U24 European Team Championships: Maksymilian Pawelczak makes the difference

A week before the Speedway World Cup final in Warsaw, Poland’s Under-24 national team won the gold medal at the Under-24 European Championship final in Graudenz (Grudziądz). Early on, the race developed into a title decider between Denmark and Poland. Initially, the Danes led the standings 11–7 after four heats, but team manager Dariusz Cieslak then withdrew Bartosz Banbor from the race early on and brought on Mateusz Cierniak, who had been named as a reserve; Cierniak subsequently delivered a stellar performance, scoring 14 points from five starts.

Drama in the final heats – Pawelczak becomes the hero

Before the final two heats, the Poles had even managed to build up a three-point lead. However, that advantage vanished in heat 19 when Bartlomiej Kowalski, lying in third place, had his tyre come off the rear wheel rim, leaving Poland without any points, whilst the Danes were able to draw level again thanks to Mikkel Andersen’s heat victory.

The 20th and final race of the day then became the decisive one. In this race, Maksymilian Pawelczak – who won’t turn 17 until September – delivered across the board. Right from the start, the 16-year-old took the lead and didn’t give the Dane Villads Nagel, who started from the outside, the slightest chance.

Poland thus triumphed on home soil ahead of Denmark and Great Britain, who managed to hold off the Swedish team in the battle for third place.

Results: U24 Speedway European Team Championships, Graudenz/PL:

1. Poland, 45 points: Bartlomiej Kowalski 9, Maksymilian Pawelczak 14, Kevin Malkiewicz 8, Bartosz Banbor 0, Mateusz Cierniak 14

2. Denmark, 44 points: William Drejer 6, Villads Nagel 13, Mikkel Andersen 13, Bastian Pedersen 8, Jacob Jensen 3

3. Great Britain, 19 points: Leon Flint 10, William Cairns 3, Cooper Rushen 3, Dan Thompson 2, Luke Harrison 1

4. Sweden, 12 points: Noel Wahlquist 2, Casper Henriksson 5, Avon Van Dyck 5, Harry Lundahl 0