 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015–2018 |
| 45 |  Greg Hancock | 5 | — | 25th | 1995–2018 |
| 222 | Artem Laguta | 6 | — | 3rd | 2011, 2018 |
| 69 |  Jason Doyle | 7 | — | 5th | 2015–2018 |
| 89 | Emil Sayfutdinov | 8 | — | 8th | 2009–2013, 2017–2018 |
| 692 | Patryk Dudek | 9 | — | 3rd | 2016, 2017–2018 |
| 55 |  Matej Žagar | 10 | 15 | 9th | 2003–2005, 2006–2007, 2008–2009, 2011, 2013–2018 |
| 54 |  Martin Vaculík | 13 | — | 4th | 2012, 2013, 2017–2018 |
| 333 | Janusz Kołodziej | — | 1 | 2nd | 2006, 2010, 2011 |
| 88 | Niels-Kristian Iversen | 14 | 2 | 8th | 2004–2005, 2006, 2008, 2009–2010, 2013–2017, 2018 |
| 85 | Antonio Lindbäck | — | 3 | 9th | 2004, 2005–2007, 2009–2010, 2011–2013, 2015, 2016–2017 |
| 30 | Leon Madsen | — | — | 1st | 2013 |
Qualified substitutes
The following riders were nominated as substitutes:
| # | Riders | 2018 place | GP Ch place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 505 | Robert Lambert | 30 | 5 |
| 46 | Max Fricke | 18 | 7 |
| 155 | Mikkel Michelsen | 29 | — |
| 225 |  Václav Milík Jr. | 17 | 11 |
| 115 | Bartosz Smektała | 26 | — |
Calendar
The 2019 season consisted of 10 events, the same number as in 2018.[7]
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 | POL | SVN | CZE | SWE | PL2 | SCA | GER  | DEN | GBR | PL3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
(95) Bartosz Zmarzlik (C)
|
132 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 17 | 8 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 14 |
 |
(30) Leon Madsen
|
130 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 21 |
 |
(89) Emil Sayfutdinov
|
126 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 16 | 17 | 15 |
| 4 | (66) Fredrik Lindgren
|
105 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 7 |
| 5 | (54) Martin Vaculík
|
95 | 7 | 17 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
| 6 | (71) Maciej Janowski
|
87 | – | 4 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| 7 | (69) Jason Doyle
|
84 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 11 |
| 8 | (692) Patryk Dudek
|
79 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 | (55) Matej Žagar
|
78 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
| 10 | (88) Niels-Kristian Iversen
|
77 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| 11 | (222) Artem Laguta
|
76 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 12 | (85) Antonio Lindbäck
|
63 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | – | 9 | 9 | 7 |
| 13 | (108) Tai Woffinden
|
60 | 6 | 9 | – | – | 6 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 9 |
| 14 | (333) Janusz Kołodziej
|
57 | 4 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 15 | (505) Robert Lambert
|
39 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 3 | – | – | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 16 | (46) Max Fricke
|
36 | 3 | – | 13 | 11 | 4 | 5 | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | (155) Mikkel Michelsen
|
15 | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | – | 6 | – | – |
| 18 | (16) Bartosz Smektała
|
10 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | (16) Oliver Berntzon
|
7 | – | – | – | 7 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | (16) Charles Wright
|
5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5 | – |
| 21 | (16) Václav Milík
|
4 | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 22 | (16) Maksym Drabik
|
4 | – | – | – | – | 4 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23 | (16) Adrian Miedziński
|
4 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 24 | (16) Matic Ivačič
|
2 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 25 | (16) Jacob Thorssell
|
2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 26 | (16) Martin Smolinski
|
1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – |
| 27 | (17) Zdeněk Holub
|
0 | – | – | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 28 | (17) Kai Huckenbeck
|
0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0 | – | – | – |
| Pos. | Rider | Points | POL | SVN | CZE | SWE | PL2 | SCA | GER | DEN | GBR | PL3 |