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GRASSTRACK NEWS ITEMS, PREVIEWS OF EVENTS AND REGULATIONS AVAILABLE SHOULD BE SENT TO JON BATHAM Telephone: 07816-429832 l E-mail: sportindna@yahoo.co.uk • He’s the champ! Rivals and racing mates Martin Smolinski and Chris Harris following Sunday’s last round. MAR TIN Smolinski was crowned World Longtrack Champion for a second time as a day which promised so much for British racing ultimately ended in bitter disappointment at Muhldor f on Sunday. In front of a par tisan home crowd just 45 miles from his Munich bir thplace, Smolinski brought his world full circle to recapture the title he first held five years ago. So much has happened in his world since, including major hip surger y, but now as back then the German overcame the nar rowest of deficits leading into the after noon’s action to overhaul Britain’s Chris Harris, who had to settle for silver. The ballot did ‘Bomber’ no favours and he suf fered a cr uel bout of engine trouble, but in tr uth he was always playing catch-up after a disastrous opening ride which handed the initiative to his title rival. As if that wasn’t enough disappointment for one day from a British perspective, Kenneth Kr use Hansen overcame the worst of the final ballot to record his second victor y in the last three rounds of the championship and in so doing stole the bronze medal from under the nose of Zach Wajtknecht on countback, the Bristolian having been the highest point scorer through to the finale and unquestionably the rider of the day to that point. It was fitting the title race should be decided on a proper longtrack circuit and while the outside line car ried with it a huge advantage, the racing which unfolded in this final chapter was the best of the whole season, with great scraps at the front and back of the field and a • Martin Smolinski on the outside of Josef Franc Smiles for Smolinski, horror for Harris number of photo finishes for the large crowd bathed in September sunshine. Heat 1 saw Morizes winner Romano Hummel pick up where he’d left of f in France 15 days previously, the Dutchman roaring of f the outside gate to win easily from Stephan Katt, who did enough to see of f the attentions of Mika Meijer and take second. It would be Katman’s best ride of a fairly forgettable day and with him not qualifying for next year, it remains to be seen whether the German veteran can get back to this level of racing again. Dave Meijerink, meanwhile, trailed in last from the blue gate which proved the graveyard star ting grid for much of the after noon. Jacob Bukhave had the advantage of the outside line in Heat 2 and made early use of it to lead from the gate ahead of round one winner Josef Franc, who was smar tly away from the inside. Wajtknecht was only third away but clearly had plenty of speed which he used to good ef fect to get around the outside of Franc on lap two. He wasn’t done there either, reeling in and stalking Bukhave before storming into the lead a lap later. Franc would catch Bukhave for second coming down the back straight for the final time to take second, while behind these Hynek Stichauer became the day’s first retirement with mechanical failure. While the above race set the tone for the quality of action, there was a feeling the first two heats had merely been the appetizers ahead of the clash of title contenders Harris and Smolinski in race three, with Kr use Hansen thrown in for good measure. Harris had the worst possible draw one of f the inside with Smolinski on his inner, Kr use Hansen out wider in yellow. Things couldn’t have gone worse for the Briton who was last away and though he briefly threatened Theo PICTURES: Jesper Veldhuizen
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• Kenneth Kruse Hansen leads Zach Wajtknecht (109), Tero Aarnio (44), Dave Meijerink (63), and Gaetan Stella (104) Pijper for four th, he was never in contention. Up ahead, Kr use Hansen had got the drop on Smolinski, who closed on the Dane, but couldn’t quite reel him in. Never theless, it was ver y definitely advantage Smolinski in the race for gold. Harris didn’t have long to either dwell upon or resolve his first leg woes as he was back out in Heat 4 with Hummel for company. The Cornishman got the better of the star t from the outside, but had to resist an early challenge from Stichauer on his inside down the back straight on lap one before pulling clear. Behind, racing was fierce as Hummel, who missed the star t, caught Stichauer on lap three to take second and fur ther back down the track Bukhave got the better of a ding-dong battle with Meijer for four th. The other two leg one race winners, Kr use Hansen and Wajtknecht, came side by side in Heat 5 with the former on the outside and the Briton of f the dreaded blue gate. Hansen duly gated with Wajtknecht only four th away and caught in first bend traf fic. The race already looked over but Wajtknecht swept from four th to second in