Charging Czech racer Ervin Krajčovič (KTM) got his bid to regain the FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by HKC Koopmann, Anlas, Kineo and Blackburst off to a successful start when he raced to victory in the opening round staged on Sunday (25 May) at Terenzano in north-east Italy.
- FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by HKC Koopmann, Anlas, Kineo and Blackburst gets under way in Italy
- Former champion Ervin Krajčovič draws first blood in Terenzano
- Defending champion Sammy Halbert fifth following start penalty
The thirty-three-year-old from Prague – who took the title in 2023 – won the final two rounds of 2024 before narrowly losing his crown to America’s Sammy Halbert and at Terenzano he found himself on the ground during the Heats, but recovered well to snatch a dramatic victory in the Grand Final.
Halbert’s debut appearance as defending champion was also not without incident and the thirty-seven-year-old received two startline penalties, the second coming in the Grand Final which put him at a disadvantage that he was unable to fight back from.
Having make no secret of his ambition to sweep the full six-round series, Halbert got his campaign under way with victory in the first Heat ahead of Austrian Max Hellmann and he was joined at the top of the leaderboard following the opening block of racing by series debutant Marius Kircher from Germany and Krajčovič.
Czech racer Ondřej Svědík claimed his first win of the series in the second block of Heats from Hellmann and Kircher before Halbert eased to his second victory of the afternoon ahead of 2022 champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) from Spain, but Krajčovič – who crashed while chasing Halbert – had to pick himself up for fifth.
Underlining their fine form with wins in their third Heat races, Halbert and Krajčovič looked impressive and Kircher – with a second-placed finish in his third Heat behind Bailo – continued to turn heads as he separated the two more decorated riders at the top of the table.
Halbert’s unbeaten streak came to end in his fourth Heat when he was adjudged to have exceeded the start time allowance and was sent to the back of the grid. This allowed Krajčovič to claim an easier-than-expected win from Bailo and home favourite Kevin Corradetti (Yamaha), although Halbert’s fighting fourth saw him through to the Grand Final as highest scorer, one point ahead of Krajčovič and his compatriot Svědík who took victory in the final Heat of the day.
With the leading ten riders following the twelfth Heat gaining an automatic transfer to the Grand Final, the next ten went into the Last Chance Heat to fight for the remaining two grid positions with German veteran Markus Jell (KTM) and Argentina’s Santiago Arangio finishing one-two.
Halbert was then adjudged to have jumped the start at the beginning of the twelve-lap Grand Final and he was once again sent to the back of the grid from where he could do nothing to stop Svědík and Krajčovič from contesting the lead from the start.
Home hero Daniele Tonelli (TM) was also in the mix at the front as the top six – including Halbert – began to pull clear with Krajčovič riding wide lines and appearing to lose ground on Tonelli entering turns before sling-shotting around the Italian as they exited onto the straights.
With two laps remaining, Corradetti clipped Bailo’s back wheel while pushing for fourth and they both fell which caused the race to be red-flagged and handed victory to Krajčovič who held a narrow lead at the end of lap nine. Tonelli was awarded second from Svědík with Bailo credited as finishing fourth, once place ahead of Halbert, with Hellmann, Kircher, Arangio, Czech racer Vít Janoušek and Jell completing the top ten.
In a new rule introduced for 2025, Svědík also received a bonus point for recording the fastest lap in the Grand Final.
Watch the full replay of Terenzano on FIM-MOTO.TV.
Focus now shifts to Meissen in Germany for round two on 14 June.
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