It's happening this Friday, 19th September in Częstochowa. Emil Sajfutdinow will have a chance to win the first Individual European Champion title. It won’t be an easy task because Peter Kildemand, who is chasing him, loses only three points and additionally Dane is on his home track. The rider from Russia is relaxed before the final tournament.
Three points of advantage over Peter Kildemand. Can you already start celebrating gold medal of European Championship?
- No, not at all! This is sport and you have to be concentrated until the very end. I have to find the right setups for the track. Definitely there will be tough fight because there are great riders in SEC but of course I want to win and I’ll do my best to make it possible.
Will you finish this season this what you started last year?
- I hope so. Last year everything was destroyed by the injury but now I feel very well. Health is the most important and the rest will come. Indeed, I would like to finish that what I started last year and win gold medal.
The SEC final is on the track in Częstochowa which you know very well. Does it make the task easier?
- I don’t think so. Everybody knows this track and apart from that there will be training session before the event so everybody will have the possibility to find the right setups for the surface. Simply you have to have such setups to be faster than rivals.
The season will finish soon. What was it like for you?
- It is finishing but still lasts so the time for the summary is after the last tournament. I have to still work so that you can say after the last heat that it was a good year. Bu of course I will wait for that moment a little bit.
Who will be the most dangerous rival for you in Częstochowa?
- I think that everybody will be dangerous. Everybody wants to present well at the end of the series so I have to be careful to ride well. I concentrate on myself, on my start, I don’t look at others. If I ride on a good level, I won’t have to worry about my rivals’ starts.
In 2013 you won in Togliatti and you said then that you would like to do that again next year but Nicki was better. What happened?
- Everything would be okay if the heat wasn’t stopped. At the first time I had a good start, I was on the lead but the red light appeared and we had to stand in front of the tape once again. Then better was Nicki Pedersen, I was third but I managed to overtake Patryk Dudek and finally I was the second. Well, that’s life – you can’t win all the time. Fortunately I scored many points there so I can’t say that I wasn’t successful.
It’s your second year in Speedway European Championships. Do you think that in comparison to the last season, the series have become more prestigious?
- Yes, I think so. The most important thing is the promotion of the event. Thanks to the fact that it is shown on Eurosport, my countrymen in Russia can see me in action. They don’t have to look for some transmission in the Internet but they can easily see everything on TV. We, riders are definitely happy that the championship has a right course.
You have been in great disposition lately. Please say what did you put into your bike that at the start you are as fast as a rocket?
- Mainly it’s the hard work of my team. We search a lot, we test new setups and always manage to find the right way. The more you work, the bigger chance for success you have. We're testing all the time so I would like to thank all people in my team who spend a lot of time working with bikes so that I could have as good score as possible.
The day after the Great Final of SEC you will ride in Verva Street Racing – Dakar at National…
- It will be my debut but I’m really looking forward to it. I would like to come to Warsaw as the European Champion and that’s why I want to do my best in Częstochowa to have gold medal on my neck. For us, speedway riders it’s also a great opportunity to meet great stars of motor sports. I am convinced that we’ll have a great time. I can’t wait. I am happy that we’ll race at such a big stadium! The more fans, the better we feel because we do this sport for fans. Surely there will be big adrenaline.
With Unibax Touruń you haven’t qualified to play – off. However you still race in Sweden. What are your goals for this season?
- I want to ride as good as possible in all events to have good form all the time. I want to end this season on a bike, with no injury and that’s the most important for me. Honestly, I haven’t been tired with this season so far.
So at the end it’s your opportunity to invite fans for the Great Final of SEC…
- I would like to invite all fans for the fourth round of SEC in Częstochowa. I also invite Russians who will definitely come to keep fingers crossed. I invite Poles because we end the whole series here, it will tough fight because everything is really close in the classification. Surely there will be great fun so come and support us as strong as you can!
