The Poland national speedway team is the national motorcycle speedway team of Poland and is controlled by the Polish Motor Union (PZM). They are one of the most successful speedway nations of all time.
| Poland | |
|---|---|
 National speedway team with the President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński | |
| Nickname(s) | Biało-czerwoni ("The white and reds") Białe Orły ("The White Eagles") |
| Association | Polish Motor Union Polski Związek Motorowy |
| FIM code | PZM |
| Nation colour | White and Red |
| SWC Wins | 14 (1961, 1965, 1966, 1969, 1996, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2023) |
History
The Polish speedway team participated in the inaugural Speedway World Team Cup, being seeded through to the final of the 1960 Speedway World Team Cup.[1] The team were a major force in the opening decade of the tournament, winning the World Team Cup in 1961, 1965, 1966 and 1969, with only the Swedish team winning more World Cups.[2]
In the 1970s, the team continued to be one of the major forces in Eastern Europe and qualified for the World Team Cup final every year from 1970 to 1979. Andrzej Wyglenda and Jerzy Szczakiel also won the 1971 Speedway World Pairs Championship.[3] However, during the 1980s the team began to struggle against the best nations and only managed two finals in 1980 and 1984.
It was not until the mid-1990s and the arrival of Tomasz Gollob that Poland began to challenge the best nations. The team won the silver medal at the 1994 Speedway World Team Cup (their first final for 10 years). They then won the World Team Cup for the sixth time in 1996 (27 years after their last win).
In 2001, the Speedway World Team Cup was rebranded the Speedway World Cup and Poland began to experience a boom in terms of spectator numbers, which led to an influx of new riders. The team reached the World Cup final every year from 2001 to 2017 (except for 2006 and 2012) and dominated world speedway by winning the title eight times, in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016 and 2017.[4]
Poland's speedway team was awarded the Team of the Year in Poland by Przegląd Sportowy in 2009 and 2010.[5]
Although the team failed to win the Speedway of Nations from 2018 to 2022, they did win the World Cup when it returned in 2023. The World Cup win was their 14th World Team Championship (one behind Denmark in the all time standings).[6]
Major world titles
World Team Cup
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 |  Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski | 1. Poland (32) 2.  Sweden (31)3.  England (21)4.  Czechoslovakia (12) | Marian Kaiser | 10 |
| Henryk Żyto | 7 | |||
| Florian Kapała | 6 | |||
| Mieczysław Połukard | 5 | |||
| Stanisław Tkocz | 4 | |||
| 1965 |  Kempten Kempten Speedway | 1. Poland (38) 2. Sweden (34)3.  Great Britain (18)4.  Soviet Union (7) | Andrzej Pogorzelski | 11 |
| Andrzej Wyglenda | 11 | |||
| Antoni Woryna | 9 | |||
| Zbigniew Podlecki | 7 | |||
| 1966 | Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski | 1. Poland (40) 2. Soviet Union (26)3. Sweden (22)4. Great Britain (8) | Andrzej Wyglenda | 11 |
| Antoni Woryna | 10 | |||
| Marian Rose | 10 | |||
| Andrzej Pogorzelski | 8 | |||
| 1969 | Rybnik Rybnik Municipal Stadium | 1. Poland (31) 2. Great Britain (23)3. Soviet Union (23)4. Sweden (12) | Andrzej Wyglenda | 11 |
| Edward Jancarz | 11 | |||
| Stanisław Tkoc | 4 | |||
| Henryk Glücklich | 3 | |||
| Andrzej Pogorzelski | 2 | |||
| 1996 | Diedenbergen Speedway Diedenbergen | 1. Poland (27) 2.  Russia (22)3.  Denmark (21)4. Germany (20)5. Sweden (14)6. Great Britain (12)7.  Hungary (9) | Tomasz Gollob | 15 |
| Sławomir Drabik | 12 | |||
| Piotr Protasiewicz | 0 | |||
| 2005 | Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski | 1. Poland (62) 2. Sweden (34)3. Denmark (31)4. Great Britain (27) | Tomasz Gollob | 14 |
| Jarosław Hampel | 13 | |||
| Piotr Protasiewicz | 13 | |||
| Rune Holta | 12 | |||
| Grzegorz Walasek | 10 | |||
| 2007 | Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Stadium | 1. Poland (55) 2. Denmark (52)3.  Australia (29)4. Great Britain (15) | Krzysztof Kasprzak | 14 |
| Jarosław Hampel | 13 | |||
| Tomasz Gollob | 12 | |||
| Rune Holta | 12 | |||
| Damian Baliński | 4 | |||
| 2009 | Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Stadium | 1. Poland (44) 2. Australia (43)3. Sweden (36) 4. Russia (35) | Jarosław Hampel | 18 |
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | 10 | |||
| Adrian Miedziński | 7 | |||
| Tomasz Gollob | 6 | |||
| Piotr Protasiewicz | 3 | |||
| 2010 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. Poland (44) 2. Denmark (39)3. Sweden (35) 4. Great Britain (33) | Tomasz Gollob | 12 |
| Jarosław Hampel | 11 | |||
| Rune Holta | 10 | |||
| Janusz Kołodziej | 6 | |||
| Adrian Miedziński | 5 | |||
| 2011 | Gorzów Wielkopolski Edward Jancarz Stadium | 1. Poland (51) 2. Australia (45)3. Sweden (30) 4. Denmark (29) | Tomasz Gollob | 17 |
| Jarosław Hampel | 11 | |||
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | 8 | |||
| Piotr Protasiewicz | 8 | |||
| Janusz Kołodziej | 7 | |||
| 2013 | Prague Markéta Stadium | 1. Poland (31) 2. Denmark (40)3. Australia (33)4. Czech Republic (12) | Jarosław Hampel | 15 |
| Maciej Janowski | 12 | |||
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | 7 | |||
| Patryk Dudek | 7 | |||
| 2016 | Manchester National Speedway Stadium | 1. Poland (39) 2. Great Britain (32)3. Sweden (27)4. Australia (22) | Bartosz Zmarzlik | 11 |
| Patryk Dudek | 10 | |||
| Piotr Pawlicki Jr. | 10 | |||
| Krzysztof Kasprzak | 8 | |||
| 2017 | Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Stadium | 1. Poland (50) 2. Sweden (27)3. Russia (18)4. Great Britain (15) | Maciej Janowski | 14 |
| Bartosz Zmarzlik | 13 | |||
| Piotr Pawlicki Jr. | 13 | |||
| Patryk Dudek | 10 | |||
| 2023 | Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski | 1. Poland (33) 2. Great Britain (31)3. Denmark (29)4. Australia (27) | Bartosz Zmarzlik | 11 |
| Dominik Kubera | 9 | |||
| Maciej Janowski | 7 | |||
| Patryk Dudek | 6 | |||
| Janusz Kołodziej | 0 |
World Pairs Championship
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Rybnik Rybnik Municipal Stadium | 1. Poland (30) 2.  New Zealand (25)3. Sweden (22)4. Czechoslovakia (17)5.  Scotland (16)6.  Yugoslavia (10)7.  Austria (6) | Andrzej Wyglenda | 15 |
| Jerzy Szczakiel | 15 |
International caps (as of 2022)
Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[7]