POLAND RETAINS WORLD CUP: JANOWSKI’S EMOTION OVERFLOWS AS POLAND TAKES A NARROW VICTORY THILLER!

The Lions roared out of the traps and appeared to be on course for their first world title over the four-rider format since 1989. But Janowski broke British hearts in heat 20, taking second place ahead of GB star Robert Lambert to send the Olympic Stadium crowd wild in one of the all-time great Monster Energy FIM SWC Finals.

Poland triumphed on 33 points, with Great Britain claiming silver on 31 – their best-ever performance in the FIM SWC outside of the UK. Denmark (29) finished third and Australia narrowly missed out on a podium spot on 27 points.

Rafal Dobrucki (Polish team manager): “It was a really tough meeting. We expected a very close fight. All the guys were very good, and everything was decided in the very final heat. I want to say a big thank you to the fans, the team and the people around us. Every detail mattered, every race was different, the guys worked well in the pits, and we were in big trouble sometimes. But at the end, it was good. Dziękuję Wroclaw.”

Maciej Janowski (Team Poland): “I am proud of my team, proud of the fans and proud of everybody who was around us. To be honest, I was pretty chilled going into the last race. I knew the changes we had made for the last heat gave me not-so-bad speed. It was maybe not working the best on the outside, but when I moved to the inside, I felt I could be in that fight for second position. The boys were fighting each other, and I thought I could maybe use the gap. I saw the gap at the end of the third lap. I used a good line, and it was actually working.  Big thanks to the rest of the teams because I think we showed great racing. It was very emotional.”

Jason Doyle (Team Australia): “It’s not looking good for Jack (Holder). He’s complaining of a wrist injury. All the best for him. He flew through the air and landed on his wrist, so it’s not looking good. It was so close all night and Jack was a massive key. We knew that it was going to be difficult to get back into the game. But that’s speedway! What a great night of racing, very close. Over the last couple of days, I have really enjoyed riding for Team Australia. It is a great week for our sport and our country. Not the result we wanted, but fair play to Poland. What a great night!”

Robert Lambert (Team GB): “We knew it was going to be much closer today, and I knew I needed to win that last one. Everything was cool; I made the perfect start and I knew if I was second, we would have a run-off. I was fast, I had speed in the bike, but it didn’t work. I was just thinking it was another race because I could have ended up losing everything in my head and messing things up. I know it’s the best GB has done in the World Cup, but we had belief we could come and get a medal and even push to win it. I have to take a moment and move forward. Sometimes you need knock-backs to bounce back stronger.”

Oliver Allen (Joint GB manager): “This was a fantastic advert for speedway. Anyone who watched this meeting will be fascinated by this sport. It was a really good event. Everything was decided in the last race between three teams. I know we started well, but we had a bad block of gates and we dropped points there. The result is good, our world ranking for the last three years has been good, but when you come so close, it feels like a loss, not a win. Robert Lambert is very disappointed because he was in that last race, but he has to keep in mind it’s a collective effort. It’s not down to one race; it’s how many points you score in the night. I’m proud of him and I’m proud of the team.”

JANOWSKI’S EMOTION OVERFLOWS AS POLAND WIN WORLD CUP THRILLER

Polish hero Maciej Janowski admits he “exploded” with emotion after sealing victory in an historic Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup Final thriller in Wroclaw on Saturday.

In one of the greatest world team finals in the sport’s 100-year history, Poland, Great Britain and Denmark went into a last-heat decider all in contention for gold in the first Monster Energy FIM SWC since 2017.

After an epic wheel-to-wheel battle with GB hero Robert Lambert, Janowski dived under his Speedway GP rival to snatch the all-important second place behind Australia’s Max Fricke in heat 20 which earned Poland a record-breaking ninth gold medal – 18 years after they first lifted the iconic Ove Fundin Trophy in Wroclaw in 2005.

Janowski’s heroic pass sent the Polish team and fans wild as the legendary Olympic Stadium was shaken to its foundations as Poland triumphed on 33 points, with GB finishing second on 31, Denmark third on 29 and Australia fourth on 27 after the closest Final in living memory.

After watching Poland win their first FIM SWC as a child from the Wroclaw terraces, Janowski could not contain his delight as he crossed the finish line for his fourth Monster Energy FIM SWC gold medal.

He said: “It feels fantastic – in front of my home crowd. I was screaming. I couldn’t hear my brain when I crossed the finish line. I just looked at the fans and they were going crazy. I exploded also, so that was amazing. “I am proud of my team, proud of the fans and proud of everybody who was around us.”

