Russian racer Emil Sayfutdinov believes his World Championship dreams are back on track after winning his first Grand Prix for three and a half years in Bydgoszcz on Saturday night.
Sayfutdinov, who lives in the city, topped the Motorsportwash.com European FIM Speedway Grand Prix podium after overhauling Slovenian hotshot Matej Zagar to win the final, earn 15 points and move up to sixth spot in the overall standings on 21.
Polish legend Tomasz Gollob, who leads the World Championship on 31 points, was third in his home town on 16.
Tai Woffinden did Great Britain proud by finishing fourth and making his maiden Grand Prix final appearance. He is fourth in the standings on 23 pointslevel with Polands Jaroslaw Hampel in third.
Sayfutdinovs last Grand Prix victory came at the FIM Slovenian SGP in Krsko on September 12, 2009. He also triumphed in Prague and Gothenburg on his way to third in the World Championship that year.
But the Salavat-born mans 2010 campaign was wrecked by injury and he only really started to get back to his best midway through 2012. With all that behind him, Sayfutdinov is hopeful he can stay on the SGP rostrum and reassert his authority on the World Championship race.
He said: Of course its good to be back in first place. I think I need to keep this form and it will be good for me. I had problems after 2009, but now Im back. Im feeling good and I want to keep it like thisbeing a Grand Prix winner and getting good points. Maybe there will be a chance for the championship?
Maybe there has been a bit of pressure since 2009. But I havent changed anything for this year. Im just ready now.
I think this will be good for me. When youre winning, you feel much better on the bike. You think oh, Ive done it now. I can do it again. We will see if I can
Sayfutdinov took five points from his opening two heats, but managed just four in his remaining three. He admits track conditions caught him out, but he was pleased to get things right when it mattered most as he won his semi-final and final.
He said: In the beginning, the track was a little bit deeper. There was more material. My bike was feeling good. Later, after my second heat, it was completely slick. But I found some good setups when I needed to. It was hard work and Im very happy. Thanks to my team. They did a very good job.
Sayfutdinov may have left Bydgoszcz for their Polish Ekstraliga rivals Czestochowa over the winter, but he remains a huge favourite in the city he calls home during the racing season.
He said: I feel very good because its my second town. I have lived here for eight years and Im really happy to have won here. I have friends and fans here and it was a good night.
Zagar was pleased to clinch the silver medalhis best SGP finish since he bagged second spot in Prague on August 26, 2006. After scoring just five points at the New Zealand SGP in Auckland on March 23, he was delighted to bounce back with 14 in Bydgoszcz.
He said: Im pretty pleased with second place in the end. I was pretty slow and slipping a bit at the start of the season. The trip to New Zealand didnt do me any good. But now Im back in Europe and my form is coming better and better with every meeting.
Gollob may not have clinched his eighth SGP victory at the ZKS Polonia Stadium, but his manager Thomas Gaszynski says 16 points towards his dream of a second world title was a great reward.
He said: Our aim is always the samethats to become world champion. If that means winning 12 rounds, thats great. If it means not winning a single round, thats also good.
Of course we were aiming for a better result. At home Tomek always wants to win, especially in Bydgoszcz. It turned out a little different, but a podium finish is fantastic for us. If we can keep that going, well be okay at the end of the year.
Woffinden left Bydgoszcz with plenty of reason to be proud, even though he didnt quite manage his first podium finish. But he isnt letting his final appearance go to his head and is keen to keep putting in the effort on and off the track.
It was good, he said. I had good speed. It was a good night overall. Im just building on that. Im doing everything I can. My engines are good, Im training hard, Im eating properly and it looks like its paying off. But its a long season and anything can happen with speedway, so Ill just keep working hard.
Next up for the SGP elite is the Fogo Swedish FIM Speedway Grand Prix in Gothenburg on May 4.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Tomasz Gollob 31, 2 Darcy Ward 25, 3 Jaroslaw Hampel 23, 4 Tai Woffinden 23, 5 Nicki Pedersen 22, 6 Emil Sayfutdinov 21, 7 Chris Holder 19, 8 Greg Hancock 19, 9 Matej Zagar 19, 10 Niels-Kristian Iversen 16, 11 Andreas Jonsson 15, 12 Fredrik Lindgren 12, 13 Antonio Lindback 9, 14 Martin Vaculik 9, 15 Krzysztof Kasprzak 6, 16 Krzysztof Buczkowski 6, 17 Jason Bunyan 1.
BYDGOSZCZ SGP SCORES: 1 Emil Sayfutdinov 15, 2 Matej Zagar 14, 3 Tomasz Gollob 16, 4 Tai Woffinden 14, 5 Darcy Ward 13, 6 Nicki Pedersen 10, 7 Chris Holder 10, 8 Niels-Kristian Iversen 9, 9 Jaroslaw Hampel 8, 10 Greg Hancock 8, 11 Krzysztof Buczkowski 6, 12 Martin Vaculik 4, 13 Andreas Jonsson 4, 14 Fredrik Lindgren 4, 15 Antonio Lindback 3, 16 Krzysztof Kasprzak 0, 17 Szymon Wozniak DNR, 18 Mikolaj Curylo DNR.
