PolskiZuzel

He will be back on April 27th

Greg Walasek

To award the race riders have to be on the last (fourth) lap, not third as was the case in Torun It's NOT scandalous, neither is pathetic. If you choose to watch Polish speedway you need to know the Polish rules to understand it. Isn't that simple ?

Yes they can...but only if the riders are on the last lap, not third as was the case in Torun

Here is another short video from Zenon Plech Anniversary Meeting

There is no need to " scouring the world"...ask Ipswich fans...they you could tell you a word or two about.... Magda Zimny-Louis

base :-(

Where did you get "a Warsaw based league team" from, Gustix? You're right that it was Polish League team called "Sparta", but "Sparta" is, and always has been, based in WROCLAW, not Warsaw.

Henryk ZYTO, one of the legendary Polish speedway riders of late 50's and early 60's died last Wednesday at the age of 81 in Gdansk. He was one of the first Polish riders competing for the British club (Coventry Bees in 1960). A year later together with his team mates he won for Poland first gold medal in World Team Championships. His funeral will take place this Saturday 10.03.2018 in Gdansk. (...)Henryk won the hearts of the British fans during his first performance for Coventry on Friday 8th April, 1960, against Leicester at Blackbird Road. Fans were fascinated by his riding style but cheered the most when after a fall two hundred yards from the finish line he pushed his bike till the end for one point. Henryk was a conscientious young man who took speedway very seriously. Maybe sometimes too seriously. Charles Ochiltree soon gave him encouragement. He told him through the interpreter, "Do not worry, I'm happy with you, the track is very slippery today.(...)

No he doesn't !.

It was also predicatble in the 70's when England were winning in 1971-72-73-75- 77, or Denmark for that matter in the 80's Why nobody objected then that one country was winning year after year

Henryk's funeral will take place this Saturday, 10.03.2018 in Gdansk

Today (07.03.2018), at the age of 81, Henryk ZYTO died in Gdansk . One of the most outstanding Polish former speedway riders who together with his colleagues won for Poland in 1961 the first gold medal in the Team World Cup . He was also one of the first Polish riders competing for the British (Coventry Bees) speedway club. The sad news on Henryk's passing was given by his son, Piotr to sportowefakty.pl website. May he Rest in Peace.

On the link you refer to I have found one interesting comment: Get onto website wasza.tv and log in as you would do on the wizja.tw website. You'll find that all channels of C+ are there

From what I know nobody else is eager to stage it...

