Speedway of Nations 2022: Australia beat Great Britain in Grand Final in Vojens to win first title

ByEurosport

Updated 30/07/2022 at 20:09 GMT

Max Fricke and Jack Holder were the heroes in the Speedway of Nations Grand Final as Australia overcame Great Britain to take the title for the first time. Defending Champions Great Britain had to settle for silver with Sweden taking the bronze at the Vojens Speedway Centre in Vojens.

'They are the champions' - Australia beat Great Britain to win Speedway of Nations title

Australia are the victors of the 2022 Speedway of Nations after a stunning Grand Final heat against last year's champions Great Britain.

The Aussie duo of Max Fricke and Jack Holder had been strong all night but found themselves third after the 21 heats.

In a Grand Final Qualifier battle with second-place Sweden, Australia secured their spot in the final with a 6 – 3 win, but it didn’t come without controversy. On the last lap, Sweden’s Oliver Berntzon tangled with Fricke, and came off his bike.

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However, it was deemed that Berntzon was at fault and was excluded, albeit from last place. Come the Grand Final, despite having the weaker gate choice, Holder and Fricke flew out to claim a 7 – 2 win and becoming world champions for the first time under the Speedway of Nations format.

Jason Doyle was also part of the Australia team as first reserve but didn’t participate in any of the heats. Despite this, he was still elated for his team as the celebrations kicked off with the traditional Aussie shoey on the podium.

Speedway of Nations Final as it happened - Australia triumph in Grand Final in Vojens

Great Britain topped the standings after 21 heats but ultimately couldn’t claim the win in the end. The display from Dan Bewley and Robert Lambert was nothing short of impressive after captain Tai Woffinden had to pull out due to a back injury sustained on Friday.

It was a close battle all night with Denmark, Czech Republic and Poland missing out on the top three by the slimmest of margins - just six points separated the top six at the end of the night.

The shock of the night was Poland, who came in to the event as pre-race favourites but just couldn’t get themselves in gear.

Bartosz Zmarzlik did claim 20 points by himself, but his singular performance couldn’t help his side make the top three and they finished sixth on the night.

Hosts Denmark could have easily been in the mix but Leon Madsen found himself excluded from his last heat, putting his team-mate Mikkel Michelsen in a disadvantage on his own.

Surprise package Finland found themselves in a tight spot after Timi Salonen came off his bike in his first heat and was unable to compete for the rest of the night.

"Yeah, it's just a crazy time," said team manager Mark Lemon afterwards. "You dream of these moments for these boys.

"It's all about these guys that ride week in week out and get the honour to represent their country. For me, it's an honour to be part of that. So it's just amazing.

"They finally lifted it. We've been so close for so many years, and we just kept persevering. But there's guys before then there'll be guys after, but I'm proud of these boys."