Speedway of Nations 2022 Final as it happened - Australia triumph in Grand Final in Vojens
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Updated 30/07/2022 at 19:55 GMT
Live coverage and updates from the Speedway of Nations final from the Vojens Speedway Centre in Vojens, Denmark. After making it through the semi-finals, the likes of Poland, Great Britain and surprise package Finland will join hosts Denmark in the battle for glory. Jasmine Butler brings you all the action.
Speedway of Nations: Highlights of both semi-finals as big hitters advance
Thank you and goodnight
What an evening of Speedway! You just couldn't call it but it was Australia who became the champions in the Speedway of Nations. Thank you for joining us tonight.
The 2022 Speedway Grand Prix will be available live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.
Grand Final - Bewley, Fricke, Lambert, Holder
Australia have stolen it from Great Britain on the last heat and it was a fantastic four laps from the Aussie duo of Fricke and Holder. Heartbreak for Great Britain who couldn't retain their title.
Grand Final gate pick
As predicted, Great Britain decided to pick gates 1 and 3 with Australia coming out of gates 2 and 4.
Grand Final Qualifier Heat - Lindgren, Holder, Berntzon, Fricke
Australia are through to the final but it didn't come without it's drama. Berntzon comes off his bike on the final lap after some contact with Fricke. Berntzon is excluded and he is livid, feeling he wasn't the one at fault.
Gate pick for qualifier
Both Sweden and Australia are on 30 points but Sweden gets to choose first. They choose gates 1 and 3 with Australia having gates 2 and 4.
Great Britain are through
Great Britain tops the standings and are automatically through to the Grand Final. Sweden and Australia are the two to battle it out in the Grand Final Qualifier.
- 1 - Great Britain 32 pts
- 2 - Sweden 30 pts
- 3 - Australia 30 pts
- 4 - Denmark 28 pts
- 5 - Czech Republic 27 pts
- 6 - Poland 26 pts
- 7 - Finland 16 pts
HEAT 21 - Lindgren, Bewley, Berntzon, Lambert
What a big heat to finish off with! With both teams needing a big points haul it was Great Britain who gets the heat advantage with a six points. Sweden settled with second place and three points.
HEAT 20 - Holder, Lahti, Fricke, Mustonen
Lahti is spoiling the end of the night for Australia, keeping Holder at bay and taking four points for Finland. Australia do get the heat advantage with Holder second and Fricke third.
HEAT 19 - Madsen, Zmarzlik, Michelsen, Janowski
The red lights are on after Madsen is chucked off his bike after getting into trouble. Madsen is excluded leaving Denmark with just the one rider in their final heat. On the re-run, Michelsen can't get his bike in order to get the win and has to settle with second and three points to Denmark. Poland take six points but I doubt they'll make the top three.
HEAT 18 - Bewley, Milik, Lambert, Kvech
It's heat advantage for Great Britain with five points but Milik was the main that claimed the win. Kvech was a bit messy and was the pointless man.
HEAT 17 - Lahti, Zmarzlik, Mustonen, Janowski
Poland needed this boost with Zmarzlik claiming the win. Lahti made things difficult for Janowski meaning Poland get six points this heat. Are they now in the mix?
Standings after 16 heats
It's getting tight up top. Very tricky to work out who is going to win this one.
- 1 - Sweden 27 pts
- 2 - Denmark 25 pts
- 3 - Australia 25 pts
- 4 - Czech Republic 23 pts
- 5 - Great Britain 21 pts
- 6 - Poland 14 pts
- 7 - Finland 9 pts
HEAT 16 - Lindgren, Madsen, Berntzon, Michelsen
Just as Denmark were shining, they walk away from Heat 16 with just two points. Sweden's Lindgren and Berntzon battle to take seven points and that puts them on top. Anyone can run away with this tonight.
HEAT 15 - Milik, Holder, Kvech, Fricke
And it is seven points for Australia! In a battle up top, Czech republic couldn't afford to walk away with just two points but Milik and Kvech didn't have the power this heat.
HEAT 14 - Zmarzlik, Bewley, Janowski, Lambert
What a heat from Bewley! Great Britain take six points against the night's favourites Poland. Yet again, Zmarzlik battles for the win but cannot take it with Lambert in third.
HEAT 13 - Lahti, Lindgren, Mustonen, Berntzon
Mustonen is down on the first lap and Finland's woes are getting worse as he's excluded. On the re-run, Sweden claim first and third to get six points. Lahti still challenged for the win but couldn't quite get Lindgren.
Standings after 12 heats
The home nation are flying despite not having any track time. They have the Czech Republic and Australia for company with all three competing in one extra heat.
- 1 - Denmark 23 pts
- 2 - Czech Republic 21 pts
- 3 - Australia 18 pts
- 4 - Great Britain 15 pts
- 5 - Sweden 14 pts
- 6 - Poland 11 pts
- 7 - Finland 6 pts
HEAT 12 - Madsen, Holder, Michelsen, Fricke
Holder shoots out the gate but the red light is on due to movement from Madsen before the tapes were up. Madsen is given a warning and all four can continue. This time it's Madsen that gets out in front but he had Holder for company in second with Michelsen in third. Another heat advantage from Denmark.
HEAT 11 - Lindgren, Milik, Berntzon, Kvech
Berntzon is doing it all for Sweden claiming another heat win. However, Czech Republic get the heat advantage with Kvech in second and Milik in third. Lindgren was relegated to the back again.
HEAT 10 - Holder, Zmarzlik, Fricke, Dudek
Poland aren't having a fun time tonight. Holder and Fricke take the seven points for Australia. Zmarzlik was on Fricke's tail but couldn't catch him.
