Artem Laguta: we have 30 races. We will do everything to win

BETARD SPARTA maintained their winning streak at the Olympic Stadium and won the rematch against EBUT.PL STAL 50:40. The team from Wrocław secured their spot in the PGE Ekstraliga 2024 final, where they will compete for gold against ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin. The undisputed leader of the team is Artem Laguta, who currently has the best average score among speedway riders at 2.435 points per race.

Magdalena Świergiel (ekstraliga.pl): After the rematch in the semi-finals, you have the best race average in the PGE Ekstraliga, ahead of Bartosz Zmarzlik. Does this show that you are in optimal form for these decisive matches?

Artem Laguta (BETARD SPARTA Wrocław): It looks like I am in optimal form. I feel very good on the motorcycle. The speed is there, the engines are very fast. We just need to set them up correctly, and here I thank Daniel and Ryszard Kowalski. We won the semi-final against EBUT.PL STAL Gorzów, and now the final is ahead of us. It will be very tough — the Polish champion is coming. According to the statistics, I am first, so maybe it’s time for me to race in the Speedway Grand Prix.

Do you think you are in better form now than in 2021 when you became the Individual World Champion?

Maybe the break in racing negatively affected my form, which wasn’t the best compared to this year. One needs to consider that exclusions, crashes, the tapes, and defects also cause the average race score to drop. This season is completely different. For now, I am the leader in the PGE Ekstraliga, and I would like it to stay that way till the end of the season.

Before the start of the play-offs, you said you would win all the matches. Do you still believe that?

Of course! Why would we race in the play-offs if not to win all the matches? It was different in the regular season, but now all the games have ended with our victory. This is the most important part of the season, and we cannot lose. We will fight for the title with ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin.

Not much time left for the first final match, which is on September 29 at the Olympic Stadium.

We have a training session at our home track scheduled for Friday. We must win as much as possible at home. It’s known that the team from Lublin is strong, and it will be a much tougher match. I think it’s good for us that the match in a few days will be under similar conditions and at the same time as the semi-final. It’s better to go straight on when conditions are similar, rather than having complications due to potential rain.

Does it matter to you that the first match in the double-header will be held at your home track? No team has managed to win at the Olympic Stadium in the 2024 season.

I think it’s better to start with the team from Lublin at home. I hope we keep up this winning streak and defend the result in the rematch. We have 30 races to go, and we will do everything to win this competition.

In the nominated race, you were replaced by junior Nikodem Mikołaczyk. Was that your decision?

Yes, it was my decision. The temperature changed throughout the match. I need to have this engine ready for Sunday’s match. If qualification wasn’t assured, I would have stood under the tapes.

During the match against EBUT.PL STAL Gorzów, Tai Woffinden was present in the pits, also saying goodbye to the fans of the Wrocław club.

He was present during the track walk and throughout the match. He was helping his teammates. We joked that the track was so hard that he could have raced with his elbow (laughs).

Magdalena Świergieła