Defending champion Martin Smolinski put the seal on a dominant season when he made it back-to-back titles after racing to third in this afternoon’s fifth and concluding round of the 2024 FIM Long Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo and HKC Koopmann at Roden in the Netherlands.
- Martin Smolinski retains title in dramatic Dutch showdown
- Lukas Fienhage wins at Roden to secure silver
- Bronze for Zach Wajtknecht following championship decider
The thirty-nine-year-old from Munich, who first won the title in 2018, has been in almost complete command this season, maintaining a constant presence on the podium and winning three rounds on the way to completing his hattrick of FIM World Championship titles.
Starting the afternoon programme with second behind Denmark’s Kenneth Kruse Hansen on the impressive Dutch oval that at six-hundred metres is the second longest on this year’s championship calendar, Smolinski then won second time out from compatriot and main title rival Lukas Fienhage who was champion in 2020.
Also in title contention heading into the deciding round, Britain’s Zach Wajtknecht and Chris Harris experienced mixed fortunes in their first two Heats with Wajtknecht remaining unbeaten with victories from Fienhage and home hero Mika Meijer as Harris managed to score just three points from his opening two races.
A win from Meijer followed by second behind Britain’s Andrew Appleton kept Finland’s Henri Ahlbom in touch with the leaders as Wajtknecht extended his advantage with a third consecutive victory, this time from Ahlbom and Smolinski, with Fienhage and Meijer also winning their third Heats to keep the scores tight at the top.
Wajtknecht won in 2022 the last time a round of the FIM Long Track World Championship was held at Roden and the twenty-six-year-old looked on course for a repeat performance as he maintained his unbeaten record in his fourth Heat at the expense of Smolinski as Fienhage won again and Harris began to show his speed with his first win of the programme.
With the top three after five Heats progressing directly to the Grand Final, Wajtknecht could afford to drop two points in his fifth race of the day and still maintain his one-hundred per cent automatic qualification record this season and he was joined behind the tapes for the programme’s concluding race by Fienhage and Smolinski who both won their final Heats.
The next five on the scorecard lined up for the Last Chance Heat to decide the remaining two riders to make the Grand Final, but after Harris hit the front the race was red-flagged when Appleton and Meijer touched and the Dutchman went down. Appleton was judged to be at fault for the crash so was excluded from the rerun that was won by Harris from Meijer ahead of Hansen and Ahlbom.
Starting the Grand Final from the second gate from the inside, Wajtknecht raced into an early lead before Fienhage forced his way to the front and when Smolinski advanced to third from his outside gate the title fight was decided in favour of the reigning champion.
Fienhage had the satisfaction of signing off on top to secure silver, but the gold medal went to Smolinski by four points with Wajtknecht ten points behind in third.
While that concludes the 2024 FIM Long Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo and HKC Koopmann, fans can stay up to speed on the series by clicking here.
All five of this season’s Finals along with the FIM Long Track of Nations are available on catch-up at FIM-MOTO.TV. To sign up click here.
Results and Standings
2024_Longtrack_Overall_Final_Classification
Words by FIM Long Track – Images by Jesper Veldhuizen
