Fricke books world speedway spot

Aussie Max Fricke has booked a permanent spot in the 2020 Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) series after finishing third overall in the GP Challenge in Croatia on August 24.

Matej Zagar and Niels-Kristian Iversen are the other two riders who made it through the FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualification round.

Fricke will make his full-time SGP debut in 2020, having served as this season’s second reserve, racing all but one of the opening six rounds to claim 13th spot in the standings on 36 points.

The Aussie international, who hails from Mansfield (Vic), says taking third spot in Croatia will see him fulfil a childhood dream. He said: “I’m super excited. It has always been a goal to be in the Grand Prix series as a full-time rider.

“When I was a kid and I first started watching speedway, it was the GPs. So it’s pretty awesome to see myself in it for next year.

“Hopefully I can get some stuff together during the off-season and put together a strong outfit for next year.”

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Zagar beat Iversen in a run-off for first spot in Croatia after they tied on 11 points. Fricke then joined them on the podium by winning a run-off with Slovak star Martin Vaculik for third after they finished level on 10 points.

At this stage, Fricke is the only confirmed Australian in the 2020 SGP field, with 2017 world champion Jason Doyle sitting 10th in the 2019 series with four rounds remaining. Only the top eight finishers will receive automatic entry into next year’s action.

GP CHALLENGE SCORES: 1 Matej Zagar 11+3, 2 Niels-Kristian Iversen 11+2, 3 Max Fricke 10+3, 4 Martin Vaculik 10+2, 5 Anders Thomsen 9, 6 Pontus Aspgren 9, 7 Jurica Pavlic 9, 8 Aleksandr Loktaev 9, 9 Kenneth Bjerre 8, 10 Martin Smolinski 7, 11 Craig Cook 6, 12 Peter Ljung 6, 13 Robert Lambert 5, 14 Mikkel Michelsen 5, 15 David Bellego 3, 16 Chris Harris 2, 17 Matic Ivacic DNR, 18 Norbert Magosi DNR.