WTS Sparta Wrocław
{{Short description|Polish motorcycle speedway team}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox motorcycle speedway team
|clubname = Sparta Wrocław
|image = 100px
|track = Olympic Stadium
Wrocław
|country = Poland
|founded = 1950 (as WTS since 1992)
|closed =
|manager = Dariusz Śledź
|captain = Maciej Janowski
|league = Ekstraliga
|website = [http://www.wts.pl/ Official Website]
|colours = Yellow and Red
|nickname = Sparta
|tracksize = {{convert|352|m|yd}}
|track record time= 60.06 seconds
|track record date= 16 August 2020
|track record holder= Tai Woffinden
|honour1 = Team Polish Champions
|year1 = 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2021
|honour2 = Pair Polish Champion
|year2 = 2001, 2011, 2016, 2018
|honour3 = Individual Polish Champion
|year3 = 1952, 1954, 1960, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020
}}
WTS Sparta Wrocław, also known as Betard Sparta Wrocław for sponsorship reasons, are a motorcycle speedway team based in Wrocław, Poland. They were established in 1950. The team's home track is at the Olympic Stadium, which has a capacity of 13,000 people. The team currently competes in the Ekstraliga (the highest division){{cite magazine |author= |title=Speedway from Around the Globe - Poland PGE Ekstraliga |url=|magazine=Speedway Star |page=42 |location= |publisher= |date=10 September 2022 |access-date=}} and have won the Team Speedway Polish Championship five times (as of 2022).{{cite web |url=http://www.historyspeedway.nstrefa.pl/druzynowemp.php |title=HISTORICAL RESULTS 1948-2022 |website=Speedway History |access-date=5 March 2023}}
File:Stadion Olimpijski01.jpg, home venue of Sparta Wrocław]]
History
= 1951 to 1958 =
During the 1951 Polish speedway season a team from Wrocław called Spójnia Wrocław was created to compete in the first league. The team finished last but performed much better in 1952, finishing 2nd. A second club competed in Wrocław during the early 1950s but CWKS Wrocław was historically a Warsaw club and is not connected to this club.{{cite web |url=https://www.zuzelend.com/i,89,Historia-Druzynowych-Mistrzostw-Polski |title=Historia Drużynowych Mistrzostw Polski |website=Zuzeland.com |access-date=5 March 2023}}{{cite web |url=https://wts.pl/historia-klubu/ |title=History |website=Sparta Wroclaw Speedway |access-date=5 March 2023}}
Edward Kupczyński was the club's first star rider winning the 1952 Polish Individual Speedway Championship{{cite web |url=http://www.historyspeedway.nstrefa.pl/indmpolski.php |title=Polish Individual Speedway Championship|website=Historia Sportu Zuzlowego |access-date=5 March 2023}} and the team won honours during the next seven consecutive years, winning silver and bronze medals in the Team Speedway Polish Championship from 1952 to 1958.{{cite web |url=http://www.speedwayw.pl/pl_1952.htm |title=Historia Speedway Polsce 1952 |website=Speedway History |access-date=5 March 2023}} The club also became known as Sparta Wrocław, with the exception of 1957 when the club competed as Ślęza Wrocław. Mieczysław Połukard became Polish champion in 1954.
= 1959 to 1992 =
After relegation in 1959 the team gained promotion back to the highest division after winning the Second League (West) in 1960.{{cite web |url=http://www.speedwayw.pl/pl_1960.htm |title=Historia Speedway Polsce 1960 |website=Speedway History |access-date=5 March 2023}} During the next three decades success became sparse with only three bronze medals won in 1963, 1967 and 1968 respectively. The team were renamed WTS (Wrocławskie Towarzystwo Sportowe) in 1992.
= 1993 to 1995 =
During the 1993 Polish speedway season the club won the gold medal for the first time in their history. The team's averages improved significantly on 1992 and Tommy Knudsen, Dariusz Śledź, Piotr Baron and Wojciech Załuski were instrumental in helping win the league.{{cite web |url=https://speedway.com.pl/teams/wroclaw/1993/ |title=Zespoły 1993 Wroclaw team statistics |website=Polish Speedway Database |access-date=27 February 2023}}{{cite web |url=http://speedwayfansite.com/ligi/pgeekstraliga.html |title=Drużynowe Mistrzostwa Polski (PGE Ekstraliga) |website=Speedway Fansite |access-date=25 February 2023}} The same team repeated the feat to win the gold medal in 1994 and 1995, with only Piotr Protasiewicz coming in during 1995.
=1996 to 2014 =
After a silver medal in 1999, Wrocław became inaugural members of the Ekstraliga in 2000. In 2006, the club won their fourth gold medal with a team led by Australian world champion Jason Crump. In 2012, the club signed Tai Woffinden.
