When SEC made them first appearance at polish stadiums

Zielona Góra has written its name into the history books of the Speedway Euro Championship. On this occasion, we take a look back at the first events held at these Polish stadiums.

Gdańsk (2013)
The stadium where local side Wybrzeże plays hosted the beginning of a whole new era of the Individual European Championship. It was there that the very first Speedway Euro Championship round took place. Emil Sajfutdinov felt right at home by the Baltic Sea. Behind the “Bashkir Torpedo” finished Nicki Pedersen and Tai Woffinden. Ķasts Puodžuks also deserves a mention, taking an impressive fifth place. Unfortunately for Latvian fans, the potential medal opportunity for this dark horse disappeared after a crash in Togliatti, Russia, in which Andžejs Ļebedevs’ compatriot suffered a broken arm.

Rzeszów (2013)
This season will see the SEC return to the calendar. The capital of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship first appeared on the Speedway Euro Championship map back in 2013. Historic decisions were made at Hetmańska Street that year. Martin Vaculik became the first rider in history to win an SEC round with a maximum 18 points. The Slovak’s result also secured him the Individual European Championship title, confirming his place among the world’s elite speedway riders. Nicki Pedersen also collected a medal in Rzeszów, arriving in the city of Marma as the championship leader, while Grigorij Laguta completed the podium.

Częstochowa (2014)
This round is remembered mainly for Martin Smolinski’s famous crash, which occurred when the German rider rode into the starting tapes. At the foot of Jasna Góra, Grigorij Laguta triumphed with 17 points. At the time, he enjoyed something close to god-like status in Częstochowa. Nicki Pedersen and Peter Kildemand followed him across the line. The career of the “Spider”, who was then riding for Włókniarz, was on a steep upward trajectory. One of the Ekstraliga magazines even described him as the discovery of the season. Who could have predicted that his career would begin to nosedive over the following two years… Medals were also handed out in Częstochowa that day. Emil Sajfutdinov claimed gold, while the remaining medals went to the two aforementioned Danes — with Kildemand taking silver and Pedersen bronze.

Toruń (2015)
The 2015 season began in Copernicus’ City. Emil Sajfutdinov started his campaign to defend the title in style, sailing through the qualifying heats without a hitch. However, the Russian had to acknowledge the superiority of two rivals in the final. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, he was the rider who had scored the most points overall. Nicki Pedersen was the first of the Bashkir’s conquerors, but for the Toruń crowd, someone else was the star of the evening. Just three days before his 20th birthday, Paweł Przedpełski stood on the second step of the podium. The local Apator product sent the fans gathered at Motoarena into ecstasy.

Ostrów Wielkopolski (2015)
We brought the 2015 edition to a close at the same venue where, on August 15, the final chapter of this year’s battle for the title of Individual Polish Champion will take place. Nicki Pedersen finished the competition just as he had started it — with a victory, scoring 15 points. However, that was not enough to win the championship. The title once again went to Emil Sajfutdinov. It must be said, though, that this was by far his weakest performance of the entire campaign. The rider from Salavat was eliminated in the run-off, but the advantage he had built up in the previous rounds was enough to retain his crown. It was the second time a rider carrying #89 on his race jacket had been crowned champion in Ostrów. In 2007, it was also here that he won the Individual World Junior Championship title. For the record, Antonio Lindbäck, who claimed bronze, and Janusz Kołodziej completed the podium.

Rybnik (2016)
The second half of the second decade of the 21st century was hugely important for speedway in Rybnik. The stadium on G72 began hosting international events, while the club — 12-time Polish Team Champions — started knocking on the door of a return to the Ekstraliga. The 2016 season was the third consecutive year in which Rybnik staged a major international event. Nicki Pedersen was almost flawless in Silesia, while Vaclav Milik and Krzysztof Kasprzak completed the podium. The medals were awarded in the same order, although the Czech and Polish riders had to settle their positions in a deciding run-off.

Lublin (2017)
Another example of a speedway centre being brought back to life. For years, Lublin had been on the periphery of Polish speedway. Everything began to change with the arrival of Jakub Kępa and his team. The “new” Motor project quickly regained the trust of the fans. In 2017, the first season of the current club entity, the Lublin region hosted the final chapter of the Speedway Euro Championship battle. At Aleje Zygmuntowskie, Krzysztof Kasprzak came out on top, with Andžejs Ļebedevs and Artiom Laguta completing the podium. The Latvian rider finished the day celebrating a gold medal despite… not winning a single round! You could say he recreated Marek Loram’s championship-winning 2000 season. The medals also went to the aforementioned younger Laguta brother and Vaclav Milik.

Gniezno (2018)
Poland’s first capital city hosted the opening SEC round in 2018. It was something of a trial by fire for Jarosław Hampel. Fans still vividly remember his crash in the 2015 Speedway World Cup semi-final, which resulted in a serious femur fracture. Mały, however, showed no fear of those memories and won the entire event with 17 points. Antonio Lindbäck and Kai Huckenbeck completed the podium.

Chorzów (2018)
Following its redevelopment, the legendary Silesian Stadium no longer has a permanent speedway track. As a result, it hosted the first SEC round in history to be staged on a temporary track. In the “Cauldron of Witches”, Leon Madsen was the man to beat, winning the competition with a perfect score. Antonio Lindbäck finished second, while Kacper Woryna joined him on the podium. At the end of the day, the championship medals went to Leon Madsen, Jarosław Hampel and the young Robert Lambert.

Bydgoszcz (2020)
The oval at Sportowa 2 entered the Speedway Euro Championship calendar during the pandemic-affected edition of the series. At the home stadium of Polonia, Leon Madsen claimed his second consecutive victory of the season. Mikkel Michelsen finished second and Grigorij Laguta third. Interestingly, the entire trio was separated by just one point. Madsen scored 14, while his rivals were classified on 13 points each.

Łódź (2022)
Moto Arena is regarded as the most modern speedway stadium in Poland. On September 3, 2022, the series that determines Europe’s best speedway rider visited the city for the first time. At the stadium where Orzeł races, Janusz Kołodziej triumphed, beating Dominik Kubera and Leon Madsen in the final. It was the Dane and Kubera who scored the most points throughout the meeting, with both riders collecting 15, while Kołodziej finished the event on 12.

Grudziądz (2024)
The Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship is one of the few regions that can boast having hosted the Speedway Euro Championship at every active stadium in the province. In 2024, the best riders in Europe were welcomed at the venue on Hallera 4. Leon Madsen felt most at home on the banks of the Vistula, taking the top step of the podium. Kacper Woryna and Piotr Pawlicki followed him. It was a meeting to forget for Andžejs Ļebedevs, who failed even to reach the run-off. Interestingly, Max Fricke competed as a wildcard, making it the first — and so far only — occasion on which a non-European rider has taken part in the competition.

Leszno (2025)
Patryk Dudek claimed his second victory of the season at the Smoczyk Stadium in the same campaign in which he went on to win the Speedway Euro Championship gold medal. Duzers defeated Nazar Parnitskyi in Leszno, as well as Andžejs Ļebedevs, who has never hidden the fact that this is one of his favourite tracks.