Thanks to a permanent "wild card" received from the promoters, the 28-year-old Kai Huckenbeck will take part in the SEC series again. The German rider admits, that last year was not the best for him, but he left most of his problems behind now.
This year Huckenbeck signed contracts with the German speedway team Landshut Devils, which will compete in the Polish 2. Speedway League. He also is part of the Sønderylland Elite Speedway Team in Denmark and Rospiggarna Hallstavik in Sweden.
Both Elitserien and the Polish league have delayed their starts due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. Bauhaus-Ligan has been delayed by a month and does not start until June 1st.
Meanwhile, in Poland, after many changes, Huckenbeck was racing in three meetings, which were held in May. His results have been good with a point average of 2.333, which places him as the 6th most efficient rider in classification.
"I have started the new season pretty well so far," he says, "I need to improve my starts as they are too uneven at the moment."
The Danish League went according to plan and Kai has raced at the legendary Vojens Speedway Center. But on May 12th, the German was one of several riders to have crashes in Metal Speedway League matches. Kenneth Kruse Hansen, Rohan Tungate and Linus Sundström were hospitalized and Huckenbeck was transported to the hospital by helicopter. The German rider was diagnosed with a concussion and two broken ribs.
"It was the worst moment of the current season, but it is getting better every day," he said.
Just nine days later, Huckenbeck was back on bike, representing Landshut and planning to perform at the SEC Challenge in Pardubice on May 22nd.
However, anyone who knows him saw, that he was a shadow of himself on Friday night and he finished the league competition with only six points. It was no surprise that Huckenbeck had to withdraw from the SEC Challenge and lost his chance to compete in the 2021 European Championships.
Luckily for him, he was given a permanent "wild card" for this year's European Championship series.
"It's a great feeling and a pleasure to be part of Speedway Euro Championship. I like all the tracks this year. I think Güstrow and Bydgoszcz have a lot of racing lines and that's what makes these tracks special. The 2020 season wasn't the best for me because at the beginning I struggled with my motorcycles and myself," - he admits - "However, I ended it with many good results."
Huckenbeck's best result so far in the European Championship is 9th place. The rider is aware of the fact that he can do better. He proved it last year in Torun, where he finished as 4th. Kai has an ambitious goal for the upcoming cycle.
"The main goal is top five - to stay in the SEC for next season."