Tuesday 11th September 2012, 13:44

Slovak hotshot Martin Vaculik says he wants to stamp his own ticket into the 2013 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series at the GP Challenge in Gorican on September 29.

The 22-year-old missed out on the FIM Scandinavian SGP semis in Malilla on Saturday with six points.

But the fact it was the SGP first reserve’s lowest ever Grand Prix score illustrates the impression he has made in a year which has seen him win on his debut in Gorzow and finish fourth in Terenzano.

Vaculik has been tipped as a candidate for one of the four permanent wild card places for next year’s competition. But the proud Zarnovica-born man hopes to keep his destiny in his own hands by finishing in the top three at the GP Challenge to guarantee his spot and avoid sweating on a decision over a wild card.

He said: “I’m not thinking about the wild cards. I am thinking only about the Grand Prix Challenge.

“I want to be in the top three because next year I want to fight in the Grand Prix and I want to fight with the best riders in the world. I’ll do everything to be in there.

“I know it was my job if I qualify, but if BSI give me a wild card, it’s nice and I wouldn’t say I don’t want it. It would be amazing if someone gave me a wild card for next season. But I want to fight for my Grand Prix place in the GP Challenge.”

Vaculik was disappointed with his performance in Malilla. He scored seven at the previous event in Cardiff and admits his lack of small track knowledge cost him there.

But he had no excuses for a difficult day at the G&B Arena. He said: “It was a very bad meeting for me. I need more experience for short tracks in Britain like Cardiff, but this was a normal, European track and I made a lot of mistakes.

“My motorcycle was not in the best setup. I don’t think I won all the starts, but I had very good gating.

“I think my last heat was my best one, even though I had a very bad start. I started to feel the motorcycle in my last heat and I wasn’t fast, but I was faster than before.

“This was a great school again for me, though, and I will take all these experiences into next year, the year after and the future.”

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