German Speedway Championship, Güstrow: Valentin Grobauer wins after favourites drop out

The German Championship remains exciting even after the third final race of the five-part series. Norick Blödorn, who led the standings after the first two meetings, had to withdraw from the Güstrow event due to illness, though he can afford to do so thanks to the ‘discarded result’ rule in the championship standings.

In the first two rounds, Kai Huckenbeck and Lars Skupien were the only riders to remain unbeaten, each with two heat wins; as luck would have it, both were forced to withdraw in the third round and failed to score any points. Valentin Grobauer seized the opportunity that now presented itself and took the lead with his second victory. The 31-year-old Bavarian remained unbeaten in his subsequent heats as well, triumphing twice from the blue starting position. With 14 points, he not only won the race but also bagged the bonus point for the day’s victory.

Huckenbeck and the young Tyler Haupt also remained unbeaten in the remaining heats, having six points to their name after the third heat. This meant a play-off for second place had to be held between Huckenbeck and Haupt, which Roberto Haupt’s son surprisingly won against the former Grand Prix rider.

After three events, Kevin Wölbert leads the championship with 39 points. The Heidhof native, who won the second race in Brokstedt, finished fifth in Güstrow with eleven points and has featured in all three final events so far. Blödorn and Huckenbeck, who currently sit in third and fifth place in the overall standings, have one race fewer under their belts than the leader.