The Speedway Ekstraliga (, ), officially known as PGE Ekstraliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of motorcycle speedway in Poland and determines the winner of the Team Speedway Polish Championship. It has been called the "richest and most popular speedway league in the world", and attracts riders from all over the world. The Ekstraliga has the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland not counting football.Kevin Meynell & Marcin Babnis (7 July 2004), History of Polish Speedway. Main competitions. Rules. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
With the fall of communism in Poland in the 1990s and the resultant sharp increase in the value of the Złoty, the sport began to attract a wider range of star riders from other countries. The first of these was Denmark's Hans Nielsen.
In 2000, the First Division was renamed Ekstraliga, and the number of teams was reduced. Since 2015 the official sponsor of Ekstraliga is the Polish energy company PGE, which signed the financial contract for three consecutive seasons in 2021.
2027 PGE Ekstraliga
In the 2027 season Ekstraliga will feature 8 teams. KS Toruń are the defending champions. +Club2026 PositionKS Toruń1WTS Wrocław2Speedway Lublin3Unia Leszno4GKM Grudziądz5ZKŻ Zielona Góra6Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski7Polonia Bydgoszcz 1 (M2E)
Teams City Club Current Team Name Current Stadium Seasons in Ekstraliga Total SeasonsWrocław WTS Wrocław Betard Sparta Wrocław Olympic Stadium, Wrocław 2000–27 28Leszno Unia Leszno Fogo Unia Leszno Alfred Smoczyk Stadium, Leszno 2000–24, 2026–27 27Toruń KS Toruń Pres Grupa Deweloperska Toruń Marian Rose Motoarena Toruń, Toruń 2000–19, 2021–27 27Częstochowa Włókniarz Częstochowa Krono-Plast Włókniarz Częstochowa Krono-Plast Arena, Częstochowa 2000–14, 2017–26 25Gorzów Wielkopolski Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski Gezet Stal Gorzów GBS Gorzów Edward Jancarz Stadium, Gorzów Wielkopolski 2000–02, 2008–27 24Zielona Góra ZKŻ Zielona Góra Stelmet Falubaz Zielona Góra Speedway Stadium, Zielona Góra 2001, 2003–05, 2007–21, 2024–27 23Bydgoszcz Polonia Bydgoszcz Abramczyk Polonia Bydgoszcz Józef Piłsudski Municipal Stadium, Bydgoszcz 2000–07, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2027 13Grudziądz GKM Grudziądz Bayersystem GKM Grudziądz Venture Industries Arena, Grudziądz 2015–27 13Tarnów Unia Tarnów Defunct Defunct 2004–08, 2010–16, 2018 13Lublin Speedway Lublin Orlen Oil Motor Lublin Jaskółcze Gniazdo Municipal Stadium, Tarnów 2019–27 9Gdańsk Wybrzeże Gdańsk Zdunek Wybrzeże Gdańsk Zbigniew Podlecki Stadium, Gdańsk 2000, 2002–03, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014 7Rzeszów Stal Rzeszów Dakar Development Stal Rzeszów Stal Rzeszów Municipal Stadium, Rzeszów 2006–08, 2011–13, 2015 7Rybnik KS ROW Rybnik INNPRO ROW Rybnik Municipal Stadium, Rybnik 2004, 2006, 2016–17, 2020, 2025 6Piła Polonia Piła Polonia Piła Asta Arena, Piła 2000–03 4Gniezno Start Gniezno Ultrapur Omega Gniezno Colonel Franciszek Hynek Municipal Stadium, Gniezno 2013 1Ostrów Wielkopolski TŻ Ostrovia Moonfin Magnus Ostrów Wielkopolski Municipal Stadium, Ostrów Wielkopolski 2022 1Krosno Wilki Krosno Cellfast Wilki Krosno Municipal Stadium, Krosno 2023 1
Ekstraliga Champions
Riders’ Championship Starting in 2014, a League Riders’ Championship has been held annually. The current format sees 16 riders competing; the top 14 ranked in league averages from the previous season, the top ranked Junior rider and a wildcard, typically from the host club.
Year Venue Winner Club2014 Tarnów Emil Sayfutdinov Apator Toruń2015 Leszno Grigory Laguta Apator Toruń2016 Gdańsk Krystian Pieszczek Falubaz Zielona Góra2017 Gdańsk Leon Madsen Włókniarz Częstochowa2018 Gdańsk Patryk Dudek Falubaz Zielona Góra2019 Gdańsk Bartosz Zmarzlik Stal Gorzów2020 Toruń Bartosz Zmarzlik Stal Gorzów2021 Toruń Jason Doyle Unia Leszno2022 Toruń Bartosz Zmarzlik Stal Gorzów2023 Toruń Bartosz Zmarzlik Motor Lublin2024 Łódź Bartosz Zmarzlik Motor Lublin2025 Łódź Michael Jepsen Jensen GKM Grudziądz2026 Łódź Brady Kurtz Sparta Wrocław
References