SMEKTALA PICKED FOR SGP QUALIFIERS
Warsaw wild card Bartosz Smektala could earn a full-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix place after being seeded into this year's qualifiers.
24 / 04 / 2019, 10:55
Warsaw wild card Bartosz Smektala will get a shot at earning a full-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix place after being handed one of Poland’s spots in the qualifying semi-finals.
The Leszno hotshot was picked along with former world No.2 Jaroslaw Hampel, ex-SGP star Piotr Protasiewicz, plus Szymon Wozniak, Pawel Przedpelski and Krzysztof Buczkowski.
The selections were made by the PZM after the Golden Helmet Final in Pila, which traditionally decides Poland’s SGP qualification entrants, was postponed due to an unfit track, with concerns over an exposed kerb under the outside fence.
Wozniak, Przedpelski and Protasiewicz all won their semi-finals, while Buczkowski finished second in Pila.
The PZM opted to select both Smektala and Hampel despite them failing to qualify for the Final.
Smektala got the nod as reigning World Under-21 champion, while Hampel gets a shot after crashing out of his semi with a broken shoulder.
The news sees riders like former world No.2 Krzysztof Kasprzak and ex-world No.6 Piotr Pawlicki overlooked, despite the pair scoring 13 points each in the Tarnow semi-final.
It also means SGP stars Patryk Dudek, Maciej Janowski and Janusz Kolodziej must finish in this year’s top eight to guarantee a place in SGP 2020, despite being seeded into the Golden Helmet final as World Championship regulars. Bartosz Zmarzlik opted out of the meeting.
But Kolodziej has been handed the chance to qualify for the 2019 Speedway European Championship along with Smektala, Przedpelski, Kacper Woryna, Tobiasz Musielak, Dominik Kubera and Adrian Miedzinski.