Australian duo Rohan Tungate and Keynan Rew have kept their hopes of reaching the 2027 Speedway Grand Prix World Championship alive after progressing through the opening FIM SGP qualifying round in Abensberg, Germany.
The pair secured their spots in the FIM Speedway GP World Championship Challenge in Terenzano, Italy, on July 25, where four coveted places in the 2027 Speedway GP field will be up for grabs.
Tungate delivered a strong and consistent performance throughout the day to finish third overall at the Bavarian circuit, while Rew’s path to qualification proved far more dramatic, with the young Australian forced into a tense run-off to seal the fourth and final transfer position.
American Luke Becker dominated proceedings at the Wack Hofmeister Speedway Stadium, winning all five of his heats to finish on a perfect maximum score and comfortably top the standings after failing to progress beyond the qualifying stage last year. Sweden’s Kim Nilsson finished second, while Poland’s Dominik Kubera joined Becker, Tungate and Rew in advancing to Italy.
For Tungate, the result came after a composed day of racing where he remained in contention throughout the 20-heat program. The Australian opened with a defeat to Nilsson but bounced back strongly, defeating compatriot Rew in his second ride before adding victories over Italy’s Niccolo Percotti and Latvia’s Francis Gusts. A key second-place finish behind Becker in the fourth block of racing helped cement his position inside the top five before he eventually finished third overall after losing a run-off to Nilsson for second.
Rew’s route was considerably more nerve-racking. After opening his campaign with a loss to Becker, he worked his way back into contention with wins over Slovenia’s Matic Ivacic and Gusts. However, the final qualification places came down to a dramatic run-off involving Rew, Kubera and Gusts for fourth, fifth and sixth. Rew delivered when it mattered most, winning the deciding race to secure his ticket to Terenzano.
The Aussies will now turn their attention to Italy in late July, but there is still more Australian interest in qualifying with Jaimon Lidsey and Jack Holder set to contest the remaining qualifying rounds on May 30 in Žarnovica, Slovakia, and Glasgow, Scotland, respectively.
