Golden World Games of Motorsports for Slovakia

Orechová Potôň, October 30, 2024 - The FIA Motorsport Games in Valencia were the most successful for Slovakia in the history of this format.

The large Slovakian delegation has returned from Valencia, Spain. From Thursday to Sunday, October 24-27, 2024, they competed in a record number of disciplines. Several other records were also set at this motorsport festival, where drivers do not compete for commercial teams or represent the brands of owners and sponsors, but rather their countries. Therefore, the event can rightly be called the Race of Nations. The representation was remarkable - 646 competitors from eighty-two countries participated in twenty-six motorsport disciplines. The Olympic atmosphere of the event was enhanced not only by a beautiful opening ceremony but also by the fact that we met people from countries we often know little about, showcasing one of the fundamental ideas that the FIA Motorsport Games represent: expanding the sport to all corners of the world and for all age groups, with a particular emphasis on youth.

Slovakia nominated 15 representatives who participated in races across twelve disciplines, ensuring we appeared at all four venues: Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where circuit racing and slalom events took place; City of Arts and Science Valencia, hosting the eSports competition; Aspar Circuit, a go-kart track, and the adjacent Cross Car track; and the western mountainous region of Valencia, where the rally drivers competed.

Here are the results for Slovakia:

• Michaela Dorčíková and Dávid Nemček in auto slalom: 1st place and gold medal
• Martin Koči and Petr Tešínský in Rally 4 car competitions: silver medal in the gravel competition
• Matúš Ryba in Formula 4: finished sixth, penalized to 9th place
• Lukáš Vida, Frederika Tornayová, and Simon Suchovský in karting endurance: 5th place
• Erik Mucska in eSports GT: 8th place
• Krisztian Juhász in eSports F4: narrowly missed qualifying for the finals
• Tomi Barati in Cross Car races: eliminated in the semifinals due to an unavoidable collision
• Oto Hroba in mini karting: did not finish the final after going off-track to avoid a collision
• Jakub Gašparovič in junior karting: did not finish the final due to a pile-up at the start
• Evelin Cehulová and Ondrej Kuna in karting slalom: did not qualify

The enumeration of Slovak racers' results does not fully express the amazing atmosphere in which the entire motorsport festival took place. It also does not convey the strong team spirit that the drivers, dressed in jerseys featuring the Slovak tricolor, displayed. Our joy is not diminished by the fact that our go-kart racers did not finish the finals in the sprint disciplines due to tough and literally painful battles. We might have been saddened by the wrecked Cross Car that was hit by several opponents on the off-road track, and after a beautifully started Rally 4 competition, Slovak team did not continue on the second day, missing out on nearly certain two medals. We would have also liked to see the young slalom go-kart racers compete longer. However, motorsport perfectly showcased the whole spectrum of bittersweet experiences and diverse emotions, which is very important for the growth of motorsport athletes.

The performance of Slovak athletes was enthusiastically evaluated by Dušan Koblišek, the president of the Slovak Motorsport Association:

"For the third time, we managed to win a gold medal along with a silver one, so our participation is on an upward trend, and that’s how it should be. We didn’t hesitate to participate in the inaugural edition of this event back in Rome. Even then, we were convinced it was a great presentation of young talents, and Maťo Homola returned from Rome with a bronze medal. The same was true two years ago in Marseille, where we returned with silver, and this time we can be even more satisfied. In the international rankings, Slovakia finished in 8th place. Only associations from much larger countries, which we can consider as motorsport giants, are above us. I am extremely glad that we had a representative in the new rally discipline, where we achieved a silver medal. The gold in slalom proves that we clearly belong to the world’s elite in this category. I believe our go-karters will also strive to reach higher levels. Competing in such a strong international field must be incredibly motivating for them. Many dedicated the entire season to this goal of making the national team - nomination rules in these categories were strict, and only the best qualified. Such opportunities are ideal for working with youth, which FIA has particularly emphasized in its program in recent years.

The games themselves began with a fascinating opening ceremony and continued at high-quality sports venues, especially Circuit Ricardo Tormo, which is a fantastic location for such events. It was interesting to observe the entire organization for countries that might want to host future World Motorsport Games. Preparing for nearly 700 competitors from over 80 countries is certainly a tremendous challenge."