Doyle takes sensational win over Zmarzlik, Britain's Lambert third

Australian Jason Doyle broke the hearts of home fans as he clinched victory in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix second round in Poland.

Doyle was in unstoppable form in Warsaw, winning six races from seven rides.

However, he was pushed all the way by Polish rival Bartosz Zmarzlik, who had to settle for second in front of his home crowd.

British rider Robert Lambert finished third in the final, ahead of Slovakian Martin Vaculik.

The pair went head-to-head in the semi-finals, with Doyle coming out on top as Holder failed to progress, dropping vital points in the overall standings.

In the final, Doyle picked the inside line and held off the charge from a buoyant Zmarzlik pushed on by his home fans.

It was Doyle’s first FIM Speedway Grand Prix victory since 2017 and he leads the World Championship standings heading into the third round in Germany next weekend.

“I can’t believe it after seven years,” said Doyle. “I tried so hard for so many years to get back onto the top step and it has finally happened.”

Commenting on leading the world standings he added: “It doesn’t matter, it’s a long way to go and we’ve still got eight more Grand Prixs.”

However, Doyle had an embarrassing incident on celebrating his win, crashing his bike while pulling a wheelie.

“This is s bitter-sweet moment for me, I’m going to cherish it,” he added. “I crashed after the race, that’s the first time I crashed in the meeting, I’m so happy.”

Coming into the final Doyle had the first gate selection and opted for the inside line, while rival Zmarzlik picked the outside.

“You put pressure on yourself when you’re No. 1 points scorer,” Doyle explained.

“When I went off at gate one and saw Zmarzlik on gate four, I thought ‘here we go, it’s going to be a tough one’.

“I made a half-decent start and got on the rut inside to get in front and then the bike felt so great.”

After finishing third in the opening round, four-time world champion Zmarzlik is six points behind Doyle in the overall standings.

“I finished in third place last time and now second, so it’s a better result for Poland,” said Zmarzlik.

“I’m happy because today I had a really nice feeling on the track. The final is always the final and congratulations to the boys.”