Slovak star Martin Vaculik admits small margins make a big difference in the FIM Speedway Grand Prix rostrum race as he stormed into medal contention with DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Wroclaw victory on Saturday.
Vaculik topped the podium on an epic night of racing at the sold-out Olympic Stadium, winning the final ahead of Swedish racer Fredrik Lindgren in second, Great Britain’s Robert Lambert in third and fourth-placed Mikkel Michelsen of Denmark.
With Speedway GP World Championship leader Bartosz Zmarzlik suffering a mechanic failure in semi-final two, ending his night with 10 championship points to move on to 121 overall, Lindgren and Lambert are now just 15 points behind the Pole – tied on 106, with the Swede placed second and the Brit third due to Lindgren’s Speedway GP victory in Gorzow on June 29.
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The silver and bronze medals are very much up for grabs, with Vaculik’s victory seeing him surge up to fifth place on 95 points – six behind Michelsen, who has 101 in fourth. Aussie star Jack Holder is also in medal contention in sixth spot on 93, despite exiting the Wroclaw event with six championship points.
With the race for the rostrum warming up nicely ahead of the final three rounds in Latvian capital Riga next Saturday, before the action moves to storied Danish venue Vojens on September 14 and iconic Polish club Torun on September 28, Vaculik was delighted to find a winning formula in Wroclaw.
He said: “This championship only shows how everything is so close this season. The difference between winning and losing can come down to such a small mistake or something like this.
“Speedway at this time is so close and everybody can win. This is what makes this series very interesting for the fans. It makes it harder for us, so I am super happy to win in Wroclaw. Everything worked very well. My team did a great job. They read the track conditions very well.
“All the changes they made on the bike were correct. Even when we had one worse heat, straight away in the next heat we knew what to do to find the speed again, and this is very important in speedway.
“I am very pleased with this result, and I am super happy right now. But I am also staying calm and focused for the rest of the season. I really enjoyed it, but there are still a few races in front of us this season.
“I want to work hard and be fast. I also want to say congratulations to Freddie and Robert. They were very fast, and I am happy I could be faster.”
Vaculik became the first rider to win a second Speedway GP round this season – following up his victory in his adopted home event, the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic – Prague on June 1.
His success in Speedway GP has taken the sport to unprecedented heights in his homeland, with every round televised on Slovakian national broadcaster RTVS and media and fans in both Slovakia and Czech Republic inspired by his success, which saw him win 2023 Speedway GP World Championship bronze.
Vaculik was delighted to put Slovakia in the world speedway spotlight again in Wroclaw and is proud to see the sport developing in his homeland.
He said: “Speedway in my country is growing and that’s fantastic news for me and also the sport of speedway in my country.
“We have maybe eight or 10 juniors right now – young guys racing speedway. When I started and even a few years ago, there was nearly nobody. It may not seem like a lot, but for us it’s a lot of riders.
“It is a big success, and we can really help young boys who want to race speedway – and girls too. We have one girl who races speedway.
“This really is my goal in Slovakia. One day when I finish, I want this sport to continue, and I hope we will have more and more riders. This is my big dream, and I will do the best I can to make the best name for speedway in my country.”
World No.2 Lindgren is determined to take it round by round in his quest for a Speedway GP World Championship medal. Despite moving within 15 points of frontrunner Zmarzlik, the Orebro-born ace admits denying Poland’s finest a fifth Speedway GP gold medal will be no easy task. He said: “Fifteen points is still a lot of points. It’s hard to make up points in this championship. I will just take it round by round.
“Rob [Lambert] and I are fighting it out together with Michelsen, Martin and Jack. It’s very close in the medal hunt. Every point is crucial.
“Racing three rounds in three weekends is very demanding and very hectic for us. You need to be in good form for these last few weeks to be able to race for the silver medal.”
Third-placed Lambert suffered a small but costly mishap at the start line, lunging forward just before the tapes lifted, forcing him to settle for a second straight third place in Wroclaw – repeating his result in the 2022 event.
Despite that, Lambert remains very much upbeat as he continues his quest for a maiden Speedway GP win and World Championship medal.
He said: “It’s great to be on the podium and be in the final as well – that’s where the points are. If you miss out on the final, it’s a bit of a struggle.
“I am happy with the result. Obviously, I am a little bit disappointed with my mistake, but that’s not a problem because it keeps me hungry and determined to build on this.
“I think it’s important for me to keep growing. I am still very young in this GP series, and I have many more years to go. As long as I keep learning at every round, I am happy with that.
“The win will come one day. I am pretty sure. When it does, it’s going to be a great moment.
“I am happy. We are in a good position, and we will keep focused for the last few rounds. It is very tight at the top and any small mistake by any rider is going to be costly. We will keep focused, I’ll keep enjoying racing my bike and that’s the most important thing for me.”
The SGP action comes thick and fast in the coming weeks. Lambert returns to the Deluxe Homeart FIM Speedway GP of Denmark – Vojens on September 14, where he has reached the final on his past two visits. The series concludes with the DeWalt FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Torun on September 28, where Lambert will be competing on his Polish home track.
But first he is determined to give the OlyBet FIM Speedway GP of Latvia – Riga next Saturday his full focus. He said: “I am looking forward to Riga. That’s a challenging track and I like a challenge. Vojens and Torun are a long way off yet. For now, I will be focused on Riga. We will see what we can do there.”
Speedway GP of Poland – Results
Current Standings
Words by Speedway GP – Feature Image courtesy of Marcin Karczewski
