EUROPEAN PREVIEW

Both Torun and Grudziadz are under pressure after their first four meetings, with Torun having won their opener against Gorzow but then suffered three successive defeats, whilst Grudziadz’s sole point so far came from a 45-45 draw with Czestochowa, again on day one.

The home side will be favourites with Robert Lambert, Emil Sayfutdinov and Patryk Dudek in their line-up, whilst Grudziadz’s chances appear to rest on the fitness of Nicki Pedersen, who pulled out at Krosno last weekend.

Elsewhere on Friday, Czestochowa host Krosno with the newcomers up in third place in the league table after a solid start to life in the Ekstraliga with two home wins on the board.

Leaders Wroclaw are in action on Sunday evening, racing at home to Gorzow as they look to continue a 100 per cent record which included two 46-44 wins last week.

Tai Woffinden and Dan Bewley line up for the hosts, with their Grand Prix rivals Martin Vaculik and Anders Thomsen featuring for the visitors.
Sunday’s remaining fixture features Lublin at home to Leszno, with the defending champions having two wins from three matches so far, with wins at Czestochowa and Gorzow cancelling out their home defeat to Wroclaw.

In Division One, Gdansk pulled off an excellent 47-43 win at Lodz thanks to a last-heat 5-1 from Nicolai Klindt and Mads Hansen over Niels-Kristian Iversen and Mateusz Tonder. Tom Brennan scored 2+2 from four rides for the hosts in the re-arranged Round 2 fixture.

In a Round 4 catch-up, Ostrow moved level on points with leaders Zielona Gora with a 48-41 win over Poznan, whilst another re-arrangement on Friday sees Landshut, currently without a point, face third-placed Bydgoszcz.

The Round 5 programme takes place across Saturday and Sunday, starting with Ostrow taking on Lodz on Saturday.

There are three Sunday fixtures as Zielona Gora head to Germany to face Landshut, whilst Poznan host Rybnik – who are yet to get off the mark – and Bydgoszcz take on Gdansk.

In Division Two, Rzeszow and Opole are level at the top on six points, with Rzeszow involved in Saturday’s fixture as they travel to Gniezno. Opole, meanwhile, are away at Daugavpils on Sunday with Steve Worrall lining up for the Latvian side and Adam Ellis declared in the Opole team.

On Sunday, Drew Kemp is named in the team for Rawicz’s home match against Tarnow, whilst Dan Gilkes rides for Pila against Gniezno in a Round 1 re-arranged fixture.

Midweek action saw the Swedish Bauhaus Ligan get underway, and the clash of two of the favourites went heavily Vastervik’s way with their 58-32 home win over Lejonen.

Woffinden scored 11 points from five rides, including three race wins in a clear victory for the hosts.

Meanwhile Lambert was in exceptional form for champions Smederna, although his brilliant 17-point haul couldn’t prevent a 49-41 defeat at Rospiggarna.

Lambert was beaten by Timo Lahti in his opening ride before then reeling off five straight wins, but the home side took an eight-point victory overall.

The other fixture in the opening round on Tuesday saw Piraterna hold on for a 46-44 win at Indianerna, whilst Dackarna – with Bewley in their line-up – were without a fixture.

In Wednesday’s International challenge at Rybnik, Poland raced to an emphatic 60-30 win over Australia, with Bartosz Zmarzlik (14+1) and Dominik Kubera (13+2) both scoring paid maximums. Jason Doyle top-scored for Australia with 11+1.

In the Under-24 Ekstraliga, three British riders were in action with Leon Flint scoring six points in Ostrow’s 55-35 defeat at Leszno.

Alex Spooner scored one in a 40-25 win for Lublin against Torun in a meeting abandoned due to rain with the result standing, whilst Nathan Ablitt scored three for Wroclaw in a heavy 66-24 defeat at Czestochowa.