FIM Long Track World Championship
Final 2 – La Reole, France – 15th June 2019
Current champion Martin Smolinski took the honours on the grass of La Reole, winning the final of the FIM Long Track World Championship ahead of Dmitri Bergé and Chris Harris in front of a healthy crowd on a sunny evening. Smolinski saw his slender lead from the first round slip but he still heads the classification alongside local star Berge, both with a total of 47 points.
Bergé had four wins to his name in the qualifying races and comfortably reached the semi finals but Smolinski dropped valuable points with two third places in the heats which saw him briefly lose his overall lead. However, he made no mistakes in the final stages to take the top spot on the podium and maintain his defence of his title. Pre meeting favourite Mathieu Trésarrieu, winner in Herxheim could manage only fourth place in the final and saw his five-year run of victories at this track come to an end. He is now six points behind the leaders.
Great Britain’s Chris Harris finally put his mechanical problems behind him and was at last able to display some of his true form. His third place was his best result in this competition taking him to seventh place in the classification and could mark the start of a serious challenge for a medal place. Fellow Brit James Shanes experienced a mixed evening but was heading for a place in the final until a heavy fall left him battered and bruised and disqualified from his semi-final. He retains his fourth place but is now twelve points adrift of the leaders.
Some spirited racing from young Lukas Fienhage took him to fifth place overall but Romano Hummel, despite a win over Bergé and Shanes in his first race had a miserable meeting with two last places and leaves him well adrift from the leading pack.
Leading scores after two rounds:
•Martin Smolinski (Germany) 47 points
•Dmitri Bergé (France) 47
•Mathieu Trésarrieu (France) 41
•James Shanes (Great Britain) 29
•Lukas Fienhage (Germany) 25
•Theo Pijper (Netherlands) 23
•Chris Harris (Great Britain) 21
The next round will be held in Mühldorf, Germany on 7th July
FIM Communications