FIMTrackRacing

ℹ️ Updated 2026 FIM Long Track World Championship Calendar Confirmed

The opening round of the 2026 FIM Long Track World Championship, scheduled to take place this evening – 13 July in Marmande, France, has been postponed due to restrictions imposed by the relevant authorities following the severe heat alert issued across the region.

Originally due to take place earlier this week, the Marmande round will now be held at the same venue on 26 September 2026, when it will serve as the final round of the 2026 FIM Long Track World Championship and will now take place after the FIM Long Track of Nation which will be held in Roden, the Netherlands on 20 September.

The FIM would like to thank the local organiser, the FFM and all stakeholders for their continued co-operation in facilitating this revised schedule.

💪 Tim Neave ties FIM Flat Track World Championship lead in Croatia 🇭🇷

British lion Tim Neave (Ducati – VRX Dirt Store Ducati) roared to the top of the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship standings with his second victory in seven days tying him for the series lead with his compatriot and team-mate Ashton Boughen after emerging on top of a delayed Final as round four was staged in Donji Kraljevec, Croatia, on Saturday night.

False starts and a series of crashes in the impressive Stadion Milenium forced multiple restarts of the programme’s main race, but when the Final eventually got under way cleanly at the eighth attempt it was the thirty-one-year-old who kept his cool amid soaring tensions.

With the race distance halved to six laps and riders starting line astern in the order they were running when the most recent red light came on, Neave got away at the front of the field and led from start to finish to draw level with Boughen – who could only manage sixth – at the top of the standings before a thirteen-point gap to defending champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) from the Czech Republic.

At three-hundred-and-five metres, the Donji Kraljevec is the series’ shortest so far this season and the slippery surface pushed the world’s leading Flat Track racers to their limit as favoured lines switched from the outside to the inside and riders fought for the slightest advantage.

Czech racer Ondřej Svědík (KTM Schruf – Zucco Racing) opened his account with a win from Neave and 2024 champion Sammy Halbert (Picasso Engineering OMT Squadra Corse Italiana) before Boughen – who held a nine-point championship lead after winning the opening two rounds – took victory ahead of Krajčovič.

Spain’s Gerard Bailo (Zaeta) completed the opening block with victory from the British pairing of Jack Bell (Triumph) and Gary Birtwistle (Dirt Craft powered by Royal Enfield), but it was a bright beginning to a tough nightshift for the former champion who started the programme tied for second with Neave.

American star Halbert was chased across the line by Bailo and Argentinian Mathias Lorenzato to claim his first win of the night at the start of the second block and Krajčovič then led home Birtwistle before Svědík maintained his unbeaten record when he defeated Neave and Bell, but the thirty-one-year-old slipped to fourth in his third Heat behind Krajčovič, Italian Daniele Tonelli (Donelli’s Garage TM) and Halbert.

His second win of the night moved two-time champion Krajčovič into a one-point lead ahead of Neave who took his first win from Birtwistle and Boughen before Lorenzato won from Dutch racer Stef Hamstra (KTM) to complete the third block.

With just three Heats left, the pressure was on to finish in the top ten and earn automatic qualification for the Final and Krajčovič ensured first gate pick when he won from Boughen, Neave and Birtwistle with the top four making the cut along with Halbert who crossed the line in sixth.
Svědík then bounced back with his third win of the programme to earn second gate pick with second-placed Tonelli also going through along with Lorenzato who did just enough in sixth before French rider Sébastien Jeanpierre and Ukrainian Stanislav Ohorodnik (Husqvarna) ran one-two in the concluding Heat to fill the remaining two automatic qualifying positions.

After scoring well in his first two Heats, Bailo had slipped down the order and found himself in the five-lap Last Chance Heat for riders finishing eleventh through twentieth and with only two Final places up for grabs his night went from bad to worse when he was sent to the penalty lane for a false start. However, the Spaniard dug deep and fought his way through the pack up to second behind Bell to make the cut and keep his championship hopes alive before tensions reached boiling point in a dramatic Final.

With so much at stake and everyone pushing hard, mistakes were inevitable and after a string of red lights and restarts it was Neave who held his nerve to lead home the field with Krajčovič and Bell completing the podium ahead of Halbert and Svědík as Boughen maintained a share of the championship lead thanks to an extra point for posting the fastest lap.

