Matej Žagar
Matej Žagar (born 3 April 1983 in Ljubljana, Slovenia) is a Slovenian motorcycle speedway rider who was won Individual Speedway European Champion titles (Senior in 2004 and 2008; Under 19 in 2002). He was permanent speedway rider in 2006 and 2007 Speedway Grand Prix seasons. 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.
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| Born | 3 April 1983 Ljubljana, Slovenia |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  Slovenia |
| Website | matejzagar55.com |
| Current club information | |
| Czech league | Pardubice |
| Polish league | Włókniarz Częstochowa |
| Swedish league | Vastervik |
| Career history | |
| 2004-7 | Reading Racers (GBR) |
| 2006 | Częstochowa (POL) |
| 2007 | Toruń (POL) |
| 2008 | Rzeszów (POL) |
| 2010 | Eastbourne Eagles (GBR) |
| 2013–2016 | Belle Vue Aces (GBR) |
| Speedway Grand Prix statistics | |
| SGP Number | 55 |
| Starts | 107 |
| Podiums | 19 (5-8-6) |
| Finalist | 23 time |
| Winner | 5 times |
| Individual honours | |
| 2004, 2008 | European Champion |
| 2002 | Under-19 European Champion |
| 2014 | Finnish Grand Prix Champion |
| 2015 | Warsaw Grand Prix Champion |
| 2015 | Gorzow Grand Prix Champion |
| 2017 | German Grand Prix Champion |
| 2017 | Stockholm Grand Prix Champion |
| 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 | Slovenian Speedway Champion |
| Team honours | |
| 2003 2014, 2016 | European Club Champion Speedway Ekstraliga |
| 2013, 2014 | Czech Republic Championship |
He began his UK career with the Trelawny Tigers in 2003 before moving to the Reading Racers in 2004 when the Tigers closed. He later represented Reading, Swindon and Eastbourne before quitting the UK scene after an underwhelming 2010 campaign. He returned after signing for the Belle Vue Aces in 2013.
Individual World Championship (Speedway Grand Prix)
- 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)
- 2015 - 6th place (107 points)
- 2016 - 9th place (90 points)
Team World Championship (Speedway World Cup)
- 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
Current clubs
- Sweden: Ikaros Smederna
- Poland: Motor Lublin
- Slovenia: AMTK Ljubljana
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 | - | - | - | - |
| Race no. | Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 /11 |  Italian SGP |
11 | 5 | (1,0,1,0,3) | 7 |
| 2 /11 |  European SGP |
8 | 7 | (0,3,1,2,1) +0 | 15 |
| 3 /11 |  Swedish SGP |
9 | 7 | (1,3,2,1,0) | 16 |
| 4 /11 |  Danish SGP |
17 | 1 | (1,-,-,-,-) | 10 |
| 5 /11 |  British SGP |
12 | 5 | (2,0,1,0,2) | 8 |
| 6 /11 |  Czech Rep. SGP |
7 | 8 | (3,3,1,0,1) +0 | 10 |
| 7 /11 | Scandinavian SGP |
15 | 3 | (0,0,2,0,1) | 1 |
| 8 /11 |  Latvian SGP |
15 | 2 | (2,0,0,0,0) | 4 |
| 9 /11 |  Polish SGP |
15 | 4 | (1,1,1,0,1) | 6 |
| 10 /11 | Slovenian SGP |
12 | 6 | (E,1,3,1,1) | 16 |
| 11 /11 |  German SGP |
13 | 6 | (2,2,1,0,1) | 1 |
| Race no. | Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 /11 | Slovenian SGP |
16 |
| permanent speedway rider | |
| wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve | |
| rider not classified (track reserve who did not start) |
