American star Sammy Halbert raced to the 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann at Debrecen in Hungary to become the first non-European winner of the title following a campaign characterised by searing speed and ice-cool consistency.
- Sammy Halbert wins 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship title at Debrecen
- Defending champion Ervin Krajčovič wins in Hungary but forced to settle for second
- Former champion Lasse Kurvinen secures bronze in his retirement race
With a seven-point advantage heading into the Perényi Pál Salakmotor Stadion for the sixth and deciding round, the thirty-seven-year-old was in command after his run of five straight podium finishes – including two wins – and knew that even if his main title rival and defending champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM) was to win, third or better would mean the crown was heading home with him to the Pacific Northwest.
While the leading pair were virtually assured of the gold and silver medals, third place was on the line with Britain’s Tim Neave (Yamaha), two-time champion Lasse Kurvinen (KTM) from Finland and the Italian pairing of Matteo Boncinelli (Beta) and Kevin Corradetti (GASGAS) separated by just five points.
However, Boncinelli – who had won on the previous two occasions the series visited Debrecen – was a non-starter because of injury, reducing the battle for bronze to a three-way fight.
Krajčovič, carrying the momentum from a career-first Grand Final victory last time out in his native Czech Republic, got his afternoon under way with an important psychological victory from Halbert as Corradetti defeated Neave and 2022 champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) from Spain led home France’s Sébastien Jeanpierre (Kawasaki).
With the weather warm and dry, track conditions were fast and loose which certainly suited Bailo and Corradetti who maintained their unbeaten records through the second block of races with the Spaniard taking a point from Krajčovič and the Italian doing the same to Halbert after forty-five-year-old Kurvinen – who announced his Flat Track retirement at the start of the day – claimed his first win of the afternoon from Neave.
Bailo and Corradetti shared the lead at the halfway mark, one point ahead of Krajčovič and two clear of Halbert and Neave, as the leaders began to distance themselves from the chasing pack. With the top ten riders after the Heats earning an automatic place in the Grand Final, gate-pick and an all-important place on the front row were also at stake so every point was vital.
Corradetti dropped points in his third Heat when he was beaten by Halbert and Kurvinen before Germany’s Marcus Jell (KTM) ended Bailo’s win-streak and Neave defeated Krajčovič.
The Czech Republic’s Ondřej Svědík (Yamaha) booked his place in the Grand Final with victory in his fourth Heat before Krajčovič led home Kurvinen and Halbert and Neave defeated Corradetti with the other automatic qualifying positions going to Bailo, Jell, Britain’s Jack Bell (Honda) and Dutchman Menno Van Meer (Honda).
With the remaining riders contesting the Last Chance Heat, Argentina’s Santiago Arangio (KTM) and Giacomo Bossetti (GASGAS) from Italy finished one and two to make the cut before the twelve-rider field lined up in two rows for the twelve-lap Grand Final to decide the championship.
From the start Halbert muscled his way to the front with Kurvinen initially slotting into second before Krajčovič powered through and began to apply pressure on his American rival. The charging Czech rider then made a forceful move up the inside to take the lead and was pulling away when Van Meer crashed and the red lights brought the race to a premature halt.
When the decision was made that the Grand Final had progressed far enough not to warrant a restart, the title went to Halbert by just four slender points and Kurvinen, who was sitting one place ahead of Neave in third when the race was stopped, claimed bronze in his swansong season on a tie-break with the British rider.
While that concludes the 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann, fans can stay up to speed on the series by clicking here
Final Standings
Race Report by FIM Flat Track – Images by Štěpán Ševčík
