Born | Mansfield, Victoria, Australia | 29 March 1996
---|---|
Nickname | Fast Max/Fricke |
Nationality | Australian |
Career history | |
Great Britain | |
2013–2014 | Edinburgh |
2015–2020, 2022 | Belle Vue |
2023–2024 | Leicester |
Poland | |
2015–2017 | Rybnik |
2018–2020 | Wrocław |
2021–2022 | Zielona Góra |
2023–2024 | Grudziadz |
Sweden | |
2015 | Gnistorna |
2016–2019 | Rospiggarna |
2020–2023 | Indianerna |
2024 | Västervik |
Denmark | |
2014 | Esbjerg |
2014–2016 | Region Varde |
2019 | Grindsted |
Speedway Grand Prix statistics | |
SGP Number | 46 |
Starts | 33 |
Podiums | 2 (2-0-0) |
Finalist | 3 time |
Winner | 2 times |
Individual honours | |
2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 | Australian Under-21 Champion |
2015 | Czech Golden Ribbon |
2016 | World Under-21 Champion |
2019, 2020, 2022 | Australian Champion |
Team honours | |
2022 | 2022 Speedway of Nations |
2014 | Premier League Pairs |
2016 | Danish Speedway League |
2016 | Elitserien |
2022 | British champions |
Max Fricke (born 29 March 1996) is an Australian speedway rider. He is a World team champion, twice Australian champion and four times Australian Under-21 Champion.
Fricke competed in junior levels of motocross and speedway in Australia, competed in the 2011 and 2012 FIM Youth Gold Cup tournaments, and finished in fourth place in the Australian Under-16 125cc Championship and second in the 125cc Team Championship in January 2012. [1] [2] [3]
Fricke moved up to senior level in the 2012/13 season. In December 2012 he was signed by Edinburgh Monarchs for their 2013 British Premier League team on a five-point assessed average, having spent the previous two summers in Britain gaining experience. [4] [5]
In January 2013 he won the Australian Under-21 championship at the Loxford Park Speedway in Kurri Kurri, beating Taylor Poole, Justin Sedgmen, and Alex Davies in the final, and becoming the youngest winner of the title since Leigh Adams in 1988. [3] [6] On 25 January 2014, Fricke won his second straight Australian Under-21 Championship at the Gillman Speedway in Adelaide. Fricke finished the heats with 13 points, 2 behind Nick Morris, before winning the final from Ryan Douglas and Jack Holder, the younger brother of 2012 World Champion Chris Holder, after Nick Morris had crashed on the last lap whilst in second place. [7] [8]
Together with Sam Masters, Fricke won the 2014 Premier League Pairs Championship for Edinburgh at Somerset. [9]
After fishing equal third on 48 points with Justin Sedgmen in the four round 2015 Australian Championship (his best result to date), Fricke was classified fourth due to Sedgmen's better A and B Final results over the series (Fricke only qualified for the A Final in Rd.3 at Undera Park while Sedgmen qualified for the A Finals in Rd.1 at Gillman and Rd.2 at Olympic Park in Mildura).
A week after Australian Championship, Fricke then went on to win his third straight Australian U/21 Championship at Loxford Park on 17 January, defeating Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz in a closely fought final. He was presented his winners trophy by Chris Holder who himself won a record four Aussie U/21 titles (Holder jointly holds the record with Leigh Adams). With his third win, Fricke now sits equal second for total U/21 wins with Travis McGowan and former dual Under-21 World Champion Darcy Ward. [10]
Fricke contested his first Under-21 World Championship in 2015, finishing the three round series held in Italy, Poland and the Czech Republic in a credible 6th place with 28 points scored. [11]
Although he did not get to ride on the night, Fricke and fellow Aussie Justin Sedgemen were named as the reserve riders for the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix of Australia held on 24 October at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne.
A week after the SGP in Melbourne, Fricke was part of the Australian Under-21 Team alongside Nick Morris, Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz that finished in third place in the 2015 Team Speedway Junior World Championship Final held at Olympic Park in Mildura, the first time the U/21 World Cup Final had been held outside of the UK or Europe. Fricke had a quiet night by his standards scoring only 6 of his team's 29 points as they finished behind winners Poland and runner-up Denmark. [12]
On 13 December 2015, Fricke finished second in the 2015/16 South Australian Solo Championship at Gillman in Adelaide behind NSW rider Rohan Tungate with Sam Masters and Ty Proctor finishing in 3rd and 4th respectively. [13] Fricke would go on to finish the championship in 3rd place having scored 52 points to finish behind winner Brady Kurtz and runner-up Sam Masters.
