Grzegorz Zengota is unfortunately one of the most injury-prone Polish speedway riders in recent years. The last two seasons have been particularly special for the FOGO UNIA Leszno rider partly because of this. Together with the team, they first got relegated from the PGE Ekstraliga, and he was one of the few who participated in every match, then got promoted back, becoming the 10th rider in the METALKAS 2. Ekstraliga. How did his injuries and comebacks to racing look like in the past?
Zengota is a graduate of STELMET FALUBAZ Zielona Góra, who got his license in 2004. In the first eight seasons of his career, he represented his home club and changed surroundings only in 2012. Even before moving to KRONO-PLAST WŁÓKNIARZ Czestochowa, he suffered his first serious injury while with the Zielona Góra team, which was a fracture of the right femur. The fall occurred during a pre-season training in Gniezno, resulting in a long break from league racing. As it turned out, it lasted „only” four months, and the first match after the injury was quite successful for Zengota. The meeting in Rzeszów ended with seven points to his credit. He concluded the season with a gold medal in the Polish Team Championships.
After his episode in Czestochowa, Grzegorz Zengota moved to FOGO UNIA. During his first stay in Leszno, which lasted five years, the speedway rider fortunately did not struggle with significant injuries. The most serious injury during this period was the one sustained in 2016 in Sweden, specifically in Hallstavik, where Zengota’s back was hit by Andreas Jonsson. As it turned out, it did not affect his starts in Poland. The most serious injury in the Zielona Góra rider’s career was yet to come.
In 2018, Zengota returned to STELMET FALUBAZ, from where he then moved to ORLEN OIL MOTOR Lublin. It was just before the 2019 season during preparations in Spain that the rider had a devastating motocross accident. Ankle fracture occurred, and to make matters worse, necrosis developed in the injured part of his leg. As the rider himself recalled, doctors even considered amputation of the limb. The break from starts lasted almost two years, and during this time, Zengota underwent 15 surgeries in both Polish and Spanish hospitals, the effects of which he still feels today. Ultimately, he did not score points for the Lublin team. He left ORLEN OIL MOTOR for ABRAMCZYK POLONIA Bydgoszcz.
The next unfortunate day for him was June 6, 2021. In the match against the INNPRO ROW Rybnik team, the rider suffered two dangerous crashes on the track. The first was in the third, and the second in the ninth heat of this meeting. At that time, competing against Rune Holta Zengota fell on the track, after which he was hit at full speed by David Bellego. The diagnosis this time did not concern his leg, yet it was equally terrifying – four broken ribs and pneumothorax. The absence did not last long, and the rider finished the 2021 season with an average of 1.870 points/race.
Zengota spent the year 2022 in Rybnik, and then moved to Leszno, where he has been performing ever since. The last serious injury was a broken collarbone sustained in Gorzów while representing FOGO UNIA. At that time, the rider failed to control the motorcycle upon entering the second turn, fell on the track, and consequently did not finish the competition. The break from starts lasted four matches, which allowed him to return for the crucial part of the season and help his team stay in the PGE Ekstraliga. The demotion affected Leszno in the following season when injury-stricken FOGO UNIA finished last in the league. This time, injuries spared Zengota, thanks to whom the team quickly returned to the elite in 2025, and the 37-year-old completed the season across the full distance.
Marcin Rusewicz
