Prague, Czech Republic | UIM MotoSurf World Championship 2026 – Round 2
Cypriot rider Mike Michaelides closed out the Czech GP at Lake Hostivař with 6th place in the Elite Men final and 6th overall for the round, clawing back on Sunday most of what Saturday’s disqualification had cost him. The 18-year-old rider for Seawolf Watersports / FORCE8SPORTS entered the final from 9th in the heats standings and finished sixth — ahead of two riders who had scored more heat points than he had.
Heat 4 — a tough morning: In the fourth and final heat of the weekend, Michaelides completed 7 laps in 8:06.680 for 10th place and 3 points. Alex Lukscheider took the win (7:51.150) in a heat where previously-unbeaten Matyáš Novotný copped a 15-second penalty for a missed buoy and dropped to 2nd.
| Pos | Rider | Laps/Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Lukscheider (CZE) | 8 — 7:51.150 | 18 |
| 2 | Matyáš Novotný (CZE) | 8 — 8:00.990 (+15″) | 14 |
| 3 | Lukáš Záhorský (CZE) | 8 — 8:08.240 | 11 |
| 4 | Jan Trávníček (CZE) | 8 — 8:12.010 | 9 |
| 5 | Adam Ficek (CZE) | 8 — 8:24.500 | 8 |
| 6 | Daniel Provazník (CZE) | 8 — 8:25.090 | 7 |
| 7 | Antony Squire (USA) | 8 — 8:31.530 | 6 |
| 8 | Miroslav Kopš (CZE) | 7 — 8:00.810 | 5 |
| 9 | Jiří Volf (CZE) | 7 — 8:02.780 | 4 |
| 10 | Mike Michaelides (CYP) | 7 — 8:06.680 | 3 |
Heat standings — the real cost of the DSQ: With all four heats complete, the drop-worst-result rule kicked in — and it showed exactly why a disqualification is worse than just a bad race. The zero from Heat 2 couldn’t be dropped, so instead Michaelides lost his 3 points from Heat 4, ending with 14 points (7 + 0 + 7 + dropped). Had the DSQ not happened, he could have dropped his actual worst result and gone into the final with 17 points — ahead of Kopš and level with Squire. In effect, the DSQ cost him twice: once on the water, once in the math.
| Pos | Rider | Qual | H1 | H2 | H3 | H4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matyáš Novotný (CZE) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 54 |
| 2 | Lukáš Záhorský (CZE) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 42 |
| 3 | Alex Lukscheider (CZE) | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 40 |
| 4 | Jan Trávníček (CZE) | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 27 |
| 5 | Adam Ficek (CZE) | 8 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 27 |
| 6 | Daniel Provazník (CZE) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
| 7 | Antony Squire (USA) | 5 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 18 |
| 8 | Miroslav Kopš (CZE) | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 15 |
| 9 | Mike Michaelides (CYP) | 7 | 6 | DSQ | 6 | 10 | 14 |
| 10 | Jiří Volf (CZE) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
(Italics = dropped result; all ten riders advanced to the final.)
The final — two spots back: In the 10-lap final, Michaelides finished 6th in 10:38.170, holding off Adam Ficek by just 1.82 seconds and finishing 57.2 seconds behind winner Novotný. What matters more than the position is who he beat: Ficek (who’d scored 27 heat points to his 14) and Squire (18 heat points), who finished 8th. Michaelides was also one of only eight riders to complete all 10 laps — Volf and Kopš stopped at 9.
| Pos | Rider | Laps | Time | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matyáš Novotný (CZE) | 10 | 9:40.970 | 18 |
| 2 | Lukáš Záhorský (CZE) | 10 | 9:42.910 | 14 |
| 3 | Alex Lukscheider (CZE) | 10 | 9:56.410 | 11 |
| 4 | Jan Trávníček (CZE) | 10 | 10:24.660 | 9 |
| 5 | Daniel Provazník (CZE) | 10 | 10:34.580 | 8 |
| 6 | Mike Michaelides (CYP) | 10 | 10:38.170 | 7 |
| 7 | Adam Ficek (CZE) | 10 | 10:39.990 | 6 |
| 8 | Antony Squire (USA) | 10 | 10:58.510 | 5 |
| 9 | Jiří Volf (CZE) | 9 | 10:22.710 | 4 |
| 10 | Miroslav Kopš (CZE) | 9 | 10:32.160 | 3 |
Round overall — 6th with 21 championship points: Michaelides took 6th overall for the round, earning 7 round points and 21 world-championship points. Novotný had a near-perfect weekend — pole, three heat wins and the final win, for 72 championship points — ahead of Rocket Racing teammate Lukáš Záhorský and Team Huski’s Alex Lukscheider. Michaelides is the second-best non-Czech rider in the class for the round, behind only American Antony Squire on championship points (23 vs. 21), even though he beat Squire in the round’s final standings. Combined with the 32 points from Çeşme, his season total in the class rises to 53 points, pending official confirmation from the organizers.
Racing during National Guard service: Prague marked Michaelides’ first international outing since being inducted into the Cyprus National Guard. He travelled to compete under provisions that allow athletes doing their military service to continue competing internationally, and he thanked the Cyprus Sports Organisation (KOA) and the National Guard for the athlete-support programs that let an 18-year-old, mid-conscription, line up on the start grid of a world championship at full strength.
Sponsors: Michaelides thanked the sponsors backing his campaign at the top level of world MotoSurf: Yellow Bet, Brunswick Group, Mantovani Plotin Travel, KOA, Seawolf Watersports, and FORCE 8 Sports.
Race facts: UIM MotoSurf World Championship 2026 — GP of Czechia (Round 2) · July 24–26, 2026 · Hostivařská přehrada (Wake Hostivař), Prague · Elite Men class · Rider #22, 2025 Merlin Plus Stock R World Champion · Team Seawolf Watersports/FORCE8SPORTS · Qualifying: 7th (0:59.785, +3.364) · Heat 1: 6th (7 pts) · Heat 2: DSQ (0 pts) · Heat 3: 6th (7 pts) · Heat 4: 10th (3 pts, dropped) · Post-heats: 9th, 14 pts, qualified for final · Final: 6th · Round overall: 6th (7 round pts / 21 championship pts) · Next round: Stockholm, Sweden, August 14–16, 2026.
