Sebastian Szostak assesses the past season in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga: I am satisfied

Despite ARGED MALESA Ostrów Wlkp.’s lack of promotion to the PGE Ekstraliga, Mariusz Staszewski’s team had a successful season. The team won the regular season phase, and one of the riders who contributed to this was Sebastian Szostak. The rider, in his last year as a junior, became the 28th rider in the entire METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga, and an injury took away his success in the Individual Junior World Championships. In our conversation, he decided to summarize the 2024 season and share his goals for the next one.

Szostak in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga became the best among all juniors. In 72 starts, the rider achieved an average of 1.653 pts/race, which gave him the mentioned 28th position in this ranking. Is such a result satisfying for the interested party? – Yes, I am satisfied with this season in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Maybe I don’t necessarily look at that average so much, because, you know, it’s good and nice, but I had some matches that lowered it. Despite it being sometimes this or that way – I am satisfied he said.

Riding for ARGED MALESA Ostrów Wlkp., Szostak combined it with the most prestigious tournament for juniors, the SGP 2. He finally finished it in eighth place, not participating in the last tournament due to an injury. Could the 21-year-old have stood on the podium of the Individual Junior World Championships if not for the fall? – I think so, because after the tournament in Riga, I was two points behind third place, and I finished it in the semi-finals, being second after the regular phase. If not for the fall, I think I would be in the final, which would have given me not eight but at least fourteen points. Before Toruń, there were many scenarios, but still, I think the chance for a medal was big he continues.

Due to the injury, the rider also missed the last three, and at the same time, crucial matches in METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. Is rehabilitation after the fall still necessary? – Now I need it less. There was a lot of rehabilitation after those fractures when we immediately started working with the company NewReh. We quickly got the spine to a state where I could still go out on two training sessions at the end of the season, so now it’s okay. You know, when doing other things, sometimes I feel my back a little, but some time is still needed. Once again, I thank all the sponsors for their help and Mr. Marcel from the company NewReh says Szostak.

The 2025 season will be the first in the senior role for several riders. One of them is Sebastian Szostak, who claims he is not afraid of the newness. – This will already be my sixth or seventh year on the track, and that’s how I treat it. This season showed me that junior races weren’t my strong point, and many points didn’t come from those races, so I think and believe it will be good he admits.

Many new faces joined ARGED MALESA Ostrowa. Tobiasz Musielak, Wiktor Jasiński, Gleb Chugunov, and Chris Holder left, while Norbert Krakowiak, Oliver Berntzon, and Luke Becker joined. Will the team have the same power as this season? – It’s hard to say. This year, on paper, we were a team for promotion, and that promotion should have been, but it turned out differently. In the playoffs, anything can happen, so points must be collected for the league table to be in good places, and then you can think about what next evaluates the rider.

So what are the 21-year-old’s goals for the next year? – I probably don’t have strictly defined goals. Some things can’t be planned because not everything is under control, and I think I’ll focus on each match one by one, and we’ll see what it brings. I would like the next season to be like this one or a little better, and I would certainly be very happy about that concluded Sebastian Szostak.

Marcin Rusewicz