| It has been almost a year since the sad passing of Rafal Kurmanski . We would like to mark the occassion of remembering Rafal , by posting up again , his rider profile from our 2004 web-site . Gone but not forgotten . Rafal Kurmanski was born in Zielona Gora , Poland on 22 August 1982 and his was a much sought-after signature in Britain , having performed so well for his hometown club . Terry Russell finally clinched a deal to bring the youngster to these shores in 2004 , making the upcoming star a full club asset of Swindon Speedway in the process . Kurmanski duly arrived at the expense of the ' doubling-up ' reserves and made his Pebley Beach Robins ' debut at Poole on 12 May , when scoring a single point from four starts . The following evening , his first home appearance against the same opponents was quite remarkable inasmuch as after running two lasts , he featured in successive 5-1s with Leigh Adams and Andy Smith to finish with a tally of 5+1-points . Prior to joining Swindon , a career highlight was 10-points and sixth place in the World Under-21 Final at Slany , Czech Republic on 7 September 2002 . Then , last season , he was given a wildcard entry into the European Grand Prix , held in Poland at the Slaski Stadium on 17 May . Kurmanski started quietly with a third place finish in heat two , but then facing elimination he held his nerve to win heat six from compatriot Sebastian Ulamek , while both Bjarne Pedersen and Peter Karlsson headed out . That took Kurmanski on to heat twelve , but he was unable to repeat his earlier heroics and a last place behind Krzysztof Cegielski , Rune Holta and Tomasz Bajerski meant an early shower . Later that year , he again reached the World Under-21 Final , staged at Kumla , Sweden on 13 September , when he netted 8-points to occupy seventh position overall . |