After several seasons of financial crisis and lower wages, good times are returning back to the Polish EkstraLiga – reports website sports.pl.In the recent article published in Poland's top sport newspaper, its author speculates on the EkstraLiga top earners in the 2018 season. The list looks like this. Tai Woffinden (Wrocław and England) 1.9 million PLN or around £404K ( at the current rate of exchange ) After six years spent in Wrocław, Woffinden became a symbol of this club. Promoters and supporters have become very attached to the British rider . In order to keep him at home, they have been ready to put down any money. The club and sponsors around it are spending a fortune not only for the contract, but also to fund his appearance in the Grand Prix series. In addition to Monster, all of Woffinden's biggest sponsors are the companies associated in one way or the other with the Wroclaw club . If Woffinden had changed the club, he would be left virtually with no funds for the Grand Prix. He cannot count on his compatriots with whom he has been in dispute with for a year. At the beginning of October, Woffinden had several talks with Toruń promoters. However, people in Wrocław have noticed it in time, and following their offer, talks with Toruń were completed. It is interesting to note that in Wrocław, they have quite a peculiar concept, because the earnings of the top two riders, Tai Woffinden and Maciej Janowski, are even three times higher than those of Andrzej Lebedev and Vaclav Milik. Thanks to this, their promoters are able to balance the budget. The emerging stars from other countries can only be satisfied with the prestige (i.e.riding for Wroclaw) and wait for the end of their first "incentive" contracts. When Vaclav Milik in 2014 signed a long-term contract with Wroclaw he was only an up and coming young rider in the Polish lower division. If he was now a free rider , he could even count on a two-time higher wage. That's what happened to Szymon Woźniak. In Wroclaw, even as the individual Polish champion he could count on just over half a million PLN (around £107K). When the Wroclaw promotion heard what offer he got from Gorzów, they quickly began looking for someone else. Jason Doyle (Toruń and Australia) 1.8 million PLN, or £383K It was by far THE transfer of the season. The world champion tried to deceive Zielona Gora promotion for a long time. He wanted them to spend nearly two million PLN for a year's contract. In the new club, Torun, he got a lot of money (650,000 PLN, or £138K) just for signing. An additional amount will go to his account once Torun ] wins the League or at least a place on the rostrum . For every point he will paid as much as Chris Holder was in the previous season, that is 5.5 thousand PLN, (or £1.7K). In Toruń, they argue that he is an extremely valuable rider whose presence will positively influence the whole team. The compatriot's help may be needed especially by Chris and Jack Holders. Doyle has good reason to be satisfied, because as yet he has not earned this kind of money in Poland. Last season he earned less than 1.2 million (or £255K) from Zielona Gora. This year they offered him a small increase, plus a much smaller amount for the signature. It seems that in the new season he will be even more effective, because in the past, his priority was to win the world championship. Jarosław Hampel (Leszno and Poland) 1.75 million PLN (£372K) As the president of Unia Leszno admitted, both sides agreed terms in 20 minutes. Negotiations took place before Zielona Gora's last league match . Hampel wanted to leave and return to his old ground (Leszno). Thanks to the huge amount for the signature (600,000 zlotys), Hampel after three years returns to the top earners. The last contract in Zielona Gora was one of the lowest in his career. All because the promotion, and he himself had doubts whether he would be able to get back in the top form after his nasty injury . Eventually, last season he managed to earn about 1.2 million PLN (£255K). This time there were no problems in the negotiations. The increase will be large enough so that the rider can confidently plan a return to the Grand Prix. Emil Sayfutdinov (Leszno & Russia) 1.7 million PLN (£361.7K) For the first time in some years, he signed a two-year contract, and that tells a lot about his relations with Leszno promotion. As it turned out, the Grand Prix did not affect his form in the Ekstraliga . For years, his contract has been for a similar amount, with the difference that until now it was enough to be the top-earning rider in Poland. This time he found the conquerors not only in other clubs, but also in his own team. The Russian will not have any problems with this, because he is considered to be a rider that cooperates with his colleagues. A strong Unia Leszno team, similarly as in the case of Hampel, may cause his average to decrease slightly. Before this season, he had offers from Toruń and Grudziądz. From the first city he does not have very good memories, and Grudziadz offer was not able to compete with the offer that was given to him by Leszno. Leon Madsen (Częstochowa and Denmark) 1.6 million PLN (£340K) If he maintains his form of a lifetime from the previous season, and Czestochowa are promoted to play-offs, it will be his record season. In Częstochowa, he was supposed to get a contract worth 400,000 PLN (£85K) for the signature and as much as 6,000 PLN (£1.28K) for each point scored. The club, however, deny that they spent that amount. However, it is still much less than the Dane himself wanted at the beginning of the negotiations. Every year he talks almost with all EkstraLiga clubs and puts on the tables proposals for a contract containing sums that are not real. In Zielona Góra this year, he wanted half a million PLN for the signature and six thousand PLN per point . He traveled to Tarnów with a similar offer. There, they were giving him a contract with 100,000 PLN less than the original one. The same amount he finally agreed with Czestochowa, where he can count on four additional appearances in case of the team promotion to the play-offs. Niels Kristian Iversen (Toruń and Denmark) 1.5 million PLN (£319K) Another rider who benefited greatly from the Toruń offers. In his new club, he agreed 500,000 PLN (£106K) for the signature and 5,000 PLN (£1.06K) for each point scored. This can be topped up with bonuses for the place in the top three teams in the League and the Polish team championship. For years, the Dane has been seen as the EkstraLiga solid scorer, and the next season should be similar. Compared to the previous season, he can earn about 250,000 PLN (£53,2K) more. Gorzow tried to keep him, but did not want to top the amount from previous seasons. Bartosz Zmarzlik (Gorzów and Poland) 1.4 millionPLN (297.8K) For the second year in a row he is the best EkstraLiga rider . And yet, he cannot count on large amounts for his signature. In spite of this, against the background of other Polish riders he has done very well. The Gorzow promotion must regard him as the apple in their eyes, because Zmarzlik is a guarantee of full terraces. After this coming season, his contract comes to an end ,and if he plays it right, he can become the best-paid rider in the EkstraLiga . For Gorzow he is worth even more than 2 million PLN (£425.5K). The only question is whether there will be a club that will afford him and whether he will want to put his own club against the wall. The increase in his wages is guaranteed anyway. 8. Janusz Kołodziej (Leszno and Poland) 1.4 million PLN (£297.8K) He lost financially moving from Tarnów to Leszno, because in his hometown club he could count on the generous support of the most powerful sponsors. For years, he has been one of the most valuable riders in the EkstraLiga . He does not ride in foreign leagues and he devotes all his attention for the league matches in Poland. He gets about 500,000 PLN (£106K) for the signature.

