| 2014 Speedway Grand Prix | |
|---|---|
| Season details | |
| Dates | 5 April – 11 October |
| Events | 12 |
| Riders | 15 permanents 1 wild card(s) 2 track reserves |
| Heats | 276 (in 12 events) |
| Winners | |
| Champion |  USA Greg Hancock |
| Runner-up |  POL Krzysztof Kasprzak |
| 3rd place |  DEN Nicki Pedersen |
The 2014 Speedway Grand Prix season was the 69th edition of the official World Championship[1][2] and the 20th season of the Speedway Grand Prix era, deciding the FIM Speedway World Championship. It was the fourteenth series under the promotion of Benfield Sports International, an IMG company. Tai Woffinden was the defending champion from 2013.
Greg Hancock won his third world title, after taking top-five placings in all but one race he contested, including a victory at the British round, in Cardiff. Hancock won the title by eight points ahead of Krzysztof Kasprzak, who was the season's most frequent winner, with three victories. Third place in the championship was decided in a run-off at the final round of the season at Torún in Poland. Three-time world champion Nicki Pedersen and defending champion Woffinden – a winner in back-to-back events in Prague and Målilla, Sweden – finished tied on points, but Pedersen clinched the position after beating Woffinden in the run-off.
Aside from Hancock, Kasprzak and Woffinden, six other riders won rounds during the season. Martin Smolinski was the winner of the opening race in Auckland; it was his first victory in the series. Like Smolinski, Slovenia's Matej Žagar was a first-time winner in the Finnish round at Tampere, en route to a fifth-place finish in the championship. Niels Kristian Iversen and Jarosław Hampel, who finished third and second behind Woffinden in 2013, each won races; Iversen won in Copenhagen while Hampel triumphed at Stockholm. Other winners were Andreas Jonsson in Vojens and Bartosz Zmarzlik, who won on a wildcard appearance, on home soil, at the Edward Jancarz Stadium.
Darcy Ward failed a pre-meeting alcohol breath test before the Latvian Grand Prix and received an immediate ban.[3]
- ^ "WORLD INDIVIDUAL FINAL - RIDER INDEX". British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Darcy Ward: Poole Pirates do not expect star to race again in 2014". BBC Sport. 10 September 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2024.