The Individual Speedway European Championship dates back to 2001, when Bohumil Brhel claimed gold in Heusden-Zolder. Until 2012, the events often featured riders who were rarely seen at the biggest international meetings. Only after One Sport took over the series did it gain the prestige it deserved.
In 2013 the championship gained a new format. Instead of a one-day final, the best riders of the Old Continent fight for the title, medals and prize money across a series of four final rounds. All of it can be watched live on Eurosport.
One Sport - the organizer of the Speedway Euro Championship and Speedway Best Pairs Cup - invited Tomasz Gollob, Nicki Pedersen and Emil Sayfutdinov to take part in the first edition. Despite a several-point advantage before the last round in Rzeszów, Nicki Pedersen did not win the gold medal. That day, a brilliant Martin Vaculík did. The Slovak’s 18 points and the Dane’s poorer form meant Vaculík took the 2013 European title. Grigorij Łaguta also qualified for the 2014 series.
2014 belonged to Emil Sayfutdinov. The Russian completed the mission he had started the previous year. Back then, after two rounds he had two wins and was firmly on course for gold. Unfortunately, a serious injury ended his season. He dedicated the European title to his late father and aimed to defend the crown in the next series and write his name into the championship’s history again.
He said it, then did it. The 2015 SEC season was again dominated by the Russian Torpedo. From the start, Sayfutdinov was consistently excellent, and most importantly at the highest level. A masterclass in Toruń and Sweden’s Kumla, where he scored a maximum 18 points, said it all. The Russian stood on the top step of the podium for the second year in a row and, as he said, he still felt hungry for wins and wanted to be king of Europe again in 2016.
The 2016 SEC season was extremely exciting and, above all, tight. The fight for the European title and for a place in the following year’s Speedway Euro Championship went down to the last race of the final round in Rybnik. In the end the title went to Denmark’s Nicki Pedersen, while the two-time European Champion, Russia’s Emil Sayfutdinov, didn’t even make the top five.
The 2017 SEC season was marked by a clash between debutants and riders experienced in Speedway Euro Championship rounds. Interestingly, three of the top five in the final standings entered the series with a permanent wild card. Also noteworthy was the remarkable effectiveness of one-off wild cards, which in 2017 collected a total of 43 points. The European Champion was Latvia’s Andžejs Ļebedevs who, notably, didn’t win any of the four rounds that season. Silver went to Russia’s Artem Laguta, and bronze to the 2016 runner-up, the Czech Republic’s Václav Milík.
2018 began with a win for Jarosław Hampel, who scored 17 points in the opening round in Gniezno. Next up was Güstrow, where Britain’s Robert Lambert took a surprise victory. Round three of TAURON SEC 2018 was held in Daugavpils, where Leon Madsen showed great form that, as it turned out, was the start of his road to gold.
The Grand Final of TAURON Speedway Euro Championship 2018 took place at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów. On the legendary venue’s one-day track, Leon Madsen won with a full score. The remaining podium spots went to Jarosław Hampel and Robert Lambert.
Güstrow hosted the opening round of TAURON SEC 2019. In front of a packed crowd in Germany, the best rider was Grigorij Laguta. Round two was in Toruń, and the racing at Motoarena had everything speedway can offer. Fantastic heats mixed with crashes, and it all ended with victory for Leon Madsen. At the halfway point the gap between Laguta and the Dane was just one point. Round three took place at the legendary venue in Vojens. Due to injury, Madsen was absent, which opened the door for Laguta to take TAURON SEC gold. The Russian had his weakest performance of the season, while Mikkel Michelsen was outstanding. After Güstrow and Toruń he was mid-pack, but after Vojens he became a title contender.
The TAURON SEC 2019 final was again held at the Silesian Stadium in Chorzów, and the emotions were off the charts. Michelsen caught Laguta in the overall standings, and the gold medal was decided in a run-off. Before that, home hero Kacper Woryna fought Leon Madsen for bronze in a run-off. The Pole led, but a bike failure cost him the medal. In the most important race of TAURON SEC 2019, Mikkel Michelsen beat Grigorij Laguta to become European Champion.
2020 was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualifying rounds and the SEC Challenge were cancelled, and national federations decided the TAURON SEC 2020 line-up by nominating riders. It’s worth noting that the Individual Speedway European Championship was the first major event of its kind to be held during the pandemic.
TAURON SEC 2020 had a special format. Five rounds took place in Poland over 30 days. The European Champion was Robert Lambert, consistently strong from the start, with two wins at the end sealing the trophy and a ticket to the 2021 Grand Prix. Second place went to Leon Madsen, who set a record with three SEC round wins in a row. Bronze went to Grigorij Laguta.
In 2021 the series returned to the four-round format, with events in Bydgoszcz, Güstrow, Gdańsk and Rybnik. The opener was won by Leon Madsen, who finished ahead of Piotr Pawlicki and Dan Bewley in the final. Pawlicki then won on the technical German track in Güstrow, his first TAURON SEC victory. The Gdańsk round was a showcase for Mikkel Michelsen, who won four heats and scored 15 points overall. The final round took place in Rybnik. Madsen won the meeting, but the TAURON Speedway Euro Championship 2021 gold went to Mikkel Michelsen.
2022 started in Rybnik, where Madsen won again, but the interim leaders were Michelsen and Janusz Kołodziej. The Pole took his first series win in Güstrow, which hosted round two of TAURON SEC 2022. The fight for the European crown then moved to Łódź, where Kołodziej won again. The fate of the gold medal was decided only in Pardubice, where Leon Madsen secured his second title in the last race of the entire series.
In 2023 the opening round was held in Częstochowa, where Leon Madsen made the most of his intimate knowledge of the oval. The two-time European Champion failed to win only one of his heats and signaled a strong push to defend his title. The series moved to Güstrow, where the main favorite surprisingly finished a distant 14th. The star of the German round was Janusz Kołodziej, returning from injury. Right behind him on the podium was Mikkel Michelsen, who led the standings after two rounds. The Dane strengthened his lead after Bydgoszcz, where he finished second again. He wrapped things up in Pardubice and, after his second start, celebrated a third Individual European Championship title.
For the first time in history, a round of the Individual European Championship was held in Hungary. The opening of TAURON SEC 2024 took place in Debrecen, where the best rider was Andžejs Ļebedevs. The Latvian dropped only one point in six heats to take the series lead. The action then moved to Grudziądz, where Leon Madsen won, with Kacper Woryna and Piotr Pawlicki completing the podium. At the halfway mark Ļebedevs still led and strengthened it further by winning round three in Güstrow. He sealed his second Individual European Championship title in the fifth series of the final round at the Silesian Stadium. The TAURON SEC 2024 podium was completed by Leon Madsen and Kacper Woryna.
FORMER EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS BEFORE THE INTRODUCTION OF THE "SEC" FORMAT
