Seven Speedway GP riders have been confirmed as part of a star-studded field for the International Individual Ekstraliga Championship (IMME), which takes place in Lodz on April 4.
The traditional curtain-raiser to the PGE Ekstraliga season, named in honour of Polish great Zenon Plech, features five-time Speedway GP world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik, who topped the IMME podium for the fifth time in his career last season.
The competition features the top 14 riders in the 2024 PGE Ekstraliga average charts, along with the top Polish under-21 rider not in the top 14.
Zmarzlik will be up against Britain’s world No.2 Robert Lambert, Slovak star Martin Vaculik, Danish champion Anders Thomsen, Polish racer Dominik Kubera, Aussie rider Max Fricke and British two-time FIM Speedway of Nations winner Dan Bewley.
The line-up also features 2021 Speedway GP world champion Artem Laguta, two-time Speedway GP silver medallists Leon Madsen and Jaroslaw Hampel, another former world No.2 Patryk Dudek, former world No.3 Emil Sayfutdinov, 2012 FIM Speedway World Cup winner Michael Jepsen Jensen and SGP2 champion Wiktor Przyjemski.
Gorzow sensation Oskar Paluch earns his place as Poland’s top junior after Przyjemski finished inside the top 14 in the PGE Ekstraliga averages.
The field will be completed by a wild card and two track reserves, who will be named in due course.
Should any of the starters be unavailable due to injury, illness or other reasons, Speedway GP star Jack Holder, his Lublin teammate Fredrik Lindgren, former world No.3 Maciej Janowski and Vadim Tarasenko are next in line to race.
The competition will be contested using a similar format to the 2025 Speedway GP rounds, with the top two riders advancing directly to the final, with the riders placed third to 10th contesting two semis – the winners of which will join the final line-up.