PETERBOROUGH No.1 Niels-Kristian Iversen is under no illusions over the difficulty of giving rivals a head-start in terms of track time.
The Dane, whose scheduled return to Premiership racing with the Panthers this season was well-received by supporters, has suffered an injury nightmare in the delayed Polish campaign.
First he suffered bruising and ligament damage in a practice crash with Gorzow team-mate Bartosz Zmarzlik, and then he needed surgery on a hand injury, putting him up against it in the World Championship.
He appeared off the pace when he scored just three race points in Friday’s GP opener at Wroclaw, but the second event 24 hours later was a huge improvement when he collected ten and reached the semi-finals.
Iversen said: “I need to be realistic. It’s not been an easy season, because I’ve hardly ridden.
“Before Friday it was only 18 heats so far this season, so it’s not a lot, but I need to race and do whatever I can.
“I know I won’t be one of the favourites to win the World title as things are at the moment, I’m aware of that, but I’m battling my way through.
“I’m working very hard to reach the best of my form, and hopefully Saturday is just another step.
“The Wroclaw track was nice, and we were trying different things. I had different engines on Saturday from Friday, and I’ve just got to work.”