Martin Vaculik will be the first Slovakian rider ever to appear in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series when he replaces the injured Jaroslaw Hampel in the FIM Gorzow Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on June 23.

The 22-year-old qualified as first reserve for this year by finishing fourth in the GP Challenge at Vetlanda last August.

As a result, he will don the No.19 race jacket at the Edward Jancarz Stadium and cover for world No.3 Hampel, who suffered a broken leg in the FIM Dansk Metal Danish SGP in Copenhagen on Saturday.

Vaculik is no stranger to competing with and against the sport’s heavyweights. He races with world champion Greg Hancock at Polish club Tarnow and teams with SGP trio Jason Crump, Emil Sayfutdinov and Hampel at Swedish side Vetlanda.

The Zarnovica-born man has been in rock-solid form for both clubs this term and will be keen to make his mark when he lines up in the biggest meeting of his career to date.