Jarosław Hampel's silver medal and bronze medals won by Patryk Dudek and Krzysztof Kasprzak - that is the collection of medals of the Polish representatives in the Speedway Euro Championship series. The Poles play a significant role in the Individual European Championships almost every year, but it does not always translate into their successes.
In 2018 we witnessed a duel for the gold medal, which was decided between Leon Madsen and Jarosław Hampel. It started with the victory of the Polish representative in Gniezno, where he scored 17 points. The Dane was doing better and better with every round and he finished the final meeting in Chorzów with a set of victories. Hampel was unable to make up the loss to Madsen and eventually finished SEC 2018 with a silver medal. It was the second medal in the history of the Individual European Championships for a Polish representative.
The Poles in SEC 2018:
2. Jarosław Hampel - 45
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak - 24
12. Piotr Pawlicki – 20
In 2019, the Poles stood on the podium of each of the SEC rounds, but they finished the series without a medal. It started with Bartosz Smektala's third place in Güstrow. Then, twice in a row Kacper Woryna stood on the podium. The Pole took the third place in Toruń and the second place in Vojens. At the end of the competition, which took place in Chorzów, Paweł Przedpełski stood on the podium. The Poles had a real chance for another medal in the SEC, more specifically Kacper Woryna. The Polish representative faced Leon Madsen in the additional race for the bronze, but an engine failure deprived him of the bronze medal.
The Poles in SEC 2019:
4. Kacper Woryna - 39
5. Bartosz Smektała - 36
8. Paweł Przedpełski - 27
9. Jarosław Hampel – 25
In 2020, the representatives of Poland did not achieve major successes in the SEC series. Only one of them stood on the podium of one of the rounds - it was Bartosz Zmarzlik, who started in Rybnik with a "wild card" and took third place. The highest ranked Pole, who was a regular participant of the series was Bartosz Smektała. The Individual Junior World Champion took the fifth place, which he won in the extra heat, in which he faced Nicki Pedersen.
The Poles in SEC 2020:
5. Bartosz Smektała - 45
8. Kacper Woryna - 33
11. Krzysztof Kasprzak - 25
Last year's competition took a completely different course. The Poles played the main roles from the start of the series. The tone was set by Piotr Pawlicki, who took second place during the inaugural round in Bydgoszcz. His high score made "Piter" the leader of the interim classification. The younger of the Pawlicki brothers increased his lead over his rivals in Güstrow, where he not only won, but also scored the most points. Patryk Dudek also stood on the podium. Bartosz Smektała also did well in Güstrow and advanced to the final race of the day. The Polish riders were not present on the podium in Gdańsk, however each of them scored 10 points. Before the final round in Rybnik, each of the Poles had a different goal to achieve. Pawlicki's aim was gold, but he had as many points as Michelsen, so it seemed that the faith of the title will be decided between them. Dudek was chasing the rest to establish a fight for the medals, while Smektała did everything he could to stay in the 2022 series. In the end, Pawlicki finished fourth, Dudek took bronze and Smektała was beaten by Daniel Bewley in an extra heat about the bronze.
The Poles in SEC 2021:
3. Patryk Dudek - 46
4. Piotr Pawlicki - 46
6. Bartosz Smektała – 37
