Turning a two-point deficit into a four-point advantage, defending champion Sammy Halbert burst into the lead of the 2025 FIM Flat Track World Championship for the first time this season with a dominant performance at Vasad in Hungary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With clear blue skies overhead, conditions in the Moto Track Arena were ideal and the loose, sandy surface looked perfectly prepared for the fifth and penultimate round of the series.
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A comfortable winner last time out at Scheessel where he clearly gelled with the fast one-thousand-metre German track, the big question was would Halbert be equally at home on the much shorter three-hundred-and-thirteen-metre Hungarian circuit? The answer was an unequivocal yes and the Flat Track fans who had made the journey to Vasad, about fifty kilometres south-west of the Hungarian capital Budapest, did not have long to wait before the rider from Washington State gave a clear indication of his form.
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It was Britain’s Tim Neave (GASGAS) who got the afternoon programme under way with victory ahead of Spain’s 2022 champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) before Halbert won his opening Heat with a comfortable winning margin from Italy’s Kevin Corradetti (Yamaha) and 2023 champion and series leader Ervin Kraj\u010dovi\u010d (KTM) from the Czech Republic.
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Still finding his feet in his first season in the championship, Germany’s Marius Kircher (KTM) gave the crowd a flash of his potential when he closed the opening block of Heats with a win from series front-runners Ond\u0159ej \u0160v\u00e9d\u00edk (KTM) from the Czech Republic and Italy’s Daniele Tonelli (TM) who were both looking to bounce back from disappointing scores in Scheessel.
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Kraj\u010dovi\u010d threw down a challenge in his second Heat when he led home Halbert, who only just got the better of Neave for second, before Tonelli \u2013 who had failed to win a Heat in Scheessel \u2013 took the chequered flag in his second Heat ahead of Germany’s Christian Stange (Kawasaki) and \u0160v\u00e9d\u00edk.
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Kircher then raced to his second win of the programme, this time chased by Argentina’s Santiago Arangio (Yamaha), to turn more than a few heads and lead the field into the third block of Heats on a perfect score of fourteen, one clear of Halbert and two ahead of a three-way tie for third between Neave, Kraj\u010dovi\u010d and Tonelli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Halbert was straight back to his winning ways with victory in his third Heat chased by Kraj\u010dovi\u010d and Tonelli and then Neave took his second win of the afternoon, this time from Bailo, before Dutchman Menno Van Meer (Honda) \u2013 who had been limited to a pair of sixth-placed finishes in his opening two Heats \u2013 led home \u0160v\u00e9d\u00edk and Kircher.
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With just one more Heat to decide the ten automatic qualifiers for the Grand Final, the pressure was firmly on and Corradetti booked his place with victory from Van Meer, Bailo and Kircher who all made the cut as well before Halbert ensured first gate pick for the Grand Final with his third win of the day, this time in front of \u0160v\u00e9d\u00edk who also progressed.
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Securing their automatic places in the Grand Final, Czech series newcomer V\u00edt Janou\u0161ek won the last Heat race of the day from Neave, Corradetti and Kraj\u010dovi\u010d which forced the next ten riders into the Last Chance Heat where the final two positions behind the tapes for the Grand Final were decided in favour of Arangio and Italian Michele Guerra (Husqvarna).
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The Grand Final was all about Halbert who delivered a masterclass in cool, controlled racing. Choosing the second gate from the inside on the front row, the American started behind Kircher \u2013 who was quickly passed through the opening turn by Neave and Kraj\u010dovi\u010d \u2013 before threading his way through to the front by the start of lap two.
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For the remaining ten laps Neave kept the pressure on Halbert, but the former American Motorcyclist Association Grand National Champion barely put a wheel wrong and gave himself a thirty-eighth birthday present two days early by taking his second consecutive Grand Final win with Kraj\u010dovi\u010d and \u0160v\u00e9d\u00edk slowing dropping off the pace in third and fourth.
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Delighted to record a season-best finish of fifth, Kircher led home Bailo, Corradetti and Tonelli with Janou\u0161ek and Arangio completing the top ten.
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With Halbert once again collecting the bonus point for the fastest lap in the Grand Final, he heads to the sixth and concluding round of the 2025 FIM Flat Track World Championship \u2013 that takes place this coming Saturday (20 September) at Pardubice in the Czech Republic \u2013 leading Kraj\u010dovi\u010d by just four points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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