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Martin Vaculík
Born	5 April 1990 (age 34); Žarnovica, Slovakia
Nationality	Slovakian
Career history
Poland
2006-2007	Krosno
2008	Rzeszów
2009	Gdańsk
2010-2015	Tarnów
2016	Toruń
2017-2018, 2021-2024	Gorzów
2019-2020	Zielona Góra
Sweden
2009	Smederna
2010-2013, 2017	Vetlanda
2014	Vargarna
2015-2016	Rospiggarna
Great Britain
2018	Leicester
Denmark
2008, 2011–2012, 2014	Holsted
Speedway Grand Prix statistics
SGP Number	54
Starts	94
Finalist	21 times
Winner	9 times
Individual honours
2023	World Championship bronze
2013	European Champion

Martin Vaculík (born 5 April 1990)^[1] is a Slovak motorcycle speedway rider.

Career

On the 6 May 2008, Vaculík gained a Polish speedway licence (Licencja "Ż") at Toruń.^[2] and from 4 June 2008 he has taken part in the Polish Championships as a Polish domestic rider.^[3]

In 2012, Vaculik won his first ever Grand Prix as part of the 2012 World Championship, he won the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland in Gorzów. The following year he won the 2013 Speedway European Championship. After missing the World Championship from 2014 until 2016 he returned in 2017 and won the 2017 Speedway Grand Prix of Slovenia. He won his third Grand Prix during the 2018 Speedway Grand Prix series when winning the 2018 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland II.

His only venture into British speedway (in 2018) ended in unfortunate circumstances after he broke an ankle riding for Leicester Lions in only his second outing with them.^[4]

In 2019, he rode strongly and finished in 5th place in the World Championship but suffered several injuries that affected his 2020 and 2021 performances.

Vaculík finished in 9th place (despite injury problems) during the 2022 Speedway World Championship, after securing 91 points during the 2022 Speedway Grand Prix, which included winning the Czech Republic and Toruń Grand Prix. He later broke his shoulder during a Polish league match.^[5]

He was selected as a full time rider for the 2023 Speedway Grand Prix^[6] and won the Czech Republic Grand Prix in June and Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain in September. He went on to secure a career best finish in the World Championship by claiming the bronze medal.^[7]

During the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix, Vaculík secured a third consecutive Czech Republic Grand Prix^[8] and won the Polish Grand Prix in Wrocław.

Major results

World individual Championship

Grand Prix wins

1: 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland (Gorzów)
2: 2017 Speedway Grand Prix of Slovenia
3: 2018 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland II (Gorzów)
4: 2022 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic
5: 2022 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland IV (Toruń)
6: 2023 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic
7: 2023 Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain
8: 2024 Speedway Grand Prix of Czech Republic
9: 2024 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland (Wrocław)^[9]

World junior Championships

Individual U-21 World Championship
- 2007 - 12th place in the Semi-final 2
- 2008 - Pardubice - 5th place (9 pts)
- 2009 - 16th place in the Semi-Final 1

European Championships

Speedway European Championship
- 2013 - European Champion
Individual European Championship
- 2008 - withdrew from the Qualifying Round 3
Individual U-19 European Championship
- 2007 - Częstochowa - 6th place (10 pts + 4th in Rune-Off)
- 2009 - Tarnów - 3rd place (13 pts + 2nd in Run-Off)

Speedway World Championships Results

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Heats	Heat Wins	GP Finals	GP Wins	Position	Points
2012	NZL DNS	EUR DNS	CZE DNS	SWE DNS	DEN DNS	POL 20	CRO 8	ITA 14	GBR 7	SCN 6	NOR DNS	PL2 12	35	12 34.3%	2	1	11th	67
2013	NZL 5	EUR 4	SWE 3	CZE 6	GBR 11	POL 4	DEN 6	ITA 5	LAT 7	SLO 5	SCA 0	PL2 6	58	8 13.8%	0	0	14th	62
2017	SVN 16	POL 10	LAT 8	CZE 10	DEN 1	GBR 4	SWE 10	PL2 7	GER 14	SCA 5	PL3 5	AUS 9	69	13 18.8%	3	1	9th	99
2018	POL DNS	CZE DNS	DEN 3	SWE 1	GBR 3	SCA 10	PL2 18	SVN 9	GER 0	PL3 8			41	11 26.8%	2	1	13th	52
2019	POL 7	SVN 17	CZE 4	SWE 16	PL2 15	SCA 9	GER 4	DEN 7	GBR 9	PL3 7			59	17 28.8%	3	0	5th	95
2020	POL 9	PL2 3	PL3 12	PL4 11	CZE 16	CZ2 12	PL5 10	PL6 5					47	12 25.5%	1	0	9th	78

Speedway European Championship Results

Year	1	2	3	4	Heats	Heat Wins	GP Finals	GP Wins	Position	Points
2013	POL 9	RUS 10	CRO 10	PL2 18	22	14 63.6%	2	1	1st	47
2014	GER 7	RUS 14	DEN 12	POL 8	22	7 31.8%	2	0	4th	41
2015	POL 4	GER 11	SWE 8	PL2 9	20	4 20.0%	0	0	5th	33
2016	GER 12	LAT 4	RUS 5	POL 0	17	3 17.6%	1	1	12th	24

References

^ Świat Żużla, No 1 (77) 2009, pages 26-27, ISSN 1429-3285
^ "Po egzaminie w Toruniu: Vaculik i Ksiezak z licencjami Ż?" (in Polish). SportoweFakty.pl. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
^ "Komunikat Nr 21/2008 - Główna Komisja Sportu Żużlowego" (PDF) (in Polish). PZM.pl. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
^ "LIONS WAIT ON INJURED DUO". Leicester Speedway. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
^ "Much to race for". Speedway Star. 8 October 2022. p. 3.
^ "2022 Speedway Grand Prix results". FIM. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
^ "BARTOSZ ZMARZLIK WINS 2023 SGP CHAMPIONSHIP WITH VICTORY IN TORUN, FREDRIK LINDGREN FINISHES SECOND". Eurosport. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
^ "Prague hat-trick hero vaculik living boyhood dream". FIM. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
^ "Vaculik wygrał Grand Prix we Wrocławiu. Polacy odpadli w półfinałach". Radio Wrocław. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

[1] Świat Żużla, No 1 (77) 2009, pages 26-27, ISSN 1429-3285

[2] "Po egzaminie w Toruniu: Vaculik i Ksiezak z licencjami Ż?" (in Polish). SportoweFakty.pl. 7 May 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2009.

[3] "Komunikat Nr 21/2008 - Główna Komisja Sportu Żużlowego" (PDF) (in Polish). PZM.pl. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2009.

[4] "LIONS WAIT ON INJURED DUO". Leicester Speedway. Retrieved 21 December 2022.

[5] "Much to race for". Speedway Star. 8 October 2022. p. 3.

[6] "2022 Speedway Grand Prix results". FIM. Retrieved 5 October 2022.

[7] "BARTOSZ ZMARZLIK WINS 2023 SGP CHAMPIONSHIP WITH VICTORY IN TORUN, FREDRIK LINDGREN FINISHES SECOND". Eurosport. Retrieved 1 October 2023.

[8] "Prague hat-trick hero vaculik living boyhood dream". FIM. Retrieved 2 June 2024.

[9] "Vaculik wygrał Grand Prix we Wrocławiu. Polacy odpadli w półfinałach". Radio Wrocław. Retrieved 3 October 2024.

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Martin Vaculík