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KUBERA: MIXED EMOTIONS AFTER REACHING CROATIAN SEMIS

Polish star Dominik Kubera admits he had mixed feelings after reaching the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia semi-finals on his full-time series debut last Saturday.The Lublin and Lejonen star picked up just two race points in his first three rides but hit back with two straight victories to book his place in the last eight.Despite finishing fourth in semi one, Kubera can still be content with what is his fourth semi-final in five Speedway GP appearances, dating back to his debut as a wild card at the 2021 FIM Lublin Speedway GP double-header, when he reached back-to-back podiums.Kubera was happy to depart Donji Kraljevec with nine championship points, but admits lessons were learned. He said: “I am happy and not happy with myself. The last three races were really good for me, and I am happy with this.“It’s the GP. The riders are really good. I made too many mistakes in my first three heats. But I must learn all the time and I am happy with my score.“I am really happy to have made the semi-final. We changed everything in the heats, and it was close in the semi. I had a really good start and they pushed me out to the middle of the track.”Kubera has the chance to finally make his Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw debut on May 11. He was due to race in the 2023 event but crashed out of Qualifying Practice with a back injury.“Of course, I want to go better than last year,” he said. “I have more experience and I am looking forward to it. If it goes like it did in Croatia when I go to Warsaw, I will be happy. I think reaching the semi-final would be okay for me, but I need to concentrate and focus to get there.”

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EKSTRALIGA | BEWLEY STARS AS WROCLAW HOLDS CZESTOCHOWA

Great Britain star Dan Bewley raced to 13 paid 15 points for Wroclaw as they held Czestochowa to a 45-45 draw in the PGE Ekstraliga on Tuesday.Bewley picked up two wins and two paid victories over six rides, with former Speedway GP world champion Artem Laguta also impressing on 12 and Maciej Janowski tallying 10. Triple Speedway GP world champion Tai Woffinden registered four.Danish ace Leon Madsen was the Lions’ star man on 11 points, with his compatriot Mikkel Michelsen notching nine paid 10. Double World Under-21 champion Maksym Drabik and Mads Hansen weighed in with eight paid nine points apiece.This weekend’s PGE Ekstraliga action sees Grudziadz host Leszno and Torun welcome Wroclaw on Friday, before Czestochowa hosts champions Lublin and Zielona Gora stages the first Lubuskie derby against Gorzow since Falubaz’s promotion back into the top flight.For full details of Tuesday’s result plus the latest league table, visit the PGE Ekstraliga website HERE (link in Polish).

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LEARNING CURVE FOR KVECH

Czech racer Jan Kvech pledged to keep building and learning in his FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut season after a promising start to the series at the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia on Saturday.Kvech claimed two second places and two thirds in the heats, falling short of the semi-finals but earning a very respectable five championship points – his best Speedway GP score so far.After qualifying at the FIM SGP Challenge in Gislaved last August, Kvech proved he could mix it with the sport’s elite and delivered some fast starts.While Czech Republic’s first SGP regular since Lukas Dryml in 2008 admits mistakes were made, he’s determined to grow from a decent performance in Donji Kraljevec.The 2022 SGP2 and SON2 silver medallist said: “I am very happy. I was a little bit unlucky because I lost some points by making mistakes, but it was not bad.“I will build and build and learn and learn. I made some really good starts, but I made some mistakes. I will learn from this for the next GP. Maybe I will make less mistakes and it will be a little bit better.“I want to be in the semi-finals – maybe the final. I am learning and hopefully it will be better and better step by step.”

