Bavarian

The following text was published on the F.I.M. Website before the start of the Flat Track World Championship campaign on the first weekend of October at Pardubice: The inaugural FIM Flat Track World Championship gets underway this Saturday (3rd October 2020) with the opening Final of the 2020 campaign from the Czech Republic. The town of Pardubice was initially scheduled to stage the season finale, but in a much-changed calendar it retains its original date and hosts the curtain raiser at the Svítkov Speedway Stadium. The first Final of Flat Track’s new era, following on from seven seasons as an FIM World Cup, is a part of the 72nd Czech Golden Helmet weekend that sees the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Final taking place on the same 391 metre oval less than 24 hours earlier. Traditionally crowds of over 20,000 spectators pack the grandstands during Pardubice’s biggest annual race weekend, and although on this occasion government health measures limit spectator numbers to just 2,000, the 26 riders on show will be keen to show those fortunate enough to get hold of tickets just what international Flat Track is all about. Among the field will be representatives of ten different nations, including the top eight from the 2019 World Cup. As ever Francesco Cecchini will start as the favourite, having finished number one for the last six consecutive FIM Flat Track seasons. The Zaeta-mounted Italian has been unbeaten in a single Final since 2016, although he was not yet a part of the FIM Flat Track scene when the series last visited Pardubice in 2013, so this will be a new venue for him to tackle. Among Cecchini’s most prominent rivals the Spanish cohort looks most likely to halt his progress towards a first world title. Adrián Garín finished second to the Italian last year, with fellow countryman Guillermo Cano taking fourth just two points behind. And with Ferran Cardús returning to Europe from the AFT Singles to take part in his first FIM campaign there should be regular contenders from the Iberian nation. From further afield, Japanese riders Hideyuki Okada and Masatoshi Ohmori join Spaniard Cano in the Honda Artbox team for 2020. Meanwhile closer to home, the Czech Republic line up with four national representatives including Wild Card Václav Gehart. FIM Flat Track began with a one-off event back in 2011 but enters a new era in 2020. And despite the global pandemic, international followers of the discipline can look forward to an intensive schedule of three Rounds in four weeks to settle the sport’s first World Championship title. Opening Round venue Pardubice makes its return to the calendar for the first time since 2013; Prague’s Marketa Stadium the Czech Republic’s only other past international Flat Track venue. And the 2020 calendar will be completed by events in Diedenbergen, Germany in a fortnight’s time and the season finale at Boves in Cuneo, Italy a week later. FIM Communications http://www.fim-live.com/en/article/inaugural-fim-flat-track-world-championship-opens/

Torun as well

but NOT in Poland !

... but no one knows about it ! Was it on tv ?

The true World Cup final of 2020 for me was that Poland v Russia Test Match at Bydgosczc - and Russia won that one, too !

I hope that will stop Phil Morris watering the track for once !

terrible !

What a disappointing finale to a disappointing season. This Corona Virus is really killing all the fun in life !

... but is Drew Kemp relly the better option? I would have gone with Harris for the SoN this year. Lambert, Harris, and Bewley as the U21, who could always replace Harris if he struggles.

What about the Bomber ? He could and probably would ride !

what's that with 2021, we still have 2020 to run what scoring system did we have in 2019 ? they seem to chage it every year !

We had this system with the D, C, B, and A finals during the 1990s SGP Series. It was also used for a long time in ice racing, but I did not like it. Last year's points system was the best we ever had in the SGP! Every point counted.

hurt possible broken some bones in his hand/wrist/arm ?

Woffinden goes to the Hospital - arm injury that's it all over for Wroclaw

Polish TV station nSport has exactly the same problem as Premier Sport. There's currently no feed coming out of Gorzow. And nSport now show Football, too, as a filler program.

but the big question is: HOW MUCH OF THAT 10-YEAR MEGA-DEAL 100 MILLION DOLLARS GOES BACK INTO SPEEDWAY ?

not so sure about that ! Chugunov has not given up his Russian nationality, he has dual-nationality now, holding two passports now, a Russian and a Polish one. Same as Emil Sayfutdinov and same as Artem Laguta ! And those two still ride for Russia ! Chugunov has so far not been chosen to represent any Polish national team. So why on earth would he not be eligible to carry on riding for his homeland Russia in the SoN ???

well, I wonder why they don't lay the blame on the long-trackers having blowns away the shale from the track last Sunday !

I'm stil nut sure about this. There is contradicting info on the official FIM Website. Initially the meeting results for Heat 18 show Levishyn getting one point, ahead of Fienhage, and both riders finishing with a total of 5 points each. See here http://speedwayu21.com/en/news/n/234/ Then the F.I.M. official score board (on the very same website as the one above) shows Fienhage with 6 and Levishyn with 4 ! See here http://speedwayu21.com/en/results.html I am confused ! Why and when was Levishyn disqualified from heat 18 ?

Thanks, that disqualification of Levishyn in heat 18 explains it, why Fienhage got one more and Levishyn one less than we thought.

what about Dudek ?

what a shame then, the wrong result gets officially approved.

What I'd like to see in Speedway is a three-year rotation of different international team events. Starting with a genuine World Pairs Championship, with as many nations taking part as possible and with two riders per pair/team. This would allow pretty much every speedway nation in the world to enter the preliminary stages of this competition. The following year I'd like to see the top eight, ten, or twelve nations of the previous year's Pairs Championship enter the World 4-Team Championship. The previous year's Pairs competition could be used to decide the respective nations' qualification for the Fours. In the third year of the rotation it would be only the top five nations (these to be the top five of the previous year's World Fours Championship) to compete with full six-man teams in proper Team-vs-Team meetings in a round-robin tournament (run on similar lines as the former five nations tournament in Rugby Union) with two home and two away matches for each nation. The Australians could name an alternative home track venue in either the UK or somewhere else in Europe, as it is unlikely they'd be able to stage their home meetings in Australia. Alternatively for this World Cup tournament, and probably easier to arrange, it could be run as a knock-out tournament with only the top four nations in a couple of semi-finals with the respective winners going into a Grand Final for the World Cup. Three highly attractive fixtures. Such a scheme would give us much more variety with different international team competitions over a three year period, and it would make each tournament more special, compared to having the SWC or now the SoN (acutally a World Pairs in disguise) each and every year. Let's have the three different World Team speedway competitions instead: Year 1 - A WORLD PAIRS CHAMPIONSHIP Year 2 - A WORLD FOUR TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP Year 3 - A WORLD CUP TOURNAMENT and back to the World Pairs in the fourth year and so on with the rotation.

What's going on there? WIttstock refusing to ride ?

Yes, Kvech with 13 points is officially placed 8th ! Hansen with 9 points is fifth, Chlupac with 8 points is 6th, and Miskowiak again with 9 points is seventh, ahead of Kvech with 13 points in 8th place! I am really getting fed up with the F.I.M. and their points system changes in this sport. This is a world of confusion! They can't even publish their own results correctly http://speedwayu21.com/en/results.html Fienhage has 5 points (not 6), Levyshyn has 5 points (not 4), since Levishyn finished third in Heat 18 ahead of Finhage How can Fienhage then officially be placed 9th, above Niklas Säyriö in 10th, when Fienhage only has five points, but Sayriö has six !