Despite taking on one of the most high-pressure rides of his career, Janowski insists he felt composed heading into his last-heat showdown, before picking his way past Lambert with typical ice-cool composure.

He said: “To be honest, I was pretty chilled going into the last race. I knew the changes we had made for the last heat gave me not-so-bad speed. It was maybe not working the best on the outside, but when I moved to the inside, I felt I could be in that fight for second position.

“The boys were fighting each other, and I thought I could maybe use the gap. I saw the gap at the end of the third lap. I used a good line, and it was actually working. 

“Big thanks to the rest of the teams because I think we showed great racing. It was very emotional. I think for the fans, it was amazing. That’s why they come to the stadium – to get those emotions and get that feeling. For us, it was also good. A win is a win, and it doesn’t matter how you get it.

“We found enough to fight for the gold and get it. We were calm; no stress about anything. Everyone did their job, and I am glad.”

Having gone from cheering on the sport’s biggest stars at the Olympic Stadium to writing his name in speedway history, Janowski admits his epic journey over the past 18 years is proof that dreams can come true.

The world number three said: “I will just say what I always say to young people; believe in your dreams, follow your dreams and never let anyone put you down when it comes to chasing your dreams. You can do whatever you want. If Magic can win another gold with the team, anyone can do whatever they want.”

Joint GB team manager Oliver Allen is delighted with how much his Lions have progressed since the Brits struggled to fourth place at the last Monster Energy FIM SWC Final staged in Leszno in 2017.

Having won 2021 FIM Speedway of Nations gold in Manchester, followed by the FIM SON silver medals in Vojens last year, the Lions have now extended their run in the world’s top two to three straight seasons as Lambert, Dan Bewley, Tai Woffinden, Tom Brennan and Adam Ellis starred for GB.

But Allen admits missing out on what would have been their first gold medal over the four-team format since 1989 was tough to take.

He said: “Simon and I are really lucky to have the job at the time we do, when we have three top riders. It was a good result. If you had asked me six years ago whether a silver medal would be good in Poland, I would have said yes. But after tonight, it feels not so good.

“It was a fantastic advert for speedway and anyone who watched that meeting would have been fascinated by the sport. It was a really good event – it went down to the last race between three teams.

“We thought it was going to be tight and it never looked like anyone was pulling away. I know we started the meeting well, but we knew we had this block of gates where we had gate three three times. We dropped points there.

“It was really tight, really good racing and congratulations to Poland and Denmark for a good meeting.”

Danish star Leon Madsen admits a sluggish start cost the Danes as they bagged the bronze medal in triple world champion Nicki Pedersen’s first tournament as rider-manager.

He said: “We got the start we didn’t want to get. It was a terrible start for Team Denmark. In the first four races, we only scored three points.

“It couldn’t have been a more catastrophic start to the meeting, but we kept being positive and kept working together. We fought our way through and finally we managed to find better setups and get back into the meeting.

“We battled all the way, and it was very tight all the way to the end. I predicted that before the meeting that it could go down to the wire, and it did. It was a fantastic meeting for everyone – the sport as well. It was an incredible meeting in a great atmosphere. Hats off to the Poles. They did very well, and they deserved the win on the night.”

With the Monster Energy FIM SWC coming to a thrilling finale, the action switches back to Speedway GP, with the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga coming to Bikernieki for the first time on Saturday, August 12, with the Latvian capital also staging FIM Speedway of Nations – SON2 for the sport’s top under-21 teams on Friday, August 11.

MONSTER ENERGY FIM SWC FINAL SCORES:

1. POLAND 33: 1 Bartosz Zmarzlik 11, 2 Patryk Dudek 6, 3 Maciej Janowski 7, 4 Dominik Kubera 9, 5 Janusz Kolodziej 0.

2. GREAT BRITAIN 31: 1 Tom Brennan 0, 2 Robert Lambert 12, 3 Tai Woffinden 7, 4 Adam Ellis 3, 5 Dan Bewley 9.

3. DENMARK 29: 1 Leon Madsen 9, 2 Rasmus Jensen 13, 3 Mikkel Michelsen 2, 4 Nicki Pedersen 0, 5 Anders Thomsen 5.

4. AUSTRALIA 27: 1 Max Fricke 7, 2 Jack Holder 8, 3 Jason Doyle 10, 4 Jaimon Lidsey 1, 5 Chris Holder 1.