Scheeßel: Erik Riss the outstanding GP winner – Daniel Spiller involved in a serious crash

That was not at all what the MSC Eichenring Scheeßel, which was celebrating its 75th anniversary, had envisaged. The 1,000-metre-long sand track had been brought up to top condition with extensive preparation in the run-up to the Grand Prix; the weather was fine and around four and a half thousand spectators provided a wonderful backdrop to the race.

Had it not been for a number of crashes. Andrew Appleton was the first to go down in the very fifth heat. The Briton had won the first of a total of 20 heats by a comfortable margin, but in his second heat, shortly after the start, he collided with Keijo Busch, crashed and subsequently had to be taken to hospital for a check-up. He was replaced from then on by Fabian Wachs of MSC Werlte, who, however, stood no chance.

Things went very badly for Daniel Spiller

And what a drama surrounding Daniel Spiller. The Nuremberg rider was disqualified in Heat 6 for touching the starting line, having finished second in his first heat behind the once again formidable Dutchman Dave Meijerink. But it got much worse. In Heat 12, Spiller was already leading the field by a wide margin, but then the Brit Jake Mulford crashed and the race was abandoned.

In the re-run, the German didn’t get off to a great start; coming from the inside into Turn 1, he crashed into the rear wheel of Frenchman Anthony Chauffour and slammed terrifyingly into the air fences. His motorbike was sent flying into the air, struck the airbags from above and was almost catapulted over the safety zone.

After lengthy treatment on the track, including by an emergency doctor who had been called to the scene, the air ambulance landed at the Eichenring. Many long and anxious minutes passed before Spiller could be taken to hospital. The police were also on site to assess the situation. No further details regarding the injured rider’s condition were available.

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After extensive track preparation, proceedings continued smoothly

The track was then partially resurfaced and rolled using additional heavy machinery that had been ordered in. Understandably, this took some time, but the majority of the spectators waited patiently.

At around 6 pm, the re-run was finally held, this time with just two riders: Glenn Moi and Chauffour. However, the Frenchman was forced to retire due to a technical fault.

After that, everything went smoothly. The sun was shining again and Erik Riss, who had already won three heats in outstanding fashion, also finished his last two heats with a lightning-fast start and subsequent victory in each. The Swabian thus qualified for the all-deciding final with 20 points, as did the once again very strong Dave Meijerink (18 points) and world champion Zach Wajtknecht with 17 points. In two semi-final heats, Chris Harris and Kenneth Kruse Hansen also secured their places in the final, each picking up a further four points.

Erik Riss: a well-deserved GP winner

In the final, it was all down to the finish. Riss started from the inside and entered the first corner in the lead. Behind him were Meijerink, Harris, Kruse Hansen and Wajtknecht. The Dane was quickly forced out of the race due to a mechanical failure. Erik Riss was uncatchable; with a clean line and at full throttle, he secured the GP victory ahead of the Dutchman – who had been very successful in recent weeks – ‘Bomber’ Harris and Zach Wajtknecht.

“I was already feeling good last week, and I’d slept well last night, so I went into the race feeling very confident,” Riss told SPEEDWEEK.com after the podium ceremony. He added: “My starts were good today; I’m actually a good starter, but when you haven’t raced for so long and have had little practice, I wasn’t as confident before the race today as I usually am. But it all worked out in the end.”

Lukas Fienhage recorded just one race win in total and suffered a retirement in Heat 11. After the 22 races, the AC Vechta rider had accumulated 14 points. He finished seventh in the overall standings.

Results of the Scheeßel Long-Track GP (Germany):

• 1. Erik Riss (GER), 26 World Championship points

• 2. Dave Meijerink (NL), 24

• 3. Chris Harris (GB), 22

• 4. Zach Wajtknecht (GB), 20

• 5. Kenneth Kruse Hansen (DK), 18

• 6. Jesse Mustonen (SF), 16

• 7. Lukas Fienhage (Germany), 15

• 8. Patrick Kruse (DK), 14

• 9. William Kruit (NL), 13

• 10. Glenn Moi (N), 12

• 11. Mika Meijer (NL), 11

• 12. Tero Aarnio (Finland), 10

• 13. Jake Mulford (GB), 9

• 14. Tino Bouin (F), 7

• 15. Andrew Appleton (GB), 6

• 16. Anthony Chauffour (F), 5

• 17. Timo Wachs (D), 4

• 18. Keijo Busch (Germany), 3

• 19. Jordan Dubernard (F), 2

• 20. Daniel Spiller (Germany), 1

• 21. Fabian Wachs (D), 0