Yes, you're quite right in your insight on Polish matters. Good for you. Anyway, speedway is popular in the areas where there are speedway clubs. If you happened to be holidaying in Poland's North-East, there are thousands of lakes and pine woods, if you have asked local people about speedway, they probably would not know what you are talking about.

There will be a feature on Henryk Zyto's 1960 season with Coventry in the spring 2018 issue of the "Classic Speedway" magazine available from Tony McDonalds's Retro Speedway

According to the available sources, MAX RECH, Polish pilot serving in Royal Air Force during World War II was the first ever Pole to ride speedway on British tracks. Max (Maximilian) Rech was born in Poznań in 1920. In the early months of World War II, with a pilot's license, he entered France and then traveled to England, where he joined the Polish Air Force fighting under the command of the RAF (Royal Air Force ). He was flying a Wellington bomber. On 15 August 1943 his plane with crews flew from Ingham Airport in England with the mission of demolishing the area of Borkum Island, part of the North Frisian Islands archipelago. Four minutes before the landing, the engine of the aircraft took fire after the attack of a German hunter. Twenty minutes later, at 23:50, the Wellington HE768 from the Polish squadron 300 crashed into the North Sea. Two crew members, Maximilian Rech and Czeslaw Poddany, survived the disaster and were drifting in the North Sea for eighteen days in a salvage boat . They were eventually "rescued", and actually taken captive by the German Kriegsmarine. Max Rech was sent to the IVB prisoners camp at Mükhlberg on the Laba river and later to another camp Luft VI Heydekrug in Lithuania, and later to Luft IV Gross Tychow in West Pomerania. The first mention of a competitor bearing the name Max Rech, then 26 years old, and referred to as "the former Polish airman serving during the Second World War in the Royal Air Force (RAF), dates back to 1950. He had a short spell with Fleetwood Flyers on the Lancashire coast. In that same year, Max Rech was one of the riders of the Exeter club in Cornwall . He never participated however in any of the team official meetings The next mention is that Max Rech moved to St Austell's "Cornish Gulls" club in the National League Division 3 and debuted in its colours on August 22, 1950, earning 5 +1 points in two races. He stayed with them through 1951 and into 1952 (when the name of Division 3 was changed to the Southern League). On 15 July 1952, Rech crashed at St.Austell, sustaining 3 broken ribs, a broken right arm, and a fractured collar bone. There is no mention of him ever riding again. After retirement from speedway he settled in the area of Newton Abbot. For many years Max worked as a bus driver for the Western National Omnibus Company in Plymouth. He passed away in 2004 MAX RECH known racing records: 1950 St.Austell 9 matches, 20 points 1951 St.Austell 21 matches, 94 points 1952 St.Austell 16 matches, 74 points TOTAL 46 matches, 188 points According to plymouthdevils.proboards.com, after his retirement, he moved to the Plymouth area where he sadly passed away in 2004. He was well thought of by Speedway followers in the South West, particularly Cornwall. I am grateful to Mr Brian Collins who provided me with most of above information. If anyone reading these words know anything else about Max Rech I will be very grateful for any information

On the other hand...pigs may fly :-)

That might be so...but in my eyes speedway is an individual sport, like boxing or athletics, etc. Of course footbal fans want to watch their team. There would be no football if there were no teams, but speedway is one guy against three others.

