Speedway GP Prague 2022: Max Fricke: Warsaw win is ‘something I’ll never forget’, can’t wait for Peague

Warsaw Speedway GP winner Max Fricke says that the night of his victory is “something I’ll never forget”.

“It definitely took a while to set in [the realisation] after Warsaw,” Fricke told Speedway ahead of the weekend in Prague. “It was an unreal night, everything worked out really well. My team, everyone, were on form on the night so we had a great performance and an awesome night. It’s something I’ll never forget so it took a while to come down from that one.

“I don’t think anything really changed [from disappointing opening weekend in Croatia]. Croatia didn’t really work out. We had a few bike issues – things like that. The first round it was just one of those days. It definitely wasn’t a good one. So I knew I needed to come out and turn it around a little bit for the second round, and a win definitely tops it off.”

Fricke’s slow start did carry on in Warsaw, he actually struggled initially before catching fire in the semi-finals and final.

Fricke admitted: “There was definitely maybe a few swear words at the helm when the first… a lot of lights came on but it’s all part of it. These things happen. I knew I’d made a start in the first one, I just needed to regroup and go out and execute again. The pressure’s on a little bit more but at the same time I had that thought that at least I’m on the podium. That was one positive outlook on it.”

Obviously one of the headlines of his win was beating Zmarzlik, the current leader in the championship and one of the faces of the sport. Fricke did it in front of Zmarzlik’s home crowd as well.

“I think any race with Bartosz [Zmarzlik], when you’re on pace with him you know you’re somewhere thereabouts with some pretty good speeds,” Fricke said.

“He’s been riding unreal and to be able to get the better of him in a couple of heats on the night is great for me and it is a little bit of a confidence boost I guess. But he’s like anyone else out there. We’re all out there trying to beat each other and that night it kind of fell in my favour so that’s good.”

Fricke added that while the win in Warsaw did give him a boost, it did not change too much about what he expected of himself coming into the season, saying that he always holds himself to a high standard. Fricke also was full of praise for Prague.

“I don’t think so too much. I have high expectations of myself anyway. I go to every GP trying my best and the goal is to be up there on the podium or winning every GP. It doesn’t always work out that way but that’s the personal expectation I put on myself,” he said.

“And if you can perform week in week out then come the end of the year in the championship you should be in not a bad position. I think it definitely helps with the confidence being able to go out and win that GP and early on in the season [it] kind of gives you a little bit of a boost going into the next few rounds but every track’s different.

“It’s a new day on the weekend and we have to start all over again. We just need to make sure everyone’s ready, everything’s organised, then we can go out there and do what we have to do.

“Prague’s good. I’ve had some good results in Prague in the past. I love the city. It’s a really cool place to go and be. It’s a really cool stadium – the whole event I really like. So, I’m going there this weekend with a good attitude. I want to go there and hopefully have another solid result this weekend.”

Finally Fricke was asked what he felt about the new set-up for the Speedway GP season.

“Yeah it’s really cool. It’s nice to be a part of it. It’s a new era to Speedway Grand Prix racing and it’s a privilege to be a part of. But at the same time the bike’s the same, the tracks the same, we need to go out there and do the same job.

“It’s nice that everything’s a little bit nicer around the pits, and the whole environment helps put you in a good mood but at the end of the day the job’s still the same and we need to go out there and perform.”

– –