Ahead of the meeting in Leszno, Bartosz Smektała and Dominik Kubera are put as the main candidates to win the second round of FIM Speedway U21 World Championship. Knowing of this track will be their huge advantage, however Maksym Drabik has proved many times that the track in Leszno is one of these, where he's been racing brilliantly.
Smektała and Kubera are products of FOGO Unia Leszno's youth academy. Both made their first speedway steps at the Alfred Smoczyk stadium. Even though "Smyk" is more titled, this season, Kubera has been presenting a better dispostion at this track. Differences between these two are insignificant. During the PGE Ekstraliga matches, which were held in Leszno, Dominik Kubera averaged 1,667 points per heat and Smektała got 1,579.
Both riders had a good beginning of this year's Individual Speedway Junior World Championship. European U21 Vice-Champion 2017 - Smektała is currently third overall, losing 3 points to the leader - Maksym Drabik. In Daugavpils, Kubera scored 12 points and right now, he's 5 points away from the medal position.
Along with Robert Lambert, Smektała is seen as the main candidate to grab the title away from Drabik, who won it last year. From the very beginning of this season, Polish rider clearly underlines that he's got a very particular goal.
- I want to become the Individual Speedway Junior World Champion. Next round is going to be held at my home track in Leszno, however that means absolutely nothing. Every day is different and you always need to be prepared well. If everything will stay "cool", there should be no issues in Leszno for me - Smektała said.
Despite the fact that local riders have a huge advantage in knowing the track, main candidate to win this round is unchanged and it's Maksym Drabik - title's defender. "Torres" had a fabulous start of the series, however as he says, getting the title for the second time in a row is not his main goal for this season.
- I'm completely away from thinking about the title, concentrating on the closest meeting. All the rest is out of my head - Drabik said right after the first round in Daugavpils.
Polish rider hasn't had a chance to start at Alfred Smoczyk stadium, but his previous starts were actually impressive. On May 5th 2017, Drabik got 13 points in 5 starts in PGE Ekstraliga match. In the same meeting, Smektała got only one point and Kubera got four.
- I haven't been in Leszno this season, don't know how this surface reacts. During the practice before the meeting, we will look for some right setups - Drabik ended.
Second round of FIM Speedway U21 World Championship - Sunday - 22nd of July 2018, 6:45 PM CET. Ticket available via www.bilety.ksul.pl.
Starting list:
1. Wiktor Lampart #16
2. Filip Hjelmland #33
3. Frederik Jakobsen #41
4. Robert Chmiel #12
5. Nick Skorja #98
6. Bartosz Smektała #6
7. Maksym Drabik #1
8. Patrick Hansen #124
9. Dan Bewley #99
10. Filip Hajek #165
11. Andreas Lyager Hansen #114
12. Robert Lambert #505
13. Joel Kling #693
14. Daniel Kaczmarek #4
15. Davis Kurmis #15
16. Dominik Kubera #8
17. Szymon Szlauderbach
18. Wiktor Trofimow
