Matej Žagar
Žagar in 2019
Born (1983-04-03) 3 April 1983
Ljubljana, Slovenia
NationalitySlovenian
Websiteofficial website
Career history
Great Britain
2003Trelawny Tigers
2004-2007Reading Racers
2009Swindon Robins
2010Eastbourne Eagles
2013-2016, 2022Belle Vue Aces
Poland
2006, 2017-2019Częstochowa
2007Toruń
2008Rzeszów
2009-2012, 2014-2016Gorzów
2013Gniezno
2020Motor Lublin
2021Zielona Góra
2022Bydgoszcz
2023Rybnik
Sweden
2008Hammarby
2013Piraterna
2016-2017Smederna
Denmark
2022SES
2023Grinstead
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
SGP Number55
Starts107
Podiums19 (5-8-6)
Finalist23 time
Winner5 times
Individual honours
2004, 2008European Champion
2002Under-19 European Champion
18 timesSlovenian Speedway Champion
2014, 2020, 2021GP Challenge winner
Team honours
2003
2014, 2016		European Club Champion
Speedway Ekstraliga
2013, 2014Czech Republic Championship
2022British 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]

Career

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]

Career highlights

Individual World Championship

  • 2003 - 30th place (5 points)
  • 2004 - 27th place (8 points)
  • 2005 - 16th place (23 points)
  • 2006 - 7th place (97 points)
  • 2007 - 14th place (54 points)
  • 2008 - 20th place (7 points)
  • 2009 - 19th place (7 points)
  • 2011 - 19th place (14 points)
  • 2013 - 7th place (110 points)
  • 2014 - 5th place (114 points) - including Finnish Grand prix win
  • 2015 - 6th place (107 points) - including Warsaw and Gorzow Grand Prix wins
  • 2016 - 9th place (90 points)
  • 2017 - 7th place (107 points) - including German and Scandinavian Grand Prix wins
  • 2018 - 10th place (79 points)
  • 2019 - 9th place (78 points)
  • 2020 - 11th place (46 points)
  • 2021 - 13th place (45 points)
  • 2022 - 18th place (11 points)
  • 2023 - =26th place (1 point)

Individual U-21 World Championship

  • 2004 - 6th place (8 points)
  • 2004 - track reserve (1 point)
  • 2004 - 5th place (10 points)
  • 2004 - 3rd place (8 points and 3rd in Final)

Team World Championship

  • 2001 - 6 points in Preliminary Round 1
  • 2002 - 10th-11th place (5 points in Event 3)
  • 2003 - 9th place (13 points in Event 2)
  • 2004 - 9th-10th place (18 points in Qualifying Round 2)
  • 2005 - 9th-10th place (11 points in Qualifying Round 2)
  • 2006 - 9th-10th place (17 points in Qualifying Round 2)
  • 2007 - 13th-14th place (16 points in Qualifying Round 1)
  • 2008 - 11th-12th place
  • 2009 - 4th place in Semi-finals (10 points in semi-final)
  • 2010 - 9th-10th place
  • 2011 - 9th-10th place
  • 2012 - 9th-10th place
  • 2013 - 9th-10th place
  • 2014 - 11th place
  • 2015 - 11th place
  • 2016 - 12th place

Individual European Championship

  • 2002 - 15th place (4 points)
  • 2003 - 4th place (10 points)
  • 2004 - European Champion (14+3 points)
  • 2006 - 17th place (0 points)
  • 2008 - European Champion (14 points)

Individual U-19 European Championship

  • 2000 - 11th place (8 points)
  • 2001 - track reserve (2 points)
  • 2002 - European Champion (15 points)

European Pairs Championship

  • 2005 - 3rd place (14 points)
  • 2006 - 2nd place (11 points)

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

Year Position Points Best Finish Notes
2003 30th 5 15th Wild card ride
2004 26th 8 9th Wild card ride
2005 16th 23 3rd 2 Wild card rides
2006 7th 97 2nd First full season as a GP rider
2006 14th 54 7th second full season as a GP rider
2008 20th 7 9th 1 Wild card ride
2009 19th 7 10th 1 Wild card ride
2011 19th 14 8th 2 Wild card rides
2013 7th 110 2nd third full season as a GP rider
2014 5th 114 1st fourth full season as a GP rider
2015 6th 107 1st fifth full season as a GP rider
2016 9th 90 3rd sixth full season + wild card for the next year
2017 7th 107 1st
2018 10th 79 2nd
2019 9th 78 2nd
2020 11th 46 8th
2021 13th 45 9th
2022 18th 11 6th
2023 =26th 1 16th

See also

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.
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