With Speedway World Champion Martin Smolinski, season preparations are in full swing. But the 35-year-old is already working on a career after career. Which is why he bought an engine tuning workshop in Gothenburg and expanded his own in his hometown. There he gave the Tagblatt an insight.
Olching –Martin Smolinski has expanded his professional career and bought the company of Swede Jan Andersson, who was one of the top three tuners in the Grand Prix. And that in Gothenburg, where Smolinski stole one of his special machines in a hotel car park during the sales negotiations in December, but was then returned unharmed. After the Swede retired at the age of 65, the seven-time German champion and Grand Prix winner from 2014 took to Auckland (New Zealand).
Smolinski has now almost completely redesigned his new home workshop in Olching. Machines and accessories have already been set up and around 10,000 parts sorted. “It took a lot of time. My own motorcycles are still there from the pre-season as they came in after cleaning, ”says the 35-year-old, who was last handicapped by a ligament injury in his left foot, which he suffered during dry training with the national team in Abensberg ,
When asked about his ambitions in the tuning business, Smolinski made it clear: “Manfred Knappe continues to make my long-track engines. He is the ultimate in this area and I personally keep my hands off it. ”But he never stopped screwing on engines on the side. As a trained two-wheel mechanic - he completed his apprenticeship in Neu-Esting - "it has always been in my blood to work on vehicles and engines". Now he wants to intensify that. "It is the next step in my life, because even after my career I want to stay loyal to the sport." For the time being, he only wants to get his own engine material going with the material and know-how that he has taken over from Andersson. “But I am sure that one or two drivers will come. The talks are already underway. ”Smolinski also wants to expand the used parts shop on his homepage with engines and materials.
After the move from Schwojer to Fritzstrasse, the workshop was expanded with a special measuring tool and engine test bench. Smolinski can also use it for the potent classic car market, in which he has built up a network as the technical director of the Lower Bavarian Automobile and Motorcycle Museum in Adlkofen.
In terms of sport, Smolinski is the first wildcard candidate for the Grand Prix this year. In the meantime, continuous use is becoming more and more likely because it is still unclear whether the American Greg Hancock will exercise his right to start. For this reason, the Olchinger wants to position himself even wider in his team with another mechanic. "We want to be well prepared. When the Grand Prix calls, it can quickly lead to double starts on the race weekend. ”Most recently, Martin Smolinski - who has been the proud father of son Ludwig since summer - only had to do representative appearances. At the New Year's reception of the city of Olching, for example, as a studio guest at Munich TV or at sponsor appointments in Leipzig.