Speedway Grand Prix of Poland 2023: Freddie Lindgren victorious in Warsaw, Bartosz Zmarzlik retains lead

Freddie Lindgren emerged victorious from a hugely controversial Grand Prix of Poland final in Warsaw, though Bartosz Zmarzlik retains the lead of the world championship.

Jack Holder had been on course for his maiden GP victory in the first running of the final, but that was stopped when Zmarzlik knocked Jason Doyle off his bike on lap three in a clumsy move up the inside.

However, Zmarzlik was hugely fortunate to survive as Doyle was excluded, a decision that delighted the home crowd but left the Australian looking rightfully aggrieved. At the restart, Holder couldn’t match Lindgren while Zmarzlik was unable to become the first ever home winner in Warsaw, and lost out on second in a photo finish with Holder.

Lindgren himself was fortunate to be there after he lost control of his bike at the start of his semi-final, forcing Dan Bewley to take evasive action that cost him second to Lindgren – Bewley later hinted he might’ve been better off hitting the deck.

Meanwhile, Doyle’s six-year, 2023-day wait for a grand prix victory continues. After he was centimetres away from taking the lead in the grand final of the Croatian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, Jason Doyle was the rider to beat all evening in Warsaw and only dropped two points ahead of the final.

However, he’s looked so strong in the opening two rounds and will surely end that long wait soon. Lindgren, who won for the first time since 2020, had looked solid but not spectacular throughout the evening but turned up when it really mattered.

Tai Woffinden also reached the semi-finals but couldn’t progress, but it was a night to forget for Croatian GP runner-up Robert Lambert, who finished twelfth.

Other Polish riders Maciej Janowski and Patryk Dudek were disappointed not to make the semi-finals, but Bartlomiej Kowalski had a fairytale evening as home hero.

Coming into the weekend as first reserve, he was pushed up to wildcard when Dominik Kubera suffered an injury on Friday and took full advantage.

He delighted the home crowd with a win in heat seven, swooping in from the outside gate to take the lead and held if for laps in a race that summed up the unpredictable, ever-changing nature of the evening.

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