After two first starts in Bavarian Landshut, Emil Sayfutdinov did not have any win. In his team, however, everybody was calm, because Emil was crossing the finish line as second twice. After four heats, Sayfutdinov had 9 points and only one win. At the long and fast track, not all the setups were optimal and because of that Russian had to look for them constantly and correct the current settings.
Emil Sayftudinov was definitely one of the heroes of the SEC inauguration in Toruń. It was his first attempt to the clear maximum and through the whole evening, he was incredibly fast. In the main series, noone was able to beat him. 15 points gathered impressed everyone attending the MotoArena stands. Russian was a sure shot, when it comes to winning the fist SEC round, however...
For the second time in a row, he became the European Champion. His biggest rivals admitted that it was just impossible to make him stop. Despite three heats less than in 2014, he gathered a record-breaking amount of points - 58. Just like Nicki Pedersen, Russian didn't cross the finish line as last even once.
In his third start in Speedway Euro Championship, Nicki Pedersen reached his third medal. However he's still waiting for wearing a gold one, two silvers and bronze bring respect and admiration.
When he was given a permanent Wild Card from the SEC organizers, many people had some doubts. During the season, though, he proved with his attitude that it was a good choice and the Euro Championship's medal is a perfect confirmation.
You decided to stay in Unia Tarnów, but surely you had offers from the other clubs?
- I don't go that way, like many riders, who gather offers and choose the best ones. I wanted to stay in Tarnów. Surely, there was a strong interest from the other clubs, but further talks were determined by things happening in Tarnów. I decided to stay and deal with Unia. From my point of view, it all looks fine and I just hope that our roster will be strong enough to fight for the 2016 play-off round.
Organizers of the Speedway Euro Championship officially announced location of the first SEC round in 2016. Best European riders will start their battle for the title in German Güstrow. Meeting will be held on July 16, 2016.
One year ago, You were fifth in SEC and now, reached fourth place ex aequo with Martin Vaculik. Can we call it a progress?
- I think so. Position is better, last round was very good for me and that's positive, however the whole cycle did not go in a best possible way. Line up was very strong and the tracks were hard to decipher. It's the disposition in the whole series that matters and it's great that along with Martin Vaculik we reached the fourth place that gives a bonus of promoting to the next year's finals. I'm really glad that I'm still here and hopefully this progress will be visible. It can be possible only when I will be starting well from the very beginning. Then, I can think of getting the medal position. Surely, there's a small dream of getting there.
One year ago, after gathering 38 points, placed at 5th position. And this season, he got 5 points less that led him to the 4th position (ex-equo with Martin Vaculik). It's worth mentioning that 'Koldi' was the best among the Poles, again.
Martin, You got the 4th place (together with Janusz Kołodziej). Are You satisfied or feeling a bit disappointed?
- Before the season, I put the strong aim: to stay in the series and that's what happened. That was a plan minimum though. The top aim was to get the European Champion title back. Unfortunately, this year, I was not good enough - couldn't even step on the podium. Not even mentioning Emil Sayfutdinov, who beat us all, but all the TOP3 riders were better than me.
When after 20th heat in Ostrów, it was clear that he hadn't advanced to the race-off heat, he got mad. After a while, made a comeback and started counting points. And that was it... 33 points and ex-equo 4th place in the overall classification. Today, we're summing up season of Martin Vaculik.
In the 2014 season, Grigorij Laguta had no many chances to compete in Speedway European Championships. Leg's injury caused that fans could watch Russian rider only during the last round in Czestochowa (which he won!). Direct advance was really close. During the SEC Challenge, Laguta did not impress the fans with his speed and joined SEC in the very last moment. That was kind of a teaser for not so stable season.