Latvian racer Andzejs Lebedevs surged into a six-point lead at the Speedway European Championship summit after topping the podium at round three in Gustrow on Saturday.
The 2017 SEC champion took a big stride towards title No.2 and securing automatic qualification for the 2025 Speedway GP series after winning the final ahead of SGP rival Leon Madsen in second, former Danish champion Rasmus Jensen in third and fourth-placed French racer Dimitri Berge.
Lebedevs’ 15-point haul in Germany means he now leads the standings on 39 points going into the final round of the series at the iconic Stadion Slaski in Chorzow on September 21.
If the Daugavpils-born racer scores 13 points or more that night, he will be certain of a second straight Speedway GP season, with this year’s European champion guaranteed World Championship qualification for 2025.
This would come as a huge boost to Lebedevs, who is currently 13th in the Speedway GP standings on 43 points – 32 short of the top-six position needed to secure automatic SGP qualification.
Lebedevs cruised into the Gustrow final after scoring 12 points to finish in the top two after the heats, defying a last place in his third race. Madsen also made the cut on 12.
Jensen was forced to do it the hard way, winning the semi-final ahead of Berge, who made it through in second. Swedish international Timo Lahti missed out in third place, with Poland’s Piotr Pawlicki in fourth spot.
Jensen tallied 10 points in the heats, adding one extra in the final to leave with 11 in all. Berge, Lahti and Pawlicki all claimed nine championship points, along with former world No.2 Patryk Dudek and Kacper Woryna, who went into the round joint-top of the SEC standings with Lebedevs.
Second place on the night for Madsen moves him up to second overall on 33 – level with Woryna in third, while Pawlicki has 32 in fourth place.
Former world No.3 Maciej Janowski collected eight points in Gustrow and heads into the final round fifth on 27 – occupying the last automatic qualifying spot for the 2025 SEC competition.
Dudek is just behind on 26 in sixth, with Jensen and reigning champion Mikkel Michelsen tied on 25 in seventh and eighth.
Michelsen’s night ended abruptly in heat 13, when he crashed on lap three, bend two. He was disqualified from the re-run and did not take part in his final heat.
SPEEDWAY EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS (AFTER 3/4 ROUNDS):
1. Andzejs Lebedevs 39
2. Leon Madsen 33
3. Kacper Woryna 33
4. Piotr Pawlicki 32
5. Maciej Janowski 27
6. Patryk Dudek 26
7. Rasmus Jensen 25
8. Mikkel Michelsen 25
9. Anders Thomsen 24
10. Timo Lahti 24
11. Janusz Kołodziej 17
12. Jacob Thorssell 16
13. Dimitri Berge 12
14. Norick Blödorn 12
15. Max Fricke 10
16. Vaclav Milik 9
17. Jevgenijs Kostigovs 8
18. Bartłomiej Kowalski 4
19. Kevin Wölbert 2
GUSTROW POINTS:
1. Andzejs Lebedevs 15
2. Leon Madsen 14
3. Rasmus Jensen 11
4. Dimitri Berge 9
5. Timo Lahti 9
6. Piotr Pawlicki 9
7. Kacper Woryna 9
8. Patryk Dudek 9
9. Maciej Janowski 8
10. Janusz Kołodziej 7
11. Anders Thomsen 7
12. Jacob Thorssell 5
13. Norick Blodorn 5
14. Mikkel Michelsen 5
15. Kevin Wolbert 2
16. Jevgenijs Kostigovs 2
17. Lukas Baumann 0
18. Patrick Hyjek DNR
