The FIM Speedway Under 21 individual World Championship Series travelled to Argentina South America for the first time of FIM history.
The passionate Latin Americans love motorsport and speedway is no exception.
Following 5 grueling rounds, the riders arrived to compete in finals number 6 and 7, with only 3 points separating the silver and gold medals positions.
Michael Jepsen Jensen (aka MJJ) - DMU - 64 points and Maciej “Magic” Janowski - PZM - 61 points.
During round 6, held on 3.11.12, the riders explored the wide opened spaces provided by the fast Evaristo Plano track located just outside the city of Bahia Blanca.
At the conclusion of round 6, following a run off for podium positions between “MJJ” and “Magic” Janowski, won by MJJ, 3 points still separated the two. MJJ 77, Magic - 74.
The battle for the bronze medal was virtually sealed, barring a disaster in round 7, for Mikkel Bech Jensen - DMU - 62 points.
On a warm spring evening, the enthusiastic supporters turned out in great numbers to witness the battle of the titans. MJJ versus Magic.
For Magic, it was a perfect night as he raced to 5 impeccable wins and the series total of 89 points, having beaten MJJ in a thrilling heat 11 when they met.
Magic could do no more but wait for MJJ to take his final ride.
And so, as we headed to the final race, with MJJ on 88 points, he needed a first or second place to secure the title. One point for a third place would force a run-off and last place or mechanical failure and the title would be Magic’s for the second year running.
This final heat was no easy race for MJJ as it also featured the superbly competitive fellow contry man M. B Jensen, Pontus Aspgren - SVEMO and Dakota North - MA, all of whom had performed strongly in rounds 6 and 7.
As the four riders roared from the start Mikkel Bech Jensen led the way with MJJ close behind him.
That is how it remained for the four laps with MJJ taking second place and the vital 2 points giving him a series total of 90 points and Magic 89.
The passionate Latin American supporters went wild as both MJJ, Janowski and all the European based riders had clearly earned the place in their hearts during the two events with great racing and entertainment.
FINAL FIM CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Michael Jepsen Jensen 90, 2 Maciej Janowski 89, 3 Mikkel B Jensen 75, 4 Mikkel Michelsen 59, 5 Nicklas Porsing 50, 6 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 43, 7 Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen 41, 8 Pontus Aspgren 40, 9 Vaclav Milik 39, 10= Aleksandr Loktaev 37, Sam Masters 37, 12 Patryk Dudek 30, 13 Bartosz Zmarzlik 29, 14= Tobiasz Musielak 25, Dakota North 25, 16 Piotr Pawlicki 21, 17 Damian Adamczak 18, 18= Kyle Newman 10, Michal Skurla 10, 20 Andrej Lebiediev 9, 21 Facundo Albin 8, 22 Jakub Jamrog 7, 23= Kacper Gomolski 6, Eduard Krcmar 6, 25 Tom Perry 5, Facundo Cuello 5, 27= Fernando Garcia 4, Zdenek Holub 4, 29= Jan Holub 3, Sebastian Clemente 3, 31= Michele Paco Castagna 2, Roman Cejka 2, 33= Alejandro Iglesias 1, Matic Ivacic 1, Nicolas Vicentin 1.
BAHIA BLANCA SCORES ROUND 7: 1 Maciej Janowski 15, 2 Michael Jepsen Jensen 13+3, 3 Mikkel B Jensen 13+2, 4 Mikkel Michelsen 11, 5 Pontus Aspgren 11, 6 Vaclav Milik 11, 7 Dakota North 8, 8 Nicolaj Busk Jakobsen 8, 9 Sam Masters 8, 10 Nicklas Porsing 7, 11 Michal Skurla 5, 12 Facundo Albin 4, 13 Facundo Cuello 3, 14 Fernando Garcia 2, 15 Sebastian Clemente 1, 16 Alejandro Iglesias 0.
Text: Jim Lawrence
Photo Credit: Martin Lorenzetti