Team Australia has produced a masterful performance to win the 2025 FIM Speedway of Nations (SON) in Poland, defeating the host county in a decider that went perfectly to script.
It’s Australia’s second victory in the prestigious pairs’ tournament in the last four years, and came after Brady Kurtz and Jack Holder blew the roof off the stadium in the final race on the program to clinch the silverware.
After a slow start in the first heat, it then all clicked for the Aussie duo with maximum points in all the follow-up races: their speed, precision and collaborative instincts too much for the six other nations.
In the final, Team Australia reignited its successful formula – Holder on the inside and Kurtz zipping around the outside of MotoArena in Torun – and it worked a treat as the Aussies finished 1-2 ahead of Polish duo Bartosz Zmarzlik and Patryk Dudek.
Australia’s third SON rider, 2017 SGP world champion Jason Doyle, was not called into action by team manager Mark Lemon.
Denmark, which lost a play-off with Poland to decide which nation would join Australia in the decider, finished third overall in the SON ahead of Sweden, 2024 champion Great Britain, Latvia and the Czech Republic.
For the full SON scores, click here.
Team Australia was triumphant on the podium, with Holder referencing his long association with Kurtz.
“We’ve been training for this since we were nine years old,” Holder, who was also a part of the starting line-up in the victorious 2022 SON team, said. “Now we are the world champions and I could not be prouder.”
Kurtz was equally as ebullient: “This is such an incredible experience and being a part of this team is awesome. Jack is the best team rider in the business. I’m just so proud to put on this yellow jersey.”
Doyle watched on with admiration: “The boys came through with the goods and blew the roof off the stadium again.”
Meanwhile, it was the culmination of a huge week for Lemon, who guided Australia’s U21 SON2 team to a bronze medal the previous evening.
“My hardest decision was deciding who to leave out of the starting line-up tonight, as they have all been riding tremendously,” he said. “Thanks to everyone who supports the team, from the federation to our sponsors and all the Aussie supporters watching from home at such a late hour. This victory is for everyone.”
Australia now joins Great Britain on two SON victories, with Russia the only other country to taste success in the tournament. The SON will return in 2027, with the 2026 teams’ focus on the return of the Speedway World Cup where Australia’s huge depth will again come to the fore.
Team Australia’s 2025 SON and SON2 campaigns were backed by long-time sponsor CBS Bins, as well as A1 Accessory Imports/House of Powersports.