Polish League: Why Kevin Wölbert is changing clubs
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Kevin Wölbert only competed in five races for his club from Rzeszow in the 2023 season, scoring an average of 2.1 points per race and placing him in the top ten drivers in the 2nd Polish League. Nevertheless, the 34-year-old found himself on the substitutes' bench after the away race in Gniezno and did not return to action afterwards.
For Wölbert, who has been one of the most stable points scorers in the 2nd division for years, this was an unsatisfactory situation that should change for the new season. "Point 1, I think everyone has seen that I didn't get a chance to race apart from five races. I can't say why, whether the coach didn't like me or what. It can't have been down to performance," Wölbert told SPEEDWEEK.com. "They always said in Rzeszow that anyone can have a bad race and in Gniezno I had ignition problems. I also didn't think it was right that they said I didn't come to training, which wasn't the case. Apart from the one race where I got two zeros, I always scored points. I then sat on the bench, which wasn't my plan at all, and then I couldn't switch. That finalised my decision."
Without Wölbert in the line-up, the ambitious club from Rzeszow reached the final of the 2nd league, which is actually the 3rd, and was promoted to the 1st league after beating Gniezno. The Heidhofer will join the same opponent next season.
"Like my previous clubs, Gniezno are aiming for promotion, and as this year's runners-up they have nothing to hide," said Wölbert, explaining why he opted for the club from the Greater Poland voivodeship. Before the four-time German champion decided to make the switch, there were also talks with AC Landshut. "That went through my manager, but then nobody got in touch. As I had several contacts, I decided in favour of Gniezno."