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Stefan Kwoczala R.I.P

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Another famous part of speedway history has just passed. Polish Champ in 1959 and World Finalist in 1960. I am sure that old -(should say mature!!) Leicester Hunter fans will remember him.

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KWOCZALA, Stefan

 

Born: June 15, 1934, Czestochowa, Poland.

 

The second Pole to join Leicester under a scheme where the Polish authorities allowed riders to race in Britain for a year to gain experience of the smaller tracks, Stefan had the difficult job of replacing the hugely popular Marian Kaiser at Blackbird Road. He was a member of the Wlokniarz club in his home city and had won the Polish Championship in 1959, joining the ‘Hunters’ the following spring. He was a robust and sometimes wild rider who upset some opponents with his hard charging tactics but proved to be a popular member of the side with the fans at his home track. He not only filled the spot left by Kaiser admirably, he actually outscored his fellow countryman with a series of fantastic displays which saw him among the top 20 riders in the league.

 

His official debut came at Ipswich in a National Trophy match in May and Stefan showed what was to come by scoring twelve, paid 13, from six rides. Although he was never to score a maximum for the ‘Hunters’, Stefan was in double figures in over half of his league and cup matches and ended the season with a superb average of 8.22 points per match to finish as second heat leader behind Ken McKinlay. He also worked his way through the qualifying rounds of the World Championship to reach the Wembley final, joining his compatriots Kaiser and Henryk Zyto in the event. Stefan proved to be the best of his countrymen that night, scoring eight points to finish the evening in a creditable seventh place, the best effort yet by a Pole in the competition. As with the rest of the Polish riders of the time, he was only allowed one season of racing in Britain and returned to ride in his domestic league in 1961. Sadly, he suffered serious head injuries in a track crash in May of that year and, although he made a recovery, the injury effectively spelled the end of his career.

 

Year

Club

Division

M

R

P

BP

TP

CMA

FM

PM

1960

Leicester

NL

19

90

172

13

185

8.22

-

-

 

Individual Honours: World finalist 1960 (7th), Polish Champion 1959.

International Honours: Polish international – 3 caps, 16 points.

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