Međimurje’s Biggest-Ever Sporting Event: Tehnix FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Croatia A Success!

After 23 runs, the best was Bartosz Zmarzlik from Poland, two-time world champion and runner-up for 2021!

After the final qualification race for the World Championship was held at the Millennium Stadium for two years, Međimurje hosted 16 of the best riders in the world last weekend. The wild card went to the best Slovenian driver Matej Žagar, the winner of these qualifications. The two reserves were domestic riders from Slovenia and Hungary, Nick Škorja and Dennis Fazekas.

Twelve days of construction, 14 production trucks, four television houses, and the work of almost 200 members of the production and organizational team culminated in a painting of Međimurje to the world. Over 40 countries broadcasted the first World Speedway Championship race, TEHNIX FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX OF CROATIA.

Doyle, Holder, Dudek, and Lambert faced off in the first run, and the first victory of the evening went to Lambert, whose pre-season training in Croatia paid off. Nick Škorja got on the track in the third run to the delight of almost a thousand Slovenian fans when the Danish driver Anders Thomsen started too early and tore the starting line.

“This was one of the best Grand Prix races ever. The riders took advantage of every inch of the track, and we witnessed the spectacular rides of the best in the world! The organization of such an event is very complex and exhaustive, especially because this was the first race for the promoter after they took over the license from FIM. Nevertheless, we gave our best, and I think it was visible to every viewer live and on television. We are honored and proud to have organized the biggest event in the history of Međimurje and Croatian motorcycling,” said race director Darija Pavlic.

Matej Žagar was extremely combative as a wild card and ended the evening with third place in the second semifinal run. Great rides launched him into an elite group of just 11 riders in the history of the Grand Prix competition, with over 1000 points won.

“Thank you to the organizer for the invitation. It is a great honor to ride on a track that I know well and where the atmosphere is always special. I feel at home and thank the whole Pavlic family and the club for their hospitality. Great track and organization, which is why I hope that the Grand Prix tradition will continue here,” said Matej Žagar after the race.

To the delight of hundreds of Polish fans and the crowded Millennium Stadium, the winner of the race was Polish rider and multiple world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik!

“It feels great, even though I’m tired. We had the Polish league on Friday, covered over 1,000 kilometers, and arrived just in time for training,” said Zmarzlik. “At the beginning, I felt a bit insecure on this track, but after four runs, everything was sorted. I am happy to have won tonight. The trail in Donji Kraljevec is short, I didn’t feel safe in the corners at first, but after we warmed up, everything was great.”

Maciej Janowski finished second, ninth in the qualifications and was the second-best before the semifinals:

“I felt great from the beginning of training. We hit some issues with the engine, maybe it was not seen in the qualifications, but when we got to the race, everything went well.”

European champion Mikkel Michelsen opened his season on this track at a training camp with the Danish national team:

“I am happy the season started with entering the finals. Of course, you always want to win when you get that chance, but the season is long, we are collecting points, and I am satisfied with the race!”

The award for the first place was presented to Bartosz Zmarzlik by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Sandra Herman, the award for the second place to Maciej Janowski was presented by the Deputy Director of FIM, World Motorcycle Federation Damiano Zamana, and the award for the third place was presented by Tehnix Eko industry Željko Horvat.

Francois Ribeiro, director of Discovery Sports Events, owner of the rights to organize Speedway Grand Prix races for the next ten years, also watched the race from the stands:

“I’m sure thousands of fans enjoyed the great speedway. Our goal was to offer additional experience through LED screens, fan zones, and new statistics. We are all looking forward to the next race in Warsaw on May 14.”

Photos by Marko Kis

To read more about sports in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

 

Subscribe to our newsletter

the fields marked with * are required

Email: *
First name:
Last name:
Gender:	Male Female
Country:
Birthday:	[DD] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 [MM] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 [YYYY] 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

Please don't insert text in the box below!