| Sparta Wrocław | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||
| Club information | |||||||
| Track address | Olympic Stadium Wrocław | ||||||
| Country | Poland | ||||||
| Founded | 1950 (asWTS since 1992) | ||||||
| Team manager | Dariusz Śledź | ||||||
| Team captain | Maciej Janowski | ||||||
| League | Ekstraliga | ||||||
| Website | Official Website | ||||||
| Club facts | |||||||
| Colours | Yellow and Red | ||||||
| Nickname | Sparta | ||||||
| Track size | 352 metres (385 yd) | ||||||
| Track record time | 60.06 seconds | ||||||
| Track record date | 16 August 2020 | ||||||
| Track record holder | Tai Woffinden | ||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||
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WTS Sparta Wrocław, also known asBetard Sparta Wrocław for sponsorship reasons, are amotorcycle speedway team based inWrocław, Poland. They were established in 1950. The team's home track is at theOlympic Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,000 people. The team currently competes in theEkstraliga (the highest division)[1] and have won theTeam Speedway Polish Championship five times (as of 2022).[2]
During the1951 Polish speedway season a team from Wrocław calledSpójnia Wrocław was created to compete in the first league. The team finished last but performed much better in1952, finishing 2nd. A second club competed in Wrocław during the early 1950s butCWKS Wrocław was historically a Warsaw club and is not connected to this club.[3][4]
Edward Kupczyński was the club's first star rider winning the 1952Polish Individual Speedway Championship[5] and the team won honours during the next seven consecutive years, winning silver and bronze medals in theTeam Speedway Polish Championship from1952 to1958.[6] The club also became known asSparta Wrocław, with the exception of 1957 when the club competed asŚlęza Wrocław.[4]Mieczysław Połukard became Polish champion in 1954.
After relegation in1959 the team gained promotion back to the highest division after winning the Second League (West) in1960.[7] During the next three decades success became sparse with only three bronze medals won in1963,1967 and1968 respectively. The team were renamedWTS (Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Sportowe) in 1992.
During the1993 Polish speedway season the club won the gold medal for the first time in their history. The team's averages improved significantly on 1992 andTommy Knudsen,Dariusz Śledź,Piotr Baron andWojciech Załuski were instrumental in helping win the league.[8][9] The same team repeated the feat to win the gold medal in1994 and1995, with onlyPiotr Protasiewicz coming in during 1995.
After a silver medal in 1999, Wrocław became inaugural members of theEkstraliga in 2000.[3] In2006, the club won their fourth gold medal with a team led by Australian world championJason Crump. In 2012, the club signedTai Woffinden.
From 2015 the club remain one of the leading clubs in Poland, challenging on all fronts and have won three morePolish Pairs Speedway Championships, during the2011 Polish speedway season,2016 Polish speedway season and2018 Polish speedway season. The club won a fifth gold medal during the2021 Polish speedway season, with riders includingMaciej Janowski,Artem Laguta,Tai Woffinden,Dan Bewley andGleb Chugunov.
| Competitions | Total | Golden medals | Silver medals | Bronze medals | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | Total | Years | Total | Years | ||
| Team (DMP) (since 1948) | 25 | 5 | 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2021 | 10 | 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2015, 2017, 2019 | 10 | 1952, 1953, 1955, 1963, 1967, 1968, 2002, 2007, 2018, 2020 |
| Team U-21 (MDMP) (since 1978) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1992, 1993 | ||
| Pairs (MPPK) (since 1974) | 7 | 1 | 2001 | 4 | 1975, 1976, 1995, 2007 | 2 | 1978, 1999 |
| Pairs U-21 (MMPPK) (1980 U-23; since 1983) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2001 | 2 | 1998, 2006 | |
| Individual (IMP) (since 1948) | 18 | 3 | 1952, 1954, 1960 | 4 | 1956, 1958, 2001, 2004 | 11 | 1954, 1957, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 |
| Individual U-21 (MIMP) (since 1967) | 4 | 2 | 2002,2008 | 2 | 1995, 2001 | 0 | |
| Total Polish Championship medals: 59 | Gold: 11 | Silver: 21 | Bronze: 27 | ||||
| Competitions | Total | I place | II place | III place | |||
| Total | Years | Total | Years | Total | Years | ||
| European Club (KPE) (since 1998) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2007 | 0 | ||
| Team Cup (DPP) (?) | 6 | 1 | 1995 | 1 | 1993 | 4 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 |
| Golden Helmet (ZK) (since 1961) | 11 | 4 | 1979, 1980, 1993, 1999 | 4 | 1994, 2001, 2003, 2004 | 3 | 2001, 2003, 2005 |
| Silver Helmet U-21 (SK) (since 1966) | 8 | 3 | 1968, 1994,2008 | 4 | 1996, 1999, 2000, 2006 | 1 | 1972 |
| Bronze Helmet U-19 (BK) (1976-81; since 1983) | 5 | 1 | 1993 | 3 | 1991, 1992,2008 | 1 | 1979 |
