Matej Žagar

Matej Žagar
Born	April 3, 1983 (age 41); Ljubljana, Slovenia
Nationality	Slovenia
Website	MatejZagarRacing.net
Current club information
British league	Belle Vue Aces
Polish league	Caelum Stal Gorzów
Swedish league	Ikaros Smederna
Career history
2006	Częstochowa (POL)
2007	Toruń (POL)
2008	Rzeszów (POL)
2010	Eastbourne Eagles (GBR)
2013–	Belle Vue Aces (GBR)
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
Team honours
2003 ; 2014	European Club Champion ; Speedway Ekstraliga

Matej Žagar (born April 3, 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.

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.

Career highlights

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)
Individual U-21 World Championship:
- 2004 - 6th place (8 points)
- 2004 - track reserve (1 point)
- 2004 - 5th place (10 points)
- 2004 - 3rd place (8 points and 3rd in Final)
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)
Individual European Championship:
- 2002 - 15th place (4 points)
- 2003 - 4th place (10 points)
- 2004 - European Champion (14+3 points)
- 2006 - 17th place (0 points)
- 2008 - European Champion (14 points)
Individual U-19 European Championship:
- 2000 - 11th place (8 points)
- 2001 - track reserve (2 points)
- 2002 - European Champion (15 points)
European Pairs Championship:
- 2005 - 3rd place (14 points)
- 2006 - 2nd place (11 points)
European Club Champions' Cup:
- 2003 - European Champion (15 points)
- 2004 - 3rd place (20 points)
- 2006 - 3rd place in Semi-Final (12 points)
- 2007 - 3rd place in Semi-Final (injury)
Individual Slovenian Championship:
- 2002 - Slovenian Champion
- 2003 - Slovenian Champion
- 2004 - Slovenian Champion
- 2005 - Slovenian Champion
- 2006 - Slovenian Champion
- 2007 - Slovenian Champion
- 2008 - Slovenian Champion
- 2009 - Slovenian Champion
- 2010 - Slovenian Champion
- 2011 - Slovenian Champion
- 2012 - Slovenian Champion
- 2013 - Slovenian Champion
- 2014 - Slovenian Champion
- 2015 - Slovenian Champion

Current clubs

Britain: Belle Vue Aces (Elite League)
Poland: Stal Gorzow
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

2007 Speedway Grand Prix Final Championship standings
(Riding No 7)
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