EKSTRALIGA | LUBLIN LEADS RACE FOR POLISH TITLE

Polish champions Lublin put one hand on their third straight PGE Ekstraliga title as five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik led them to a 47-43 win away to Wroclaw in the play-off final, first leg on Sunday.

On a huge night of racing at the iconic Olympic Stadium, which stages the 2025 FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw on August 30, the hosts Sparta Wroclaw bid a fond farewell to club legend Tai Woffinden, who departs after a glittering 13 seasons in their colours.

With Woffy on the sidelines due to injury, 2021 Speedway GP world champion Artem Laguta racked up 16 paid 17 and new world No.4 Dan Bewley collected 13 paid 15 for the hosts, while Maciej Janowski scored six.

But Lublin overpowered Wroclaw with a rock-solid team display, with Zmarzlik topping their scoring on nine paid 10, while Jack Holder celebrated securing his spot in the 2025 Speedway GP series by notching nine. Double SGP2 champion Mateusz Cierniak added eight paid nine, Dominik Kubera scored a straight eight and Fredrik Lindgren collected four paid six.

Elsewhere, Torun edged closer to the PGE Ekstraliga bronze medal as former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov scored 12 points to lead his side to a 46-43 win away to Gorzow.

He was well supported by a 10-point total from Polish star Patryk Dudek, while GB’s new world No.2 Robert Lambert and Pawel Przedpelski accrued eight points each.

Slovakia’s Martin Vaculik starred on 14 for Gorzow, with Anders Thomsen and Jakub Miskowiak adding eight apiece.

The return legs are scheduled to take place in Lublin and Torun on Saturday. For full details of the first-leg results and scorers, CLICK HERE (page in Polish).