Born in Szczecin, Poland, Zmarzlik is the younger brother of former speedway rider Paweł Zmarzlik. Bartosz first came to the attention of the British speedway public when he was granted a wild card to race in the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on 23 June. It was his first appearance in the Grand Prix series. He performed exceptionally well and became the youngest rider to ever appear on the podium in a Speedway Grand Prix, aged just 17 years and 72 days. He finished third that day scoring a grand total of 13 points.[4] Zmarzlik made his British league debut in 2014, agreeing a short-term deal to ride for the Birmingham Brummies to cover the injured Adam Skornicki. However, he withdrew from the team shortly after due to illness and the track was rough.[5]
In September 2015, during the Speedway Grand Prix Qualification he won the GP Challenge, which ensured that he claimed a permanent slot for the 2016 Grand Prix.[6] He duly rode in 2016 Grand Prix as a permanent rider for the first time in his career, taking third place in the standings.[7] The following season he took fifth,[8] and in 2018 he took second behind multiple World Champion Tai Woffinden.[9]
He signed to ride for Slangerup in the Danish league in 2019.[10] In 2020, he was voted the Polish Sports Personality of the Year. On 3 October 2020, Zmarzlik won his second Speedway World Championship, becoming the first rider to clinch back to back titles since Nicki Pedersen in 2007-08. On 11 July 2021 he became Polish individual champion.[11] In 2021 he took second place in the World Championship, gathering 189 points through whole season with Russian rider Artem Laguta taking the win.[12]
Zmarzlik won his third World Championship title in 2022 after securing the 2002 title. He won the Championship with ease, collecting 166 points, which was of 33 points clear of his nearest rival and included three grand prix wins in Croatia, Denmark and Sweden.[13] He also became the first rider since 2002 to successfully defend the Polish national title.[14]
In 2023, he experienced a stellar season, culminating in his fourth World title. He won his second successive European Team Speedway Championship[15] and then won three of the first five Grand Prix of the season in Goričan, Teterow and Gorzów respectively. In July, he was part of the Polish team that won the gold medal in the 2023 Speedway World Cup final[16] and then he secured a fourth Grand Prix win in Latvia, which equalled the 22 career Grand Prix wins of fellow Pole Tomasz Gollob and put him just one behind Jason Crump.[17]
Despite being disqualified from the Danish Grand Prix for wearing the wrong leathers, he won the final round in Toruń, to win his fourth world title. He also and equalled Jason Crump's record of 23 Grand Prix wins and five in one season.[18]
By winning the 2024 Speedway Grand Prix of Sweden, Zmarzlik broke Jason Crump's all-time record of 23 Grand Prix wins, although ten of them were won on home soil, whereas Crump's were all outside of Australia.[19]
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