Hat trick “Koziołków” (analysis of ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin in the 2024 season)

League dominance and the third consecutive title of the Polish Team Champions.

Text by Mikołaj Dukiewicz, a student of class III e at III High School in Bydgoszcz named after Adam Mickiewicz, created as part of the Academy of Young Speedway Journalist.
Once again, ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin confirmed its dominance on Polish speedway tracks by winning the Polish Team Championship in the 2024 season. Looking at the entire season’s progress, the club from the capital of the Lublin Voivodeship was the main contender for the gold from the very beginning.

Consistent team performance and the best junior pair

One of the key elements of success was the consistent high form of the entire team throughout the season. In the TOP-20 best players in the league, there are as many as five players from the Lublin club.

Here are the exact statistics of the senior formation:

• Bartosz Zmarzlik – 2nd league average: 2.419. In 93 heats, 55 wins and a total of 216 points and 9 bonuses. The leader of ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin had another brilliant league season, culminating in his fifth title as Individual World Champion, despite minor equipment issues during the season.

• Dominik Kubera – 10th league average: 2.095. In 95 heats, he won 29 times and scored 180 points and 19 bonuses. Statistically, it was a weaker league year—compared to the previous season and an average of 2.197—yet the popular “Domin” remained a very reliable point for the Lublin team. Importantly, he managed to cope with the equipment change, revolutionized his workshop, switched to engines from Michał Marmuszewski, and made a small revolution during the competition, which does not always yield results—but here, as we can see—it succeeded.

• Jack Holder – 16th league average: 1.978. In his 90 starts, he won 27 heats, accumulated 157 points in total and 21 bonuses. The Australian, after the best season of his career (in 2023 – his league average was really high and amounted to 2.080) slightly lowered his flight, but did not disappoint in the key matches of the season.

• Fredrik Lindgren – 17th league average: 1.935. 24 heat wins in 93 races, a total of 156 points and 24 bonuses. The vice-world champion from this year maintained the form of recent years. Solidly, but mostly without double-digit results. He had ten such performances, not including bonus points.

• Mateusz Cierniak – 26th league average: 1.706. 119 points and 26 bonuses, in 85 starts he won 13 times. The first season as a senior can be considered successful. Second best player in the U24 position. The only double-digits were achieved in home matches against NovyHotel Falubaz Zielona Góra.

The “Koziołki” team can also boast of having the best junior pair in the league, consisting of: Wiktor Przyjemski and Bartosz Bańbor. The first of the mentioned had the best season of his career, becoming the best junior in the PGE Ekstraliga with an impressive average of 2.060 points per run, placing him in 13th place in the league ranking concerning run averages. Additionally, he achieved the title of individual junior world champion, which is currently the biggest achievement in his individual career.

The Lublin Fortress

In the 2024 season, ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin maintained its dominance on the home track. The “Koziołki” since the defeat in the 1st round of the 2023 season against BETARD Sparta Wrocław (44:46) have a streak of 19 winning matches on their home track. The Lubliners are the only team in the entire PGE Ekstraliga that has won all home matches, averaging 52.6 points per match. The stadium at Aleje Zygmuntowskie, known among fans as the “fortress,” has become a place where rivals have immense trouble competing. The role of the fans is also extremely important, as they massively support the team at every match, creating a great atmosphere. This season, the average attendance at the stadium in Lublin was slightly over 9,000, which is about 97% of the venue’s capacity. Percentage-wise, only BETARD Sparta Wrocław fares better with 100% attendance.

Management and financial stability

One of the most important foundations of ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin’s success is the excellent management of the club. The management, led by President Jakub Kępa, opted for a long-term strategy of building the team, focusing not only on sports results but also on the financial stability of the club. As a result of effective budget management and wise investments in players, the Lublin club has become a magnet for sponsors and business partners, which has allowed for maintaining stable financial and sports health.

Mikołaj Dukiewicz