Last weekend was marked by the first tournaments held on Polish tracks. Both Saturday and Sunday in Częstochowa and Bydgoszcz saw competition from four of the five riders who will start in the upcoming TAURON SEC series.
On Saturday, the 50th Memorial in honor of Bronisław Idzikowski and Marek Czerny was held at the venue, which hosted last year's inaugural round of the Individual European Championships. The lineup included riders from the local Włókniarz, along with TAURON SEC medalists Mikkel Michelsen and Leon Madsen. Both Danes began the struggles on the Częstochowa track with victories. They clashed already in the second round, in which Madsen crossed the finish line in second place while Michelsen took third place. The competition ended after twelve races due to unfavorable weather conditions. As both Jason Doyle and Bartosz Zmarzlik scored eight points each, the winner of the tournament was decided by a draw. In the end, first place was assigned to the Aussie, second place went to the four-time Individual World Champion, and the lowest step of the podium went to Leon Madsen, who scored seven points overall. The current Individual European Champion, Mikkel Michelsen, finished in ninth place.
50th Memorial in honor of Bronisław Idzikowski and Marek Czerny:
3. Leon Madsen (Denmark) - (3,2,2) 7
9. Mikkel Michelsen (Denmark) - (3,1,1) 5
A day later, the XXXV edition of the Kryterium Asów was held in Bydgoszcz. The home stadium of local Polonia hosted a stacked lineup full of titled riders from all over the world. The invitation to start in this prestigious competition was also extended to the riders who finished the TAURON SEC 2023 series in the fourth and fifth positions, namely Patryk Dudek and Andzejs Lebedevs. In their first starts, both reached the finish line in fourth place, but in the later phase of the struggle, things got better and better. In the end, Dudek finished ninth, while Lebedevs took tenth place. Bartosz Zmarzlik, who competed in the Speedway Euro Championship years ago, was in a class of his own. The four-time Individual World Champion scored a maximum of 15 points. For the representative of ORLEN Oil Motor Lublin, it was the third triumph in the legendary tournament. The second place was taken by Szymon Woźniak, while Artem Laguta took third place.
XXXV Kryterium Asów Polskich Lig Żużlowych im. Mieczysława Połukarda:
9. Patryk Dudek (Poland) - (0,0,3,1,2) 6
10. Andzejs Lebedevs (Latvia) - (0,2,2,1,1) 6
