Martin Vaculik wins dramatic Speedway Grand Prix of Prague as Maciej Janowski disqualified in final

ByEurosport

Updated 28/05/2022 at 20:26 GMT

Martin Vaculik kickstarted his Speedway Grand Prix season with a stunning victory in the third race of the season in Prague. The Slovak rider dominated the final, which had to be re-run after Maciej Janowski was disqualified after moving off the start line before the tapes were raised. The 2022 Speedway Grand Prix will be available live and ad-free on discovery+

Vaculik wins SGP final 'in fine style' as Janowski disqualified

Martin Vaculik kickstarted his Speedway Grand Prix season with a stunning victory in the third race of the season in Prague.

The Slovak rider was in fine form throughout the heats and won both his semi-final and the final, streaking ahead from the start of the latter.

British rider Tai Woffinden finished second after a much improved performance on the night with Jason Doyle making up the podium in third.

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Going into the evening’s racing, Bartosz Zmarzlik looked the favourite after a near perfect qualifying session, but nothing could take this win away from Vaculik.

Over the 20 Heats, Tai Woffinden had put on a strong evening, winning four out of his five heats and propelling himself to the top of the standings on 13 points. However, Vaculik was lurking close by, sitting just one point behind Woffinden.

Vaculik picked Gate 2 going into his semi-final, a gate that had proved to be highly successful throughout the night.

He set off flying in the semi-final, however, it looked as if it would be marred after Anders Thomsen came off his bike. Luckily, Thomsen was able to get his bike off track and racing could resume, leaving Vaculik the victor and through to the final.

The final between Vaculik, Woffinden, Maciej Janowski and Jason Doyle didn’t come without its issues. Janowski was excluded before the Heat could properly start for touching the tapes, leaving just the three in the final showdown.

Just like he had been doing all night, Vaculik jumped out of the gate on the restart and the night was his to lose. Woffinden come second overall, a result he would be pleased with after his performances in the first two rounds. Doyle claimed the final podium spot in third.

Elsewhere, Zmarzlik saw himself miss out on the final after yet another mistake during his semi-final, like the last meeting in Poland.

Mikkel Michelsen also had a disappointing night. The Dane had made it through to the past two finals but couldn’t get into the top eight tonight. One to forget for him.

The riders don’t have long till they compete again. The next round of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix is to be held on 4 June in Germany.