In 2014, Erik Riss became long track world champion at the age of 18, and two years later he repeated this success. After that, the now 28-year-old concentrated on the shorter speedway track, driving as a professional in various European leagues. In 2022, he made his comeback on the long track oval. On his favorite track in Herxheim, Riss, together with Lukas Fienhage and Max Dilger, won the ninth and so far last gold medal at the “Long Track of Nations”, the long track team world championship, as captain. Number ten should follow in Morizes if possible, although the conditions are different this year.

Long track comeback in 2022

Five years after his last long track appearance, Erik Riss returned to the long oval at the 2022 Team World Championships – and the double world champion was at the top again from the start. He raked in more than half of all points for Team Germany and also won the all-important final. So it’s no wonder that team manager Josef Hukelmann also relied on the Allgäu native, who he says is “super fast”, in Roden in 2023 and this year in Morizes, France. Especially since Erik Riss won the qualification for the 2025 individual world championships in Mühldorf this year with ease and thus also laid claim to title number three.

After initially unexplained health problems in 2023, which ultimately turned out to be a viral infection, which in turn caused increased intracranial pressure and visual problems, the 2024 season went “quite well” according to Erik Riss’ assessment. “I’ve stayed healthy and haven’t had any injuries so far.” Riss competes in the first British league on the shorter speedway track, and with AC Landshut he competes in the second Polish league. “I’ve been scoring consistently and slightly improving my average in Great Britain.”

His speedway experience should come in handy in Morizes on the fairly smooth, just over 500-meter-long track: “That’s definitely a bonus,” he says. In any case, he is looking forward to taking part in this year’s World Championship for the fifth time. As in 2022, Riss, Lukas Fienhage and Max Dilger will represent the German colors.

Rating system has changed

However, a lot has happened since then. The system that existed back then, with teams of three competing two against two on the track, has changed. The teams from Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Finland, the Czech Republic, Denmark and host France compete against each other in 21 preliminary rounds, each with three drivers. The two teams with the most points then duel in the decisive final. Due to injuries and other cancellations, it was not easy for team manager Josef Hukelmann to put together a German team this year. Last Sunday, Germany’s number four, Daniel Spiller, was injured. “We have now decided to travel with three drivers,” says Hukelmann. This means that if one of them drops out or gets injured, there is no one who can step in for him.

For Riss, this problem is rather marginal. He has managed the course in Morizes “quite well” so far. The goal is victory in any case: “A German long-course team always aims to win.” But many factors play a role. And ultimately, you also need a little bit of luck to end up at the top of the podium. Riss sees the British team as the hottest competition. In the 15 competitions so far, the islanders have won a gold medal once. A look at the statistics should give confidence: in two of the three world championships in Morizes so far, the Germans ended up with the long-desired gold medal hanging around their necks.

The race on 7 September (9pm) can be viewed with the subscription package of the Long Course World Championships at FIM Moto.tv can be followed in the live stream.