ŻUŻEL/NEWS/M2E: Bartosz Smektała: I made a lot of efforts to make this season better

On Friday evening, we could hear new faces of HUNTERS PSŻ on the Poznań Radio Afera – coach Eryk Jóźwiak and Bartosz Smektała, who talked about how they came to Poznań and how preparations for the upcoming season are going.

• Bartosz Smektała and Eryk Jóźwiak were guests on the Sporting Klub Afera program on Radio Afera.
• Both Smektała and Jóźwiak are new to the club. Both also come here after the relegation of their previous employer.
• I decided that I want to ride here. A strong argument was that Poznań is relatively close – said the captain about the reasons for moving to HUNTERS PSŻ.
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Bartosz Smektała is a multi-medalist in both individual and team junior world championships, also having successes in the senior category. However, the recent years have not been successful for the rider. Returning to the native club did not prove to be a rescue, as shown by the average race points ranking of PGE Ekstraliga in the 2024 season, where he was ranked 39th. – It was a weak season for me in many ways. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the equipment or my form, and I think that either I didn’t react at the right moment or I couldn’t handle it. We drew conclusions and a lot has changed for us. I hope this season will be better. I made a lot of efforts to make it so. We invested in several other things related to motorcycles, so everything looks good at the moment and I feel good after the first training sessions – said the new speedway rider of HUNTERS PSŻ to Radio Afera.

How did Smektała end up in Poznań? – I had to make a decision at some point because one club was heavily pursuing my transfer, so we called the president Kozaczyk to see if he’d like to meet. He replied, of course, but next week. The problem was, at that time, I was supposed to have already signed elsewhere, so I had to go to the seaside, where we agreed – the 26-year-old said.

– I decided that I want to ride here. A strong argument for it was that Poznań is relatively close. The president assured me that the track in Poznań would be at my disposal whenever I want, and that was most important to me. I signed a contract in the Swedish and Danish leagues, so kilometers do not frighten me, but I wanted to have the home track within reach – he explained.

The new acquisition of HUNTERS PSŻ has been preparing for the season for many months. During the winter, he didn’t even skip motorcycle training because the rider raced on ice. – Yes, I have ridden on ice already, which I am very pleased about, as I had waited several winters for such thick ice. It’s a fun activity. I’m the kind of rider who will benefit from that. Every motorcycle ride improves certain things. Getting on the bike at the beginning of March, certain muscles that we’ve forgotten about awaken, and indeed after this ice riding, I came home feeling like it’s spring, so after these two training sessions, nothing hurts as it always used to – Smektała talked on Radio Afera about his unconventional training.

The coach of the Poznań speedway team for the upcoming season will be Eryk Jóźwiak, who last year managed WYBRZEŻE Gdańsk, experiencing relegation to the National Speedway League. – The decision about my departure from Gdańsk was made earlier than the relegation. There was a plan to take a break from speedway. I finished my work at Wybrzeże at the beginning of September, which I did not announce anywhere and asked the club to keep it secret for as long as possible. I felt that once this information went public, certain moves would start, and once we couldn’t keep it secret any longer, an official statement was made. At 8:00 in the morning, the first article appeared on WP SportowychFaktach, and by 8:30 I already had the first call with an offer. However, the offer from Poznań came a bit later. The president called me with details and asked if I would take on the tasks set. He gave me a weekend to think about it, and we met the following week. Specific tasks were set before me, and a specific plan was outlined, which attracted me to come here – said the coach.

– The team took a step forward and marked its presence on speedway tracks. Now our task is to maintain that because it’s a great time for speedway in Poznań, considering the city and sponsors. Our work is to maintain that, so it doesn’t get worse, which won’t be easy – said Eryk Jóźwiak on the Sporting Klub Afera program.

Marcin Rusewicz