Lasse Kurvinen sent shockwaves through the sport when, after two seasons away, the 2020 and 2021 champion powered to the top step of the podium at the opening round of the 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo, HKC Koopmann and Blackburst at Boves-Cuneo in north-west Italy.
For the forty-five-year-old Finn it was a remarkable return to FIM World Championship competition, although Kurvinen – who, when he is not throwing his KTM sideways at speed, works as a civil engineer – was not surprised by his incredible form.
“I was told that I wouldn’t be able to do it anymore,” he said. “Maybe I’m too old as I turn 46 this year, but I know that my understanding of this sport has improved all the time. I’m also in better shape than fifteen years ago, I ride technically better, and I trust myself. I don’t care what others say, I enjoy all the rounds because it’s my last dance. I also want to be positive, help everyone and be polite, this is how we make this sport flourish together.”
After wrestling the 2020 FIM Flat Track World Championship away from Italy’s Francesco Cecchini who had won the title for six consecutive seasons, Kurvinen hoped to end his career racing for the KTM factory team in American Flat Track (AFT) competition. However, a rule change in the USA meant he could not compete so he stayed in Europe and collected a second FIM World Championship crown with a commanding performance, winning two rounds and twice finishing runner-up to underline his dominance of the discipline.
In 2022 he again set his sights on the USA, but injured himself competing in Ice Road Racing – a popular sport in Finland where riders race modified Motocross machines on frozen circuits that have more in common with MotoGP™ than the regular oval tracks used for Ice Speedway – and after shoulder surgery in the off-season prepared for another AFT assault.
With his focus on the AFT SuperTwins class, Kurvinen impressed in tests last summer which earned him the necessary licence to compete, making him just the second rider from outside of the USA after Australian three-time FIM Superbike World Champion Troy Bayliss to directly qualify for America’s premier Flat Track class, however more disappointment was to follow when funding and contractual problems left him without a ride.
Then, during a training trip to Spain, he made the decision to once again concentrate on the FIM Flat Track World Championship.
“Think bigger when you experience adversity! I had to take risks by making contracts even though I didn’t have a place in the FIM World Championship series. Fortunately, two weeks before the Boves race I got the news that I could compete. Then I got really busy because I was in Sweden coaching Flat Track. I made it to Italy, although the bikes didn’t work and the second engine broke in training. I hastily assembled one to work, which I won with and I hope it will last in Meissen.”
Kurvinen will defend his championship lead tomorrow (Saturday 27 July) when round two of the 2024 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by Anlas, Kineo, Blackburst and HKC Koopmann is staged at the Speedwaystadion Meissen in Germany with the first Heat scheduled to get under way at 17:00 local time. For more information click here.
