BELLE VUE skipper Brady Kurtz goes for World title glory in this Saturday’s final Grand Prix of the season in Torun.
Kurtz, who went agonisingly close to gold last year, is now part of a dramatic three-way showdown for the crown with just three points covering three riders.
Great Britain’s Robert Lambert leads the standings on 142 points, and will be on his home Polish track, with defending champion Bartosz Zmarzlik on 141 and Kurtz on 139.
That means there’s every chance of the title battle going down to the last race, although the situation could change beforehand as there will also be a Sprint Race in the afternoon carrying 4-3-2-1 points for the riders who reach it.
After back-to-back third places in Lodz and Riga, Kurtz finished seventh in the rain affected Danish GP a fortnight ago where Lambert was the big winner in terms of points, and the race between the three is now too close to call.
Kurtz said: “Vojens wasn’t ideal, it wasn’t what I’d hoped for, but I’m still right there and I’m just as in it as the other two.
“The tracks are a funny thing when the GP comes and it’s so different to the league, so we don’t really know what Torun is going to bring when we get there for the GP.
“We’ll just turn up as best prepared as I can, see what happens and get into it.”
Meanwhile Jason Doyle races his final GP, at least for the time being, having announced his decision to stand down from the series at the end of the season.
Kurtz and Doyle will be back at the National Speedway Stadium on Monday as the ATPI Aces face Ipswich in the second leg of their play-off semi-final.
They have a 52-38 lead from the first leg and will be determined to maintain their strong home record, especially based on the position of the second semi-final at halfway.
Sheffield continued their impressive recent form with a hefty 57-33 win over Leicester at Owlerton which makes them strong favourites at this stage to progress to what would be a Roses title decider if the Aces make it through.
Tickets for the ATPI Aces v Ipswich are available from https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/tickets .