Matej Žagar

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Matej Žagar
Matej Zagar, Slovenian Speedway rider 2019.png
Žagar in 2019
Born (1983-04-03) 3 April 1983 (age 41)
Ljubljana, Slovenia
NationalitySlovenian
Website official website
Career history
Great Britain
2003 Trelawny
2004-2007 Reading
2009 Swindon
2010 Eastbourne
2013-2016, 2022 Belle Vue
2025 Birmingham
Poland
2006, 2017-2019 Częstochowa
2007 Toruń
2008 Rzeszów
2009-2012, 2014-2016 Gorzów
2013 Gniezno
2020 Motor Lublin
2021 Zielona Góra
2022 Bydgoszcz
2023 Rybnik
Sweden
2008 Hammarby
2013 Piraterna
2016–2017 Smederna
Denmark
2019 Slangerup
2022 SES
2023–2024 Grindsted
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
SGP Number55
Starts108
Finalist23 times
Winner5 times
Individual honours
2004, 2008 European Champion
2002 Under-19 European Champion
18 times Slovenian Speedway Champion
2014, 2020, 2021 GP Challenge winner
Team honours
2003 European Club Champion
2014, 2016 Ekstraliga Champion
2013, 2014 Czech Republic Championship
2022 British champions

Matej Žagar (born 3 April 1983 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian motorcycle speedway rider who was won two Individual Speedway European Champion titles in 2008 and 2009. [1] [2] [3] He is 18 times Slovenian Speedway Champion. [4] [5]

Contents

Career

Zagar in 2007 Matej Zagar.JPG
Žagar in 2007

In 2002, he won the 2002 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship and the following year made his debut in the Individual World Championship.

He began his career in the United Kingdom with the Trelawny Tigers in 2003 before moving to the Reading Racers in 2004 when the Tigers closed. [2] He became a permanent rider in the 2006 Speedway Grand Prix and 2007 Speedway Grand Prix seasons. In the UK he represented Reading, Swindon and Eastbourne before quitting the United Kingdom after an underwhelming 2010 campaign. He was touted as a potential GP wildcard for the 2012 SGP season following impressive and consistent performances in the Polish Extraliga with Gorzow, but turned down the opportunity to replace Darcy Ward due to the 1GP rider in the Extraliga and his contract with Gorzow, where 2010 world champion Tomasz Gollob was signed up. He returned to the UK after signing for the Belle Vue Aces in 2013 and rode for them until 2016. [2] [3]

In September 2014, during the Speedway Grand Prix Qualification he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2015 Grand Prix. [6]

In August 2019, he won the GP Challenge for the second time in his career, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2020 Speedway Grand Prix. [7] He then became the first rider in history to win a third GP Challenge when he won it for a third time in 2020.

In 2021, after 9 consecutive Grand Prix seasons and finishing in 13th place he lost his permanent place in the Grand Prix World Championship but did ride in the 2022 season opener in his home country. [8]

In 2022, he once again returned to the British speedway with the Belle Vue Aces [3] and was part of the team that won the league title during the SGB Premiership 2022. [9] Also in 2022, he helped SES win the 2022 Danish Super League. [10] He raced for Grinstead during 2023 and 2024. [11]

Žagar signed for Birmingham Brummies for the SGB Premiership 2025. [12]

Career highlights

Individual World Championship

Individual U-21 World Championship

Team World Championship

Individual European Championship

Individual U-19 European Championship

European Pairs Championship

Slovenian Championship

He is a 17 times champion of Slovenia in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Speedway Grand Prix results

YearPositionPointsBest FinishNotes
2003 30th515thWild card ride
2004 26th89thWild card ride
2005 16th233rd2 Wild card rides
2006 7th972ndFirst full season as a GP rider
2006 14th547thsecond full season as a GP rider
2008 20th79th1 Wild card ride
2009 19th710th1 Wild card ride
2011 19th148th2 Wild card rides
2013 7th1102ndthird full season as a GP rider
2014 5th1141stfourth full season as a GP rider
2015 6th1071stfifth full season as a GP rider
2016 9th903rdsixth full season + wild card for the next year
2017 7th1071st
2018 10th792nd
2019 9th782nd
2020 11th468th
2021 13th459th
2022 18th116th
2023 =26th116th
2024 =27th115th

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "European Champions". Speedway Euro. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Speedway riders, history and results". wwosbackup. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Zagar, Matej". British Speedway. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  4. ↑ "Individual Championship of Slovenia". Speedway Fansite. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  5. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "HISTORICAL LIST OF RESULTS 1995-2013 Speedway Grand Prix - Qualifications". Speedway History. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "2019 Grand Prix Challenge". Sportowe Fakty (in Polish). Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "MATEJ ZAGAR SET FOR RETURN TO SPEEDWAY GP AS WILD CARD FOR FIM SPEEDWAY GP SEASON OPENER IN CROATIA". Eurosport. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "2022 Premiership Grand final results". British Speedway. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "2022 table and results". Speedway Ligaen. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Danish deal for Zagar". FIM. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Brummies snap up 'outstanding signing' Musielak for next season". The Star. 18 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
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