JANOWSKI: FOCUSED ON RACING NOT POINTS
Polish ace Maciej Janowski won’t be looking at the World Championship table too much as he bids to fight his way back into an SGP 2020 spot.
11 / 07 / 2019, 07:51
Polish star Maciej Janowski won’t be looking at the World Championship table too much as he bids to fight his way back into an SGP 2020 qualifying spot.
Magic suffered a huge blow when he was forced out of the opening round in Warsaw due to shoulder ligament damage. He returned for the Slovenian SGP in Krsko, but wasn’t at full fitness as he managed four points.
Janowski hit back with seven in Prague and a useful 13 in Hallstavik last Saturday as he finished third in the Norrbil Swedish SGP.
I want to be focused on good racing because that’s the most important thing. At the beginning of the season I was too focused on the points and how many I had lost.
Maciej Janowski
That result leaves him 13th in the World Championship on 24 points – just six short of the top-eight position needed to qualify for next season.
His efforts have also earned him a place in Poland's Monster Energy FIM Speedway of Nations Finals team for Togliatti on July 20 and 21 - at the expense of World Championship leader Patryk Dudek.
Rather than worry about how many points he is behind his rivals in the SGP series, Janowski is determined to get his head down and focus on the racing as he bids to ascend the table.
He said: “There are a lot of rounds until the end and I don’t want to think about my points and how far behind I am compared to the other boys.
“I want to be focused on good racing because that’s the most important thing. At the beginning of the season I was too focused on the points and how many I had lost.
“I was a little bit nervous after the injury, but slowly I feel better and more confident on the bike. Hopefully I can show some good speedway at the next round also.”
While it could be argued the pressure is off Janowski with the leaders 23 points ahead of him and the title now a long shot, the Wroclaw-born racer admits he can’t rest as he fights to guarantee qualification.
He said: “When you see the gap in the points, you can’t be relaxed because you want to get to the top eight. It’s a difficult feeling. But I have started feeling comfortable on the bike, we are working very hard and I believe we can climb.”
Janowski reached the Norrbil Swedish SGP final for the second straight season on Saturday. Last year’s Hallstavik winner clearly loves the HZ Bygg Arena, but he hasn’t always had a happy history there.
He said: “Hallstavik was my first track in Sweden – my first Swedish club. The first time I went there, I had a big crash with Tai Woffinden at Greg Hancock’s testimonial when I was 16. I went over the fence! I have a lot of memories from this track. I spent a couple of years in Britain too, so I like small, technical tracks. I go very well on them and that probably helps.”
