Speedway Grand Prix: ‘Bartosz Zmarzlik will not have it as easy next year’ – Greg Hancock on 2022 champion

ByNigel Chiu

Published 01/10/2022 at 21:22 GMT

Greg Hancock thinks Bartosz Zmarzlik’s rivals will need to find “a different angle” to beat him in 2023 but says the three-time world champion “will not have it as easy” next year. Zmarzlik won his third with one round remaining and finished second at the season-finale in Torun to Martin Vaculik. There have been six different winners this season but Zmarzlik’s consistency made the difference.

Four-time Speedway world champion Greg Hancock believes Bartosz Zmarzlik “will not have it as easy” in 2023 but suggests his rivals will have to find “a different angle” to beat him.

Zmarzlik won this year’s championship with a round to spare as his consistency saw him slowly increase his lead over Leon Madsen, with the other top riders soon finding themselves in a battle for third.

He joins an illustrious list of names that have won at least three Speedway world titles.

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“He thrives on pressure,” Hancock told Eurosport. “The more pressure people try to give him, the more he delivers so it’s really tough to be his competitor.

“Next year, looking at the series, it’s definitely going to be interesting. The riders are growing, they are starting to learn Bartosz’s way and are also seeing that the pressure that he can hold up to is something different so they are going to have to come at him from a different angle.”

There have been six different winners this season, including a breakthrough for Britain’s Dan Bewley, who rode his first full-time Speedway GP campaign.

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Hancock thinks Zmarzlik will still be the favourite but expects him to face a closer title race.

“Bartosz is the man to beat. I always watch him and think, ‘what would I do to try and get some sort of advantage’,” said Hancock. “It’s not easy.

“There’s a big group of guys coming up like Dan Bewley, who’s really starting to show his form. It will not be as easy for Bartosz next year but you can’t rule that guy out, he’s amazing.

“Leon had a really good season a couple years ago then had injuries that slowed him down. He’s building momentum now and wants to show that he can give Bartosz a run for his money.”

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