Bálint Kovács, a student of technical management at Széchenyi István University, recently set the record for the fastest lap ever completed by a Hungarian motorcyclist on the Hungaroring with his Ducati. The rider is preparing for another big challenge and meanwhile he is expanding his professional knowledge in Győr.

As a young child, Bálint Kovács was influenced by his uncle when he got on a motorbike and immediately became a speed enthusiast. With little exaggeration, he has not got off the bike since, and the 20-year-old rider has proven his talent at such a young age.

"I got my first bike at the age of four and soon I was riding for a junior club. I won my first adult national title in the 1,000cc category in 2018, the German Cup in 2019 and the year before last I won the Central European Alpine-Adriatic Championship. The biggest success of my career so far came this season, when I finished fifth in the World Endurance Championship in Belgium," the young rider said listing his career milestones. Bálint Kovács recently achieved another great result, breaking the Hungarian riders' lap record at Hungaroring.

Hungarian Hungaroring lap record holder Bálint Kovács is a student at Széchenyi István University (Photo: Csaba József Májer)

"I ran a lap time of 1.49:428 with a 1,000cc engine. The absolute record was set in the German championship at the Hungaroring, but it is a three-day event, so there's much more time to get to know the track and tune the settings, and the fierce competition constantly pushes the riders to go faster. My sub-1.50 time was set at the one-day Hungarian championship round, but I still managed to set the fastest lap ever among the Hungarian riders," said the 20-year-old H-Moto Team rider, explaining the background to the record.

Bálint Kovács also considers it important to get a degree in addition to his sport. After leaving school, the young man from Székesfehérvár chose to study at Széchenyi István University in Győr, where he is studying technical management at the Audi Hungaria Faculty of Automotive Engineering.

"It was a big factor in my choice that my brother attended here and told me about the university. As a second-year student, I can say that I made the right choice, as the institution provides a high level of knowledge and there is an excellent atmosphere. Of course, studying and playing live sport requires organisation, but this is made easier by the fact that since September I have been living in a Hall of Residence on the central campus," added the student, who travels a lot during the year, training on several national tracks and participating in competitions in Hungary and abroad.

Bálint Kovács on the race track (Photo: Krisztián Izsó)

As he said, this season is coming to an end, but like many things, the end is the most exciting. The 100th 24-hour race in the World Endurance Championship series was recently held in Bol d'Or. The prestige of this extremely famous race was further enhanced by the jubilee. Bálint Kovács completed the race with another outstanding result, finishing sixth.

And in the Alpine-Adriatic Championship, only the final race remains. Having won the last round, he can look forward to the final round with high hopes.

As for his future plans, he said he would like to achieve better results in his sport in the coming period, with success in the Endurance World Championship and also in sprint races such as the World Superbike series. Finally, Bálint Kovács also said that he would not give up motorsport after his active racing career, although this question will hopefully not be an issue for a long time. In order to achieve his plans, it is important for him to become a properly qualified professional, and he will acquire the necessary knowledge at Széchenyi István University.