Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Hans Nielsen wheelies over the f inish li ne in the last race . clinching the World Championship Speedway t itle. American Ronnie Correy tries t he outside line against German riders Gerd Russ (8) and Karl Maier (5). Correy finished down in the results. World Championship Speedway Final Nielsen's the Great Dane in Munich ~y John Hipkiss MUN ICH, W. GE R MAN Y, SEPT. 2 Da n ish domination of world sp~edway showed no sign of weakening In the magnificent Olym p ic Stadium in Munich as Hans Nielsen took over the crown held for the past year by hi s fell ow cou n try man Eri k G u ndersen . . . f It was a co n u n ua u on 0 the doubl e act which began in 38 Sweden in 1984 whe n Gundersen first claimed th e ti tle. Since then th e two Great Danes have h ad a stran- g lehold o n th e ~h a m p i o n s h i p , " eac h o f them.now havm g .won th ree tlll~es. Desp ite the pre-fi na l spe cu la tio n that Eng land was ready to pu t in a strong cha lle nge and th e two West German co nte nders would cash in o n th eir hom e advantage. Ni elsen was in a class o f hi s own. H e wa s im macu la te in every th ing h e tried a nd was never under threat as he sco rch ed to a IS-p oint maximum. With Sam ErmoIenko a n d Kelly Moran rul ed o u t by injury a n d Shawn Moran barred by th e Am erican Motor Federati on following his Brea rha lyser in cident. in th e world lo ng-tra ck qualifying round, USA hopes rested on 22-year-old Ron n ie Correy. It was his first fina l and h e wa s not eq ua l to it, finishing down th e list with a meager four points. Correy's preparations has been disrupted by a broken wrist sustained whi le riding" for th e USA against England at Belle Vue seven weeks ea rli er. He had been u nder pressure since th en and his chances of maki ng an impact in Munich took another setback wh en he b lew his number one motor a t the official practice session on th e eve of the final. H e was not in the right mental state to cope wi th th e biggest test of his riding career and when he failed to score in hi s first two races he was destined to become one of th e a lso rans, But a lthough hedid no t get th e po ints he wa nted , Correy fought right to th e end. He co lle cted a point in hi s thi rd race wh en he was third to Nielsen , finish ed seco nd to J erem y Doncaster in hi s fourth h eat a nd was th ro wn across th e track whe n he was invo lved in a fir st bend tangl e in hi s last race. It wa s fear ed he m ight ha ve done more dam age to hi s wris t but he p icked him sel f up, wa lked sh akily back to th e p its a nd ea rned o ne o f th e biggest ovatio ns o f th e ni ght w he n h e ' battl ed for third p la ce beh ind G u nde rsen in th e rerun. Co rrey shrugged off hi s di sappointmen t. " I th ought I shou ld do bett er but th ere will be other times," sa id Correy. " I have learn ed a lo t, and I sha ll be bett er pr epared next tim e. Don't worry, I'll be back. " T he Correy in cident en li vene d wha t was ge nera lly regarded as o ne o f the poorest spee dway showp ieces of th e la st decad e. The setti ng of th e Olympic Stad iu m was m agnificen t. T he Ge r man orga n iza t io n was super-efficient bu t on a hard , dry track w hich had been laid on top o f the 1972 O lympic running circu it and carried littl e surface shale. The racing did not match th e splendor of th e su rro u nd ings, There wa s hardly a ny cha nce to o vertake if a rider was not quick enough at th e ta p es. Th e tr a ck co nd itio ns an d th e narrow bends favored th e fast gat ers a n d Niel sen is the most co ns is tent in speed way. He was cool, di sciplined a n d a lmos t arrogant as he brushed as ide the op posi tio n. H e di sposed o f th e reigning ch a m pi on Gunder sen in his first ra ce, closing down o n him at th e first turn and sweep ing into th e lead coming out of th e bend. The gap widened with every lap-and that was virtually th e end of th e competition. Nielsen dispen sed with riva ls one by on e. Im med ia tel y aft er leavin g Gun dersen behind he beat Doncaster just as easily. Next time out he ra ced aw a y from Andy Smith and then it was Kel vin T atum who felt th e power of the h ungry champion. Nielsen faced his Oxford teammate in his fina l race. He needed only second place to clinch the ch a m p ion ship but Niel sen wanted to win in styl e a nd although Wigg had a sligh t edge rounding the turn th e Dan e found a way through and as he cro ssed th e fini shing line he sa lu ted his de lighted fan s with hi s front wheel high in th e air. Niel sen 's win over Gundersen in th e fourth heat not only sta m pe d him as th e ch a m p io n-elect. it robbed th e me eting o f much of its interest. Nobody wa s going to liv e with th e Danish sty lis t in su ch spa r kling form , th e onl y question to be a nswered wa s who would fini sh second . Gundersen was th e obvio us ca n didat e. H e lo ok ed h ead and shoulders above the rest of th e field as he scor ched to a 40-meter win in hi s second rac e but disaster stru ck in hi s thi rd outing when his motor fai led as he led the field o n the last lap. Although he recov ered to win his last two heats his l l-point return was not eno ug h to gain a place on th e presejjj arion rostrum. With Gundersen out of th e ru nning and Nielsen dominating th e meeting, England's Kelvin Ta tum was next in line, but there wer e more shocks to co me . Tatum was a firm favorite in the fina l heat wh en a wi n would have assured him of th e silver medal but for the first time he fai led to make hi s usua l smart getaway. He was taken wide on th e bend a nd although he shot past Karl Maier on the back straig h t he was a little too ambitious when he tri ed to sq ueeze through on th e inside of Czech rider Roman Matousek and rammed into th e sa fety fence. Ta tum 's bid was over, leaving hi s En gland co lleagues, Wigg a nd Doncas ter fa cing a runoff to det ermine th e m in or pl acings. They had both scored 12 p o ints to fini sh joi nt seco nd to Ni elsen , bu t Wigg o utga ted h is rival in th e runoff a nd Doncaster was unable to ge t close enoug h to m ake a cha lle nge. Tatum a n d Smi th were fifth a nd sixth in th e sco recha rt, giving En gland th eir best resu lt for m an y yea rs but th ey were still no threat to th e Danes. The co m pe titio n su ffered fro m the a bse nce o f th e Mora n bro thers a nd th e in jured Erm ol enko a nd from th e loss o f th e th ird Danish co nt en der Jan Pedersen w ho crashed a nd broke a wr isi two days before he was due to leave for Muni ch. If a nyone co u ld have posed a real threat to N ielsen it wa s th e adve ntu rous Pedersen , but Muni ch was certain ly th e da y o f th e Great Dane. It was d ifficult to im agine a nyo ne cha lleng ing h is su p remacy. •

• Cover