What Did BETARD Sparta Wrocław Fail to Achieve in the 2024 Season? (Analysis)

After an outstanding season in the PGE Ekstraliga, ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin can boast of winning its third Polish Team Championship trophy after defeating BETARD Sparta Wrocław in a double-header. What caused Wrocław to allow a repeat of last year’s result and lose in the PGE Ekstraliga final?

Text by Mikołaj Południak, a student of class II e at the 3rd High School in Bydgoszcz named after Adam Mickiewicz, created as part of the classes at the ACADEMY OF YOUNG SPEEDWAY JOURNALISTS.

**Injuries**
BETARD SPARTA Wrocław again went through the season under the banner of injuries, with more than five riders experiencing health issues, including:

• Tai Woffinden, who suffered a serious elbow injury during the Polish Grand Prix in Gorzów, sidelining him for the rest of the season,

• Daniel Bewley, who, while participating in the English Premiership, had an accident with Max Fricke, resulting in a concussion and wrist injury – he missed one Grand Prix tournament,
  
• Jakub Krawczyk, competed in the Polish Team Championships final despite having 30 stitches due to an accident with Bartosz Bańbor – he later had to miss the second PGE Ekstraliga final,
  
• Maciej Janowski, injured his hand during the SEC in Chorzów.
  
  Thus, BETARD SPARTA was forced to say goodbye this season to a rider who, in previous seasons, frequently approached and even surpassed the statistical boundary of 2 points per race – Woffinden (1.963 in 2023 and 1.929 in 2022).

**Statistics**
The Spartans can feel proud of Artem Laguta’s form this season, as he became the leader of the rider standings with an average of 2.462 points per race. He won with a 0.043 PB advantage over Bartosz Zmarzlik, achieving victory in 56 out of 104 possible races.

Other riders:
• **Daniel Bewley** – ranked 15th in the overall standings with a heat average of 2.020. He won 28 out of the 101 races he participated in, scoring 178 points and 26 bonuses – the Briton crowned his fifth season in the PGE Ekstraliga and for BETARD Sparta Wrocław with a satisfactory position in the table and **the second-highest heat average in his career**. Of note: he was also the second fastest statistically this season, with an average speed of 126.9 km/h.

• **Maciej Janowski** – For the 33-year-old, it was a season very comparable to his ride in 2023. He finished it as 19 out of 55 riders in the standings with a heat average of 1.903, 185 points, and 11 bonuses, also winning 30 out of 103 races he participated in. Among personal achievements, he also became the Individual Polish Champion of the 2024 season.

• **Bartłomiej Kowalski** – The 22-year-old stands as the best U24 rider for BETARD SPARTA, scoring 129 points and 22 bonuses this season. His heat average stood at 1.776 points per race, placing him at 22nd at season end. He also won 21 races out of 85. The Pole finishes each season in a higher position in the general standings, indicating expectations for even better results in future seasons.

• **Marcel Kowolik** – The 16-year-old can boast an impressive debut season in the PGE Ekstraliga. Concluding as rider number 52 in the standings, he scored an average of 0.843 points per race, achieving 36 points and 7 bonuses. He won 6 races out of a possible 51 and was four times awarded Junior of the Match. We can expect even better results from the young speedway rider in upcoming seasons.

• **Jakub Krawczyk** – as the best U21 rider for BETARD SPARTA, Krawczyk finished the season with an impressive tally of 69 points and 8 bonuses with a heat average of 1.167 points per race, placing him in 43rd in the standings. He also won 12 out of a possible 66 races and was five times Junior of the Match.

• **Tai Woffinden** – Despite not completing the season due to injury, the Briton scored 51 points and 2 bonuses, with an average of 1.395 per race. Next season we will no longer see Woffinden in the BETARD Sparta colors…

**Form**
BETARD SPARTA Wrocław ended the regular part of the season in second place, winning half of the possible matches, drawing once, and losing six times. Their points differential was 644 to 614, therefore 30 points in the positive. An additional 4 bonuses should be added to the point total, which brings it to 19 points overall.

The Spartans performed best at home. The Olympic Stadium, which can hold 13,675 spectators, boasted 100% attendance throughout the season.

Support from the spectators translated perfectly into the positive form of the Spartans at home, where they scored 14 points from 7 victories – tied with ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin. It was the most points scored on a home track, placing Wrocław in third place in the league. However, BETARD SPARTA’s away form can be assessed more negatively, as they only managed one draw and lost six times in away matches.

In the final stages, the Spartans managed two victories against ZOOLESZCZ GKM Grudziądz and EBUT.PL Stal Gorzów in the quarterfinals and semifinals, with scores of 99:81 and 96:84 over the two double-headers. It is worth noting that in the quarterfinal double-header, Marcel Kowolik and Jakub Krawczyk were both awarded the Junior of the Match award twice, while in the semifinals, the award was secured only once, with Jakub Krawczyk being the laureate again.

The first of the double-headers against ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin saw both teams start with an emotional farewell to Tai Woffinden, who had announced earlier that he would leave the Wrocław team at the end of the season. Following this touching moment, an exciting battle unfolded where the Spartans lost by 4 points, ending at 43:47. In all the races, BETARD Sparta managed to win only 3 times compared to 10 wins by Motor (and one draw), with the team’s top scorer being Artem Laguta with a score of 14+1.

Before the second, final match, BETARD SPARTA received worrying news. Not only could they still not use the services of the injured Tai Woffinden, but one of the best juniors in the PGE Ekstraliga, Jakub Krawczyk, also joined the list of absentees. He was replaced by Nikodem Mikołajczyk. Mikołajczyk did not contribute significantly to the final result as BETARD SPARTA lost 38:52, with the 17-year-old not scoring points. The total result of the double-header was 99:81 in favor of ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin, resulting in the Lubusz speedway riders winning their third Polish Team Championships trophy.

Summary
In conclusion, let’s summarize both parts of BETARD SPARTA Wrocław’s season. The team could not translate their excellent home form to away matches, which was the main cause of losing the victory in the regular part of the season.

In the playoffs, the Spartans could not utilize neither Tai Woffinden nor Jakub Krawczyk – both were key players in the team lineup – which significantly affected the final result of the double-header against ORLEN OIL Motor Lublin despite considerable efforts by Artem Laguta and the other riders.

Mikołaj Południak