German racer Kai Huckenbeck admits working with a sports psychologist gave him “a different perspective” on his racing in his FIM Speedway Grand Prix debut season this year.
Germany’s first full-time Speedway GP rider since 2014 made a fine start to life in the series, reaching the semi-finals at the opening two rounds – the FIM Speedway GP of Croatia on April 27 and the Orlen FIM Speedway GP of Poland – Warsaw on May 11.
But his Warsaw semi-final ended with a bump to the head in a hard-fought first turn with Aussie star Jason Doyle, and Huckenbeck admits the crash proved a real setback in the weeks that followed.
He said: “I banged my head so hard, and I had problems with my vision in the beginning. Then I banged it again the week after in a league meeting in Poland. It was tough. There is no time to recover during the season.
“You know how it is when we are racing in Sweden, Poland and the GPs and practising. I would say it affected me for a month for sure.”
Huckenbeck sought help from a sports psychologist to get his season back on track and he admits it made all the difference.
He responded with another semi-final in Gorzow on June 29, before leading Germany to an historic fourth place at the FIM Speedway of Nations in Manchester on July 13 – the country’s best world team result since 1997.
Huckenbeck admitted: “After the crashes, nothing worked. I was a little bit down. I couldn’t get back up, and I started working with a mental coach, which helped a little bit. That was the week before Gorzow, and I made the semi-final there. I felt more confident again.
“I have never done it before, and I never thought I would need it. But at some point, I said to my manager, ‘Andreas, I need help now.’ Then I got in contact with this guy, and it felt good to speak about it.
“I am a pretty introverted person, so it’s not very easy for me to speak about all of those things or problems. It was a big step for me, but it felt good. I made progress and that’s important.
“I was too negative, I think. He gave me a different perspective and I enjoyed riding again. If it’s not working, you try everything and change everything. For sure, we had some problems with the bikes.
“We changed a lot this season – from digital ignition back to normal. I had too many engines. We tried too many things, and I think I need to stick to something which is working. I wouldn’t say I lost the fun because I love riding bikes. But winning is more fun than losing.”
Huckenbeck’s season ended on a sour note after he crashed out of both of his final heats at the FIM SGP Challenge in Pardubice on October 4.
Despite falling short of 2025 Speedway GP qualification, Huckenbeck received a permanent wild card from the SGP Commission and gets another season on the sport’s biggest stage.
This came as a relief after a difficult qualifying event in the Czech Republic, which left him with a cracked shoulder blade after his second fall when he lost a chain in heat 20.
He said: “I was unlucky. It wasn’t the best day. I had a bike failure in practice, and that’s how the day started. I crashed in my fourth heat. I made a mistake and came on to the gravel on the infield with the front wheel. My front wheel just slid away, and I couldn’t hold the bike.
“Then I had another bike failure in the last one. If I had won those last two heats, I would have had 11 points and that would have been enough to go through. The weather wasn’t the best, but these things happen.”