FIVE YEAR FLASHBACK

18/10/19

Five years ago the Pirates were venturing into Europe, competing in the inaugural World Speedway League., launched to pitch the previous season's winners of the four major speedway league's - Poland, Sweden, Denmark and UK - against each other in a one-off meeting to determine the top club in Europe.

Originally scheduled for August, the meeting had to be re-arranged from 24 hours after the Gorzow, Poland Grand Prix weekend (31st August) eventually being run on 20th October 2014.

That fell between a busy schedule of an Elite league title defence in the championship play-offs for Pirates, but nevertheless, fielding a five-man side made up entirely of club assets, they secured a world championship team medal after finishing second.
Representing Poole were Leon Madsen, Grzegorz Walasek, Maciej Janowski, Przemyslaw Pawlicki and Tomas H. Jonasson. The quintet managed to pull themselves back from at one stage looking as though they might miss out on a medal altogether, to lead the meeting with just four heats remaining.
But the hopes of securing gold disappeared when Jonasson was forced to pull out of the meeting with his final ride still to come.
He had bravely battled through the meeting, contributing 7 valuable points all hard earned but was in no fit state to take his final ride after being sick in the pits, and Piraterna were able to secure the title when Australian Rory Schlein passed Zielona Gora's late call-up Kamil Adamczewski to put the Swedish club four points clear going into the final heat.
The Pirates unable to yield any points from heat 19 due to Jonasson's no-show slipped back to third place behind the host club and that left Polish-based Dane Leon Madsen needing to finish two positions clear of Piotr Protasiewicz in that final race.
Madsen who had ridden well for his previous 5 points saw his task made so much easier when Protasiewicz looped at the start and it became a mere formality for the Pirates who were delighted with second place overall.

Scores

Piraterna 36 (1st): J.Doyle 7 (2,3,0,2); M.Zagar 8 (2,1,2,3); Pi.Pawlicki 8 (1,3,2,2); L.Sundstrom 7 (3,2,2,0); R.Schlein 6 (1,0,2,3)
Poole 32 (2nd): L.Madsen 8 (2,2,1,3); G.Walasek 9 (3,2,3,1); M.Janowski 4 (0,1,2,1): Pr.Pawlicki 4 (0,1,0,3); TH.Jonasson 7 (2,2,3,0)
Zielona Gora 30 (3rd): P.Protasiewicz 6 (3,2,1,0); J.Hampel 5 (3,0,0,2); A,Jonsson 8 (2,3,3); K.Jablonski 4 (0,0,1,3); K.Adamsczewski 7 (3,1,1,0,2)
Esbjerg 19 (4th): G.Zengota 10 (0,3,3,3,1); C.Harris 1 (1,0,0); M.Bech 1 (1,0,0,0); P.Kildemand 6 (1,1,1,3,0); R.Bach 1 (0,1)