Lebedev falls one step short of final in Riga; Zmarzlik wins Grand Prix round

Latvian speedway rider Andžejs Ļebedevs finished sixth on Saturday at the eighth round of the Speedway World Championship, known as the Grand Prix, held at the Bikernieki track in Riga.

Ļebedevs placed third in his first and third heats, then won his second heat outright. In his fourth heat he was ruled at fault in a collision with Denmark's Mikkel Michelsen and did not take part in the rerun, scoring no points there. A second-place finish in his fifth heat brought his total to seven points, enough to advance to the semifinal, where another second-place result kept him out of the final.

Final results

The final was won by reigning world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik of Poland, ahead of Britain's Robert Lambert and Australia's Brady Kurtz, who had won one of the two semifinals. Poland's Kacper Woryna won the other semifinal.

For the round, Zmarzlik earned 20 championship points, Lambert 18, Kurtz 16 and Woryna 14, while Ļebedevs collected 11 points.

Wildcard rider Daniils Kolodinskis placed third in two of his heats but finished last in the rest, ending the round in 15th place with two points.

Standings

After eight rounds, Zmarzlik leads the overall standings with 129 points, followed by Kurtz with 125 and Lambert with 119. Ļebedevs sits ninth with 60 points, while Kolodinskis is 24th with two points.

Ļebedevs' best result this season came at round six in Sweden, where he reached the semifinal and finished fifth. Last year he took third place in Riga. The season features ten rounds in total, with the final one set for Poland in late September. Last season Ļebedevs finished sixth overall, while Zmarzlik claimed his sixth career title.