Friday 17th February 2012, 12:52

Former SGP star Piotr Protasiewicz has backed Poland to win a fourth straight Speedway World Cup, but admits doing it with a four-man team could be a challenge.

National team managers can only bring four riders to this summer’s SWC tournament, which climaxes with a Race-Off and Final at Malilla’s G&B Arena on July 12 and 14 respectively.

Teams were able to track five men last year, but now they can only pick their crème de la crème of racing talent.

Protasiewicz admits this move will make other teams stronger and he knows the fact Poland must lift the Ove Fundin Trophy on foreign shale will make life tougher.

But he is still confident the men in red and white can continue their dominance on the world stage.

He said: “Of course, the final is not at a Polish track and the teams are only four riders this year.

“The other teams will have more chance because in Poland we have 10 or 12 good riders at the same level. Other countries have a few at the top level, and the rest are similar, but maybe a little bit down on the top Polish riders.

“If there are only four places in the team, there is more chance the others will beat us. But of course, you never know.

“The Polish team has won three times in a row and we have a big chance. I think we’ll be favourites this year as well.”

Team manager Marek Cieslak faces a major selection headache for Event One at Bydgoszcz on July 7, when the Poles take on Denmark, Russia and a qualifier for a place in the SWC Final.

And Protasiewicz has pledged to do all he can to ensure he isn’t watching the tournament at his Zielona Gora home on television.

He said: “It will be a big problem for the coach to choose which riders are in the best form.

“I’ll try and get everything right for next season; I’ll have good engines and I’ll make sure my body is right. I’ll practice hard because I want to stay at the same good level all year and go one step more.”

Protasiewicz knows victory for Poland in Event One is even more important than ever.

Only the top team in this year’s Race-Off joins host nation Sweden, the Bydgoszcz victors and the winners of Event Two in the last four.

“Of course, the best way to the final is to win this meeting,” Protasiewicz said. “Bydgoszcz is a very good track for us. I raced there for eight seasons and it’s one of the best tracks in Poland.

“I think we have a big chance. Of course we are favourites, but all the teams are very strong. We will see, but we have a very good chance of going through to the final.”

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