=2015 to present =
From 2015 the club remain one of the leading clubs in Poland, challenging on all fronts and have won three more Polish Pairs Speedway Championships, during the 2011 Polish speedway season, 2016 Polish speedway season and 2018 Polish speedway season. The club won a fifth gold medal during the 2021 Polish speedway season, with riders including Maciej Janowski, Artem Laguta, Tai Woffinden, Dan Bewley and Gleb Chugunov.
Previous teams
{{collapse top}}
2022 team
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Tai Woffinden
- {{flagicon|POL}} Maciej Janowski
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Dan Bewley
- {{flagicon|RUS}}/{{flagicon|POL}} Gleb Chugunov
- {{flagicon|GER}} Lukas Baumann
- {{flagicon|POL}} Michał Curzytek
- {{flagicon|POL}} Bartłomiej Kowalski
- {{flagicon|POL}} Mateusz Panicz
- {{flagicon|GER}} Sandro Wassermann
- {{flagicon|SLO}} Nick Škorja
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Jack Smith
- {{flagicon|POL}} Jakub Wiatrowski
- {{flagicon|POL}} Dawid Rybak
- {{flagicon|CZE}} Jaroslav Vanicek
2023 team
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Tai Woffinden
- {{flagicon|RUS}}/{{flagicon|POL}} Artem Laguta
- {{flagicon|POL}} Maciej Janowski
- {{flagicon|ENG}} Dan Bewley
- {{flagicon|POL}} Piotr Pawlicki Jr.
- {{flagicon|LAT}} Francis Gusts
- {{flagicon|POL}} Mateusz Panicz
- {{flagicon|POL}} Bartłomiej Kowalski
{{collapse bottom}}
Notable riders
{{columns-list|colwidth=15em|
- {{player||POL|Piotr Baron}}
- {{player||AUS|Jason Crump}}
- {{player||POL|Jarosław Hampel}}
- {{player||POL|Maciej Janowski}}
- {{player||POL|Tomasz Jędrzejak}}
- {{player||DEN|Tommy Knudsen}}
- {{player||POL|Jacek Krzyżaniak}}
- {{player||POL|Edward Kupczyński}}
- {{player||POL|Konstanty Pociejkewicz}}
- {{player||POL|Mieczysław Połukard}}
- {{player||POL|Dariusz Śledź}}
- {{player||POL|Tadeusz Teodorowicz}}
- {{player||ENG|Tai Woffinden}}
- {{player||POL|Szymon Woźniak}}
- {{player||POL|Wojciech Załuski}}
}}
Honours
{{Polish speedway club honours
| DMP 1 =5 |DMP 1y =1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2021
| DMP 2 =10 |DMP 2y =1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2015, 2017, 2019
| DMP 3 =10 |DMP 3y =1952, 1953, 1955, 1963, 1967, 1968, 2002, 2007, 2018, 2020
|MDMP 1 =0 |MDMP 1y =
|MDMP 2 =0 |MDMP 2y =
|MDMP 3 =2 |MDMP 3y =1992, 1993
| MPPK 1 =1 |MPPK 1y =2001
| MPPK 2 =4 |MPPK 2y =1975, 1976, 1995, 2007
| MPPK 3 =2 |MPPK 3y =1978, 1999
|MMPPK 1 =0 |MMPPK 1y =
|MMPPK 2 =1 |MMPPK 2y =2001
|MMPPK 3 =2 |MMPPK 3y =1998, 2006
| IMP 1 =3 |IMP 1y =1952, 1954, 1960
| IMP 2 =4 |IMP 2y =1956, 1958, 2001, 2004
| IMP 3 =11 |IMP 3y =1954, 1957, 1969, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
|MIMP 1 =2 |MIMP 1y =2002, 2008
|MIMP 2 =2 |MIMP 2y =1995, 2001
|MIMP 3 =0 |MIMP 3y =
| KPE 1 =0 |KPE 1y =
| KPE 2 =1 |KPE 2y =2007
| KPE 3 =0 |KPE 3y =
|DPP 1 =1 |DPP 1y =1995
|DPP 2 =1 |DPP 2y =1993
|DPP 3 =4 |DPP 3y =1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
| IPP 1 = |IPP 1y =
| IPP 2 = |IPP 2y =
| IPP 3 = |IPP 3y =
|ZK 1 =4 |ZK 1y =1979, 1980, 1993, 1999
|ZK 2 =4 |ZK 2y =1994, 2001, 2003, 2004
|ZK 3 =3 |ZK 3y =2001, 2003, 2005
| SK 1 =3 |SK 1y =1968, 1994, 2008
| SK 2 =4 |SK 2y =1996, 1999, 2000, 2006
| SK 3 =1 |SK 3y =1972
|BK 1 =1 |BK 1y =1993
|BK 2 =3 |BK 2y =1991, 1992, 2008
|BK 3 =1 |BK 3y =1979
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Polish speedway teams}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wts Wroclaw}}
Category:Speedway teams in Poland
Category:Sports clubs and teams in Wrocław