World champion Bartosz Zmarzlik insists he won’t be celebrating for long, despite racing to a third straight FIM Speedway Grand Prix victory at Orlen Lublin SGP of Poland round five on Friday.
The Pole followed up his back-to-back wins at last weekend’s Wroclaw double-header by taking the maximum 20 points again at Stadion Miejski to top the World Championship on 83 – three ahead of nearest rival Artem Laguta, who has 80 points.
Zmarzlik triumphed in the final ahead of wild card Dominik Kubera, Lublin’s Polish Under-21 champion who delivered an incredible performance on his SGP debut. Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren took third place ahead of Laguta.
As well as becoming the first-ever winner of a Lublin round, Zmarzlik became only the fourth rider in SGP history to claim a third consecutive victory – joining Tony Rickardsson, who did it in 2005, Jason Crump (2006) and Jason Doyle (2016).
The Gorzow hero is bidding to become only the second rider to win three world titles in a row – a feat New Zealand’s six-time World Final winner Ivan Mauger achieved from 1968 to 1970.
But Zmarzlik knows there is plenty of work ahead and is already focused on Saturday’s Orlen Lublin SGP of Poland round six.
“I am very happy because I have won three rounds and for me, these are very good results. But the season is so long. I am always looking to the future. Today is history for me – but good history! Winning three rounds is very nice and I am the first rider to win a GP in Lublin, so that’s great,” Zmarzlik said.
Rickardsson is the only rider to have claimed four SGP wins on the spin during his charge to a sixth and final world title in 2005. But Zmarzlik says he won’t be thinking too much about what’s at stake on Saturday.
Zmarzlik added: “I am not looking for this – statistics or anything like that. I just want to get good results, be happy and have fun with my racing. For me, that’s so very important because I love riding the bike. I want to say thanks to the fans and my team. See you tomorrow!”
Kubera made an unforgettable SGP World Championship debut and admits he may not get too much sleep ahead of Saturday’s round six after completing a Polish one-two and sending the home fans wild.
“I don’t know what to say because this is unbelievable. I always dreamed of starting in this meeting. I started today and I was second. This is unbelievable! This is a perfect day for me. I can’t stop smiling and I don’t know how I will sleep tonight. There’s no chance of that!” Kubera enthused.
“It was a really good run for me. I want to race with the best in the world and it felt amazing. My bike worked perfectly today and my team was great. I am so happy.”
Third-placed Lindgren was much happier with his form as he claimed 16 championship points after missing both finals in Wroclaw last weekend.
The Swede, who is fifth in the standings on 66 points, said: “It felt much better today. I started off well with a second and a heat win. It was nice to get some points on the board early on. It calms everyone down a bit.
“I thought I rode well all night long. I am happy to make the final. You always want to win, but I am happy with third place.” Lindgren said.
ORLEN LUBLIN SGP OF POLAND R5 SCORES:
1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 20 Points
2 Dominik Kubera 18 Points
3 Fredrik Lindgren 16 Points
4 Artem Laguta 14 Points
5 Jason Doyle 12 Points
6 Tai Woffinden 11 Points
7 Leon Madsen 10 Points
8 Emil Sayfutdinov 9 Points
9 Max Fricke 8 Points
10 Matej Zagar 7 Points
11 Robert Lambert 6 Points
12 Martin Vaculik 5 Points
13 Maciej Janowski 4 Points
14 Krzysztof Kasprzak 3 Points
15 Anders Thomsen 2 Points
16 Oliver Berntzon 1 Points
17 Wiktor Lampart 0 Points
18 Mateusz Swidnicki DNR 0 Points
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 83 Points
2 Artem Laguta 80 Points
3 Maciej Janowski 70 Points
4 Emil Sayfutdinov 67 Points
5 Fredrik Lindgren 66 Points
6 Tai Woffinden 55 Points
7 Leon Madsen 54 Points
8 Max Fricke 41 Points
9 Jason Doyle 40 Points
10 Martin Vaculik 39 Points
11 Robert Lambert 33 Points
12 Anders Thomsen 26 Points
13 Matej Zagar 24 Points
14 Dominik Kubera 18 Points
15 Krzysztof Kasprzak 10 Points
16 Oliver Berntzon 9 Points
17 Gleb Chugunov 8 Points
18 Jan Kvech 7 Points
