Robert Lambert won a rain-shortened Danish Speedway Grand Prix in Vojens, moving into the overall lead of the 2026 Individual Speedway World Championship with one round of the season left to run.
The Briton's victory lifted him to 142 points in the general classification, one point ahead of defending series leader Bartosz Zmarzlik of Poland and three ahead of Australia's Brady Kurtz, the reigning runner-up. The gaps between the top three riders are now the narrowest they have been all season.
The Grand Prix series is the sport's top individual competition, run over a season of rounds held across Europe, with the world champion crowned after points from every meeting are added together. Zmarzlik has won six of the last seven world titles, while Kurtz finished as runner-up a year ago.
Lambert Closes In Before the Main Event
Before the main competition, a sprint event was held in Vojens in which Zmarzlik and Kurtz went into the night level on points at the top of the standings. Kurtz won the sprint's final ahead of Lambert, who was left as the only rider still able to challenge for the world title, trailing the two leaders by seven points.
The main meeting opened with a win for Patryk Dudek, who finished ahead of Michael Jepsen Jensen and Kacper Woryna. Lambert dropped a point in the second race, unable to get past Max Fricke. Zmarzlik's night started awkwardly: Anders Thomsen was excluded from the first attempt at his heat, and Andrzej Lebiediew was excluded from the rerun, before Zmarzlik won the second rerun ahead of Frederik Jakobsen.
Zmarzlik and Kurtz Trade Blows
Race four brought good news for Zmarzlik, the reigning world champion, as Kurtz crossed the line last, behind Leon Madsen, Dominik Kubera and Jason Doyle. Kurtz responded in his next outing, taking two points after a tight fight with Dudek. In race eight, Zmarzlik and Lambert met head-to-head, with Madsen splitting them by winning the heat; Lambert finished second while Zmarzlik was beaten by Jepsen Jensen.
Zmarzlik answered that setback by winning race ten. Soon afterwards, Lambert and Kurtz raced each other directly, with the Briton riding confidently to another win while Kurtz had to fend off Woryna all the way to the finish. Race twelve began with a fall for Lebiediew, and the full rerun was won by Fredrik Lindgren. Rain began falling more heavily over Vojens around this point, threatening to disrupt the rest of the programme.
The track held up well enough for racing to continue, and race thirteen produced a direct contest between the championship's co-leaders. Zmarzlik got the better start, but a sharp attack from Kurtz on the opening lap put the Australian in front for good. Lambert also fared well, finishing ahead of Doyle and Dudek. Organisers pushed through the remaining heats quickly, and by the end of race sixteen enough of the meeting had been completed for the result to count towards the general classification.
Rain Brings the Meeting to an Early Halt
Race seventeen belonged to Lambert, who produced a decisive move on Lebiediew to win the heat and book his place in the grand final. Zmarzlik made a strong start but was passed by both Woryna and Doyle. The rest of the main programme ended with a Danish-Australian contest, as Jepsen Jensen and Mikkel Andersen beat Kurtz and Fricke, a result that sent Madsen through to the final instead.
In the first semi-final, Lindgren produced a brilliant move to climb from fourth to first place, only to slip on the second bend and take Fricke down with him. The Swede was excluded from the rerun. Heavy rain then stopped racing altogether. Organisers tried to prepare the track again to allow the meeting to resume, but were unable to do so, and Lambert was declared the winner of the Denmark Grand Prix.
Standings Tighten Ahead of Toruń Finale
The result reshuffled the top of the world championship table. Lambert is now the overall leader on 142 points, with Zmarzlik second, one point behind, and Kurtz third, three points adrift. With the gaps so small, the destination of the 2026 world title will be decided at the season's final round, which takes place at the Motoarena in Toruń, Poland, on 26 September.