After two rounds over successive weekends, competitors now face a tense seven-week wait until the series hits the halfway mark with round five at Scheessel in Germany on 22 August.

With its mix of established stars, fast-rising talent and series newcomers, the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship is taking shape to be one of the most exciting in the sport’s history and FIM-MOTOTV will stream all rounds LIVE including behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and expert analysis.

🇸🇪 Swedish teenager Leo Klasson makes the step up to FIM Speedway Under-21 World Championship action after being named as BST FIM SGP2 of Sweden – Malilla wild card for Friday, July 10.

Read more 👉 https://www.fim-moto.com/en/search -news

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👏 Women’s Speedway takes centre stage at Donji Kraljevec

The world’s leading female Speedway racers are preparing for their busiest – and most important – period of the season when this year’s FIM Women’s Speedway Academy (WSA), the FIM Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy (WSGT) and the new FIM Women’s Speedway World Cup ( ) will all take place over an intense three days of action running from this coming Thursday until Saturday (2-4 July) at Donji Kraljevec in Croatia.

Following a format revision after last year’s successful second edition of the WSGT, there is a huge amount of excitement surrounding the new WSWC for fast females aged sixteen and over on 500cc machines that has attracted a strong international entry from eight nations and two continents and will take place on 4 July.

However, before the tapes go up on this new competition, virtually the entire entry for the WSWC and WSGT – that will also be held on 4 July – will take part in the fifth edition of the WSA staged on 2-3 July.

Organised by the FIM Women’s Commission (CFM), the FIM Track Racing Commission (CCP) and the team behind FIM Speedway Grand Prix fixtures at the venue, the WSA is a ground-breaking initiative to promote gender inclusivity in the discipline that was first held in 2022.

A major feature of the WSA is expert tuition from some of the sport’s biggest names that since the first edition have included multi-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Champions Greg Hancock and Jason Crump. This year’s coaching duties will be undertaken by FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) Director Phil Morris, FIM Long Track Race Director Glen Phillips, CCP Director and multi-time Italian national champion Armando Castagna plus former SGP racer and two-time European champion Matej Zagar.

A comprehensive programme will take riders through aspects of the sport including riding technique, race craft, machine set-up and nutrition as well as physical and mental preparation and guidance on dealing with sponsors and the media. A content creation session will also be held to keep riders up to speed with social media skills.

2025 Women’s Speedway Gold Trophy, Donji Kraljevec © Jesper Veldhuizen
With the WSA wrapped up for another year, riders will be given the opportunity to put their newly-polished skills into action in the WSWC and WSGT competitions.

Heading the WSWC entry is last year’s WSGT champion Hannah Grunwald. Just seventeen at the time of her victory, the fast-rising German talent remained unbeaten throughout the Heat stages before inflicting a rare defeat on her compatriot and women’s Speedway legend Celina Liebmann in the Final and with another twelve months of experience under her belt she could be hard to beat.

Liebmann, who won the inaugural event before competing with an injury last season, is hotly-tipped to be a front runner this time around in the WSWC, but the twenty-four-year-old is far too experienced to rest on her laurels and will undoubtedly bring her best riding to the Stadion Milenium. However, with a healthy number from the entry also having competed in last year’s WSGT, it is an experienced field and every point will be hard-fought.

A fighting fourth in the WSGT in 2025, Denmark’s Louise Funch-Larsen will have her sights fixed firmly on a WSWC podium finish and expect strong performances too from riders including Anna Hajkova from Slovakia and Australian Tayla Street who ended last season ranked fifth and sixth.

Also looking to improve in their finishes from 2025 are Poland’s Martyna Mroz, Katja Stoffer Jorgensen from Denmark, Nynke Sijbesma from the Netherlands and Germany’s Alina Zimmermann, while for Dutch racer Sanne Meijerink this will be her debut at this level.

Now intended for 250cc riders aged between thirteen and sixteen, the WSGT will be contested by riders new to the international stage, including Australian Ruby Chapman, Lenja Tebbe from Germany, Swede Indra Holmsten-Bister, Poland’s Maja Joma, Demi Blu Harris from Great Britain and Slovenia’s Tia Zorko.

The action from Donji Kraljevec gets under way on Saturday at 13:30 (local time) and will be followed by round four of the 2026 FIM Flat Track World Championship.

FIM WOMEN in Motorcycling