Predicting race results is not an exact science, but based on last year’s results German prospect Thies Schweer will start the 2023 FIM Track Racing Youth Gold Trophy in Gdańsk on Sunday as one of the favourites.
Schweer finished on the podium in third at the 2022 event in Pardubice in the Czech Republic almost twelve months ago and, as the highest-placed rider returning for another attempt to win, must be considered as a rider to watch in Poland on Sunday afternoon.
The FIM Track Racing Youth Gold Trophy is for riders aged between eleven and sixteen on 125cc machines and Schweer, who celebrates his fourteenth birthday four days later, will be aiming to collect an early present after spending most of his life on two wheels.
“Motorcycles have always played a big role in our family,” he said. “I was three years old when I was allowed to ride my big sister's PW50 for the first time.”
Schweer, who lists his favourite riders as Bartosz Zmarzlik, Tai Woffinden, Maciej ‘Magic’ Janowski and Robert Lambert, freely admits that his third-placed finish last year came as a shock – “the weekend in Pardubice was a big surprise for our team because we didn't expect such a success at all” – although his subsequent results have shown that his performance was not down to luck.
“I was successful in first place in the German Championship and I am in first place in the North German Championship. Can I win this year? We will see after the race because the other starters have also prepared themselves well – for me the fun of riding a motorbike is the most important thing.”
Away from the track Schweer is like most other teenagers and likes to play computer games and ride his mountain bike, though another of his hobbies – fishing – is a complete contrast to the main reason he enjoys racing.
“The adrenaline kick and the speed are so much fun – and fun comes first in our team!”
FIM Communications