PRES Toruń Beats Motor Lublin 48:42 in First Leg of Speedway Semi-Finals

Early surge from Toruń

PRES Grupa Deweloperska Toruń defeated Orlen Oil Motor Lublin 48:42 in the first leg of the PGE Ekstraliga semi-finals on 6 September 2026. The two clubs have met in the playoff rounds each year since 2022, but Toruń had failed to reach 40 points in their previous eight fixtures at Aleje Zygmuntowskie. The visiting side took control early by securing two consecutive 5:1 heat wins in the opening two heats. Patryk Dudek and Norick Bloedorn began the meeting with a maximum heat win against Kacper Woryna and Martin Vaculik. Junior riders Mikołaj Duchiński, who collected his first three-point heat win of the season, and Antoni Kawczyński followed with another 5:1 in heat two. After four heats, Toruń established a ten-point cushion at 17:7, prompting coach Piotr Baron to give instructions during the track maintenance break.

Gentlemen, the starts are going well, let's not mess it up.

Lublin fights back

Motor Lublin adjusted their motorcycle setups ahead of the second series of heats to improve reaction times at the tapes. Kacper Woryna delivered the home side's first individual victory in heat five, combining with Mateusz Cierniak for a 4:2 heat win over Mikkel Michelsen. Bartosz Zmarzlik then won heat six in 67.23 seconds, which stood as the fastest time of the entire match on the 382-metre track. Toruń maintained their advantage when Emil Sajfutdinow passed Fredrik Lindgren on the fourth lap of heat seven along the inside curb to split the home riders. In heat nine, Lublin manager Maciej Kuciapa used Zmarzlik as a tactical substitute for Vaculik, and Zmarzlik took first place ahead of Robert Lambert and Dudek to keep the score at 24:30.

Closing heats and final result

Lublin reduced the deficit with consecutive 4:2 heat wins in heats ten and eleven, as Cierniak took consecutive victories. In heat twelve, Lambert was excluded after touching the start tape, which cleared the way for Woryna and Bartosz Jaworski to score a 5:1 over Kawczyński and Duchiński. That result put Motor ahead 37:35, marking their only lead of the evening. Toruń reclaimed the advantage in heat thirteen when Bloedorn and Sajfutdinow finished ahead of Zmarzlik and Lindgren for a 5:1. Bloedorn won heat fourteen ahead of Cierniak and Lambert, while Michelsen and Sajfutdinow sealed the 48:42 victory by outscoring Zmarzlik and Woryna 4:2 in heat fifteen.

Playoff outlook and second leg

Zmarzlik finished as the highest scorer of the evening with 14 points across six heats for Lublin. Michelsen led Toruń with 12 points from five heats, Sajfutdinow scored 11 points with one bonus point, and Bloedorn recorded 9 points with two bonuses. Cierniak scored 9 points and Woryna scored 8 points for Motor, while Lindgren finished on 4 points and Vaculik recorded 2 points with one bonus. Krzysztof Meyze refereed the fixture before approximately 9,000 spectators in Lublin. The second leg takes place on 13 September 2026 at the Motoarena in Toruń. In the other semi-final fixture on Sunday, Sparta Wrocław secured an away victory by beating Unia Leszno 55:35.