Criticism of long-track world champion Erik Riss: “I’m not really interested”

Although Erik Riss was forced to take another break during the past season, the Swabian still managed to celebrate two major successes on the long track: In Mühldorf, he won the German Championship title, and in the World Championships he got off to a flying start with two Grand Prix victories, ultimately becoming champion for the third time following his triumphs in 2014 and 2016.

“Those were two disastrous, gruelling years, which are now behind me thanks to the problems with my eyes. At the moment, however, everything suggests that a solution has been found,” said Riss, referring to the setbacks he faced this year too, which make his third world championship a very special one. “At the halfway point of the season, there were times when I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to ride again, let alone compete in the World Championship. I was glad to be back on the track, but it was harder to get back into speedway racing as the others had been riding all season.”

Even in an open race like the one in Olching, the standard is almost higher than in the Long Track World Championship.

Erik Riss

Getting back into long-track racing was much easier, as Erik Riss’s results underline: “Long-track racing is much easier because the standard there is lower than in speedway; even in an open race like the one in Olching, the standard is almost higher than in the Long-Track World Championship. What’s more: my kit works well on the long track; we know our way round it and have a great deal of experience within the team, which makes a lot of things easier for us. There are around five top riders in the Long Track World Championship, but on the whole the standard is lower than on the speedway track, where there are tough opponents in every heat of a league race – that’s not the case in the Long Track World Championship.”

Erik Riss pays no heed to what others say

The 31-year-old, as champion, decided against competing in the Long-Track Team World Championship and instead took part in a Polish League race in Gdańsk. This drew criticism from those who would have liked to see Riss in the national team – as a medal would have been possible with him on board. “At the end of the day, I don’t care what people say or where I’m supposed to race. Everyone can decide what they do with their lives, and I don’t tell anyone else what they have to do or for how long,” Erik replied in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “As a fan, it’s always easy to ask yourself why he’s doing this or why he isn’t doing that. When you watch football, everyone has their own opinion. But I’m not really interested in that – I do what I want, and I’m happy with it.”