EUROPEAN PREVIEW

Image courtesy of Steve Hone Photography

It’s a first home match of the season for Lambert’s side, who finished third overall in 2023 and are working their way back from some tough years, having last reached the Grand Final back in 2016.

At that time Leszno were the dominant team in Poland, taking the title in four out of five seasons, but the balance of power has now shifted and they are expected to be amongst the teams battling for survival in the top flight.

Leszno did open up with a win over Czestochowa last week but their hopes on Friday are hit by the absence of top rider Janusz Kolodziej, who is still not fully fit after pre-season injuries, whilst Torun are boosted by the return of Wiktor Lampart after missing Round 1 with a knee injury.

Elsewhere on Friday, defending Champions Lublin host Gorzow with Bartosz Zmarzlik going up against his former club, and a host of Grand Prix riders will be involved as the World Champion is joined by Fredrik Lindrgen, Jack Holder and Dominik Kubera for the hosts, whilst Martin Vaculik and Szymon Wozniak line up for the visitors.

The meeting is a repeat of the 2022 Grand Final which was won by Lublin, and was Zmarzlik’s last appearance for Gorzow before he left the club that winter.

Sunday’s action features an interesting looking trip for Wroclaw to Czestochowa, where Tai Woffinden will be looking to put in a strong performance as he builds up to the GP series.

Dan Bewley scored double figures in Wroclaw’s opening victory over Zielona Gora, and an interesting angle to the meeting is that Czestochowa star Mikkel Michelsen has been linked in the Polish media with a possible switch to Wroclaw next season.

The second fixture on Sunday will have potential significance to the likely battle in the lower regions of the league table as Zielona Gora host Grudziadz.

Potentially the meeting offers an opportunity for the newly promoted side to get off the mark, whilst the visitors arrive with former ZG rider Max Fricke off the back of a 15-point maximum in the UK for Leicester on Thursday.

The weather has already decimated the schedule for Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga with Saturday’s meetings at Rybnik (against Rzeszow) and Lodz (against Poznan) postponed.

On Sunday, two of the last Round 1 winners meet as Krosno host Bydgoszcz, whilst Ostrow take on Gdansk with both sides having lost their opening fixtures.

Tom Brennan is set to line up for the visitors and he will face the likes of Chris Holder and Tobiasz Musielak for Ostrow.

National Speedway League action is scheduled to resume this weekend with Adam Ellis in action for Pila as they head to Tarnow on Saturday.

On Sunday, Steve Worrall is in the Daugavpils line-up for their match against Gniezno, whilst the programme is completed by Opole’s home match against Landshut.

The weekend’s other major event is the qualifying round of the European Under-23 Team Speedway Championship at Pardubice.

The meeting features Great Britain, Germany, France and host nation Czech Republic, with only one place available for the Final at Krakow in August which already includes Poland, Denmark and Sweden. GB are to be represented by Tom Brennan, Jordan Jenkins, Anders Rowe, Leon Flint and Ashton Boughen.

Their biggest challenge may well come from the hosts who include GP newcomer Jan Kvech along with his Prague team-mates Daniel Klima, Adam Bednar and Jan Macek, and home rider Matous Kamenik.