JURICA Pavlic received a late call into Sunday's Grand Prix challenge at Zielona Gora.
However, neither Pavlic or fellow Swindon rider Mads Korneliussen were able to challenge for a top three finish.
KENNETH Bjerre, Greg Walasek and former Robins' rider Sebastian Ulamek are the men celebrating places in the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix series.
Bjerre won a three-man run-off in Sunday's Grand Prix Challenge at Zielona Gora after each rider had finished with 12 points - but the main work of the day was already done with the top three advancing to next year's World Championship.
As expected, it was a closely fought contest with the early leaders being Ryan Sullivan, who won his first three rides, and Niels-Kristian Iversen who had eight points out of nine.
Ulamek won his first two before finishing last in Heat 11 - but he finished with two more wins, and Heat 17 was particularly crucial.
That was the race which spelt disaster for Sullivan and Iversen, who went into the race on ten and nine points respectively - but Sullivan made a first-bend error, dropped to the back and retired, and second place behind Ulamek turned out not to be enough for Iversen.
Two points from Heat 18, behind Jesper B Monberg, was enough for Walasek to move on to 12 points, and Bjerre joined him on that mark by winning Heat 19.
Bjerre therefore finally becomes a permanent GP rider after a succession of Wild Card and reserve call-ups in the past, whilst for Walasek and Ulamek it is a return to the series.
Walasek rode three meetings in 2001 - scoring 30 points from the first two combined - and then saw his 2002 participation ended by injury after six more appearances.
Ulamek, meanwhile, was a GP regular in 1998 and 2002, when he finished seventeenth in the standings on 39 points.
RESULT:
Kenneth Bjerre 12,
Greg Walasek 12,
Sebastian Ulamek 12,
Niels-Kristian Iversen 11,
Tomasz Jedrzejak 11,
Ryan Sullivan 10,
Jesper B Monberg 10,
Adrian Miedzinski 9,
Jurica Pavlic 7,
Matej Zagar 7,
Mads Korneliussen 5,
Peter Karlsson 4,
Lee Richardson 3,
Charlie Gjedde 3,
Peter Ljung 2,
Matej Ferjan 2,
Ales Dryml (res) 0.
