Croatian GP: Marius Hillebrand 2. Bahnreserve / Speedway GP

Matej Zagar will race at the start of the Speedway World Championship at the Grand Prix in Gorican for the third time in a row at the end of April with a wild card after being an important part of the Speedway GP for years. Matic Ivacic (SLO) was named as first-line reserve and, surprisingly, German Marius Hillebrand as second-line reserve.

“We talked about it for the first time during the summer training in Gorican,” Hillebrand explained how he got the wild card “I am welcome at the Gorican club at any time and on Tuesday I was told if I would be interested in the Speedway. Grand Prix to participate. I was definitely surprised at first and actually still. Then I applied directly to one of those three places, from the wild card to the reserve.

Three weeks before the Gorican GP, ​​the final confirmation came that the Swabian would go to the GP in Croatia and would be considered as the second track reserve behind the Slovenians Zagar and Ivacic. “Matej Zagar is definitely the home driver to some extent and the fact that Matic Ivacic gets more favor than me from a regional point of view has to be respected, also from the marketing point of view of the organizer,” said the 24-year-old. . “Of course I hope so too. There will be a lot of German fans there, regardless of whether I play or not.”

Whether Hillebrand will have any track time aside from practice sessions and qualifying will of course depend on how the race goes. There have already been GP incidents where the reserve drivers packed up without completing anything or were on the track several times, as was the case in the Danish Grand Prix last year.

“This will probably be the highlight of the year for me and I’m looking forward to it,” says the third-place finisher in Germany, looking forward to the Grand Prix, even if he doesn’t play. , “since it’s online, my social media has really exploded and it’s great for my sponsors.”