After seven months of rehabilitation the 2010 world champion is ready though to leave the hospital. He will will continue his rehabilitation / exercises at home. Gollob will leave the hospital at the end of November. The doctors agreed that the process of rehabilitation in the hospital is completed. In the past weeks He has undergone trials in walking again with the help of an exoskeleton, he was able to cover about 40 meters. Now the exercises will be done at home. - We have to have hope, but the chances that Tomasz Gollob will walk again are small. said Professor Marek Harat. Tomasz is aware of the situation. Of course, it can not be ruled out that favorable changes will occur and the core function will return, but we must also be prepared for nothing to change, so walking will require some cure, "he explains. Gollob also announced that once is released from the hospital, he would be more likely to appear publicly. - I needed some time to understand what happened. My career came to a standstill and everything changed. It was not easy to reconcile with. It's a pity, because I was hoping for another medal in the motocross and performance at the Dakar Rally. It can not be excluded that next year I will appear as a guest at the Polish Grand Prix at the National PGE. Certainly, if possible, I will also appear on other speedway stadiums. Professor Marek Harat persuades me all the time that there are still many things I can do, and that is probably true. I want to function normally and I will do everything to make it happen, "said Tomasz Gollob during yesterdays press conference at the Bydgoszcz hospital. source: sports.pl , onet.pl

According to sportowefakty.pl Greg Hancock's new Polish club, the 3rd League, Stal Rzeszow, will allegedly pay him about £320K per season The contract is signed for three years. Mr. Ireneusz Nawrocki, new owner of the club, says he has a specific idea related to this contract. The Polish businessman, the new owner of the club, explains that Greg Hancock's transfer is part of a bigger plan. "We have enough strong team, so we would be able to be successful without him," Nawrocki admits. "I have an idea for Hancock, so I wanted to have him. And I would like to declare that I was the first representative of the lower league who made Greg's offer. The Lublin club turned up later, offering him a huge amount of money for a year's drive, but the champion decided on a three-year plan for Rzeszow, "comments Nawrocki. What was the businessman thinking when trying to get Hancock? - Firstly we want to attract people to the tracks of the Polish lower league - says Nawrocki. - Not only here in Rzeszow but, also at other tracks. Secondly, we want Greg to act as a drawing magnet for our youth. We hope that more youngsters will join us and learn to ride speedway. Hancock role will also be an advisory force, a part of the coaching so our adepts will be learning from him as well. "Thirdly, Hancock is to advise us on hardware issues," adds Nawrocki. - For this reason, in our team we also have his mechanic and manager Rafał Haj. (...) An important reason for getting Greg was also that he would be a good face for our business. The owner of the Rzeszow club admitted that there were first effects already of bringing Hancock. Sponsors who wish to advertise in the club are already enquiring , They all want to adverise with the club who has such an excellent rider . During the season, the value of having Hancock will be even greater because after all, Greg as a GP rider will be exposing Rzeszow name around the world "I've read stories that I could do without Greg." says Nawrocki. - I do not agree with this completely. There are tangible and concrete profits, because we have our man at the Grand Prix. Many doors are opening in fron of us. And this is just the beginning - concludes the Polish businessman, who shocked the speedway, taking on Hancock.

