On a Sunday in Poland, Speedway is a religion. The Ekstraliga pits the best individual riders from all over the world into teams throughout the country, much like a soccer fixture.
Stadiums like Torun and Gorzow are dedicated speedway facilities packed to the rafters to watch their home teams, and regional pride is everything.
On Monday morning Australian time, news broke that 23-year-old Australian Speedway sensation Darcy Ward was undergoing spinal surgery. It was heartbreaking.
While riding for his Polish club Zielona Gora, Ward clipped the back wheel of Russian Artem Laguta, catapulting him awkwardly onto his neck.
A press release by Ward’s parent club Poole confirmed the crash had left the sport’s most exciting talent with, “no lower body feeling”.
Zielona Gora doctor Robert Zapotoczny said Ward’s condition had improved since Monday, though no further details were released. Australian team manager Mark Lemon confirmed that Ward is stable enough to be flown back to the UK.
Like the golden age of bullfighting in Spain, speedway riders like matadors are adored in Poland. Only the bull is a 500cc solo bike with no gear or brakes.
Darcy Ward is the Jarryd Hayne or Lance ‘Buddy’ Franklin of the speedway world, as exciting a prodigy as ever before.
A promising junior speedway rider, Ward excelled when he turned 16 and was able to compete at the senior level. He left sunny Queensland for a shot at the big time in Europe, where league racing is held on a weekly basis in Poland, Sweden, Denmark and the UK.
Ward stunned the speedway community when at the tender age of 17 he won the World Under-21 Championship; in 2010 he made it back-to-back.
In 2013, the FIM reacted to the deafening roar from the public and included him in the Speedway Grand Prix. Ward took out the Danish round and automatically qualified for the following year’s series by finishing eighth overall, a feat he was looking to better a year later.
Controversy was never too far from Ward; a sexual assault charge in the UK was cleared and in Queensland on a summer holiday he evaded police, before receiving a fine and apologised.
Ward was excluded from the 2014 Latvian Grand Prix for failing an alcohol test. He was subsequently suspended from speedway for the next year. He’s maligned and polarising, but he’s a talent.
The year’s suspension did nothing but fuel the fire for Ward. He came back to racing leaner and more business like than ever before. His contracted clubs in the UK and Poland wanted him back desperately, Ward didn’t want to put anyone out at these clubs, so he chose to go elsewhere for the short term.
Zielona Gora wasn’t his club; Torun was where he honed his craft in Poland, though he embraced them. On Sunday evening come the final race of the night, it was a guaranteed victory for Ward’s team, done and dusted.
One of few riders in the world who can swoop around a corner inches from the fence with the grace of a ballerina, just wanted that one extra point.
Motorsport is cruel, a tightrope of dare and bravery, where champagne flows for winners and losers are often forgotten, but this just seems too shattering.
Darcy’s father George has asked for privacy and we must honour that. Spare a thought for our young Australians who are on the other side of the world with this in the forefront of their minds.
What Darcy Ward is to this sport is irreplaceable. Flair, style and a true box-office drawcard. Whether on the track or off, the public would hold its breath every time Ward was mentioned. Some were on his side, others not.
Without intention, Darcy Ward will make us hold our breath again, though this time, everyone is with him.
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