HANS Andersen and Brady Kurtz are poised to lock horns in the Speedway Grand Prix qualifying quarter-finals next month.

The Pirates duo will go head to head at King's Lynn on Saturday, May 7 in a field due to include Freddie Lindgren, Craig Cook and Robert Lambert.

Former world number five Andersen earned progress to the meeting in Norfolk having been given a wild card following an all-Danish qualifier on Tuesday.

He finished sixth on nine points at Esbjerg and was subsequently handed a wild card not only for SGP qualifying but also Speedway European Championship qualifying.

Joining Andersen in the SGP qualifiers are fellow countrymen Bjarne Pedersen, Mikkel Bech Jensen, Anders Thomsen, Kenneth Bjerre and Michael Jepsen Jensen.

The Esbjerg meeting came close to not going ahead at all following a row over Jepsen Jensen's non-participation due to his involvement in a meeting in Poland.

The rest of the field threatened to boycott the event as Jepsen Jensen had been awarded a wild card to progress.

But Andersen and Pedersen led negotiations with the Danish Motor Union to ensure the meeting went ahead, with the date shifted to ensure Jepsen Jensen could take part.

Andersen and Kurtz are two meetings away from the GP Challenge in Vetlanda in September, where the top three will earn their places in the 2017 world championship.