Friday 28th September 2012, 17:00

Slovak sensation Martin Vaculik is ready to shake-up the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series as he targets qualification for 2013 in the GP Challenge at Gorican on Saturday.

This season’s first reserve is planning to return to the competition in the FIM Torun SGP of Poland on October 6, when he covers for the injured Kenneth Bjerre.

But Vaculik, who finished fourth in last season’s Challenge at his Swedish home track Vetlanda, wants more than a stand-in role for next year.

A top-three finish in Gorican would guarantee the 22-year-old’s place in every round. And Vaculik would love to bring his enthusiasm into the World Championship.

He said: “I think I would be very good for the GP because I’ll be a new face, I’m from a new country, I’m a young rider and I have a lot of energy for the Grand Prix. I’m not saying older riders don’t have that energy. But I feel my best results are in front of me and I want to fight and put on a good show on the track for the fans.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s me or someone else who’s young. But there must be some new blood in the GP because it will be good.

“There should be some new riders and new riders who want to be in there and take it seriously. This is key for the future of the GP because people don’t want to watch the same faces for 15 years. There must always be something new and something happening.”

The Challenge is Vaculik’s first meeting back since he was admitted to hospital August 31 with high blood pressure problems.

He was kept under observation for tests from September 2-5, but has been practicing in his home town Zarnovica this week.

While Vaculik still isn’t certain what was causing his blood pressure to soar, he has been told the problem isn’t a threat to his racing and can’t wait to make his comeback in Croatia.

He said: “I’m feeling better now. The doctors found something, but I’ll have to go to another hospital after the season for more tests. It’s nothing very dangerous, but it’s not very comfortable for me. It gives me a very bad feeling – my head feels like I’ve just been KO’d when I’ve got a higher blood pressure.

“For the moment, my body is 100 percent okay. So we’ll keep searching for something. It will be a small problem and something has happened, but we we’ll find it with more tests. Now I’m taking some tablets and it’s much better.

“I hope to come back a much stronger Martin – just as I was before. I went to one of the best doctors in Slovakia, who knows about the heart and blood pressure. I had some more tests with him on Wednesday and I think everything will be okay soon.

“Doctors have told me what sort of training I must do. Every second day I run and every second day I swim. So I’m doing a lot of training at home and I must be very strong when I come back.”

Vaculik also paid tribute to the fans who have sent him messages wishing him a speedy recovery.

He added: “I just want to say thank you to all the fans who supported me when I was in hospital. I had a lot of messages.

“For the moment, I am okay. I hope I come back much stronger this year and next year will be 100 percent different. I will be much stronger, much mentally stronger and it will be great.”

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