National Speedway Team: What Michael Härtel’s role might look like

For the German national speedway team, the U19 Pairs European Championship final in Pocking is the only major event left on the calendar. Having already secured bronze at SON2, the U21 team is aiming for another medal at their home race. At least, that’s the view of Michael Härtel, who joined the German national team’s coaching staff earlier this year. “It’s difficult to put anything specific into words at this stage, but the basic aim is to win a medal in a race like this. If we field a strong team in Pocking, then it’s definitely achievable.”

Härtel highlights the advantages of having several support staff

After the event in Lower Bavaria at the end of September, it will be time to take stock and look ahead to the next season, in which Härtel also hopes to play a role on the coaching staff once again. “There were three of us on site in Prague and I’d like to keep it that way in future,” emphasised the former racing driver, who is already considering further collaboration with the current team managers Mathias Bartz and Sascha Dörner. “We’re discussing what still needs to be done and who will take on which role. I’m relying very heavily on how things went in Prague, where everyone had their own part to play. I believe that a team manager alone cannot possibly cover everything. It makes much more sense to always have at least two people on site, with one focusing more on the driving and technical aspects and the other on organisation and ensuring everything runs smoothly. With three of us, it’s actually much more relaxed than with just two.”

The experiences so far from the races in Landshut and Prague are motivating Härtel to stick with it. “Sascha and Matze deserve a lot of credit for integrating me so well and bringing me along. It might well turn out that Matze and I become the sporting leaders, whilst behind the scenes we have people like Sascha, who is outstanding when it comes to organisation. After all, at events like this, you always have to think about a lot of things behind the scenes: from T-shirts right through to licences, permits and the paperwork required by FIM regulations.”

Topic of the week

From major doubts to a major spectacle: why GP fans have reason to be delighted

Before the start of the season, critical voices dominated, but the World Championship rounds so far have shown that the rule changes are delivering exactly what was hoped for: excitement right up to the final lap.

Vanessa Georgoulas

Read more