Bartłomiej Kowalski: the play-off phase has its own rules

In the second leg of the quarter-finals, the BETARD SPARTA Wrocław team defeated the local ZOOLESZCZ GKM 49:41 in Grudziądz. For the team led by coach Dariusz Śledź, this was the first away victory of the season. Bartłomiej Kowalski added 7 points and 3 bonuses to the tally for the Wrocław team.

The BETARD SPARTA Wrocław speedway rider did not hide his satisfaction with his result achieved on challenging ground. – The track in Grudziądz is not easy, riding on it gives me some trouble. I made a few mistakes on the course, but ultimately, I’m satisfied with the points I’ve earned – he said in an interview for ekstraliga.pl Bartłomiej Kowalski.

The first part of the match in Grudziądz unquestionably belonged to the visiting team, which led by 16 points after 8 heats. In the following races, the hosts tried to make up for lost ground, but the Wrocław team consistently maintained a safe distance. – We came here for victory. We planned to start the match well and score as many points as possible from the beginning. That worked out. Our strong point was very good starts. Over time, the hosts started to ride better. We had to stay alert because the lead we built could be lost within three heats. There was no talk of any relaxation in our ranks – stated the 22-year-old.

The opponent of the BETARD SPARTA Wrocław in the PGE Ekstraliga semi-finals will be the EBUT.PL STAL Gorzów Wlkp. team. In the two matches between these teams in the regular season, the Wrocław team was slightly better. According to the rider positioned at U24, this does not matter much before the battle for the medals. – The play-off phase has its own rules. In fact, everything starts from scratch, and we will approach the rivalry with Gorzow with this mindset – summarized Kowalski.

Marek Kania