Bartosz Bańbor: From the Beginning I Believed I Could Present Myself Well (Interview)

Recently, a representative of the Polish speedway team, Bartosz Bańbor, visited Częstochowa. The meeting with the residents took place in the showroom of the company ‘Pan Materac’ (the rider’s sponsor). The furniture company is running a nationwide campaign, with the talented junior of ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin as its face. During the event, the 17-year-old rider gave an interview to ekstraliga.pl.

Norbert Giżyński (ekstraliga.pl): First of all, I would like to move on to the topic related to the last match between ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin and KRONO-PLAST WŁÓKNIARZ Częstochowa. From the very beginning, you led in this match and – one might say – controlled it. However, the Częstochowa team put up a fight. Ultimately, you won 48:42. Were you aware that this match could have such a course?

Bartosz Bańbor (ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin): We were definitely counting on a win before the match. From what I remember, KRONO-PLAST WŁÓKNIARZ has always ridden well in Lublin, being an unpredictable team competing on our track. It was the same last Friday. At one point, we even had a significant lead. However, there was no full peace in our team. We had to stay focused the whole time to ‘hold on’ to a favorable result until the end of the match.

Were there any moments when you were afraid that the guests might even the score in this battle? It seemed that the team from Częstochowa was getting faster towards the end.

For a moment, it was almost on the edge, but in any case, we controlled this match. Each of us gave our all to – as I said – maintain a good result for the team.

Additionally, the Częstochowa team includes two riders with a Lublin past, like Mikkel Michelsen and Maksym Drabik. This fact alone could put the visitors in a position to genuinely challenge the team from Lublin.

Yes. I even suspected that these two riders might be the most dangerous for us. They were well familiar with the ‘angles’ on the Lublin track. Mikkel definitely had a successful match. Maksym didn’t do as well. In any case, what we could use to our advantage, we did.

Referring to your team’s last two battles – the loss in Toruń against KS APATOR 42:48 and the win, just discussed, in Lublin against KRONO-PLAST WŁÓKNIARZ, though not by much, 48:42 – the Polish speedway community began to wonder and discuss if the ORLEN OIL MOTOR team might be experiencing at least a small crisis. Can you confirm that this is or might be the case, or maybe you are already so sure of participating in the playoffs that you just relaxed a little in the last two matches?

I don’t think there was any relaxation on our part. It was more about looking for – both I and the guys on the team – other solutions, what else to find and improve before this all-important playoff phase of the season. We were juggling engines. Sometimes this means that things might go worse – you might hit a temporary slump. Maybe some of us got a little lost sometimes. Even if that was the case, it’s better that it happened now rather than later. Before the playoffs, we can still return to our proper path.

And you will have the opportunity to do so on July 26, when you go to Zielona Góra to compete with the local NOVYHOTEL FALUBAZ team. The grounds may seem difficult, but this year the ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin team has shown that almost nothing is impossible for them.

Zielona Góra is definitely tough ground – a track that some of our team hasn’t had much or any contact with. We’ve been riding in the PGE Ekstraliga for the last two years, and NOVYHOTEL FALUBAZ was in the 1st League. Recently, the team from Zielona Góra has been very strong at home. But I think we have a strong enough team that we should be able to manage and aim for a win there. We’ll give our all to make it happen.

Have you had the opportunity to race in Zielona Góra in the past?

Yes, even twice this year. So, I’ve gotten some grasp, in terms of racing on that track.

So, as I understand, you are optimistic – also regarding your individual performance – about the duel in Wine City?

That’s right. I’ve always enjoyed riding there. So, I hope it will be the same this time.

The 2024 season isn’t over yet. It’s now late July, and we still have at least two more months of thrilling speedway ahead. But even now, it can be said that this year has been very successful for you. Your results not only in the Polish PGE Ekstraliga but also on the international stage attest to that.