Some of you, or perhaps even many of you know what the webside sportowefakty.pl is about I wonder though whether any of you managed to read a text https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/722074/tomasz-dryla-tylko-motor-bsi-czyli-buta-spryt-interesy-felieton on the BSI activities in PL. It makes an interesting read. For your convenience I am posting here an my English translation of the main bits. (...) The BSI is not a global corporation with which one deals in glass offices of one of London's skyscrapers, with sushi and a glass of good champagne. Their speedway section is made up of a group of the image efficient professionals, with a knowledge of what and how to handle things. Admittedly, the deals they make with Polish contractors are short of a masterpiece. (...) To stage a GP tournament in Poland you have to pay a huge amount of dollars to the BSI account, and then proceed to perform a series of more or less curious BSI's whims. Besides big cash, you have to provide flights and all logistics, accommodation, meals, plenty of dedicated rooms and transport on site. It would not be anything special if we just did not look in those details. And they look like this: Polish organisers have to pay for the BSI air tickets to Poland from various parts of the world and transport them from airport to hotel. BSI requires hotels of a specific standard , at the same time they reserve the right for some of their personnel to have double or even triple rooms at their disposal! This significantly increases the costs borne by the organiser, and the reason for it? They require mysterious "need of space" . One also needs to have a fleet of 3 to 6 vehicles rented for them , and those cars cannot be older than one year. It sounds ridiculous, but it is true! Before leaving England, the BSI are capable of sending you an email saying they will be arriving at the specific time and expect a hot meal. At the same time Mr. "x" asks for boiled fish and fries, Mr."y" for a medium fried steak, and Miss/Mrs "z" a warm vegetable soup, as she has just turned vegetarian. Meals must be served on ceramic plates. No plastic dishes and cutlery will be accepted. (...) Over the years, BSI's activities in Poland have been full of arrogance, and disrespect for my countrymen. The holders of the FIM rights to organise speedway GPs regarded themselves as infallible promoters, saviours of the world's speedway, who must be served by a group of subjects – simply speaking they were giving impressions as being a better species of people , who had all the brains, were cleverly manipulating their position and used it in a disgusting way. To be clear – this has been happening only in Poland. In Croatia, Latvia or Denmark, there is not even a suggestion of similar conditions. Over there, there is only a handful of GP round organisers who pay 15% of the Polish rate. And Mr. Bellamy and his buddies for years had to simply order a taxi if they wanted to get from the airport to the hotel. All this is a matter of education and a sense of good taste, as well as a sense of certain norms and standards which can be adopted in relationships with business partners. (...) What do the army of BSI people who need to sleep in spatial rooms, be fed and pamper, give us? Phil Morris, responsible for the competition and the preparation of the track surface too often have no idea of what is going on around him. On the flooded track in Krsko he ordered ... more water, so thanks to this the past season’s opening round became a parody of the competition. We also had the same thing in Teterow. You cannot see it on TV, but the riders frequent gesture towards the director is just a knock on the head. This was in occurrence at Horsens, Gorzow, Daugavpils and several other places. Of course, Mr. Morris is never guilty. He knew that his decisions at the Gorzow GP simply ruined the track, so after the practice he simply rushed off in the rented car to his hotel triple room. And that's all. Gp’s rounds are being prepared by people from BSI. They have a team of specialists who issue badges, rostrum settings and so on. But among them you will not find anybody who is willing to be responsible for anything. The pride and joy of the BSI people is the Cardiff round, even though this year it was a festival of organisational mistakes and ineptness. Riders briefing , autograph session, time for reporters to interview riders...nobody had a clue - when, who, or where? . BSI makes a lot of mistakes. And I mean a lot. At the slightest problem in Gorzów, Leszno or Warsaw, the perpetrators are always known to them and they are always Poles. And who mistook the teams helmets on the official notice board during the SWC in Leszno? Who put Piotr Protasiewicz in the Polish team on the promotional materials? Who produced gadgets with the Indonesian flag instead of the Polish one? Was Indonesia competing? No problem. These are all slips from one event! And did they care for Tomasz Gollob, when he lay in hospital after that accident in Stockholm? A man who, for two decades, had pulled fans for them to the stadiums of the whole of Europe, Such examples can be multiplied and for a long time. There are several people in Poland who are capable of preparing and running a perfectly good event, which would be in no way inferior to GP. BSI have an army of people to do it, and still does incomprehensible things. The BSI's business model is simple. Polish tournaments cover the costs of the deficit rounds and the FIM license fee, and profit for the BSI is generated in Cardiff. And that's it. Where did this system come from? It's the Poles who created it. It is the Polish entities, wishing to organise the most important events and bidding among themselves, which led to this unpleasant situation. And this is normal. I do not accept the