Speedway Grand Prix 2023: Martin Vaculik reveals championship goal after ‘sentimental’ Prague win

Martin Vaculik is hoping to build on his win in round three of the Speedway Grand Prix and admits a push for the title is on his mind ahead of the rest of the season.

Following victory on his seemingly favoured Prague track, the Slovakian sits fourth in the championship standings, just nine points behind leader and world champion Bartosz Zmarzlik.

Speaking exclusively to Eurosport ahead of the fourth round in Teterow, Germany, Vaculik revealed his title ambitions but tempered expectations, saying he plans to take it one race at a time.

“I think everybody in the series wants to be world champion,” he said. “This is the goal of every athlete in every sport, especially Speedway. I really want to fight to be the best.

“I know how hard it is, and how many good riders are in the Series, wanting the same. That’s what makes this series so prestigious.

“Simply, I want to do my best every round that I race. I don’t want to [put] pressure on myself. When I say I want to be world champion this year, or I want a medal this year, of course I want [to achieve those], but I live and enjoy the present moment. I go heat by heat, race by race, and meeting by meeting, giving my best.”

Asked how he could close the gap to Zmarzlik at the top of the table, Vaculik declined to reveal any specific tactical plan and chose to remain philosophical:

“Good gating, I think. Be consistent, be fast, and have luck on my side.”

The 33-year-old’s win in Prague was his second in successive years in the series and he was quick to point out the special relationship he feels he has with the historic Marketa Stadium track, which dates back long before his days on the bike.

“As I said many times, Prague is very sentimental for me,” he said. “Because I grew up in the Czech Republic as a rider in the junior championship, so I had many meetings as a junior in Prague.

“Also, when I was a kid, I came to the stadium with my father and watched the Grand Prix meeting. It was always something special for me.

He added: “I really like the track there, with good memories from the juniors [there]. It’s a sentimental thing for me.”

A ninth place finish in an injury interrupted 2022 campaign that included two wins is something Vaculik is adamant he can improve upon, and the Slovak is pleased with his start to the campaign as he sets his sights on putting more pressure at the top end of the standings.

“We started better than last year,” he said. “Gorican was better than last year, Warsaw was better than last year, so it is progress. Now, I won in Prague again, and it is fantastic.

“Good points [total] so far for me, but still it’s only the beginning of the Speedway Grand Prix series so still seven meetings in front of us. The season [is] long, so just keep calm and keep focused, doing the best we can with my team, and we will see what’s going to [happen] after the last meeting in Torun. We want to go hard and push as hard as we can.”

A broken shoulder blade put paid to Vaculik’s chances last season ruling him out of round six in Cardiff as well as forcing Slovakia to withdraw from the 2022 Speedway of Nations.

While he was able to return to action before the end of the season, the rider admitted he took time to rediscover his form and hopes he can remain fully fit this year in order to give himself the best chance at glory.

“I have a good team of doctors; they fix me [well] and I can [come back quickly] after injury. But, last year, everything was okay, until an injury came, and it was a month [out from] racing, and it took some time to [regain my] form.

“I could only watch it on TV – that [as well as] the gym – was the only thing I could do. I missed that part of the season, and when I [came back], I took some time to be good again, and this was the biggest [slice of bad luck] last year. I cross my fingers that luck will be on my side, with no more injuries.”

As Vaculik goes from strength to strength, he hopes to build momentum with another strong performance in Teterow this weekend. However, there is some apprehension about the condition of the track which has been known to cause problems in the past.

“I’ve been there a couple times,” he said. “Once in second, so I have some good memories, and some bad memories, because I remember also the track [was not in a good condition] there, a couple of times.

“I cross my fingers for the organisers to prepare a good track for us because we can see this year in Warsaw, also in Prague, the track was well prepared, and as a result, us riders can show the best Speedway we can.

“People want to see good racing, riders want to be safe, and when all this is happening, we can push hard [to the] limits, and show the best Speedway we can. I hope the track [is] good and then we can make a good show.”

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On June 10 and 11 strap yourself in for a live sport rollercoaster ride. With the finals of Roland-Garros, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Speedway Grand Prix, the UCI Mountain Bike World Series, the Criterium du Dauphine, MotoGP and the Champions League final, it’s the Weekend of Champions live on Eurosport, discovery+ and BT Sport.