Just one week after a dramatic third round in Teterow, the stars of the FIM Flat Track World Championship will be back in action this coming Saturday (4 July) when the Stadion Milenium in Donji Kraljevec, Croatia, plays host to round four.

  • Britain’s Ashton Boughen leads FIM Flat Track World Championship into round four
  • Tim Neave aims to build on victory last time out in Germany with Croatian conquest
  • Former champion Sammy Halbert back in podium contention for new team

The man carrying most momentum heading into Croatia is Britain’s Tim Neave (VRX Dirt Store Ducati) who raced to a decisive victory last time out in Germany to claim a career-first Grand Final win following five previous podium finishes since making his championship debut in 2023.

The thirty-one-year-old former British Superbike Championship competitor dropped just a single point in Germany as he raced to a landmark victory ahead of Argentinian Mathias Lorenzato and 2024 champion Sammy Halbert (Picasso Engineering – OMT Squadra Corse Italiana) from the USA to climb to second in the standings alongside 2022 champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) from Spain.

After winning the opening two rounds, Neave’s compatriot and team-mate Ashton Boughen was fourth in Teterow and the eighteen-year-old leads by nine points in his debut season in the championship, but there is a long way to go in the extended series and seven more rounds of racing spread over almost four months still stand between the former youth national Motocross champion and the FIM gold medal.

With so many points up for grabs until the series signs off with back-to-back rounds in Argentina in late October, it is far too early to write anyone off and defending champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) – although currently fourth and trailing Boughen by nineteen points – remains very much in contention, despite twice missing the podium so far this season.

The Czech star is just five points ahead of Britain’s experienced Jack Bell (Triumph), who has started the season looking fast and fresh, before an eleven-point gap to Ondřej Svědík (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) – another seriously quick rider from the Czech Republic – who has a Grand Final win on his racing résumé and won bronze last season.

Behind them is a field full of talent looking to advance up the points table with Halbert, a former American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Champion and X-Games gold medallist, looking ominous after sitting out the opening round before agreeing to develop the Swiss-designed OMT 450 project bike.

Lorenzato missed the opening two rounds, but his second-placed finish at Teterow – in his first championship appearance since 2023 – indicates even greater things to come so he must be considered a contender in Croatia and do not rule out riders of the calibre of Italy’s Daniele Tonelli (TM – Donelli’s Garage) and French rider Sébastien Jeanpierre, while Ukrainian Stanislav Ohorodnik (Husqvarna) and Britain’s Gary Birtwistle (Dirt Craft Powered by Royal Enfield) will rate their chances on another short, technical circuit.

The opening Heat from Donji Kraljevec is scheduled to get under way at 20:00 (local time) on Saturday 4 July.

 

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