The battle for the 2022 FIM Long Track World Championship continued at a sunny and very hot Mühldorf on Sunday with the German fans hoping for a local victory. However, it was Frenchman Mathieu Tresarrieu who spoiled their planned celebrations with a display that took him to the top of the standings.
The Frenchman showed that his year away from World Championship racing has not dampened his enthusiasm or hunger for success as he cruised to a win in the final and gave a clear indication that he is looking to add to the title he won in 2017. He leads the Intermediate Classification by virtue of his win in the final although Brit Chris Harris has the same number of points.
The full results can be seen by following this link
Despite previously struggling at Mühldorf, Harris followed his third place in the first Final in Rzeszow with a second place and his best ever result in this competition. Typically, his afternoon was not without problems and many of his points had to be scored in spectacular fashion with some of his trademark passes. A carburation problem in his last qualifying race relegated him to the Last Chance Heat where again he had to fight his way towards the front, passing Kenneth Kruse Hansen on the last bend to earn him a place in the Final.
The Final itself was another exciting affair with Tresarrieu taking an early lead and the lower positions changing throughout; Wild Card Stefan Katt briefly led the way but was passed by Tresarrieu, Harris had to recover from a missed gear change leaving him in last place but spectacularly battled through, overtaking local specialist Katt on the third lap. Romano Hummel also passed Katt in the run in to the chequered flag leaving Lukas Fienhage in fifth place.
Both defending champion Hummel and Fienhage, winner in 2020, improved on their dismal results from Final 1. The Dutchman happily avoided the machinery problems that had troubled him in Poland, but he set the fastest race time and his third place here should signal his return to form. Fienhage was top of the qualifiers and although finishing last in the final his 13 points take him up to eighth in the standings.
Dane Kenneth Kruse Hansen, winner in Rzeszow, slipped down the leader board despite a promising start in the qualifying races where he was joint leader after Heat 9. Two lower place finishes and a missed opportunity in the Last Chance Final saw his podium hopes disappear. His 11 championship points however leave him still in touch with the leaders.
Martin Malek will also be disappointed with his afternoon’s racing as a fall in Heat 9 and two costly machine failures saw his chances literally splutter to a halt. Unsurprisingly Stanislaw Burza struggled to come to terms with the track and neither Zach Wajtknecht or James Shanes were able to demonstrate the form we should expect from former European champions.
Veteran Dutchman Theo Pijper provided his usual steady performance, and added 10 championship points to move him into 4th place on the leader board.
With the first two Finals now completed the leading positions are:
1 Mathieu Trésarrieu (France) 36 points
2 Chris Harris (Great Britain) 36
3 Kenneth Kruse Hansen (Denmark), 32
4 Theo Pijper (Netherlands) 21
5 Stanislaw Burza (Poland) 21
6 Martin Malek (Czech Rep) 20
7 Romano Hummel (Netherlands) 18
8 Lukas Fienhage (Germany) 18
The Mühldorf Club prepare to celebrate their 100 year Anniversary next year but there is still much 2022 action in the Long Track discipline as the competition moves on next to Scheessel, another of the traditional German sand tracks, on 21st August. In the meantime, attention will centre on the Long Track Challenge in Marmande, France on 13th July where the qualifiers for the 2023 championship will be decided.