Polish racer Mateusz Cierniak won Prague FIM SGP2 of Czech Republic in dramatic style to top the FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship standings on Friday night.
Cierniak hunted down Latvian star Francis Gusts, before picking his moment to storm around him and win the first SGP2 event of an exciting new era for speedway’s brightest young stars, as Discovery Sports Events brings the sport’s under-21 world championship on to the same stage as Speedway GP.
The top two were joined on the podium by home favourite Petr Chlupac in third place, while another Prague rider Jan Kvech suffered the agony of a mechanical failure at the start line after a sensational performance in his first six races.
But Kvech gets the chance to build on that result in Saturday’s Prague FIM Speedway GP of Czech Republic, when he lines up as wild card against the sport’s top riders in the senior World Championship.
Friday night belonged to Cierniak and the 19-year-old was delighted to start his SGP2 campaign by claiming the top prize of 20 championship points at the storied Marketa Stadium, where a host of the sport’s modern greats like Tony Rickardsson, Greg Hancock, Nicki Pedersen, Jason Crump and Tai Woffinden have all topped the Speedway GP podium.
Cierniak was elated to have chased down Gusts to snatch a sensational victory on a track where conditions were difficult early on following heavy rain in Prague during the afternoon.
Reflecting on a fine pass, Cierniak said: “It was very difficult to do – I am still dreaming! But I did it. At the end of the competition, the track was a little bit better than it was at the beginning. I felt I could do it.”
Now Cierniak bids to extend his advantage at the FIM SGP2 of Great Britain – Cardiff on Sunday, August 14 as the sport’s young guns compete at the iconic Principality Stadium the day after the FIM Speedway GP of Great Britain.
Cierniak will then hope to finish on top of the standings after the final round in Torun, Poland on September 30.
Asked if he fancies his chances of becoming the first-ever SGP2 champion, he replied: “There is a long way to go, but we will see what happens. The next round is in Cardiff, and then why not? I am working on it.”
Runner-up Gusts was gutted to see victory snatched away as Cierniak rounded him in the closing stages of the final.
He said: “Maybe I could have won if I went a little bit more to the outside, but it is what it is. This is speedway and things like that happen. We will work hard to be better at the next round in Cardiff, and I hope it will be better.
“Of course there are two more rounds and anything can happen. Each rider here is strong and we will see what happens next.”
Third-placed Petr Chlupac was delighted to reach the rostrum in his homeland. He said: “I am really happy because I am here and this is my home track. I had my friends, family and sponsors here.
“The meeting for the Czech riders was really good. We race here in the Czech Ekstraliga and we know the track well.”
It was also an historic night for German racer Celina Liebmann as she became the first female rider to appear in an FIM Speedway final series.
Liebmann defied some difficult conditions with an intelligent performance to score four race points and three championship points – proving herself more than worthy of her wild-card selection for the Prague event.
It’s a moment the 20-year-old will never forget. She said: “I am really happy to be here. It is a really historic moment for me and the highlight of my year.
“I am happy about my four race points and that was my goal – to score points today. I got it – I got four. It was a big pleasure to be here.
Liebmann is now determined to make her mark in Germany’s national under-21 championship. “I want to be in the top three in Germany this year at under-21 level,” she said. “And I hope I get the wild card for SGP2 in Torun – let’s see!”
SGP2 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Mateusz Cierniak (Poland) 20, 2 Francis Gusts (Latvia) 18, 3 Petr Chlupac (Czech Republic) 16, 4 Jan Kvech (Czech Republic) 14, 5 Timi Salonen (Finland) 12, 6 Jonas Knudsen (Denmark) 11, 7 Jakub Miskowiak (Poland) 10, 8 Benjamin Basso (Denmark) 9, 9 Wiktor Lampart (Poland) 8, 10 Mateusz Swidnicki (Poland) 7, 11 Casper Henriksson (Sweden) 6, 12 Gustav Grahn (Sweden) 5, 13 Kevin Juhl Pedersen (Denmark) 4, 14 Celina Liebmann (Germany) 3, 15 Daniel Klima (Czech Republic) 2, 16 Bruno Belan (Czech Republic) 1, 17 Wiktor Przyjemski (Poland) 0, 18 Matous Kamenik (Czech Republic) 0.