Bartosz Zmarzlik even stronger than last year? Bonus for Szymon Woźniak

The weather in March can be capricious, but speedway riders can slowly compete in sparring and individual tournaments. Last weekend, the Bronisław Idzikowski and Marek Czerny Memorial in Częstochowa and the Aces Criterion in Bydgoszcz took place. However, the first event was held after 12 runs due to poor weather conditions, and the winner was decided by draw. Jason Doyle and Bartosz Zmarzlik collected 8 points each and they did not face each other in a direct duel. Doyle won the draw, so Zmarzlik took second place, and Leon Madsen completed the podium. A day later, however, the current individual world champion was no longer equal.

Bartosz Zmarzlik referred to Roman Jankowski's feat

While Maksym Drabik was able to defeat Zmarzlik on Saturday, the Orlen Oil Motor Lublin player did not find a winner during Sunday's Aces Criterion. He triumphed on the Bydgoszcz track with full points, outclassing his opponents. After the competition, he admitted on TVP Sport that he felt much better than last year during the pre-league tournaments.

– It's definitely great to start the season by winning races. A year ago, I felt free at the beginning, and it cost us a lot of work. It's better now, but that doesn't mean that our team functions differently. The evening will simply look better – emphasized Zmarzlik in front of TVP Sport cameras.

This was his third career victory in the Aces Criterion, which makes him equal in the all-time rankings with second Roman Jankowski. The legend of Unia Leszno also recorded three triumphs in this event. The absolute record holder in this respect is Tomasz Gollob, who won fourteen times.

Statistician Rafał Gurgurewicz noticed an interesting thing. Well, Zmarzlik won the Aces Criterion for the second time with full points. So far, only Gollob has achieved this feat more than once, winning ten times in this way. Zmarzlik therefore started the season with an even greater record in the history of the Aces Criterion, and it looks like he will have some opportunities for further triumphs.

A unique bonus for Szymon Woźniak

On Sunday, the podium in the Aces Criterion was completed by Szymon Woźniak (12 points) and Artiom Łaguta (10+3). The second mentioned competitor defeated Jason Doyle in the additional heat for third place. Szymon Woźniak received an extremely unique award from the organizers of the competition.

This is a trophy for setting the best time of the day. This is the trophy won in 1951 in the 1st Criterium of Aces (this was the spelling of the tournament at that time – editor's note) by the late. Zbigniew Raniszewski. Thanks to the family's kindness, the cup ended up in the hands of Jerzy Chancellor, president of Polonia Bydgoszcz, and he was able to hand it over to Woźniak. The Polonia alumnus confirmed that he feels great on the track at Sportowa Street. Now the question remains whether he will confirm his high performance in the next competitions.