British lion Jack Bell (Triumph) raced to a dramatic career-first top-flight victory and his compatriot Tim Neave (Ducati – VRX Dirt Store Ducati) moved into a clear series lead as round five of the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship was staged at Scheessel in Germany today.
  • 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship passes the halfway mark in Germany
  • Britain’s Jack Bell claims a career-first win in one-thousand-metre Eichenring
  • Tim Neave takes second to move into clear championship lead

Bell’s win also marked an historic first series victory for Triumph, but the twenty-two-year-old was forced to fight on every lap of the ten-lap Final as Neave – who had started the day tied at the top of the table with his team-mate Ashton Boughen – pushed him all the way to the chequered flag to claim second and open up a five-point championship lead.

At one-thousand metres in length, Scheessel’s Eichenring calls for plenty of top-end power, but intermittent rain resulted in a technical surface that formed ruts in places and tested riders’ skills to the limit and although some of the series’ big names suffered, Bell looked completely at home in the conditions.

With Heats reduced to six laps to take into account the extra track length, Bell had to settle for third in the opener behind Britain’s Boughen and fast Finn Saku Purtilo (Honda) before 2022 champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) won his Heat from home hero Nikita Alyani (Beta – OMT Squadra Corse Italiana) and Dutchman Stef Hamstra (Ducati) who was making his debut on the Italian machine.

The Czech Republic’s Ondřej Svědík (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) closed the opening block with his first win of the programme ahead of Neave and Dutchman Menno van Meer (Honda) with defending champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) fourth.

Winner of the opening two rounds, Boughen then claimed his second win of the afternoon programme from van Meer and Czech star Krajčovič before Bell, starting on the second row, forced his way ahead of Bailo on the penultimate lap to claim his first victory of the day with sixty-one-year-old Swede Conny Ivarsson (Honda) in third.

The second block of racing was completed with Svědík winning from Neave and British teenager Thomas Hunt (Yamaha), resulting in a tie at the top at the halfway stage between the unbeaten Svědík and Boughen and the pair were still tied on maximum points after both claimed further victories in the third block.
Boughen’s win came ahead of Neave and Alyani while Svědík led home Bailo and van Meer in an epic race that saw the Czech racer go from third to first in the final turn with a decisive inside move and the pair’s victories bookended a second win for Bell, this time at the expense of Hunt and Krajčovič.

With the top ten from the Heats transferring directly to the Final, the leading pair were virtually guaranteed an automatic start in the main points-scoring race of the day, but further down the field the tension was evident.

Boughen made it four-from-four when he led home Hunt and Svědík to snatch the outright lead and get the all-important first choice of startgate for the Final before Neave beat Bell and Krajčovič and van Meer defeated Bailo and the Ukraine’s Stanislav Ohorodnik (Husqvarna).

Staged over five laps, the Last Chance Heat for riders placed from eleventh to twentieth featured some unexpected names including 2024 champion Sammy Halbert (Picasso Engineering OMT Squadra Corse Italiana) and Italian Daniele Tonelli (TM – Donelli’s Garage), but it was Ohorodnik who hunted down fast-starting Ivarsson for the win with Argentina’s Santiago Arangio (Beta – OMT Squadra Corse Italiana) taking second on the final lap.

Starting from the outside gate, van Meer dived into the first corner of the Final in front, but at the end of the opening circuit it was Svědík who swept into the lead using a fast, wide line before Bell moved into second chased by Boughen and Neave.

Following an earlier attempt at a pass, at half-distance Bell found a way around Svědík and two laps later Neave – after taking third from Boughen – moved into second and began to chase down Bell, briefly hitting the front before his compatriot fought back to secure a famous victory with Svědík third from Boughan and Hunt.

Van Meer brought it home in sixth ahead of Alyani, Bailo and Purtilo with Krajčovič slipping to his worst result since the beginning of the 2022 season in tenth.

With little time to regroup, the extended ten-round championship heads to King’s Lynn in Great Britain this coming Saturday (29 August) where home riders will hold the top three positions with Neave – who got a bonus point for posting the fastest lap of the Final – leading Boughen by five points with Bell a further thirteen off the pace in third.

With its mix of established stars, fast-rising talent and series newcomers, the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship is taking shape to be one of the most exciting in the sport’s history and FIM-MOTO.TV will stream all rounds LIVE including behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and expert analysis.

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