Defending champion Sammy Halbert blasted his way back into contention for the 2025 FIM Flat Track World Championship powered by HKC Koopmann, Anlas, Kineo and Blackburst on Saturday with an unbeaten and unbeatable performance at round four at Scheessel in northern Germany.
This is a race recap provided by the FIM…
Despite claiming victory at round two at Meissen in June, the 37-year-old American sat fourth at the halfway point of the series and was 13 points behind leader and 2023 champion Ervin Krajčovič (KTM) heading into the series’ historic first visit to the tree-lined Eichenring Scheessel.
The imposing 1000-meter track clearly suited Halbert’s spectacular style of racing and comfortable wins in his four Heats followed by a commanding performance in the Grand Final that earned him the bonus point for fastest lap saw him add a further 26 points to his season total. This maximum haul, coupled with below-par performances from his main rivals, has allowed him to reduce Krajčovič’s advantage to just two points and thrown the title fight wide open with just two rounds remaining.
Italy’s Kevin Corradetti (Yamaha) has been getting faster as the season has progressed and he got his afternoon under way with a win in the opening Heat ahead of Czech racer Vít Janoušek (Honda)—who continues to impress in his first full season in the championship—and home racer Nikita Alyani.
Halbert was next up and he won his six-lap Heat by over four seconds from Ondřej Švédík (KTM) from the Czech Republic—who started the day in second in the standings—with Argentinian Santiago Arangio (Yamaha) looking strong in third before Britain’s Tim Neave (GasGas) defeated Krajčovič and British wild card Thomas Hunt (Yamaha) to claim a share of the early lead.
Krajčovič took his first win of the afternoon at the start of the second block of racing from Britain’s Jack Bell (Yamaha) with Arangio again third and Corradetti then defeated the German pairing of Marius Kircher and Alyani before Halbert won again, this time chased by Neave and the impressive championship debutant Hunt.
With only the top ten after the Heats earning an automatic place in the Grand Final, the pressure was mounting heading into the second half of the program and Arangio soaked it up to claim victory from Dutchman Menno Van Meer (Honda) and Spanish former champion Gerard Bailo (Zaeta).
Corradetti maintained his unbeaten score when he led home Neave, Švédík and Krajčovič and Halbert made it three from three with another dominant victory, this time from Hunt and Italian Daniele Tonelli (TM) who started the afternoon third in the points, but appeared down on speed and was struggling. There was also bad news for the home fans when both Kircher and Alyani were forced to withdraw with mechanical problems.
Švédík booked his place in the Grand Final with victory at the start of the fourth block from Janoušek and Giacomo Bossetti (GasGas) from Italy and Halbert then broke the deadlock at the top when he defeated Corradetti, Arangio and Krajčovič before the top 10 was decided when Neave led home Bell and Van Meer in the final Heat of the afternoon.
Riders positioned 11th to 20th contested the Last Chance Heat that saw Bossetti and Bailo progress, but Tonelli’s championship hopes suffered a hammer blow when he could only manage third and was eliminated.
The 10-lap Grand Final was all about Halbert who, after slipping through on the inside to pass the fast-starting Arangio at the end of the opening lap, proceeded to check out to win by over four seconds as behind him the Argentinian went to war with Neave and Corradetti.
Showing immense respect for each other’s abilities, Neave and Arangio were bar to bar for almost the entire race before Corradetti, who had been biding his time in fourth, passed both with one smooth move on lap seven. Arangio then made a pass on Neave only for the British rider to respond and at the flag it was Halbert from Corradetti and Neave.
Arangio was a career-best fourth chased by Švédík, Krajčovič and Bell with Van Meer, Janoušek and Hunt completing the top 10.
The series now takes a three-week break before the action resumes at Vasad in Hungary on September 13.
2025 FIM Flat Track World Championship Round 4 Results
- Sammy Halbert
- Kevin Corradetti
- Tim Neave
- Santiago Arangio
- Ondřej Svědík
- Ervín Krajčovič
- Jack Bell
- Menno Van Meer
- Vít Janoušek
- Thomas Hunt
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