TWO of the greatest speedway riders in history – including a man who is as much of a star in his country as Robert Lewandowski – are coming to Glasgow for the city’s biggest meeting in a generation.
Great Britain are set to face Poland in a test match at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Tuesday.
Among those lining up are Bartosz Zmarzlik (pictured above) and Tai Woffinden, who share five world titles, along with the reigning world under-21 champion Jakub Miskowiak.
Zmarzlik beat footballer Lewandowski to the title of Poland’s Athlete of the Year in 2020 after his second Grand Prix gold in a row – while Woffinden is the most decorated British rider in the history of the sport.
They will go head-to-head in front of what hosts Glasgow Tigers hope will be a sell-out crowd, including a large contingent from Poland – where speedway is as big a sport as football in many regions.
Club owner Gerry Facenna said: “This is undoubtedly the greatest line-up of talent that has ever been on show at Ashfield, and in Scotland for at least a generation.
Bartosz Zmarzlik is probably the sport’s biggest modern-day star and the most exciting man on a speedway bike.
“To have him leading what many would say is the best national side in world speedway to our track is a huge honour and coup.
“The talent in the home side is massive too. Tai Woffinden has won three world titles, you have Grand Prix regular Robert Lambert, and Dan Bewley, who won the title with his Polish team this season in the toughest league in the world.
“As far as high-octane motorsport goes it does not get any better than this in the UK, or indeed in any other country.”
Zmarzlik says he is excited about making his debut trip to Glasgow, which comes just two days after he leads Poland into the FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester.
He said: “I’ve heard there’s a beautiful stadium and I’m actually looking forward to seeing it.
“I’ll probably watch some videos and get a rough idea of what to bring with me there. In any case, I’m looking forward to racing there.
“I can’t recall if I’ve ever been to Scotland before, but unfortunately, probably not.
“I do know, however, that Scotland is a beautiful country. We’ll see if there’s time for that, but I’d love to visit Glasgow. I hope to take away many positive memories.”
The full line-ups are as follows:
Great Britain: 1 – Tai Woffinden, 2 – Tom Brennan, 3 – Dan Bewley, 4 – Adam Ellis, 5 – Robert Lambert, 6 – Jordan Palin.
Poland: 1 – Dominik Kubera, 2 – Tobiasz Musielak, 3 – Maciej Janowski, 4 – Jakub Miskowiak, 5 – Bartosz Zmarzlik, 6 – Wiktor Lampart.
Grandstand tickets have already sold out but fans can still gain access to other areas of the stadium by booking here.
The meeting gets under way at 7.30pm.