Halbert Takes
World Crown
S
ammy Halbert is now the first
non-European rider to win the
FIM Flat Track World Champion-
ship, which he narrowly sewed up
at the final round in Hungary.
With a seven-point advantage
heading into the Perenyi Pal
Salakmotor Stadium for the sixth
and deciding round, the 37-year-
old Halbert was in command af
-
ter his run of five straight podium
finishes, including two wins, and
knew that even if his main title
rival and defending champion
Ervin Krajcovic (KTM) was to win,
third or better would mean the
crown was heading home with
him to the Pacific Northwest.
It all came down to the final
race. From the start, Halbert
muscled his way to the front, with
Krajcovic powering through into
second place and applying pres
-
sure on his American rival. The
charging Czech rider then made
a forceful move up the inside to
take the lead and was pulling
away, when a rider crashed and
the red lights brought the race to
a premature halt.
When the decision was
made that the Grand Final had
progressed far enough not to
warrant a restart, the title went
to Halbert by just four slender
points over Krajcovic.
"Winning the FIM Flat Track
World Championship after six
intense rounds across Europe
feels incredible," said Halbert.
"The level of competition on
these speedway tracks was no
joke—they really pushed me to
my limits, which makes this vic
-
WIND
IN THE
P56
(Above) Sammy Halbert won the 2024 FIM Flat Track World
Championship in Hungary. (Below) It all came down to the final race of
the season. Halbert (69) finished second, which was just good enough to
take the title by just four points.
PHOTOS: STEPAN SEVCIK
tory even sweeter. The pressure
was high, but I'm proud to have
finished strong and bring the
championship home. I'm grate
-
ful for the journey, the support
from my team, and everyone
who's been part of it."
CN
FINAL
1. Ervin Krajcovic (KTM)
2. Sammy Halbert (KTM)
3. Kevin Corradetti (GG)
4. Ondrej Svedik (Yam)
5. Lasse Kurvinen (KTM)
