KUBERA & ZMARZLIK: THE BEST OF RIVALS

Polish star Dominik Kubera admits he has enjoyed learning from four-time world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik as the pair put Speedway GP rivalries aside with Lublin on Sunday.

The PGE Ekstraliga champions launch their title defence away to Grudziadz , while Torun hosts Leszno.

Lublin goes into the 2024 season with FOUR Speedway GP riders in their line-up as Kubera joins Zmarzlik, world No.2 Fredrik Lindgren and world No.4 Jack Holder in a star-studded side.

Kubera first joined forces with the trio at Lublin in 2023 and he also went on to win the Monster Energy FIM Speedway World Cup alongside Zmarzlik with Poland last summer.

The Polish pair are the best of teammates and there’s no doubt Kubera has learned a lot while racing alongside Zmarzlik for clubs and country.

He said: “Bartek is a great rider. He feels the bikes and feels what we must change. When I had some problems two years ago, Bartek really helped me and said what I should change. This worked and now we talk a lot – all the time. 

“But I have to look for something for myself when it comes to the bikes. I will not necessarily like everything that Bartek likes, and he might not like everything that works for me.

“He’s a really good guy, but of course I want to chase him.”

Going from club teammates to Speedway GP rivals is nothing unusual in this sport, but having four riders from one club competing on the SGP stage will give every Speedway GP added significance for the people of Lublin.

Fortunately for the PGE Ekstraliga champions, Kubera says club’s Speedway GP stars leave their rivalry in the SGP paddock and get on well when they don their club colours. “We don’t have any problems with communication,” he said. “This is speedway. We know what to do. Of course, our bosses will be so nervous when we race in Speedway GP. But that’s life. That’s speedway.”

Zmarzlik is even more accustomed to making the transition from club teammate to Speedway GP rival and back again from one day to the next.

He said: “The guys are normal with each other, and everyone knows what to do when you are racing together for the club and then when we are racing in Speedway GP. It is a normal situation in speedway. Sometimes we will race together in Poland and on other days, we will be against each other in Sweden. It’s exactly the same thing.”

There’s no doubt Kubera has benefitted from racing alongside Zmarzlik, and Aussie ace Holder has also enjoyed some of his best seasons while teaming up with the Polish icon in the PGE Ekstraliga.

The pair starred together for Gorzow during the 2020 season and proved strong teammates again in Lublin colours last year.

It appears Zmarzlik’s magic has rubbed off on both Holder and Kubera, but the modest Szczecin-born racer insists it’s a two-way street. He said: “When I race with other riders, I learn from them too. It’s a mutual thing.”