![\"\"](\"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Gillman-1200x800-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nAfter finishing second overall in the fifth and final round, Tungate was able to overturn a 5pt deficit to win the Australian Championship by 3pts over Max Fricke, adding to the silverware he first won in 2018.<\/p>\n
As a dual Australian champion, Tungate, from Kurri Kurri (NSW), now joins a revered group of riders who have won the Duke of Edinburgh trophy on multiple occasions, including Fricke, Chris Holder, Leigh Adams, Jason Crump, Craig Boyce and Bill Sanders.<\/p>\n
Despite a disappointing final round, Fricke\u2019s exceptional body of work, particularly in rounds 2-4 \u2013 including top-scoring results in Wodonga and Mildura \u2013 saw him still finish second in the championship, 6pts ahead of Jack Holder and Jaimon Lidsey.<\/p>\n
To bookmark what has been an exceptional championship, Holder then won a run-off against Lidsey to officially finish third overall, with the leading quartet now locked in for the 2024 Speedway GP qualifiers which culminate in the Czech Republic on October 4. The top three riders in that event earn spots in the 2025 Speedway GP series.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMy main goal throughout the championship was to be consistent and try to make as many finals as possible to keep the pressure on,\u201d<\/em> said Tungate. \u201cI\u2019m proud I was able to do that, but it wasn\u2019t easy in the face of such strong opposition.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere were a couple of hiccups along the way, but I remained hungry and determined throughout and I\u2019m delighted to win my second Aussie title. And to wrap it up at Gillman, one of the best speedway tracks in the country, was really satisfying.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThanks to all the riders who competed, and I especially want to acknowledge Max (Fricke) who put on a great show and is always exceptionally hard to beat.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m now looking forward to the Speedway GP qualifying process. I\u2019m now older and wiser, and I have to capitalise on that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Australian Championship was turned on its head early on at Gillman after Fricke only scored 2pts in his opening three rides \u2013 an exclusion and two third places \u2013 while Tungate was peerless with four wins in succession.<\/p>\n Fricke wasn\u2019t done yet, though. A magnificent rearguard action him win his final two races to sneak into the semi-finals \u2013 but that was where his gritty fightback ended as he finished last in the opening semi-final behind Tungate, Jack Holder and Chris Holder.<\/p>\n The weight was then lifted from Tungate\u2019s shoulders, as he only had to finish the final to guarantee championship success \u2013 and that he did, finishing second behind Brady Kurtz and in front of Lidsey and Jack Holder. It was Kurtz\u2019 second successive victory after claiming the spoils in Mildura\u2019s decider.<\/p>\n GILLMAN RESULTS<\/strong> SEMI-FINAL 1: Tungate, J Holder, C Holder, Fricke. FINAL STANDINGS (after five rounds):<\/strong> Report and Images by Australian Speedway Championship<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After finishing second overall in the fifth and final round, Tungate was able to overturn a 5pt deficit to win the Australian Championship by 3pts over Max Fricke, adding to the silverware he first won in 2018. As a dual Australian champion, Tungate, from Kurri Kurri (NSW), now joins a revered group of riders who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,4],"tags":[50,9],"class_list":["post-1091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australian-speedway","category-speedway","tag-australian-speedway","tag-speedway"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/049A6162-Tungate-R-Jack-Holder-W-Lidsey-B-1536x1024-1.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nHEAT SCORES: 1 Rohan Tungate 13, 2 Brady Kurtz 13, 3 Jack Holder 12, 4 Jaimon Lidsey 11, 5 Chris Holder 11, 6 Ben Cook 10, 7 Max Fricke 8, 8 Sam Masters 7, 9 Josh Pickering 7, 10 Michael West 7, 11 Keynan Rew 5, 12 Ryan Douglas 4, 13 Zach Cook 4, 14 Fraser Bowes 3, 15 James Pearson 3, 16 Jake Turner 1, 17 Jack Morrison 0, 18 Dayle Wood DNR.<\/p>\n
\nSEMI-FINAL 2: Lidsey, Kurtz, B Cook, Masters.
\nFINAL: Kurtz, Tungate, Lidsey, J Holder.
\nRUN-OFF FOR THIRD PLACE: J Holder, Lidsey.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/speedwayhub.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Tungate.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n1 Tungate 70, 2 Fricke 67, 3 Jack Holder 61+3, 4 Lidsey 61+2, 5 Kurtz 57, 6 Ben Cook 42, 7 Chris Holder 42, 8 Pickering 41, 9 Masters 41, 10 Douglas 40, 12 Zach Cook 28, 12 Rew 22, 13 Pearson 18, 14 West 14, 15 Bowes 11, 16 Justin Sedgmen 9, 17 Tate Zischke 5, 18 Jye Etheridge 4, 19 Morrison 3, 20 Turner 1.<\/p>\n