Polish star Janusz Kolodziej has been handed the wild card spot for the opening round of the 2010 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series in Leszno on April 24.

Kolodziej will wear the No.16 race jacket at the FIM Otomoto.pl European Speedway Grand Prix.

This is the first time Kolodziej will ride in a Grand Prix as a wild card. He has previously been a track reserve at SGP rounds held in Poland and is a first-team regular for the Unia Leszno club.

Kolodziej's compatriots, Damian Balinski and Maciej Janowski, take up the No.17 and 18 track reserve berths respectively. This is the third consecutive year that 33-year-old Balinski has been a track reserve at the Alfred Smoczyk Stadium.

Maciej Janowski, 19, currently holds the record as the youngest rider to participate in a Grand Prix when, at 17 years and 17 days old, he took his place in the main body of the field as replacement for the injured Niels-Kristian Iversen at the 2008 FIM Final SGP held at Bydgoszcz.

Tickets for the 2010 FIM Otomoto.pl European Speedway Grand Prix are still on sale. For further information visit speedwaygp.com and unia.leszno.pl