HIGH EXPECTATIONS: POLE’S SGP DEBUT

Double SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak makes his hotly-anticipated FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut on Poland’s grandest stage when he rides as Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw wild card on May 11.

Cierniak dons the famous number16 race jacket at the iconic PGE Narodowy, joining four-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik and SGP newcomers Dominik Kubera and Szymon Wozniak, flying the Polish flag in the nation’s biggest speedway event.

The 21-year-old is already a two-time FIM Speedway Under-21 world champion after winning the 2022 and 2023 SGP2 series, topping the podium in four of the six rounds he raced over two years. He also played a pivotal role as Poland’s under-21 team won back-to-back FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 gold medals in 2022 and 2023.

The Tarnow-born ace is no longer eligible to race as an under-21, but has brought his red-hot form into this year, finishing an impressive fourth in Poland’s prestigious Golden Helmet meeting in Opole on April 1.

Cierniak has also helped PGE Ekstraliga club Lublin win back-to-back league championships over the past two seasons, and now he is targeting Speedway GP success as he appears on the senior World Championship stage for the first time.

Joining Cierniak in Warsaw will be two more of Poland and world speedway’s brightest young talents, as Bartlomiej Kowalski (number 17) and Damian Ratajczak (number 18) have been named as track reserves for the PGE Narodowy event.

Wroclaw young gun Kowalski, also born in Tarnow, received a late call-up for the 2023 Orlen FIM Warsaw Speedway GP, scoring four championship points after replacing the injured Kubera in the line-up, collecting a popular heat win in the process.

And Leszno racer Ratajczak, who finished second in the SGP2 standings behind Cierniak last year, makes his Speedway GP debut.

Tickets for the Warsaw event are available online. For more details, to check availability and to book, visit KupBilet.pl and eBilet.pl now. Programmes are also available to pre-order for 30 PLN via KupBilet.pl.