Robert Lambert crowned world speedway champion in Torun
Robert Lambert is speedway's world champion. The 28-year-old from Norwich sealed the crown by winning the season's final Grand Prix at his home track in Torun, Poland BBC. He held his nerve when it mattered most.
Speedway pitches four riders over four laps of an oval shale track, on bikes with no brakes where the back wheel does the steering. The Grand Prix series tours cities through the season, with points from each round adding up to crown the world champion. Win the last round and you do not leave it to maths. Races are over in under a minute, so starts and nerve count for everything.
Lambert beat defending champion Bartosz Zmarzlik of Poland to take the No 1 race jacket. The title boiled down to three riders: Lambert, Zmarzlik and Australia's Brady Kurtz. Three men. One trophy. Final night.
Lambert timed his charge perfectly. He won three of his last six Grands Prix and finished runner-up in the other three. That consistency told in Torun, where victory in the DEWALT FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun settled the title FIM. Earlier in the run he had also won the Grand Prix in Lodz, closing hard on the lead.
What makes this stand out is how long Norfolk has waited. The county's last world speedway champion before Lambert was Michael Lee in 1980. Lambert learned his trade at King's Lynn, turning out for the Young Stars in 2013 before joining the club's top-flight team in 2014. He returned for a brief spell with the Stars in 2023.
Domestic form pointed this way. He claimed his third national title at the Cab Direct British Final at the National Speedway Stadium in Belle Vue, Manchester. That is the meeting that decides Britain's best, and Lambert owned it.
For fans, there is more to follow in British colours. Team boss Oliver Allen has named Lambert as captain of Great Britain, the Lions, for the 2026 BOLL FIM Speedway World Cup Final at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw FIM. The World Cup is speedway's national-team event, country against country on one night. Lambert goes there as world champion. It caps a climb that began on British shale more than a decade ago.
