Bartosz Bańbor: We will be ready for the playoffs (interview)

ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin suffered their second defeat in this year’s PGE Ekstraliga campaign, losing in Wrocław to BETARD SPARTA 41:49. The competition was incredibly close, and the home team’s victory was decided by details. The guest junior, Bartosz Bańbor, also contributed to the team’s points and shared his post-match feelings exclusively with ekstraliga.pl.

Błażej Kowol (ekstraliga.pl): You lost 41:49, experiencing your second defeat this season. How would you assess this match?

Bartosz Bańbor (ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin): From the very beginning, we had a lot of problems. At no point in the match did we even take a slight lead. We were missing something all the time. The result was ‘on the edge,’ showing how hard each team had to work. We gave it our all, but this time the home team was better. That’s sports. You can’t always win. I believe we will bounce back in the next matches.

As juniors, you performed excellently, winning double points in race 2, while the seniors struggled in the first series. Did you advise them during the team meeting?

It was a normal discussion where everyone expressed their opinion. In the junior race, we did what we were supposed to do, so we could provide some tips for the experienced colleagues to benefit from. Perhaps the start of this match determined its further course.

You added 3 points to your tally. Was that a satisfying result? I had the impression there was a lot of potential in your motorcycles.

Only partially. The first race went very well, but in my second race, we went in a completely different direction with the settings, which made me struggle a lot. In the last race, it was better – I fought as much as I could. You can’t always win, but I gave it my all. Jakub Krawczyk set tough conditions for me, and we showed some good racing. I didn’t know what he intended, so I just rode my race. I didn’t manage to score points, but the battle was nice.

Why did you decide on such radical changes? Was it influenced by the team meeting?

A bit, yes. We also assumed the track would change and get harder, but it didn’t. So, it was our miscalculation.

How would you assess the track in this match? It seemed very hard.

That’s true, but when I was here during the U24 Ekstraliga event, it was very similar. The start was slightly scratched, so it wasn’t much different from what we already knew. I like this type of track, although I prefer when you can lean the wheel on the outer edge. Nevertheless, it was very pleasant to race.

How did the track compare to last year’s final?

It was harder. Back then, there was more material to work with. However, the start wasn’t much different compared to last year.

Does this loss cause concern, or does it rather generate additional motivation, knowing there is no room for error?

This loss causes a slight concern, but I believe it will give us a positive boost for the upcoming matches. We will wake up before the playoffs and be ready for them.

Will you prepare in a special way for the playoffs? Training on the road with future opponents in mind?

I don’t know about others, but I have a lot of youth competitions, which are key preparations for me for the league matches. That’s what I’ll do to ensure my form is at its peak.