Slovakia national speedway team

The Slovakia national speedway team are one of the nations that compete in international motorcycle speedway.

Slovakia
Nation colourWhite, Blue and Red
SWC Wins0

History edit

As Czechoslovakia edit

The Czechoslovakia speedway team (which comprised predominantly of Czech Republic riders) competed in the inaugural Speedway World Team Cup during the 1960 Speedway World Team Cup and won the bronze medal after finishing third in the final.[1] Throughout the history of World Team Cup, the team were regular World Cup contenders from 1960 until their final World Cup in 1992.[2] They reached the final on fourteen occasions, winning the silver medal in 1963 and two more bronze medals in 1977 and 1979.[3][4] In addition to the four medals at the World Cup, the team won a bronze medal at the Speedway World Pairs Championship.

Following the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the riders then competed for their new speedway nations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

As Slovakia edit

The Slovakia national speedway team first competed in the World Team Cup during the 1994 Speedway World Team Cup. They finished in 6th place in Group C (the third tier of the World Cup).[5] However, as one of the minnows of World speedway, they have either failed to qualify or did not enter the competition or the Speedway of Nations since.

The team have competed in the European Pairs Speedway Championship since 2012, reaching the final in 2020 and saw Martin Vaculík finish third in the 2023 World individual championship.

International caps edit

Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[6]

Rider Caps
Buri, Patrik
Forgač, Gaspar
Halabrin, Jan
Meharik, Jan
Pacalaj, David
Vaculík, Martin
Valkovic, Jakub
Visvader, Vladimir

References edit

  1. ^ "1960 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  2. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  3. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  4. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  5. ^ "1994 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.