Jump to content

Zenon Plech

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zenon Plech
Born(1953-01-01)1 January 1953
Zwierzyn, Poland
Died25 November 2020(2020-11-25) (aged 67)
Gdansk, Poland
NationalityPolish
Career history
Poland
1970–1976Gorzów
1977–1987Gdańsk
Great Britain
1975–1976, 1979–1981Hackney Hawks
1982Sheffield Tigers
Individual honours
1972, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1985Polish Champion
1980, 1983Continental Champion
1973, 1974, 1978Poland Golden Helmet Winner
1971Poland Silver Helmet Winner
Team honours
1973, 1975, 1976, 1985Polish League Champion

Zenon Plech (1 January 1953 – 25 November 2020) was a Polish international motorcycle speedway rider.[1] He finished third in the Speedway World Championship in 1973 and as the runner-up in 1979.[2] He earned 76 international caps for the Poland national speedway team.[3]

Career

[edit]

Plech won the Polish National Championship five times (1972, 1975, 1979, 1985 and 1986) and runner-up twice (1981 and 1983). He also was a member of the Poland team to take third place in the World Team Cup in 1972 and 1981.

Zenon Plech's third place in the 1973 World Final at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, Poland was controversial. On the last lap of Heat 19, Soviet rider Grigory Khlinovsky had attempted to pass Plech for the lead going into the back straight. As he was passed by the Russian, Plech lost control of his bike and fell. Despite protests from riders and the Soviet officials, and taking no other eyewitness account into consideration, the referee assigned to the meeting by the FIM simply took Plech's word that Khlynovski had knocked him off his bike. England's Peter Collins was awarded the heat win, Plech was awarded 2nd despite not actually finishing the race, while another Russian, Valery Gordeev, was awarded third place despite also not finishing when he crashed into Plech's fallen bike.

The result of the two points he gained for second place allowed Plech to finish a clear third in the championship. The ruling, with Khlynovski excluded, should have seen Collins as the only point scorer as he was the only rider to finish, and Plech scoring no points after failing to finish. This would have resulted in Plech only finishing the championship on 10 points and in a 5th place tie with Khlynovski. Had the Russian not been excluded and had been awarded the heat win as many, including World Champions Ivan Mauger and Ole Olsen, believe should have been the case, he would have ended on 13 points. This would have put him in the run-off for the title with winner Jerzy Szczakiel (Poland) and defending champion Mauger.

He rode for Hackney Hawks[4] between 1975[5] and 1981 missing two seasons in 1977 and 1978 after being drafted into the Polish Army although Hackney operated "Zenon Plech (Rider Replacement)" for the entire 1977 season. He then rode briefly for Sheffield Tigers in the British League.[6]

World Final Appearances

[edit]

Individual World Championship

[edit]

World Pairs Championship

[edit]

World Team Cup

[edit]

After retirement

[edit]

Plech became the coach of clubs from Gdańsk, Gorzów Wlkp. and Wrocław. He was a manager of Polish national team which finished second in the 2001 Speedway World Cup Final behind Australia at Wrocław's Olympic Stadium. He was the coach of Polonia Bydgoszcz and Wybrzeże Gdańsk U-16 team.

Plech was also a speedway commentator for Polish television.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Oakes, Peter; Mauger, Ivan OBE, MBE (1976). Who's Who of World Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. ISBN 0-904584-04-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  3. ^ "Ultimate Rider Index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Crack Poles at Smallmead". Bracknell Times. 17 March 1977. Retrieved 8 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Speedway". Eastbourne Gazette. 8 October 1975. Retrieved 12 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ Fenn, C.(2003). Hackney Speedway, Friday at Eight. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2737-7