The final destination of the 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann will be decided this coming Saturday (12 October) when the sixth and concluding round is staged at Debrecen in Hungary.
- 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship concludes at Debrecen
- Pace-setter Sammy Halbert in pole position to claim crown
- Three-way fight for third goes down to the wire in Hungary
The man in pole position to claim this year’s crown is American star Sammy Halbert. The thirty-seven-year-old X-Games gold medallist and former American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Champion has won twice this season and goes into the Perényi Pál Salakmotor Stadion with a seven-point championship lead. On paper this may not appear to be a commanding advantage, but that is the difference between first and fourth-placed finishes in a Flat Track Grand Final and Halbert has not finished lower than third all year.
His closest rival is defending champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM) from the Czech Republic who took his first win of the campaign last time out on home soil in Pardubice to keep his title dream alive, although the thirty-three-year-old from Prague knows that he must bring his A game to Debrecen to have any chance of retaining the crown.
While the leading pair are the only riders still in with a realistic chance of striking FIM gold on Saturday afternoon, there is a fierce and fascinating three-way fight for third between Britain’s Tim Neave (Yamaha), Kevin Corradetti (GASGAS) from Italy and experienced Finnish former champion Lasse Kurvinen (KTM).
In just his second season in the series, Neave – who is also a very talented road racer – has posted some impressive finishes including a career-first podium at the opening round in Italy in July when he stormed to second and he backed this up with a third-placed finish the following month at his home round.
Neave is tied with twenty-one-year-old Corradetti for third – twenty-nine points behind Halbert – and while the Italian, who was a season-best third last time out, is the younger man he is also much more experienced in top-flight Flat Track and was second in 2021.
Kurvinen beat Corradetti to the 2021 title to claim back-to-back crowns and after two years away from the championship the forty-five-year-old staged a dramatic return when he raced to victory at the opening round at Boves-Cuneo in July. He has since struggled to rediscover that electric early form, although he has made every Grand Final this year and is just two points further behind.
There is real strength in depth in this year’s entry and while the leading five riders have dominated virtually all of the podiums in 2024, they are by no means the sole candidates for a top-three finish in Hungary.
Championship silver medallist in 2022, Italy’s Matteo Boncinelli (Beta) dominated the fourth round in France before his title hopes received a body blow in Pardubice when a crash forced him to miss the Grand Final’s deciding restart and Czech challenger Ondřej Svědík (Yamaha) was third at the opening round and will be fully focussed on another visit to the podium.
Spain’s Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) is another rider to watch and while the 2022 champion and 2023 vice-champion has not threatened the podium this year he should not be discounted.
The action in the Perényi Pál Salakmotor Stadion is scheduled to get under way with the first Heat at 14:00 local time with the action streamed LIVE on FIM-MOTO-TV.
Start List
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Words and Images by FIM Flat Track