a matter of seconds and set his sights on the leader. As the laps went by, the gap reduced until coming into the final two tur ns Wajtknecht wound it on around the outside. He found huge speed on the wide line, but the drag race to the line was still close, the Briton adjudged to have prevailed by a tyre. Race six was another classic with Franc beating Smolinski of f the star t to trigger a four-lap joust. The champion-elect tried both inside and out to find a way past the Czech who rode a magnificent defensive line. Just as it seemed Smolinski was destined to drop points, like Wajtknecht in the previous race, he made one last ef for t around the outside roared on by the home crowd. The two flashed over the line together, the horns of the spectators soon confirming Smolinski had got another tight verdict. The next heat was a chance to draw breath as it featured none of the contenders. It had to be r un twice as Tero Aarnio jumped the star t first time around, receiving a warning for his over-exuberance. It mattered little as he gated first at the second time of asking to win from Stichauer and Pijper. This proved a prelude to another savage blow to Harris’ title hopes. Race eight was ridiculously stacked against him, with unbeaten fellow Brit Wajtknecht, Hansen, Hummel and Franc all at the tapes. Wajtknecht and the Czech were outside of Harris with the badly drawn Hummel and Hansen on his inner. Wajtknecht flew from the gate with Hansen the one to give chase, Harris squeezed back to four th with only Hummel behind him. Harris fought to make up ground and was poised to pass Franc for third when disaster str uck and up went the hand as his bike came to a stop. The hand gesture as he walked disconsolately across the centregreen suggested the quest for gold might now be beyond him. No such worries though for his fellow countr yman Wajtknecht who stormed home ahead of Hansen in the quickest time of the day. Smolinski’s task in race nine looked a much simpler one on paper and he rammed home the advantage of fered by Harris’ misfor tune, easing to victor y ahead of Tebbe with Bukhave, back in four th, doing his prospects of a top six series finish no favours. Wajtknecht and Hansen clashed again at the star t of leg four with the Briton this time having the better of the grid draw one from the outside. It was Aarnio who exer ted early pressure on the 2022 silver medallist, but Wajtknecht resisted the charge to keep his 100 per cent record on the day and all but seal an automatic spot in the final. Hansen had to hold of f Meijer for third after a poor star t, meaning his progress to the series’ finale was less cer tain. Smolinski and Hummel were out together in the next, where with the help of the outside line Stichauer got to the front from the tapes. Meijerink briefly threatened as he came from four th to second, leaving Smolinski one from the back. Smolinski’s response to his first adversity of the after noon was to sweep past both Hummel and Meijerink, who faded back to four th, and while he could not catch Stichauer, he remained on course for one of the three automatic A-final spots. Third was a blow to Hummel’s hopes of the bronze medal. Harris emerged for race 12 under intense pressure and desperately in need of a win, but he didn’t get it. Franc gated and won with plenty in hand, while the would-be champion couldn’t find the necessar y speed to get beyond Bukhave in the race for second. This left him outside the top eight spot needed for the Last Chance race with one ride to come and race 13 only ser ved to heap more pressure on his shoulders. Here, Meijerink made the gate from the outside with Franc the early chaser, Smolinski only third and the previously unbeaten Wajtknecht four th. Both he and Smolinski got past Franc but Meijerink remained elusive. The gap to the leader nar rowed as the race progressed, while Wajtknecht applied more pressure to Smolinski. Down the back straight for the final time, Wajtknecht found huge speed to close right in on the German before r unning out of track and having to back of f. He had, though, poked the bear as Smolinski too accelerated to challenge Meijerink of f the last two tur ns, getting inside the Dutchman to win the race to the flag. The result meant both Wajtknecht and Smolinski were guaranteed a final spot. The Briton would, though, have first choice of gates cour tesy of four wins to Smolinski’s three. While we waited for Harris to emerge for the final heat, race 14 provided another twist to the race for bronze. Stichauer came around Hansen to grab the lead with Hummel only third, but the Dutchman over took both his rivals with a surge of speed around tur ns three and four. He went on to win comfor tably and with Hansen failing to get beyond Stichauer, it meant Hummel was the third automatic qualifier for the A-final at the Dane’s expense. • Romano Hummel ahead of Stephan Katt (42), Mika Meijer (54), Dave Meijerink (63) and Gaetan Stella

