Polonia Piła

Polonia Piła
Club information
Track addressStadion Polonii Piła
ul. Bydgoska 1, 64-920 Piła
CountryPoland
Founded1945
1950 (speedway section)
Team managerRyszard Dolomisiewicz
League2. Liga
Club facts
ColoursYellow, red and green
Major team honours
Polish champions1999
Polish league silver medal1998, 2000
Polish league bronze medal1996, 1997
Second tier champions1994
Third tier champions2011

Polonia Piła is a Polish motorcycle speedway team based in Piła who currently race in the Polish Speedway Second League (2. Liga).[1][2] They have won the Team Speedway Polish Championship once in 1999.[3]

History

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1957 to 1968

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Polonia Piła was founded in 1945 as a multi-sports club. The speedway section was founded in 1950. It started competing in the Team Speedway Polish Championship as Polonia Piła in 1957. They struggled in the lowest division until 1968, when they disbanded.[4]

1992 to 1999

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In 1992 the team returned to action competing in the second division. In 1994, they signed former world champion Hans Nielsen and won the second league and gained promotion to the highest division (the first league at the time).[4] After their promotion the team experienced their best spell in their history.

Hans Nielsen topped the Polish averages with 2.772 in 1995[5] and then they won the bronze medal in the 1996 and 1997 Polish Championships followed by a silver medal in 1998. In 1999, the team finished second in the regular season table and then won the play offs to become champions of Poland for the first time.[6] The riders that brought success to the club (in addition to Nielsen) included Rafał Dobrucki, Jacek Gollob and Jarosław Hampel.

2000 to 2021

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Toruń versus Piła in 2007

Pila were inaugural members of the Ekstraliga in 2000 and won the silver medal.[7] Jacek Gollob won the Polish Individual Speedway Championship in 2000.

From 2003, the club experienced significant problems on and off the track. Financial issues, team promotion and management changes and quickfire relegations in 2003 and 2005 resulted in the team finding themselves in the 2. Liga (the third tier). The problems continued with the team changing their name on more than one occasion. A better season in 2011, when they won the Second League was ruined by liquidation in 2012. However, yet another new name Victoria Piła was used for the 2013 to 2015 seasons before reverting back to Polonia for the 2016 season.[4]

2022 to present

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During the 2022 Polish Speedway season Polonia returned the 2. Liga but finished last.[8][9] In 2023, a new management team took over the club and they would be known as KS Polonia.[10]

Teams

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2023 team

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Previous teams

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Notable riders

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References

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  1. ^ "Speedway from Around the Globe - Poland". Speedway Star. 10 September 2022. p. 42.
  2. ^ "BUDMAX-STEEL POLONIA SAW". Speedway Fan Site. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Historia Speedway Polsce 2022". Historia Speedway. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Polish team championship history". Speedway History. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  5. ^ "1995 Pila team stats". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  6. ^ "1999 season". Speedway News. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Historia Drużynowych Mistrzostw Polski". Zuzeland.com. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ^ "2022 Liga 2 results". Flash Score. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Speedway from Around the Globe - Poland". Speedway Star. 17 September 2022. p. 40.
  10. ^ "Speedway from Around the Globe - Poland". Speedway Star. 26 November 2023. p. 44.
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