FIM FLAT TRACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 1 PREVIEW

The all-new VRX Dirt Store Ducati Race Team will make its FIM Flat Track World Championship debut this Saturday in Roden.

Great Britain riders Tim Neave and Ashton Boughen compete in the first of ten rounds, racing the recently launched Desmo450 MX as the battle for the title gets underway.

Ducati enter the fast-growing series for the first time, and whilst the diverse nature of the ten rounds staged on a wide variety of circuits will present clear challenges, the new model has already shown itself to be adaptable and versatile.

Former World No.4 Tim Neave and youngster Ashton Boughen represent the team, with promising results having already been achieved in build-up events.

An extensive testing programme has been carried out in Italy, which included an entry into the first round of the national Flat Track series where Neave won all four qualifying races before an incident on the first bend of the Final left him making a recovery effort to finish sixth.

Boughen recorded two wins and two seconds in the qualifiers and then finished an impressive second behind Daniele Tonelli in the Final as he continues to adapt to a new discipline of racing.

Former World No.4 Neave finished sixth overall in the 2025 World Championship, as having seen his title chances effectively disappear in a disastrous opening round, he hit back strongly with podium finishes in the second half of the season at Scheesel and Vasad.

The opening round of the series will be a step into the unknown for many, as the Dutch venue has regularly staged FIM Long Track World Championship events in recent years, but this will be the first time the Flat Track World Championship comes to the Speed Centre Roden.

Defending Champion Ervin Krajcovic will be favourite to take a third title, and over a ten-round series he will be confident that his consistency will be key. Krajcovic edged out 2024 Champion Sammy Halbert by just five points in last year’s series, but his main challenge is set to come from elsewhere as the American will not be contesting the full campaign.

Taking third place overall in 2025 was Krajcovic’s fellow Czech Republic racer Ondrej Svedik, whilst 2022 Champion Gerard Bailo will look for a return to top honours having finished seventh last year, just behind Kevin Corradetti, Tonelli and Neave. 

Riders from twelve nations overall will compete in the event, with British riders Thomas Hunt (Yamaha), Jack Bell (Triumph) and Gary Birtwistle (Royal Enfield) also included.

There are four qualifying races for each rider, with each race featuring eight competitors. The top ten proceed to the Final with the next ten in the 24-rider field going to the Last Chance, from which the top two make up a 12-rider line-up for the Final.

VRX Management Ltd MD Rob Painter said: “We’re pleased with the testing results, but we do know in Flat Track there is a huge difference between the venues in terms of size, far more than in Speedway. At 600m, Roden is going to be bigger than anything Ashton has ever ridden, so it’s still very much going to be a learning curve. There are no expectations being placed on him, this all about enjoying it and building for the future.

“With Tim, there’s no doubt that he wants to compete for wins, especially as he’s never won a round before so that’s a big target for him this year. We’d love to see Tim on the podium as much as possible, and I do feel it’s realistic to think he could be challenging for an overall medal.

“Everyone in the team is pushing hard. It’s Ducati’s first time in this category, bringing in a brand-new bike, and everyone is motivated to do all we can make it a successful start.”

Full coverage of the FIM Flat Track World Championship will be available from https://fim-moto.tv/flat_track Saturday’s opening round in Roden gets underway at 2pm UK time, following on from the FIM Long Track Under-23 World Cup.