On 20 August 2016, Fricke, along with reigning Australian Champion Brady Kurtz, Jake Allen, Jack Holder and reserve rider Cameron Heeps finished in 2nd place in the 2016 Team Speedway Junior World Championship in Norrköping, Sweden. [14]
On 2 October 2016, Max Fricke won the 2016 World Under-21 Championship becoming the 5th Australian rider to win the title following Steve Baker (1983), Leigh Adams (1992), Jason Crump (1995) and Darcy Ward (2009 and 2010). [15] [16]
Following a heavy crash by 2016 Speedway Grand Prix points leader Jason Doyle in the penultimate round of the series in Toruń, Poland which ruled the former Australian champion out of the final round in Melbourne (and also saw his World Championship aspirations vanish), Sam Masters was moved into the main field with Fricke moved from second to first reserve for the meeting. [17] Following a broken chain to Wildcard rider Brady Kurtz just before the start of Heat 11 of the SGP in Melbourne, Fricke got his first start in the senior World Championship and became the 200th rider to race in the series since its inception in 1995.
On 28 January 2017, Fricke won his 4th Australian U/21 Championship at Loxford Park in Kurri Kurri. By winning the title, Fricke joined Leigh Adams and Chris Holder as a four-time winner of the event. He also equaled Leigh Adams' 5 podium finishes in the title with the same 4 wins and one 3rd-place finish record. [18]
On 12 January 2019 he won the Australian Solo Championship, a second place in the fifth round enough to secure the title ahead of Rohan Tungate and Chris Holder. [19] He won his first Grand Prix in 2020 at Toruń.
Fricke finished in 13th place during the 2022 Speedway World Championship, after securing 52 points during the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix, which included winning the Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw Grand Prix. [20] He qualified for the 2023 Speedway Grand Prix by virtue of finishing 4th in the 2023 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification. [21] However, the highlight of his season was winning the 2022 Speedway of Nations for Australia with Jack Holder. [22] [23] In addition he won a league title with the Belle Vue Aces during the SGB Premiership 2022.
He signed for Leicester Lions for the SGB Premiership 2023 [24] and for GKM Grudziądz for the 2023 Polish speedway season. [25] In 2023, he was part of the Australian team that finished fourth in the 2023 Speedway World Cup final. [26]
He finished in ninth place during the 2023 Speedway Grand Prix and can be considered unlucky not to have earned a place for the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix. [27] He re-signed with Leicester for the 2024 season. [28] His 2024 season started well after he finished second in the 2024 Australian Championship, following a tight battle with Rohan Tungate. [29]
Todd Wiltshire is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia, who competed at the highest level of the sport, finishing a career best third in the 1990 Individual Speedway World Championship at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford, England. He is also a two time Australian Champion, winning in 1999 and 2001.
Troy Matthew Batchelor is an Australian speedway rider.
Jason Kevin Doyle is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He became World Champion in 2017 after winning the 2017 Speedway Grand Prix.
The Australian Individual Speedway Championship historically known as the Australian Solo Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year to determine the Australian national champion. It is organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) and is the oldest continuously running national speedway championship in the world having been run since 1926 with the exception of 1942-1945 when racing was suspended during World War II and 1955-1961 when the championship was not held.
The Australia national under-21 speedway team is the national under-21 motorcycle speedway team of Australia and is controlled by the Motorcycling Australia. Like the senior Australian team, the Under-21s are managed by former rider Mark Lemon.
Justin Maxwell Sedgmen is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider.
Gillman Speedway is a purpose built, 300 metres long motorcycle speedway located in the Adelaide suburb of Gillman in South Australia. The track opened in 1998 and runs approximately 13 meetings per season from October to March/April.
The Australian Under-21 Speedway Championship is a motorcycle speedway championship held each year since 1986, with the exception of 1994 and 1995, to determine the Australian Under-21 national champion. The event is organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA).
Samuel Peter Masters is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider who won the Premier League Riders' Championship in 2011. Masters is an Australian Champion having won the Championship in January 2017.
The Loxford Park Speedway is a motorcycle speedway track located in the town of Loxford near Kurri Kurri in New South Wales (NSW). It is home to the Kurri Kurri Speedway Club and the Kurri Cobras.
The 2014 Individual Speedway Australian Championship was a Motorcycle speedway competition organised by Motorcycling Australia for the Australian Solo Championship.
The 2015 Individual Speedway Australian Championship is a Motorcycle speedway competition organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) for the Australian Solo Championship.
The 2015 Don Smallgoods Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix was the twelfth and final round of the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 24 October at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2016 Individual Speedway Australian Championship is a Motorcycle speedway competition organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) for the Australian Solo Championship.
The 2016 Individual Speedway Junior World Championship was the 40th edition of the FIM World motorcycle speedway Under-21 Championships.
The 2016 QBE Insurance Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix was the eleventh and final race of the 2016 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 22 October at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
The 2017 Individual Speedway Australian Championship is a Motorcycle speedway competition organised by Motorcycling Australia (MA) for the Australian Solo Championship.
The 2017 QBE Insurance Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix was the 12th and final race meeting of the 2017 Speedway Grand Prix season. It took place on 28 October at the Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.
Rohan Tungate is an Australian speedway rider who has competed in the United Kingdom and Poland. He won the Australian Solo Championship in 2018.
Jack Holder is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. Jack is a World team champion and his brother Chris Holder is a former World individual champion.