From Hell to Heaven. Bartosz Zmarzlik wins the 2024 OLYBET FIM SGP of Latvia!

07.09.2024 21:06
Fot. Marcin Karczewski

Bartosz Zmarzlik’s victory concluded the Latvian Grand Prix tournament held in Riga. Fredrik Lindgren took second place, and Daniel Bewley came in third. Max Fricke finished just off the podium.

The first two races at the Riga track didn’t impress. Not much happened. It was only in the third race that Robert Lambert had the opportunity to shine. He first dealt with Dominik Kubera and then set off in pursuit of Max Fricke, overtaking him on the third lap. In the fourth race, Bartosz Zmarzlik and Mikkel Michelsen had a very dangerous crash. The event referee deemed the Dane responsible, who could not continue in the tournament. Bartosz Zmarzlik returned safely to the pit area. In the re-run, German Kai Huckenbeck won.

The beginning of the second series saw a sure victory for Janowski. Dominik Kubera and Szymon Woźniak continued to record a weaker series, not showing much speed as they did in the first. In the seventh race, Zmarzlik claimed a sure victory, and in the eighth race, Lebedevs secured another win before his home crowd, though he had to keep an eye on Fricke till the end.

At the start of the third series, Huckenbeck scored another three points. The Polish riders performed weaker this time as Janowski, Zmarzlik, and Kubera each earned a point, while Woźniak recorded another zero. On the other hand, Lebedevs excelled, feeling like a “fish in water” on the Riga track, becoming the sole leader of the standings.

In the fourth series, Janowski secured another three points. The subsequent races did not bring more interesting battles. However, in the sixteenth race concluding the series, there was a great fight between Zmarzlik and Lebedevs for victory. It initially seemed our representative would beat the Latvian, but he brilliantly defended himself and zoomed to his fourth win, ensuring a spot in the semifinals.

The last series of starts saw better performances from our representatives. In the “Polish race,” Zmarzlik won ahead of Kubera and Janowski, with Vaculik fourth. In the eighteenth race, Holder and Madsen had a very dangerous crash. Fortunately, both riders were unhurt. In the re-run, an unusual situation occurred. Lambert stayed at the start and initially had a significant gap to the other two riders after the first corner. Despite this, the Brit had such immense speed that not only did he make up the gap and pass both rivals, but he also won with a colossal lead. It was an unusual situation, but Lambert should definitely be praised for it. The series ended with wins for Woźniak, who won his first race in a long time in the FIM SGP cycle, and Daniel Bewley, who beat the excellent Lebedevs of the evening.

The basic round was won by the aforementioned Lebedevs, while among our representatives, Zmarzlik and Janowski made it to the semifinals.

Much happened in the first semifinal, where Zmarzlik, Lindgren, Lambert, and Lebedevs faced off. Zmarzlik got off to a great start but was overcome by Lindgren. The Polish rider decided to defend the second place, which ensured advancement to the final, from Robert Lambert. Unexpectedly, Lebedevs finished fourth, only initially managing to fight with the Brit for the third spot.

In the second semifinal, Bewley won ahead of Fricke. The Australian fought hard with Janowski for a spot in the final and passed the Polish rider on the second lap. Last was Madsen. Thus, we had one representative in the final race.

In the grand final, there was a confusion on the first corner, which Zmarzlik utilized to his advantage. The four-time world champion sped to victory and ultimately won the Latvian Grand Prix. Lindgren came in second, and Bewley third. Max Fricke narrowly missed the podium. Interestingly, he was in seventh place after the basic round but won, just as he did last year.

Results:

  1. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland) 14 – 20 points
  2. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 14 – 18 points
  3. Daniel Bewley (Great Britain) 15 – 16 points
  4. Max Fricke (Australia) 12 – 14 points
  5. Maciej Janowski (Poland) 11 – 12 points
  6. Robert Lambert (Great Britain) 11 – 11 points
  7. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia) 14 – 10 points
  8. Leon Madsen (Denmark) 9 – 9 points
  9. Kai Huckenbeck (Germany) 8 – 8 points
  10. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia) 8 – 7 points
  11. Jan Kvech (Czech Republic) 7 – 6 points
  12. Dominik Kubera (Poland) 6 – 5 points
  13. Szymon Woźniak (Poland) 4 – 4 points
  14. Daniils Kolodinskis (Latvia) 3 – 3 points
  15. Jack Holder (Australia) 2 – 2 points
  16. Francis Gusts (Latvia) 0 – 0 points
  17. Ricards Ansvesulis (Latvia) 0 – 0 points
  18. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark) 0 – 0 points

General classification:

  1. Bartosz Zmarzlik – 141
  2. Fredrik Lindgren – 124
  3. Robert Lambert – 117
  4. Martin Vaculik – 102
  5. Mikkel Michelsen – 101
  6. Daniel Bewley – 100
  7. Jack Holder – 95
  8. Dominik Kubera – 78
  9. Leon Madsen – 76
  10. Andzejs Lebedevs – 61
  11. Max Fricke – 56
  12. Szymon Woźniak – 55
  13. Kai Huckenbeck – 54
  14. Jason Doyle – 47
  15. Jan Kvech – 36
  16. Maciej Janowski – 29

Kamil Szyszkowski

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