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GRASSTRACK

NEWS ITEMS, PREVIEWS OF EVENTS AND REGULATIONS AVAILABLE SHOULD BE SENT TO JON BATHAM Telephone: 07816-429832 l E-mail: sportindna@yahoo.co.uk

• He’s the champ! Rivals and racing mates Martin Smolinski and Chris Harris following Sunday’s last round.

MAR TIN Smolinski was crowned World Longtrack Champion for a second time as a day which promised so much for British racing ultimately ended in bitter disappointment at Muhldor f on Sunday.

In front of a par tisan home crowd just 45 miles from his Munich bir thplace, Smolinski brought his world full circle to recapture the title he first held five years ago.

So much has happened in his world since, including major hip surger y, but now as back then the German overcame the nar rowest of deficits leading into the after noon’s action to overhaul Britain’s Chris Harris, who had to settle for silver. The ballot did ‘Bomber’ no favours and he suf fered a cr uel bout of engine trouble, but in tr uth he was always playing catch-up after a disastrous opening ride which handed the initiative to his title rival.

As if that wasn’t enough disappointment for one day from a British perspective, Kenneth Kr use Hansen overcame the worst of the final ballot to record his second victor y in the last three rounds of the championship and in so doing stole the bronze medal from under the nose of Zach Wajtknecht on countback, the Bristolian having been the highest point scorer through to the finale and unquestionably the rider of the day to that point.

It was fitting the title race should be decided on a proper longtrack circuit and while the outside line car ried with it a huge advantage, the racing which unfolded in this final chapter was the best of the whole season, with great scraps at the front and back of the field and a

• Martin Smolinski on the outside of Josef Franc

Smiles for Smolinski,

horror for Harris number of photo finishes for the large crowd bathed in September sunshine.

Heat 1 saw Morizes winner Romano Hummel pick up where he’d left of f in France 15 days previously, the Dutchman roaring of f the outside gate to win easily from Stephan Katt, who did enough to see of f the attentions of Mika Meijer and take second.

It would be Katman’s best ride of a fairly forgettable day and with him not qualifying for next year, it remains to be seen whether the German veteran can get back to this level of racing again.

Dave Meijerink, meanwhile, trailed in last from the blue gate which proved the graveyard star ting grid for much of the after noon.

Jacob Bukhave had the advantage of the outside line in Heat 2 and made early use of it to lead from the gate ahead of round one winner Josef Franc, who was smar tly away from the inside.

Wajtknecht was only third away but clearly had plenty of speed which he used to good ef fect to get around the outside of Franc on lap two. He wasn’t done there either, reeling in and stalking Bukhave before storming into the lead a lap later.

Franc would catch Bukhave for second coming down the back straight for the final time to take second, while behind these Hynek Stichauer became the day’s first retirement with mechanical failure.

While the above race set the tone for the quality of action, there was a feeling the first two heats had merely been the appetizers ahead of the clash of title contenders Harris and Smolinski in race three, with Kr use Hansen thrown in for good measure.

Harris had the worst possible draw one of f the inside with Smolinski on his inner, Kr use Hansen out wider in yellow. Things couldn’t have gone worse for the Briton who was last away and though he briefly threatened Theo

PICTURES: Jesper Veldhuizen

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