Czech challenger Ervin Krajčovič (KTM) will line up in Morizès in south-west France this coming Sunday (8 October) for the deciding Final of the 2023 FIM Flat Track World Championship on the verge of making history as the first rider from his nation to win the title.
The Prague-born thirty-two-year-old has yet to win a Grand Final this season, but out of the four rounds staged so far he has been on the podium three times and this consistency has earned him a five-point advantage over Spain’s defending champion Gerard Bailo (KTM).
A relative newcomer to the sport, Krajčovič – who was third last season – only started to compete in Flat Track three years ago when he returned to racing after injuries forced him to cut short a promising career in Motocross that began when he was just five years old.
“We are a Motocross family,” he said. “My grandfather was a great Motocross rider and my father as well. They were among the best in our country and raced in the FIM World Championship so it was obvious I would follow in their footsteps and I had success in the junior categories, but then injuries came and I finished racing.
“I missed racing, but on the other hand I didn’t have time to devote myself one hundred per cent to Motocross. With Flat Track I have fun and still have time to catch up with work and spend time with the people around me away from the racetrack.”
As one of the leading competitors in such an intense sport, Krajčovič’s more relaxed attitude is an effective antidote to the pressure of top-flight racing, although – make no mistake – he will be bringing his best game to Morizès.
“I always try to be one-hundred per cent ready for every race. The season is already a success for me and no matter how it turns out at the end I will be satisfied, and it is clear that if we have made it this far, I will give everything to fight for the title.”
Away from Flat Track, Krajčovič works for the Moto Racing Group which earlier this year won the category for best private team in the Dakar Rally and he also organises events as well as teaching novices to ride motorcycles.
These are exciting times for Flat Track fans in the Czech Republic and Krajčovič knows that winning the FIM World Championship will help the sport to continue to grow in his country.
“Flat Track has been making great progress in recent years thanks to our results in the FIM World Championship and the work of Pavol Pučko who makes sure that we have enough races at a good level during the season. I think this is one of the things that allows us to gradually improve. We manage to work together on the media side and people are starting to talk about Flat Track. Also, the biggest Czech television channel comes to almost every race to do a report.”
For now, however, Krajčovič’s immediate focus is on Flat Track on a global level as he prepares to go into battle for the final time this season.
“As a kid I always wanted something like this in Motocross and standing at the top of the [FIM World Championship] podium – whether it is Motocross, Enduro or Flat Track – I think is the dream of every rider.”