Changes in the Grand Prix Cycle. A New Competition System Introduced

Starting from the 2025 season, both fans and participants of the Speedway Grand Prix are in for a small revolution. The semifinals will be eliminated and replaced by last chance races. The number of riders qualifying for this phase of the tournament will also change – instead of the top eight, it will be the top ten. Additionally, there will be more sprints throughout the season.

Until now, the Grand Prix events had 20 main stage races in a round-robin format, followed by semifinals where the top eight of the tournament qualified. From them, the top two would advance to the final, meeting in the 23rd race of the day to compete for victory.

Now, however, the Grand Prix tournament format will closely resemble that of the Individual International Championships of the Zenon Plech Extraleague, where the first and second riders on the table automatically advance to the final after the main stage, and those in positions 3-10 compete for the remaining two spots in the last chance heats.

There will also be more sprints, with the format slightly refreshed. Sprints debuted in the cycle this season and were held in Warsaw and Cardiff. Next year, it will additionally include Gorzów, Landshut, Wrocław, and Manchester.

The riders will be randomly paired and will compete in eight head-to-head duels. In this way, the fastest eight will be selected, who will once again compete in pairs. Then, the winning four will fight for points toward the general classification in a sprint race. The winner will receive four points, the second-fastest rider three, the third two, and the fourth one. Thus, a total of 60 points will be up for grabs throughout the season just for sprints.

Marcin Rusewicz