Australian rider Brady Kurtz has made a stunning impact in his first year competing in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix, currently sitting second overall in the standings.

With 142 points to his name, Kurtz is just three points behind Bartosz Zmarzlik, who leads on 145.

Kurtz’s consistency and ability to step up in the biggest moments have been the hallmarks of his campaign so far, keeping him firmly in contention for the world title.

Kurtz opened his debut season with a solid 4th place finish in Round 1 at Landshut, immediately showing he could compete with the sport’s best.

He backed it up in Warsaw during Round 2, finishing 2nd in front of a packed home crowd for many of his rivals.

Round 3 in Prague proved tougher, with Kurtz unable to break into the top four, but the setback didn’t slow his momentum for long.

In Round 4 at Manchester, Kurtz returned to form with a 3rd place finish, before stepping it up again in Round 5 at the same venue, where he came home 2nd.

The back-to-back podiums highlighted his growing confidence and ability to adapt quickly to different tracks.

From there, Kurtz went on a dominant run.

In Round 6 at Gorzow, he broke through for his first win of the season.

He followed it up with victory in Round 7 at Malilla, and then made it three wins in a row by topping the podium again in Round 8 at Riga.

Those results firmly established him as one of the championship frontrunners, and turned his debut campaign into one of the sport’s biggest storylines of the year.

The next stage of the championship will see a sprint race added to the schedule before Round 9 in Wroclaw on August 30.

Round 10, the final event of the season, will take place in Vojens on September 13.

With just two rounds to go and only three points separating him from the leader, Kurtz has put himself in prime position to challenge for the title.

Regardless of how the final rounds unfold, Kurtz has already made history by establishing himself at the very top of world speedway in his first season.

His mix of determination, resilience, and raw pace has put him in striking distance of the championship and all eyes will be on Wroclaw and Vojens to see if he can close the gap on Zmarzlik and claim a remarkable debut title.