Australian Jason Doyle snatched victory in a final thriller to win the MIB Nordic Gorzow FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland.
After an epic contest with World Championship rival Tai Woffinden for four laps, the Newcastle-born racer got the better of the Brit with a stunning last-bend swoop to win his second SGP of 2016.
The Mitas Czech SGP winner and Woffinden were joined on the rostrum by third-placed Chris Holder, who overhauled home hero Bartosz Zmarzlik for third place in one of the best finals in recent memory.
Doyle’s victory saw him slash Greg Hancock’s World Championship lead from 12 points to seven, and he jumps into second spot on 87 points – a point ahead of Woffinden, who has 86.
JD has put himself firmly in the hunt to lift the FIM Speedway Grand Prix trophy after the final round at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium on October 22.
“I knew Tai was getting around the kerb very fast. He passed me in the semis and I was thinking ‘oh no, not again’, Doyle said.
“I had to go three laps on the fence. I picked up some speed and went wide again on the last corner. To get it on the finish was an amazing feeling. I couldn’t believe it.
The next round sees the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series celebrate its 200th event as Teterow stages its first German SGP on September 10.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
Greg Hancock 94, 2 Jason Doyle 87, 3 Tai Woffinden 86, 4 Chris Holder 77, 5 Bartosz Zmarzlik 75, 6 Maciej Janowski 70, 7 Antonio Lindback 64, 8 Piotr Pawlicki 60, 9 Nicki Pedersen 55, 10 Fredrik Lindgren 53, 11 Peter Kildemand 50, 12 Niels-Kristian Iversen 46, 13 Matej Zagar 46, 14 Andreas Jonsson 39, 15 Chris Harris 27, 16 Patryk Dudek 8, 17 Danny King 7, 18 Krzysztof Kasprzak 7, 19 Anders Thomsen 5, 20 Peter Ljung 4, 21 Vaclav Milik 3, 22 Denis Stojs 1, 23 Nick Skorja 1, 24 Daniel Kaczmarek 1.
MIB NORDIC GORZOW SGP
1 Jason Doyle 16, 2 Tai Woffinden 15, 3 Chris Holder 15, 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik 14, 5 Nicki Pedersen 12, 6 Greg Hancock 11, 7 Fredrik Lindgren 11, 8 Piotr Pawlicki 10, 9 Krzysztof Kasprzak 7, 10 Maciej Janowski 6, 11 Niels-Kristian Iversen 5, 12 Antonio Lindback 4, 13 Chris Harris 4, 14 Matej Zagar 4, 15 Peter Kildemand 3, 16 Daniel Kaczmarek 1, 17 Andreas Jonsson 0, 18 Pawel Przedpelski DNR.