Sure, it’s been good for me so far, both in individual competitions and junior ones. One of my main goals was to qualify for the FIM Speedway Grand Prix 2 and present myself as well as possible there. Although I must admit, there’s still a need to ‘polish’ league performances to be more stable and better – on the level that I personally aim for – but there’s time for that…

Even though you turned only 17 this year, you already have quite a few successes to your name. For instance, you have the Individual Runner-up Title of Poland in individual riding, the Team Championship of Poland (both in 2023), and the World Team Championship for under-21 in 2024. Moreover, as you already mentioned, you are a regular participant in this year’s FIM SGP 2 cycle. Not many riders at such a young age achieve so much – many can only dream of it. Can you share – if you can – how do you do it?

I think I ‘caught’ good people around me who guided me well. From the beginning, I also believed that I could present myself well. There’s no need to fear even those theoretically better riders. I simply assumed that I need to focus on my own thing, concentrate on myself, and ride in a way that’s best for me. Then you can achieve – at least from my perspective – the best results.

What are your plans for the rest of the 2024 season? Surely you want to compete for the medals of the Individual Junior World Championships or the Team Championships of Poland. Are you aiming for anything else this year?

We still have the Youth Individual Polish Championships – the final of these competitions in Krosno on August 17. I’m counting on getting a good result there. Of course, there will also be the FIM SGP 2. Certainly, with the ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin team, we want to achieve what we did last year, that is, to win the entire league. Then there’s the European U19 Junior Championships. So I have so many events lined up that practically every week, I have new challenges or plans. For the time being, I am not focusing on what will be someday, but on what is now.

As we can see, you have a lot of competitions scheduled for the coming weeks or even months. Somehow, it still allows you to meet with speedway fans – and that across the whole country – as for example in the showrooms of the nationwide Pan Materac network, your sponsor. When do you find time for all this with such a tight schedule?

These meetings, like in the Pan Materac showrooms, for example, are organized on the occasion of matches within the U24 Ekstraliga, in which I also compete with the MOTOR Lublin team. That was also the case on Tuesday (July 23), when in Częstochowa we raced against IMPAKT WŁÓKNIARZ. So, I left home earlier to be able to – taking the opportunity – meet with local speedway fans in the Częstochowa branch of Pan Materac. I must admit, before, at another time, it was hard to find time for this.

You’ve been to Częstochowa more than once. Have you had the chance, the opportunity, to walk around the local areas, streets, see something in the city?

Honestly, not yet. So far, my visits to Częstochowa have been limited to the local speedway stadium and the highway.

What can you say about the Częstochowa track? Generally, this surface is often praised by various speedway riders, including those from visiting teams. Can you also confirm that it’s actually fun to race here?

I really like the Częstochowa track. There are a lot of different lines, which allows for competitive racing over the distance. This is precisely what we, as riders, appreciate the most about this track. However, from what I’ve noticed, the surface has changed a bit. Despite this, it’s still fun and enjoyable to ride here.

How has the Częstochowa oval changed, according to your opinion?

The track in Częstochowa is now more sandy and harder than it was previously. For example, last year, it had a so-called ‘heavy material,’ as we say in speedway jargon. This also created different lines on the surface. Now, it has changed a bit, but the oval is still really good for racing.

I’d like to ask about the next round of FIM SGP 2 (September 6 in Riga – editor’s note), as well as the entire competition. After your fantastic performance in the 1st Final in Malilla, where you took second place, one might guess you’re aiming for a podium finish in the Individual Junior World Championships…

Definitely. It started well for me, so it would be good to ‘keep it up’ until the very end of the competition. There are still two rounds left, on completely different tracks. I’ll give my all. I know I can fight for top positions both in Riga and in Toruń and end up high in the overall standings. It would be a fantastic achievement for my age.

After the first final round of FIM SGP 2, three Poles, including you, hold the top three positions in the standings. If it stays this way until the end of the competition, we would see a repeat. Last year already, the final podium of the IMŚJ belonged entirely to ‘Biało-Czerwoni.’ None of the Polish fans would mind if it happened again…

Exactly. In Malilla, together with Wiktor Przyjemski and Sebastian Szostak, we took all the podium places. Looking at the boys’ form and mine, there’s a chance we could dominate the podium at the end of the competition to make it Polish. That would definitely be a great thing!

Norbert Giżyński