Following a tense wait of over nine weeks since the series opener in Herxheim, Germany, in early May, the best riders on the planet will converge on Marmande in south-west France this coming Saturday night (13 July) for the second of this year’s five Finals to decide the 2024 FIM Long Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo and HKC Koopmann.
- Marmande stages second Final of 2024 FIM Long Track World Championship
- World-class entry converges on south-west France for Saturday night showdown
- Reigning champion Martin Smolinski defends series lead
Heading the entry is two-time and reigning champion Martin Smolinski from Germany. The thirty-nine-year-old engine tuner from Munich kicked off the defence of his title in fine style on home ground in Herxheim, progressing directly to the Grand Final with three wins and two seconds from his Heats before charging to victory and maximum points.
He was pushed hard by Zach Wajtknecht – who was second in 2022 before losing last year’s bronze medal on a tie-break – with the British construction engineer ending the night in second. The twenty-six-year-old lost to Smolinski when they met in the Heats and again in the Grand Final and will be focussed on setting the record straight.
At almost half the length of the Herxheim circuit, Marmande promises to deliver extremely close and super-intense racing and you can be certain that Germany’s Lukas Fienhage – world champion in 2020 – will be determined to pull back points on the leading pair after his third-placed finish at the opening round.
However, such is the strength in depth of this year’s field, none of the early front runners will be guaranteed an easy ride under the French floodlights. Amongst the competitors they will line up against again is another former world champion in the discipline namely Romano Hummel from the Netherlands who was champion in 2021. Hummel did not fare as well he would have wanted the first time out, with a disqualification and a retirement halting his progress so he will be aiming to climb the standings at Marmande.
A fighting fourth in Herxheim, Britain’s Chris Harris has to be considered a potential winner after his stand-out season in 2023 when he lost the championship lead and the title at the final round. We know Harris is in great form this year – he was fourth at last month’s FIM Long Track World Championship Challenge behind Riss, Wajtknecht and Denmark’s Kenneth Kruse Hansen, who is also competing at Marmande – and will be looking to repeat his victory at last season’s second Final which provided a solid foundation for his title bid.
The action from Marmande gets under way with the tapes scheduled to go up on the opening Heat at 21:00 local time. For more information click here.
All five of this season’s Finals along with the FIM Long Track of Nations can be watched LIVE onFIM-MOTO.TV for just €34.90. To sign up click here.
See the Full Start list below:
2024_506_02_starting_listWords by FIM Track Racing – Images courtesy of Jesper Veldhuizen
