ZMARZLIK’S HOME ADVANTAGE

All Photos by:  Jarek Pabijan

FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik bids to extend his advantage in his home city as the series reaches its halfway point with the 3W FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow on Saturday, June 25.

After a year’s break, Speedway GP roars back into Edward Jancarz Stadium – home track of Polish PGE Ekstraliga giants Stal Gorzow and four of this weekend’s starting line-up – Polish icon Zmarzlik, Slovak star Martin Vaculik, Danish racer Anders Thomsen and Polish wild card Szymon Wozniak.

With a 17,000-strong crowd expected at one of the world’s finest purpose-built track-racing venues, the Gorzow riders are expected to receive plenty of support from the locals – as will Zmarzlik and Wozniak’s Polish rivals Maciej Janowski, Pawel Przedpelski and Patryk Dudek.

Gorzow is a city that lives for speedway and Edward Jancarz Stadium has hosted Speedway GP racing since 2011 – missing only the 2019 and 2021 seasons.

Named after club legend and former world number three Edward Jancarz, whose bronze statue sits proudly in the city centre, the stadium is set to provide a very lively backdrop as a packed house welcomes Speedway GP back to the city.

HOME HEROES
Zmarzlik has an incredible Speedway GP history in Gorzow, having finished third on his World Championship debut as a wild card in 2012, before famously topping the podium in 2014 to become the youngest-ever Speedway GP winner at 19 years and 140 days old.

He has reached the final in seven of his nine Speedway GP appearances in Gorzow and also topped the podium here at round three in 2020.
Vaculik also has two Gorzow wins to his name, having taken victory at the Edward Jancarz Stadium on his first-ever Speedway GP appearance in 2012.

He then went on to win the 2018 event in dramatic style, passing Zmarzlik in the final to celebrate a remarkable victory – just four months after suffering a badly broken ankle.

Thomsen has raced for Stal Gorzow since 2019 and will be determined to take full advantage of his local knowledge – as will wild card Szymon Wozniak. He was crowned Polish Champion in Gorzow in 2017 and has raced for the club every season since 2018.

Wozniak heads into the event in red-hot form and is currently eighth in the PGE Ekstraliga average charts on 2.237 points per race – with Zmarzlik, Mikkel Michelsen, Leon Madsen, Maciej Janowski and Vaculik the only Speedway GP riders boasting better averages.

CHASING PACK
While Zmarzlik on 62 points has an 11-point advantage at the top of the Speedway GP World Championship, the chasing pack is very tightly bunched behind him.

Janowski holds second place on 51 points, with Danish star Leon Madsen third on 50 and bidding to bounce back from a heavy knock suffered when he crashed in the opening race of the Danish Championship Final in Holsted last Wednesday.

Third place at the Wölk FIM German Speedway GP in Teterow last time out propelled Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren up to fourth place on 46, while Great Britain’s Tai Woffinden is fifth on 43.

But the battle for the top-six automatic qualification places for the 2023 Speedway GP series is raging, with just 10 points separating sixth-placed Robert Lambert on 36 and 14th-placed Jack Holder on 26.

With over half the series still to race and plenty of points up for grabs, there is everything to race for – starting in Gorzow this weekend.

2022 3W FIM SPEEDWAY GP OF POLAND – GORZOW LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers):

95. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Poland), 71. Maciej Janowski (Poland), 66. Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden), 108. Tai Woffinden (Great Britain), 30. Leon Madsen (Denmark), 46. Max Fricke (Australia), 69. Jason Doyle (Australia), 505. Robert Lambert (Great Britain), 105. Anders Thomsen (Denmark), 54. Martin Vaculik (Slovakia), 323. Pawel Przedpelski (Poland), 155. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark), 692. Patryk Dudek (Poland), 25. Jack Holder (Australia), 99. Dan Bewley (Great Britain), 16. Szymon Wozniak (Poland – wild card), 17. Wiktor Jasinski (Poland – first track reserve), 18. Oskar Paluch (Poland – second track reserve).

WHERE TO WATCH
Qualifying Practice: Saturday, June 25 – 13:00 CET 3W FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Gorzow: Saturday, June 25 – 19:00 CET
Fans with access to Discovery+ or the Eurosport App, available in selected countries, can enjoy full live coverage of all the FIM Speedway action this year, featuring qualifying practice coverage, a documentary series and other innovative features, including live data such as rider heartbeat.
Linear coverage is also available in selected countries – see below for more details of where to watch.

ACROSS EUROPE: Live on the Eurosport App
BRITAIN: Live on Discovery+ and Eurosport 2
POLAND: Live on TTV and Eurosport Extra
SWEDEN: Live on Discovery+
DENMARK: Live on Discovery+
AUSTRALIA: Live on Fox Sports
NEW ZEALAND: Live on Sky Sport
USA: Live on beIN SPORTS
GERMANY: Live on the Eurosport App
CZECH REP: Live on the Eurosport App
CROATIA: Live on the Eurosport App
NORWAY: Live on Discovery+
FINLAND: Live on Discovery+
ACROSS THE BALTICS: Live on Discovery+ and Go3
SELECTED ASIAN MARKETS: Coverage on beIN SPORTS