Speedway Grand Prix 2022 - what it is, how to watch, race calendar, who is taking part, riders, venues

ByEurosport

Updated 29/04/2022 at 13:24 GMT

The new Speedway Grand Prix season is upon us with 16 riders taking part in 12 rounds of thrilling racing to see who will be crowned the 2022 world champion. Who will be competing for this year's title and where will the championship be won and lost by the time of the season climax in November? The 2022 Speedway Grand Prix will be available live and ad-free on discovery+

Explainer: What makes Speedway GP unique, and why you need it in your life

What is the Speedway Grand Prix?

The series of 12 Speedway motorcycle races featuring 16 riders over the course of a season coming from different locations.

The rider with the most points at the end of the season is crowned Speedway world champion.

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How to watch?

Discovery+ will provide live, ad-free coverage of every race as well as interactive services. Race action will also be live on Eurosport 2, with highlights and reaction on the Eurosport website.

Format and scoring

Every round will see the 16 riders race against each other over 20 heats. Every heat will consist of four riders taking four laps of the track.

The winning rider in each heat is awarded four points with two points for second, one for third and zero for last place.

The eight riders with the most points at the end of the heats move to two semi-finals, with the top two in each semi then facing off in the final.

The winning rider earns 20 championship points with 18 for second, 16 for third and 14 for fourth.

The riders who finish third in each semi are awarded 11 or 12 points depending on who scored higher in the heats, and the same applies to the fourth placed semi-finalists with nine or 10 points awarded.

The rider with the most points at the end of the season is the world champion.

Speedway Grand Prix explained - Everything you need to know ahead of the 2022 season

Who is competing?

The 16 riders consist of the top six riders from the previous year’s series who qualify automatically – however, 2021 champion Artem Laguta and third place Emil Sayfutdinov will not be taking part due to an FIM ban on Russian athletes. Both have been replaced.

The top six are joined by three riders from the Grand Prix Challenge series and the previous year’s Speedway European Championship winner is also guaranteed a place.

Five more riders are nominated by the competition organisers and the main 16-rider line-up is completed by one wild-card.

Five further riders are nominated as substitutes in case of illness, injury or other absences from the main group, with two of these nominated as track reserves for each round of racing.

Full line-up

Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland)
Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden)
Maciej Janowski (Poland)
Tai Woffinden (United Kingdom)
Leon Madsen (Denmark)
Jason Doyle (Australia)
Robert Lambert (United Kingdom)
Anders Thomsen (Denmark)
Martin Vaculík (Slovakia)
Paweł Przedpełski (Poland)
Max Fricke (Australia)
Patryk Dudek (Poland)
Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark)
Jack Holder (Australia)
Dan Bewley (United Kingdom)

Substitute riders

Andžejs Ļebedevs (Latvia)
Jakub Miśkowiak (Poland)
Mads Hansen (Denmark)
Luke Becker (United States)
David Bellego (France)

Race Calendar

As it stands, 12 events are scheduled to take place. However, owing to the political situation involving Russia and Ukraine, FIM Speedway have announced the event due to take place on July 9 will not be held in Togliatti. A new location is yet to be decided.

Round