Speedway of Nations 2024 final live – Great Britain going for gold on home soil

Holder takes the lead at tapes up, but Michelsen finds a shooting star line round the outside and fires into the lead. Kurtz, who had the door shut on him at the start, gets the better of Thomsen to move into third. The heat stretches out from there.

• 1. Great Britain – 15pts
• 2. Germany – 15pts
• 3. Australia – 11pts
• 4. Sweden – 10pts
• 5. Poland – 8pts
• 6. Denmark – 7pts
• 7. Latvia – 6pts

Huckenbeck beats Lambert to the holeshot, but it’s Bewley who shots down the inside and past them both. Lambert swiftly moves past Huckenbeck to make it a British 1-2 and the heat stretches out with no further position changes.

Early double lead for Sweden as Thorssell takes the holeshot from the inside and Lindgren shoots up from the outside, taking P1 off his compatriot. Lindgren is up and away while Thorssell finds himself under attack from Zmarzlik who challenges until the very end, but the Swede defends hard.

Holder hits the front from the inside gate and slams the door shut on Lebedevs who tries to claim the front from the outside. The first two positions are settled early on as Holder defends from Lebedevs and things stretch out, but the battle for third rages until the end, Kurtz and Kostigovs swapping the position several times with the Aussie coming out the better.

Michelsen gets the holeshot from the inside, but both Thomsen and Lambert shoot past him. Meanwhile, an involuntary wheelie from Bewley sees him fall behind. Lambert attacks for the lead and pulls off an unreal move tight down the inside to clinch the win.

• 1. Germany – 13pts
• 2. Poland – 6pts
• 3. Australia – 5pts
• 4. Great Britain – 4pts
• 5. Sweden – 3pts
• 6. Latvia – 3pts
• 7. Denmark – 2pts

Thorssell looks to have the best start initially, but it’s Blodorn who steals the holeshot. An excellent move from Lindgren sees him shot up into second followed by Huckenbeck who challenges hard. However, he can’t find a way through and has to settle for third. There was no way back for Thorssell after being beaten at tapes up.

Terrific start from Zmarzlik on the outside and he beats Lebedevs to the holeshot. While Zmarzlik is up and away, Lebedevs is under attack from Kubera who attempts a last-corner overtake through the outside but can’t find a way through. Kolodinskis completes the heat.

Lambert has the best start but is under immediate pressure from Kurtz. Holder follows in third and defends hard from Bewley. The heat stretches out from there and the order stays as it was with no overtakes.

Blistering start from Huckenbeck who claims the lead at the start. Jensen makes his way into second, but a mistake sees him fall into last place. Blodorn inherits the position and the lead changes hand between the two Germans a couple of times with Huckenbeck claiming P1 in the end. Behind, Jensen gets back past Thomsen but more thsn third is not on the cards.

Here is how things are lining up today:

It’s pleasant temperatures in Manchester on 16 degrees Celsius. The skies look overcast, but we have no rain forecast.

Early drama for Australia as news come in that Max Fricke will not be riding tonight for reasons so far undisclosed.

Great Britain are heading into their home event brimming with confidence and are looking for a second SON title, three years on from their success in 2021. Team manager Oliver Stead feels his Team has improved since last securing the title, despite second-place finishes in the 2022 event and the 2023 Speedway World Cup:

“The medals might not suggest we have made progress over the last two years, following up a gold with two silvers,” Stead said. “But I believe we have been better over the last two years than when we actually won it.

“I think that bodes well for Saturday. We have taken strides in the right direction, and we are all excited about what’s to come on Saturday.”

Tai Woffinden was the fourth rider on the team in 2021, but he has been ruled out due to injury.

“It’s unfortunate to lose Tai,” Stead said. “But we are in a fortunate position that we have two more GP riders and also Tom, who is really stepping up and performing at this level.

“I was always confident we would have our strongest two out on the day. The fact we have such a strong three is really fortunate for us.

“We know what it’s all about. No longer is a bronze or silver good enough any more. People expect us to perform, which we have done over the past few years. We will be gunning for gold.”

Some big names are among the challengers tonight. Here are your team line-ups:

Team manager: Mathias Bartz

Team manager: Nicki Pedersen

Team managers: Simon Stead and Oliver Allen

Team manager: Vladimir Ribnikovs

Team manager: Rafal Dobrucki

Team manager: Morgan Andersson

Eurosport and discovery+ will show live coverage of every round of 2024 Speedway Grand Prix action as well as the Speedway of Nations.

Every meeting, including qualifying, will be broadcast in full and will be accessible live-on-demand on discovery+ and Eurosport’s digital platforms.

Eurosport.com will provide live coverage, reaction and video highlights of every single meeting.

Good evening and thank you for joining our live text coverage of the Speedway of Nations 2024 final. The ultimate test of team riding is back at Great Britain’s National Speedway Stadium in Manchester; the last time we’ve been here in 2021, GB indeed took the world team title with an epic 5-4 win over Poland in the Grand Final. However, Australia took the glory at the SON in 2022, and Poland triumphed at last year’s World Cup, meaning they go into tonight as the reigning world champions. Headlined by Grand Prix leader Bartosz Zmarzlik, Poland would dearly love to finally add a SON gold medal to their collection and make up for their 2021 Manchester heartbreak. Poland, GB and Australia must be among the favourites again tonight, but so are Denmark and Sweden – who will come out on top? We’re about to find out!