AN OVERWHELMED Darcy Ward tuned in to watch the Gorzow Speedway Grand Prix from his hospital bed as more than 15,000 fans in Poland chanted his name in support of the stricken star.  

Speedway’s global community has rallied round since Ward sustained spinal injuries in a crash in Poland on Sunday. The 23-year-old has since been transferred to the UK for ongoing assessment and treatment.

 


 

Along with the first image of Ward posted since his accident, a post on the Aussie ace’s Instagram account read: “Amazed by the support from my fellow riders and best friends. Watching the GP with my family and my number-one crew! Might look like I'm just lying there but I'm pretty happy with my surroundings, thank you guys!”

 


 

On the track, Slovenia’s Matej Zagar triumph in the final, while 2013 world champion and runaway series leader Tai Woffinden top scored with 18.

Woffinden won all five of his qualifying heats before taking second spot in his semi-final and third in the final to move 24 points clear at the summit.

Pirates number one Chris Holder, who has spent much of the past week by close friend Ward’s side, reached the semi-final by the skin of his teeth but brought up the rear in his semi-final.

Fellow Poole star Maciej Janowski could only muster five points in qualifying and has been nudged out of the top eight by a single point as a result. 

POLISH GRAND PRIX RESULT: 1 Matej Zagar 16, 2 Greg Hancock 17, 3 Tai Woffinden 18, 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik 14, Niels-Kristian Iversen 10, Michael J Jensen 10, Peter Kildemand 9, Chris Holder 8, Nicki Pedersen 7, Jason Doyle 6, Andreas Jonsson 6, Maciej Janowski 5, Chris Harris 5, Troy Batchelor 4, Krzysztof Kasprzak 1, Tomas H Jonasson 1, Adrian Cyfer 1.

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tai Woffinden 109, 2 Nicki Pedersen 85, 3 Greg Hancock 82, 4 Matej Zagar 81, 5 Niels-Kristian Iversen 70, 6 Chris Holder 69, 7 Jason Doyle 66, 8 Michael J Jensen 64, 9 Maciej Janowski 63, 10 Andreas Jonsson 51, 11 Peter Kildemand 46, 12 Troy Batchelor 40, 13 Chris Harris 39, 14 Tomas H Jonasson 38, 15 Jaroslaw Hampel 31, 16 Krzysztof Kasprzak 26.

  • Poole Speedway is compiling a book of friendship for Darcy Ward with fans able to sign it at Wednesday's home meeting with King's Lynn. 

It is intended to give fans an opportunity to express themselves to the stricken star by adding personal messages of their own and signing the pages.

When complete, the pages will be bound together and presented to Ward as a reminder of the love and support that so many followers have been showing since the weekend.

There will be a signing point set aside on the third and fourth bend at the stadium.

Promoter Matt Ford told the club website: “This is a great idea as I know so many of our fans really want to express their feelings and know that Darcy will have the chance to see just how much he is regarded as part of this wonderful Poole Speedway family.”

  • An official fund has been started to help towards Darcy Ward's private health care and recovery. 

More than £8,000 has already been pledged. To donate, visit: https://pledgie.com/campaigns/30061