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EKSTRALIGA ROUND-UP | LEBEDEVS LEADS LESZNO CHARGE

Latvian ace Andzejs Lebedevs followed up his full-time Speedway GP debut by racing to 12 paid 13 points for Leszno as they were held to a 45-45 draw at home to Zielona Gora in the PGE Ekstraliga on Sunday.Lebedevs registered three victories for the Bulls and former world No.2 Jaroslaw Hampel was the only visiting rider to get the better of him as the Polish star blazed to a sensational 14 points on his old home track.The Latvian was supported by a 10 paid 11-point tally from Leszno teammate Janusz Kolodziej, while Grzegorz Zengota notched nine and 2023 SGP2 silver medallist Damian Ratajczak added eight paid nine. Hampel was backed up by the Leszno-born Pawlicki brothers for Falubaz, with Przemyslaw scoring nine paid 10 and Piotr adding eight paid nine. Speedway GP rider Jan Kvech registered one paid two.In Sunday’s other match, Danish racer Leon Madsen picked up 14 points from six rides for Czestochowa, but it was not enough to save them from a 48-42 loss away to Gorzow.Former SGP star Anders Thomsen topped the home side’s score chart on 12 paid 13, with Slovak star Martin Vaculik registering nine paid 11 and Speedway GP newcomer Szymon Wozniak picking up eight paid nine. Lions star Madsen was supported by 10 paid 11 from European champion Mikkel Michelsen.In Friday’s matches, Wroclaw top guns Dan Bewley, Artem Laguta and Maciej Janowski bagged 12 paid 13 points apiece as Sparta stormed to a convincing 53-37 win over Grudziadz.Last year’s SGP2 bronze medallist Bartlomiej Kowalski weighed in with a useful eight paid 11, with Tai Woffinden adding six.Former World Under-21 champion Jaimon Lidsey was Grudziadz’s top performer on 12, with Max Fricke scoring five paid seven and Jason Doyle registering four – just 24 hours before racing to a dramatically-improved second place at the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia.In Friday’s other meeting, Speedway GP trio Jack Holder, Fredrik Lindgren and Bartosz Zmarzlik all contributed 10 points to Lublin’s tally as the champions eased to a 53-37 win at home to Torun.Speedway GP newcomer Dominik Kubera collected eight paid 11, with Warsaw wild card Mateusz Cierniak accruing six paid seven.Former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov scored a sublime 16 for Torun, with Great Britain racer Robert Lambert notching nine paid 11 and Patryk Dudek recording nine paid 10.Meanwhile, in the Metalkas 2. Ekstraliga on Sunday, the second tier’s sole Speedway GP rider Kai Huckenbeck followed up his first-ever SGP semi-final appearance by scoring 12 paid 13 points for Bydgoszcz as they won 57-33 at home to Lodz.The next PGE Ekstraliga action sees Czestochowa host Wroclaw in a rearranged clash on Tuesday.For full details of the PGE Ekstraliga results and scorers, click HERE (link in Polish).

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HEROIC HOLDER MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER SPEEDWAY GP WIN IN CROATIA

Aussie ace Jack Holder inked his family name into the FIM Speedway Grand Prix history books after storming to his first-ever SGP win at the Boll FIM Speedway GP of Croatia on Saturday.The world No.4 topped the podium in Donji Kraljevec ahead of fellow Aussie star Jason Doyle in second place, Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren in third, with Poland’s reigning world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik in fourth.Holder joins five-time SGP-winning older brother Chris – the 2012 Speedway GP world champion – in the SGP winner’s club – making them the first sibling duo in SGP history to both top the podium.Jack also breaks four-time Speedway GP world champion Zmarzlik's near-two-year, uninterrupted run at the top of the SGP standings, which stretches back to the Pole’s victory at the FIM Croatian Speedway GP on April 30, 2022.Five-time 2023 podium finisher Holder was elated to seal his first SGP win after making the gruelling 10-hour drive from his Polish PGE Ekstraliga club Lublin on Friday to line up in Croatia, where he triumphed in front of a 7,000-strong capacity crowd at Speedway Stadion Milenium.He said: “I just made history and put the Holder family down as the first brothers to win. It’s a massive monkey off my back; I have been wanting this victory for so long.“My partner Jessica is back home in England and has our son in her belly, so she can’t travel anymore. That one is for her. I can’t wait to get home. Mum and Dad are back home in Australia with my brother Jimbo, and Chris was watching it too. The whole Holder crew – we did it!” 

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KUBERA: MIXED EMOTIONS AFTER REACHING CROATIAN SEMIS

EKSTRALIGA | BEWLEY STARS AS WROCLAW HOLDS CZESTOCHOWA

LEARNING CURVE FOR KVECH

EKSTRALIGA ROUND-UP | LEBEDEVS LEADS LESZNO CHARGE

HEROIC HOLDER MAKES HISTORY WITH FIRST-EVER SPEEDWAY GP WIN IN CROATIA