Max Fricke (born 29 March 1996) is an Australian speedway rider. He is a World team champion, three time Australian champion and four times Australian Under-21 Champion.
Career
Fricke competed in junior levels of motocross and speedway in Australia, competing 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, 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 before winning the final.[7][8]
Fricke fishing equal third on 48 points with Justin Sedgmen in the four round 2015 Australian Championship (his best result to date) before winning his third straight Australian U/21 Championship at Loxford Park on 17 January, defeating Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz in a closely fought final.[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 6th place with 28 points scored.[11]
On 13 December 2015, Fricke finished second in the 2015/16 South Australian Solo Championship at Gillman in Adelaide behind NSW rider Rohan Tungate.[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.
Fricke was named first reserve for the later rounds of the 2016 Speedway Grand Prix[17] and following a broken chain to wild card rider Brady Kurtz 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 fourth 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' five podium finishes in the title with the same four wins and one 3rd-place finish record.[18]
