Jerzy Szczakiel first appeared in a World Final in
1970 at the
Olympic Stadium in
Wrocław, Poland where he was a reserve for the Final but did not ride on the day. He rode in the World Final in
1971 at the
Ullevi Stadium in
Gothenburg, Sweden, where he failed to score in his five rides. Szczakiel's next (and last) World Final was in
1973 at the
Silesian Stadium in
Chorzów, Poland. In front of the largest crowd in world speedway history (estimated to be around 130,000), he scored 13 points, winning his first 3 rides and finishing 2nd in his last two. He won the title after a run-off with the
defending champion Ivan Mauger of New Zealand after both riders tied on 13 points. Mauger fell in the run-off, leaving Szczakiel to finish unchallenged and win the championship. Fellow countryman
Zenon Plech finished third. Before the meeting, Szczakiel was considered a rank outsider to win the championship with all eyes on Mauger, 1971 champion
Ole Olsen, Plech and Swede
Anders Michanek. In an amazing turn around of form, just two weeks after winning the World Championship Szczakiel represented
Poland in the final of the
1973 Speedway World Team Cup at the
Wembley Stadium in London, where he could not come to grips with the notoriously difficult Wembley track and failed to score a point from his four rides. He finished a distant last in his first race, retired with engine failure in his next two (both times while running last), and was excluded from his last race for breaking the tapes at the start. The Poles finished in last place in the Final behind winners
Great Britain, runners-up
Sweden, and the third placed
USSR. Four time World Champion
Barry Briggs from
New Zealand reported during commentary for
ITV of the WTC Final that Szczakiel had a major crash in practice three days earlier when he went over his bikes handlebars in turn one and lacerated his leg, severing a blood vessel. Briggs also helped secure a pair of bikes for the Final as Szczakiel's crashed bike was the only one he had available. Briggs and fellow ITV commentator
Dave Lanning surmised that the
Pole's confidence was shot following his practice crash which accounted for his poor showing at Wembley, though Lanning was far more scathing of the reigning World Champion. In defence of his World title, Szczakiel was seeded straight to the Continental Semi-final at the
Motodrom Halbemond in
Norden,
West Germany. There he finished 16th and last having failed to score a point and thus failing to qualify for both the Continental Final in Togliatti,
Italy, as well as the
1974 World Final in Gothenburg. Szczakiel was also winner of the
World Pairs Championship with
Andrzej Wyglenda in
1971. He scored 15 points in the final, held at the Rybnik Municipal Stadium in
Rybnik, Poland. As a measure of Szczakeil's skill as a rider, between 1971 and 1973 he raced Ivan Mauger 13 times - and won 6, including beating him twice in the 1973 World Final. At home in Poland, Szczakiel rode for first division team
Kolejarz Opole in the
Pierwsza Liga in 1970's. He continued to ride for Opole until his forced retirement from a back injury in 1980. He stayed involved with the team as Manager until 1986 and became an honorary member of the club. ==Restrictions==