Lemierzyce

People compare the SKM Arena at Lemierzyce with Lommel, and that comparison says one thing above all about the ground: sand, and plenty of it. The circuit measures 1550 metres, sits on national road 22 in the Słońsk commune and belongs to the SKM Słońsk club, which stages the Grand Prix Niepodległości here every 11 November. The venue is still young and covers around twelve hectares - room enough that speedway world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik does his motocross training here with his Gorzów team-mates. What to settle in your head before the first session: a sand track of this length costs you fitness before it costs you technique. Start sitting down after a few laps and the rest of the day is gone - get up on the pegs early and stay there, even when it still feels unnecessary on lap two. Then comes what deep sand does to almost everyone: the rear pogos and swims. Top of our cause list is rebound set too fast at the shock - fewer clicks out and the rear stops building up.