It caps off a superb campaign for Kurtz, finishing on 53 points overall and 16 for the night, who had earlier won the opening two rounds at Gillman and Mildura respectively.
The victory guarantees him a spot for the FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) qualification rounds, where riders will battle for a place at the FIM SGP Challenge on August 9. If he can replicate his top-four finish from the 2024 event in Denmark, Kurtz will be guaranteed a spot in the 2026 Speedway GP series.
Related:
The championship podium (L to R): Jack Holder, Brady Kurtz and Chris Holder
In good conditions at the Diamond Park track, riders put on a show for the crowd as Kurtz turned the heat on his rivals early by collecting a bundle of points in the heats – seven apiece with nearest rival Jack Holder – in the opening three heats to ensure that victory in his fourth outing (heat 13) would clinch the title. He did just that, finishing ahead of Zach Cook, Mitchell McDiarmid and Michael West to release the pressure valve for the remainder of the evening with one heat, semi-finals and a final to spare.
As championship runner-up, Holder has also earned a spot at the SGP qualifiers and joins Kurtz in campaigning the Aussie charge. He secured this with victory in his final heat which took him to 13 points from five rides, ending on 42 overall.
Tungate’s victory in the final sees him finish fifth overall, while third on the night for Chris Holder was enough for him to also round out the top three on the overall points standings.
Kurtz (#14) and Tungate (#16) fought hard for round honours at Albury
The series ended in disappointment for Max Fricke, who was unable to contest the final round, having been forced to withdraw from round two due to injury. The SGP star crashed in the opening race at Mildura and despite taking third in his second outing, did not continue in the event at Olympic Park.
The attention will now turn to Adelaide’s Gillman Speedway with the running of the FIM Oceania Speedway Championship on January 25 to determine who will claim the third spot at the SGP qualifiers.
Final points standings:
1. Brady Kurtz – 53
2. Jack Holder – 42
3. Chris Holder – 38
4. Keynan Rew – 37
5. Rohan Tungate – 35
6. Ben Cook – 27
7. Zach Cook – 26
8. Josh Pickering – 25
9. Jaimon Lidsey – 23
10. James Pearson – 16
11. Max Fricke – 12
12. Mitchell McDiarmid – 11
13. Sam Masters – 10
14. Harry Ryan – 10
15. Michael West – 10
16. Mitchell Cluff – 7
17. Patrick Hamilton – 5
18. Dayle Wood – 1
19. Alex Adamson – 0
20. Harry Sadler – 0
21. Ashley Jansen-Batch – 0
22. Isaiah Hartley – 0
Images: Judy Mackay