The Slovenia national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
| Slovenia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nation colour | Red, White and Green |
| SWC Wins | 0 Best result European Pairs silver medal |
History
editAs Yugoslavia
editThe Yugoslavian speedway team (which featured riders from Slovenia) first competed in the Speedway World Team Cup during the 1962 Speedway World Team Cup, finishing second in the central European round.[1] Throughout the history of World Team Cup, the team were regular World Cup competitors from 1962 until their final World Cup in 1992.[2] However, they were one of the weaker nations and failed to reach the latter stages of the competition.[3][4] Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the riders then competed for their new speedway nations, primarily Croatia and Slovenia.
As Slovenia
editThe Slovenian speedway team first competed in the World Team Cup at the 1994 Speedway World Team Cup, winning Group C (the third tier of the World Cup).[5] In 1997, they gained promotion to Group A and just missed out on their first World final.
Since 2001, Slovenia have performed well in the World Cup and the Speedway of Nations (introduced in 2018) but have yet to qualify for their first final. Their best international result to date has been winning two medals at the European Pairs Speedway Championship (a bronze in 2005 and a silver in 2006), the medallists were Matej Žagar, Izak Šantej and Jernej Kolenko respectively.
International caps (as of 2022)
editSince the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[6]
| Rider | Caps |
|---|---|
| Čonda, Aleksander | 6 |
| Doilnar, Aleš | |
| Duh, Matija | |
| Ferjan, Matej | 8 |
| Gregorič, Maks | 7 |
| Grmek, Anže | |
| Ivačič, Matic | |
| Klenovsek, Primoz | |
| Klimkovsky, Primož | |
| Kolenko, Jernej | 11 |
| Kovacić, Ziga | |
| Kraljic, Ales | |
| Legan, Primož | |
| Leske, Gerhard | |
| Omerzel, Krešo | |
| Pečnik, Jernej | |
| Peterca, Martin | 5 |
| Pintar, Gregor | |
| Šantej, Izak | |
| Škorja, Nick | |
| Štojs, Denis | |
| Šustersič, Tomas | |
| Voldrih, Matic | |
| Žagar, Matej | 16 |
References
edit- ^ "1962 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "1994 WORLD TEAM CUP". International Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 October 2023.