Marcin Nowak: I demand much more from myself

Marcin Nowak has completed another season with TEXOM STAL Rzeszów. Last year, the player alongside the team secured promotion to METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, and this year, he helped the team maintain their position in the second tier of the Polish league, finishing seventh in the table. Individually, the FOGO UNIA Leszno alumnus became the 25th speedway rider in the league. In our conversation, Nowak shared some insights about the past season and revealed details about riding not just in our country.

Marcin Rusewicz (ekstraliga.pl): We have some time since the season ended, have you already started preparing for the next one?

Marcin Nowak (TEXOM STAL Rzeszów): Yes. In fact, I started preparing for the next season already in November. I’ve begun to assemble the necessary parts and prepare physically.

Regarding the past season, you returned to the backup of the PGE Ekstraliga and achieved an average of over 1.800 points per race. Did you expect and demand that from yourself?

I think the season was okay. It wasn’t particularly outstanding, but you could definitely say it was good. I demand much more from myself and hope that the next season will be even better for me.

TEXOM STAL in 2024 achieved the goal of staying up but I assume there was some dissatisfaction due to the season ending already in early August.

Definitely. First of all, I think we lacked points in the league table in our home matches at our track. It’s a shame it turned out the way it did because we had some hope for the playoffs. I think we were gaining momentum as the season progressed, as shown in the match in Bydgoszcz, where we held until the end or the win in Krosno. The end of the season was going well for us, but it wasn’t enough to reach the quarter-finals, and it’s a pity the season ended for us on August third.

I recently asked Paweł Piskorz about his hardest moment of the season and without hesitation, he said it was the match in Łódź, where things didn’t go well. What about you?

I think it could indeed be the match in Łódź because we shouldn’t have lost that match by such a margin. The hosts really surprised us with the track. I had been racing there for three seasons, so I was calm before the meeting, thinking I knew every trick of that track, but the people there made an effort to change it from when I raced there. My notes and setups were completely useless. The team also tried to use my advice, but they were just wrong.

And the best?

I think it was the weekend when we won against Rybnik and Krosno. The match with INNPRO ROW could especially be liked by fans because until the last race it was really unclear who would win, so it was definitely a nice memory.

I won’t ask about Nicki Pedersen anymore, but I will ask about the team lineup for the next season. Do you think you can go further with this lineup than this year?

I think so. Paweł Piskorz with president Michał Drymajło assembled a really nice team that will complement each other in every respect. We have experience, such as the three-time world champion Tai Woffinden, who I think is a bit more friendly (laughs). Paweł Przedpełski also joined, Jacob Thorssell stayed, so the next season looks interesting and I can’t wait. I hope to keep up with the guys and also bring those valuable points.

Currently, you have contracts in the Polish and Swedish leagues, but have you considered returning to the English league?

There were inquiries and thoughts, but I rather have to let it go. The inquiry came from the club I had previously ridden for, Glasgow Tigers, but the biggest issue is logistics, as Glasgow holds its home matches on Fridays, making it impossible to be fully focused and rested for matches in Poland, so there were thoughts, but reason suggested letting it go and that the Swedish league is a better choice.

Have the skills acquired in the English league translated in any way to racing in Poland?

Yes, but not very often do these skills come in handy, such as handling more difficult tracks when it rains, although last season we had two such matches in Gdańsk and in Rzeszów with Bydgoszcz, where I think two seasons ago these matches wouldn’t have happened, but now you can see that referees have changed their attitude and matches on these difficult tracks are also played, so yes – in such conditions I can say I am a better rider thanks to England.

When I talked to you in January and asked about the goals for the upcoming season, you said you wouldn’t really share them but would be happy to sit down for a conversation afterwards to say whether they were achieved. What were these goals and were they achieved?

The goals were three. To ride as much as possible, which was definitely achieved, since in Sweden I missed only two matches, and I also raced a few meetings in Denmark, so that goal was definitively reached. The second goal was to achieve a race point average of at least 1.800 points per race, which was also achieved. The third was to qualify for the Individual Polish Championships, and unfortunately, that wasn’t achieved, so it’s rolled over to the next season.

Marcin Rusewicz