Vechta: Impressive Dave Meijerink wins ahead of birthday boy Lukas Fienhage

The sand track race at the Vechta District Automobile Club was dominated by the German Sidecar Championship, but the international solo competition also thrilled the spectators at the well-attended Reiterwaldstadion. After four heats each, the contenders for the overall victory had emerged from the field of 12 riders: Dave Meijerink and Lukas Fienhage, both on 19 points, Zach Wajtknecht on 17 and Jesse Mustonen on 15 points.

How did Lukas Fienhage fare on his home track?

Right from the first heat, Fienhage – who had no time to celebrate his 27th birthday – had relegated the Dutchman Meijerink to second place. After another heat victory against Romano Hummel (NL), who clearly didn’t want to take any risks on the slippery track, the Lohne-born rider – who now lives in France – had to concede the heat victory to Meijerink. In the final heat, Fienhage also beat Wajtknecht, the reigning long-track world champion.

The enthusiastic Fienhage fan club, who had quickly sung ‘Happy Birthday’ to their favourite after the riders’ presentation, then had to watch as ‘their’ number 125 got off to a poor start. Or to put it another way, the Finn Mustonen got off to a perfect start. He wasn’t caught by either the fiercely attacking Meijerink or Wajtknecht. That left Fienhage with just two points. The Dutchman William Kruit finished fifth in the final, whilst Hummel was forced to withdraw due to technical problems.

So, in the end, the score stood at 23–21 in favour of Meijerink over Fienhage. Mustonen followed in third place, level on points with Wajtknecht (both on 20). Here, the better finish in the final gave the Finn the edge.

Stephan Katt provided the surprise

How did Stephan Katt fare? The rider from Schleswig-Holstein started with a zero-point race, but then demonstrated that he still has what it takes by finishing second behind Fienhage. In his fourth heats race, Katt crossed the line in fourth place and finished the race in ninth place overall.

Then came the surprise: ‘Catman’ announced his retirement from track cycling. ‘I’ve been involved in track cycling for 34 years now, I’ve won many titles and have always been supported by a brilliant team. It’s been a wonderful time, but I also have to listen to my body – I’m saying goodbye,” said the Neuwittenbek native, who turns 47 this Tuesday, 15 September, to the wider track cycling family.

Results: I-Solo Vechta (Germany):

Results of the Vechta (Germany) Long-Course Cup: