A decade after winning his second and most recent title, Erik Riss returned to the top of the FIM Long Track World Championship on home ground at Scheessel in Germany when he got his 2026 campaign under way with a perfect performance.
Report by FIM Track Racing – Images courtesy of Jesper Veldhuizen
Champion in 2014 and 2016 before shifting his attention to Speedway, the thirty-year-old marked his full-time return to the championship with a dominant display at this year’s delayed opening round, winning all five of his Heats before taking command at the start of the Grand Final and leading all the way to the chequered flag.
With three Finals to decide the destination of this year’s title, every point could be crucial and while Riss put on a Long Track masterclass there were also solid scores from second-placed Dave Meijerink from the Netherlands and the British duo of Chris Harris and defending champion Zach Wajtknecht who crossed the line in third and fourth.
Britain’s Andrew Appleton got his championship challenge off to a perfect start with victory in the opening Heat ahead of Finland’s Jesse Mustonen, but there was just a point for 2020 champion Lukas Fienhage and Harris – last year’s silver medallist – failed to score altogether when he came home last.
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Riss then won from Wajtknecht and Meijerink defeated Germany’s Daniel Spiller before Danish star Kenneth Kruse Hansen led home his compatriot Patrick Kruse to conclude the opening block.
The leaderboard underwent a reshuffle when Appleton fell heavily at the start of the second block after contact with Fienhage and was unable to continue. Meijerink won the restart from Fienhage to maintain his unbeaten record before Wajtknecht led home Kruse Hansen, Riss took another win – this time ahead of Dutchman Mika Meijer – and Harris rebounded with a win at the expense of Kruse.
Riss moved into a clear lead when he defeated Wajtknecht and Meijerink before a second consecutive victory dragged Harris back into contention. Mustonen then claimed his first win of the programme ahead of Kruse Hansen as Fienhage pulled out and Norway’s Glen Moi took maximum points as the only finisher of the twelfth Heat that was restarted following a lengthy delay after Spiller had suffered a hard fall.
With two blocks of racing left to decide the three automatic qualifiers for the Grand Final, Riss made it four-out-of-four when he led home Fienhage, Meijerink kept the pressure on with his third victory of the afternoon and there were wins for Wajtknecht and Harris to set up an exciting final block of racing.
Riss booked his place behind the tapes in the Grand Final with his fifth win and a fourth victory ensured Meijerink also progressed and the pair were joined by Wajtknecht who was second behind Fienhage to squeeze out Harris and Mustonen.
For 2026 there are two five-rider Last Chance Heats contested by competitors finishing from fourth to thirteenth with points carried over from the Heats and only two riders making the cut. Harris was first to book his place in the Final when he won from Fienhage before Kruse Hansen progressed from the second Last Chance Heat at the expense of Mustonen.
Riss had produced explosive starts all afternoon and when the tapes went up on the first Grand Final of the season he grabbed an immediate advantage and never looked back as he streaked clear to win with Meijerink making a first-lap pass on Harris for second that he held to the flag. Harris completed the podium ahead of Wajtknecht, but Kruse Hansen retired with a mechanical problem.
Competitors now face a thirteen-day wait until the second Final of the season is staged on 5 September at Morizes in France before the series concludes on 26 September at Marmande in France.
Results