complaints often heard, that we allow ourselves to be used, that we are being deceived. I don't because ... also in Poland nobody is staging GP's just for sport. Let's be honest! Our organisers, be it Torun, Gorzow or Warsaw also have one goal - profit. It's a pure calculation - They bid to the limit of their profitability. Nobody will transfer millions to the BSI not foreseeing their profits from tickets, advertising, city subsidies, etc. No Polish organiser feels cheated. BSI makes money, and so does. Leszno, Gorzów, Torun and Warsaw. So what's the problem? It's a normal business as everywhere in the world. Zero claims to BSI, zero claims to Polish organisers. The problem is elsewhere - in the mental sphere. The fact that someone is earning a lot of bucks and thanks to this exists, does not entitle him to permanently show his superiority. And that’s how it's been for years. Being stuck up, dissatisfaction, absurd bans, constant complaints, and nitpicking, just to prove to the Poles that they belong to the third world. In 2013, Mr. Bellamy sent an email to GP organisers in Toruń with the BSI request ... to change toilet paper in the bathroom ! ...because it was too rough ... It did not indicate that the paper was really bad, just that there was nothing to pick on , and one had to pick on something, just to show whowas the boss.. The British were always convinced that they were coming to Poland with some secret knowledge and know how . That they have a monopoly of organising something special. That was probably the case, but briefly. The thinkers soon realised that competing with us on equal terms would quickly ridicule them. Because it is the Poles who are more hardworking, better organised, more creative, more stubborn and striving towards the goal. Only they do not have so much nerve ... hence so many dirty tricks. nasty ones. . The British boast about their spectacular showcase in Cardiff, a spectacle so unique in the speedway world. The trouble is that no one can beat them in this. Not that one does not know how but simply one just cannot. Polish organisers of the tournament in Warsaw also had a number of cool ideas for the competition setting and its presentation. But they could not do it! One must not disturb the adopted schedule because there is a fixed presentation structure, because you cannot use pyrotechnics in the stadium before the tournament. But in Cardiff one can . Isn't it strange ... It's simply not fair . Blunders, bluffs, banning riders wishing to ride in SEC and GP , and Mr Bellamy's attempts to throw out the One Sport people from the GP's pits - well, we remember that. Well, the thinking man knows what it is. Can this be changed? Maybe it is already changing and the way to improve the situation is through us. I am not detached from reality, I do not believe that our organisers will get to an agreement and will all pay less . It's not real. I believe, however, that anyone who has anything to do with BSI can and will talk to them from another position. I.e an equal partner. An example has been set up already. The guys organising the SEC. They stood up for themselves and after their stormy beginnings they caught up . What's more - their relationship with BSI is really good today. It's a big scale, but in the smaller one this hard model also works. We have won better commentary positions and more freedom in the pits for NC +. Journalists and photojournalists from other channels now have an easier job. Good for them! A lot has changed with the new BSI boss. It seems that after Mr Bellamy's departure, the model of behaviour in the company ceased to be an idiotic exaltation, proving their position, and a grotesque intervention into everything. BSI are beginning to understand a number of issues. It realises that if it wants to function, it must take more care on the development of this sport, because it will not raise the quality of the product on one patent invented light years ago. It cannot afford a total conflict with a country that is in love with speedway and thanks to that, this sport still exists. Probably hence a visible correction on the approach and civilisation of a series of cases. This is being felt and must be emphasised. Torben Olsen sees more than Mr Bellamy and he understands more. And, he is not English, so he does not think in an English way, and that is a big success. It's not that the whole BSI is bad, and everything they've done for years is not worth anything. On the contrary, If there was no GP cycle, speedway and the world champion competition would be a total marginal fun today. And thanks to this cycle, even though full of absurdities, imperfections and bad solutions, is still alive – and contrary to popular opinion - will not end soon. (…) In the BSI actions one see the attempts to lift this sport from the crisis and, despite many falls years ago, it is worth keeping the thumbs up for this project. And what is more important – there are among them more and more people with whom you can simply talk to, more kindly, cool - just normal! BSI continues in coming to Poland for holidays, and still expects more than enough, still too often looks down on Poles. But it's up to each of us to decide how long it will last. let's not criticise forever the CEOs signing contracts for millions-that they are being done for. They are not. They know how to count money, and well – that's why they run this business at the club level, and success of Polish rounds prove that our organizers are really effective activists. most important is, that none of us are going to be taken for a ride e. Bosses, riders, supporters, journalists . It's a matter of dignity. And what in the broader perspective pays us. We have the best riders, the best supporters, the best stadiums. Only these heads of ours ... carry them a little higher, please!