LAGUTA: SEEKING THE SUMMIT

Artem Laguta’s manager Rafal Lewicki admits the new FIM Speedway Grand Prix leader will need fortune on his side to complete his climb to the summit of world speedway.

Laguta raced to his fourth win of SGP 2021 at the Danish SGP sponsored by Ecco in Vojens last Saturday to leapfrog defending champion Bartosz Zmarzlik for top spot in the SGP World Championship standings.

The Wroclaw and Vastervik star holds a one-point lead going into the title-deciding double-header in Torun on October 1 and 2, where one good or bad start could make the difference between gold and silver.

Lewicki compares Laguta’s quest to win the sport’s biggest prize to climbing Mount Everest. While skill has taken Laguta and Zmarzlik a long way up the mountain, Lewicki knows whoever enjoys a touch of good fortune in Torun will reach the summit.

He said: “People go to the Himalayas to climb to the peak of Everest and they do it step by step. They reach the camps at different levels, climbing higher and higher and higher.

“The last camp is quite high and that’s where we are – we are waiting to make that final climb for the peak.

“We are organising everything and getting ready, but to get to that peak, you need a little bit of luck with the weather window. Whoever gets that weather window out of Artem or Bartosz will be the winner.

“They are both performing great and they are in great form. They both deserve it. But in sport, you need a bit of luck and you need to be in the right place at the right time.

“You need that weather window a mountain climber hopes for if you want to make it to the top. If our team gets that weather window, for sure we hope to use it and reach the peak.”

Lewicki insists it will be business as usual for Team Laguta ahead of the biggest three weeks of the rider’s life as he bids to become the first rider representing the Motorcycling Federation of Russia to be crowned world champion.

Before he turns his attention to Torun, Laguta also has some vital business to take care of with PGE Ekstraliga finalists Wroclaw and Swedish side Vastervik, who are seeded into the Bauhaus Elitserien semi-finals.

Lewicki said: “We have some very, very important meetings in front of us in the leagues. Artem lines up for Wroclaw in the Ekstraliga final on Sunday; it’s Artem’s first final in Poland, so he’s very excited and happy about that.

“He is feeling very good in the Wroclaw team. He has very good communication with Tai Woffinden, Maciej Janowski, Gleb Chugunov and Dan Bewley. It’s a very good team over there and he likes that very much.

“He also has the play-offs in Sweden before Torun. That’s going to keep Artem sharp and busy. That’s a good thing. Once we have raced these meetings, then we will arrive in Torun.”