HEAT 9 - Bewley, Madsen, Lambert, Michelsen
Lambert fly's out of the gate and takes the win for Great Britain. Michelsen and Madsen come second and third giving them five points and the heat advantage. Bewley failed to score again with the gate 3 not working well for him.
Standings after eight heats
- 1 - Czech Republic 16 pts
- 2 - Denmark 12 pts
- 3 - Great Britain 11 pts
- 4 - Sweden 10 pts
- 5 - Poland 9 pts
- 6 - Australia 8 pts
- 7 - Finland 6 pts
HEAT 8 - Milik, Lahti, Kvech, Mustonen
Czech republic get a 1 - 2 against Finland, giving them a nice points haul and putting on a dominating show. Mustonen gets the final two points.
HEAT 7 - Zmarzlik, Lindgren, Dudek, Berntzon
Berntzon's fine form continues but he nearly lost out to Zmarzlik on lap 3. Poland take second and third with Lindgren not able to take third from Dudek, despite all his efforts.
HEAT 6 - Bewley, Holder, Lambert, Fricke
Lambert charges in front but some great team work from Australia puts Holder and Fricke in second and third, taking the heat advantage. Bewley just couldn't get into this heat, riding away with no points.
HEAT 5 - Madsen, Lahti, Michelsen, Mustonen
Salonen hasn't come back for Finland yet. Denmark are able to take full advantage of this and take the seven points in Heat 5. Lahti takes two points for Finland.
HEAT 4 - Zmarzlik, Milik, Dudek, Kvech
Zmarzlik takes the win for Poland but it's the Czech Republic who take the heat advantage with Dudek out at the back.
HEAT 3 - Holder, Lindgren, Fricke, Berntzon
Berntzon charges off to the win leaving the other three battling for the final two points positions. Holder claimed second with Lindgren in third. Fricke was the man with nothing.
Halt in proceedings
Racing has stopped for the moment as we wait for the rain to blow over.
HEAT 2 - Lahti, Bewley, Salonen, Lambert
Great Britain gets off to a great start but Salonen crashes on the opening lap and the red light is shown. The rain is starting to fall in Vojens. Salonen is excluded leaving just Lahti on his own for Finland. Great Britain had another perfect start claiming a nice seven points in their first heat.
HEAT 1 - Milik, Madsen, Kvech, Michelsen
Milik takes the win but its Denmark that walks away with the heat advantage and five points with Madsen second and Michelsen third. Kvech found himself in trouble and was dropped to the back. Good start for the host nation.
The action is upon us
The teams are being showcased. Just a few more minutes until the first heat of the night.
Just the two for Great Britain
With Tai Woffinden out tonight, it is just Robert Lambert and Dan Bewley that will contest for Great Britain.
How the final works
Tonight will consist of a total of 23 heats. All seven teams will compete over 21 heats and the team on top will automatically go through to the Grand Final. The second and third placed teams will battle it out in a Final Qualifier to join the first placed team in the Grand Final.
Hello and Welcome
The final of the 2022 Speedway of Nations is finally upon us. We have seven teams battling it out for chance to be crowned champions. Reigning champions Great Britain will be without their star Tai Woffinden, after he sustained a back injury on Friday.
Team news: GB blow as Woffinden out with back injury
Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden has been ruled out of the Speedway of Nations final just hours before the event in Vojens.
The news is a major blow to the defending champions who lose Woffinden to a back injury sustained on Friday.
A statement on the GB Speedway website wrote: “The three-times World Champion took part in a training exercise yesterday (Friday) with five other riders who are all due to race in tonight’s final. Tai was attended to by Great Britain medical staff for injuries sustained to his back.
“He was also assessed by experts at Kolding Sygehus Medical Centre in Kolding where he also underwent x-rays and examinations.
“Our riders' health and safety is always our priority and due to the nature of Tai’s injury and subsequent effects on his movement, a joint decision has been made to withdraw from racing this evening."
Full story here.
Speedway of Nations Final team line-ups
- CZECH REPUBLIC: 1 Vaclav Milik (c), 2 Jan Kvech, 3 Petr Chlupac
- DENMARK: 1 Leon Madsen (c), 2 Mikkel Michelsen, 3 Anders Thomsen
- FINLAND: 1 Timo Lahti (c), 2 Timi Salonen, 3 Jesse Mustonen
- GREAT BRITAIN: 1 Robert Lambert, 2 Dan Bewley
- AUSTRALIA: 1 Jason Doyle (c), 2 Max Fricke, 3 Jack Holder
- SWEDEN: 1 Fredrik Lindgren (c), 2 Oliver Berntzon, 3 Victor Palovaara
- POLAND: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik (c), 2 Patryk Dudek, 3 Maciej Janowski
The Speedway of Nations Final 2022
The 15 teams which began the Speedway of Nations 2022 have been whittled down to seven with only one set to top the podium and crowd new world champions.
The first semi-final saw Australia book their place in the final alongside surprise package Finland, pushing pre-tournament favourites Poland into third place and a race-off against Germany in order to secure their place in the final.
Full report here.
It was a similar story for defending champions Great Britain 24 hours later as they finished down in fourth in semi-final number two and had to beat a spirited France team to go through alongside Sweden and the Czech Republic.
Full report here.
These six teams join Denmark who automatically qualify for the final as hosts and will be saying farewell to team manager Hans Nielsen who will be stepping down after the meeting but is determined to finish on a high.
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Stream the 2022 Speedway of Nations live and ad-free on discovery+ with live race action also on Eurosport 2.
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