2022 FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship
Round Three – Czech Republic Speedway GP
Round two winner, Australian Max Fricke (Round 2 report), had a tough start to the night after finishing last in both of his opening Heat races, he eventually recovered to card eight-points which sees him now seventh in the championship behind just behind countryman Jason Doyle.
Doyle had a better night, winning two of his heats, running second in the semi-final and finally claiming third in the final for 16-championship points. That tally catapulted Doyle up the standings into sixth on 31-points total.
Jason Doyle – P3
“It was not the result I wanted, but to be on the podium is a massive honour – especially when we come to Prague. I love the place and I love the city. “Today showed the strong riders, not just the ones who ride the slick tracks. I would like to say congratulations to Martin. It’s a great honour to be on the podium tonight.”
Jack Holder added seven-points to his tally finishing a spot behind Fricke and is now 13th in the championship chase.
Slovak Martin Vaculik meanwhile realised a childhood dream, sending Marketa Stadium wild with the victory, claiming his semi-final win before adding the final win to his tally.
Martin Vaculik – P1
“Wow! Racing in Prague is always something special for me. Firstly, I love the city and I have spent a lot of time here since my junior years. My big dream was always to win the Grand Prix here. When I was a kid, I came here with my father and I watched the meetings. Now I am in the Grand Prix and my dream has come true. I remember, nearly 20 years ago, I stood on a different side of the fence and I shouted for Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob and other riders I like. I asked if they would take a picture with me, and today somebody asked me for a picture. It really is a dream come true and this is a very special moment for me.”
Vaculik’s victory propels him up to ninth in the Speedway GP World Championship on 29 points.
Runner-up Woffinden took another step forward in his Speedway GP campaign after reaching his first final of 2022 to move up to fifth place in the standings on 32 points – closing the gap on leader Bartosz Zmarzlik, who has 44.
Tai Woffinden – P2
“We didn’t have the greatest first round in Croatia, but I made the semis at the second round in Warsaw. Here tonight, the goal was to make the final and we did that. I said before tonight that I don’t mind a challenge and here we are. Let’s see how the rest of the year goes.”
The World Championship action comes thick and fast, with the FIM Speedway GP of Germany – Teterow just seven days away on June 4.
Prague FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic Results
- Martin Vaculik 20
- Tai Woffinden 18
- Jason Doyle 16
- Maciej Janowski 14
- Bartosz Zmarzlik 12
- Dan Bewley 11
- Leon Madsen 10
- Anders Thomsen 9
- Max Fricke 8
- Jack Holder 7
- Fredrik Lindgren 6
- Patryk Dudek 5
- Robert Lambert 4
- Mikkel Michelsen 3
- Pawel Przedpelski 2
- Jan Kvech 1
- Daniel Klima 0
- Petr Chlupac 0.
FIM Speedway GP Standings
- Bartosz Zmarzlik 44
- Maciej Janowski 43
- Leon Madsen 40
- Mikkel Michelsen 33
- Tai Woffinden 32
- Jason Doyle 31
- Max Fricke 30
- Fredrik Lindgren 30
- Martin Vaculik 29
- Anders Thomsen 24
- Robert Lambert 22
- Dan Bewley 20
- Jack Holder 17
- Patryk Dudek 15
- Pawel Przedpelski 12
- Matej Zagar 11
- Maksym Drabik 4
- Jan Kvech 1.
Mateusz Cierniak claims opening SGP2 win of 2022
Polish racer Mateusz Cierniak won the Prague FIM SGP2 of Czech Republic in dramatic style to top the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship standings on Friday night. Cierniak hunted down Latvian Francis Gusts, before picking his moment to storm around him and win the first SGP2 event of the new era for speedway’s young stars.
The top two were joined on the podium by home favourite Petr Chlupac in third place, while another Prague rider Jan Kvech suffered the agony of a mechanical failure at the start line after a sensational performance in his first six races.
Cierniak was elated to have chased down Gusts to snatch a sensational victory on a track where conditions were difficult early on following heavy rain in Prague during the afternoon.
Mateusz Cierniak – P1
“It was very difficult to do – I am still dreaming! But I did it. At the end of the competition, the track was a little bit better than it was at the beginning. I felt I could do it. There is a long way to go, but we will see what happens. The next round is in Cardiff, and then why not? I am working on it.”
Francis Gusts – P2
“Maybe I could have won if I went a little bit more to the outside, but it is what it is. This is speedway and things like that happen. We will work hard to be better at the next round in Cardiff, and I hope it will be better. Of course there are two more rounds and anything can happen. Each rider here is strong and we will see what happens next.”
Petr Chlupac – P3
“I am really happy because I am here and this is my home track. I had my friends, family and sponsors here. The meeting for the Czech riders was really good. We race here in the Czech Ekstraliga and we know the track well.”
It was also an historic night for German racer Celina Liebmann as she became the first female rider to appear in an FIM Speedway final series and scored four race points and three championship points – proving herself worthy of her wild-card selection for the Prague event.
SGP2 Standings/Results
- Mateusz Cierniak (Poland) 20
- Francis Gusts (Latvia) 18
- Petr Chlupac (Czech Republic) 16
- Jan Kvech (Czech Republic) 14
- Timi Salonen (Finland) 12
- Jonas Knudsen (Denmark) 11
- Jakub Miskowiak (Poland) 10
- Benjamin Basso (Denmark) 9
- Wiktor Lampart (Poland) 8
- Mateusz Swidnicki (Poland) 7
- Casper Henriksson (Sweden) 6
- Gustav Grahn (Sweden) 5
- Kevin Juhl Pedersen (Denmark) 4
- Celina Liebmann (Germany) 3
- Daniel Klima (Czech Republic) 2
- Bruno Belan (Czech Republic) 1
- Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland) 0
- Matous Kamenik (Czech Republic) 0.
