VACULIK: ZMARZLIK PUSHES SPEEDWAY GP RIVALS TO ANOTHER LEVEL

Slovak star Martin Vaculik says former Gorzow teammate Bartosz Zmarzlik “has moved the limits to another level” in Speedway GP as the pair resume rivalries at the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia on Saturday.

World No.3 Vaculik heads to Donji Kraljevec bidding to build on the best season of his career in 2023, which saw him become Slovakia’s first-ever Speedway GP World Championship medallist and win SGP rounds in Prague and Cardiff.

Upgrading bronze to gold will be no easy task as Vaculik and his Speedway GP rivals bid to dethrone Polish icon Bartosz Zmarzlik – a four-time world champion who has led the SGP standings uninterrupted since he topped the podium in Croatia on April 30, 2022.

Vaculik knows Zmarzlik better than most after racing alongside his good friend at the Lublin man’s boyhood club Gorzow.

While he knows the challenge that competing with the three-time FIM Speedway World Cup winner brings, Vaculik also admits Zmarzlik forces his opponents to raise the bar.

He said: “Bartek is a great sportsman. He is very talented. He works hard and he has a great team. He has all these tools to be the best.

“I can truly say he is a motivation for us. He motivates us to be better than we are now. He has moved the limits to another level. That’s good.

“Always when I beat him in a heat, I am very happy. It’s a cool feeling. He’s just moving the limit up and up and up.”

Vaculik’s historic bronze medal came at the end of a 2023 season, where the sport has reached new heights in Slovakia, with every round of the Speedway GP series televised free-to-air on national broadcaster RTVS.

The Zarnovica-born ace is delighted to see speedway’s profile grow in his homeland. He said: “It’s amazing. It was always one of my dreams to grow the sport of speedway in my country, and this is happening now. I am very pleased with that. 

“One big help was Slovak television showing speedway live on our public TV channel. That’s a great thing. I am very pleased with that and very thankful.

“Now many, many people can watch speedway and it’s an amazing opportunity to show the discipline. It’s fantastic. I try my best with my results to give them a good show, and it motives me to be better and better.”

Vaculik was recognised for putting his country firmly on the world speedway map when he received the prestigious Crystal Wing sports award in March.

Crystal Wings are awarded to those who excel and raise their country’s profile in every walk of Slovakian life in areas including philanthropy, economics, journalism and literature, theatre and audiovisual arts, fine arts, music, popular music, sports, medicine and science, innovation and startups, extraordinary success abroad or another significant achievement.

Vaculik was pleased to be honoured with the best of the best in Slovakia. He said: “It was a very big pleasure for me to get this award. I am really very thankful and pleased with this Crystal Wing because it’s a really special thing.

“There are so many unique people at this ceremony and there are so many great stories behind them.

“I am very honoured to be one the winners. It was amazing and for me, this is another motivation to show my best and try to be the best. All this stuff motivates me so much.”

Becoming Slovakia’s first-ever Speedway GP world champion would take his profile and that of the sport to new heights in his country, but Vaculik is well aware of the task ahead as the 11-round series gets underway on Saturday.

He said: “Of course I will try my best. I am keeping my feet on the ground, and I am focused on the moment. Of course I have a dream to be world champion. I think the main reason all 15 riders are in the GP is because they want to be world champion – otherwise they will not be in there.

“It is a process. I will try my best and I am very pleased I can be among the 15 best riders in the world. I just want to show my best and, if everything works well and goes like it should, then I can really fight for a very high position.”