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free compared to his compatriots. At the in terval stage he had five po ints - two seconds and a third place - but wrapped things up with tw o stylish wins to sail through to his eighth World Final. Still carrying the pins in the left leg he broke at the end of the '93 season, the champ admits he's not 100% fit, but he intends to use the time in th e buildup to the Wo rd Final u ndergo in g an in tensive training rou tine. "1 d on't think about it when the tap es go up," sa id Ermolenko. "Overall, not once did I think I wo u ldn't qua lify today, nor d id I think it wou ld be the best da y of my caree r. I didn' t feel I was in full control of the meeting. I just ha d to get throug h this round. W inn in g would have been a bonus, but it wasn't my main priority." Track conditions, which changed d rastically from the Satu rday afternoon practice to the Sunday afternoon meet_ ing, caught quite a few riders off gu ard, and Er molenko admit te d to be ing am ong them. "1 did a big jump in my setup," said the champ. "By the time the meeting finished, the se tup was almost the op pos ite of what we sta rted with. I mad e a reasonable start in my first race. Tomasz Gollob just beat me, and I can accept second place in a qua lifying situ ation li ke that. In my seco nd race, I made a g o o d s tart a n d then Stefan Danno hit a hole and came straight at me. I didn't wan t to endanger myself. I thought I'd play it safe, but he made a fairly big hol e for Tommy Knudsen to get by me. I think I could ha ve got back, but the track didn't give me much help and I had to settle for third. In my third race, I knew Billy (Hamill) was in a desperate situa tion. I made a fairly good start and so did Billy, from one. There were some ba re spo ts after the watering, and Billy hit one a couple of times, but without do ing something desperate I could do nothing about it." With five po ints and two races to go, Ermolenko was fairly confident, especially with his next ad versary being on the inside gate. Still, the fact that Ermolenko had never ridden the track before had to be cons idered a handicap. The champ made a good start against Hancock, and his bike was working well after the changes. "1 was pretty confident go ing in to my last ride," said Ermolenko. "Jan (Staechmann) made som e attempts to pass me, but 1 knew where he was." Four riders, Ermolenko in clud ed , tied with 11 points, forcing a run-off for third overall. In the run-off, Ermolenko admits he passed up an opportunity to snatch the lead from Dane Staechmann as they went in to the final turn. "1 almost got him," said Ermolenko. "He made a big mistake going into the last comer. It wa s a perfect opportunity to pass, but 1 would have pushed him out and 1 d idn't think it was worth taking the gamble, so I turned the throttle off. If it had been a World Final, it would ha ve been different. I stru ggled physically, so between now and Vojens I've got to get into a training routine." . Gollob, easily the bes t to emerge from Eastern Europe in years, dropped his only point in that 20th heat, and goes in to hi s second World Fin al lo oki ng sha rper than ever. But hi s record a t Vojens is a mixed one . If the track were big and flat like Prague, hi s ultra-fast motors would have to pose a threat, but power isn't the top priority on the more enclosed confines at Vojens. He had it in abundance in the semi. Of three genuine over takes made on the day, two belonged to him - the move on Topinka and a breathtaking burst around Staechmann in Heat 15. Th e o the r came from eventual runner-up Tony Rickardsson of Sweden. He cha rge d b y Hamill when th ey me t in heat 14 for his third victory of the d ay and was never in danger of going out. Dane Staechmann, w h o rid es in Britain's Second Division, is th e firs t rider from tha t competition to reach a World Final. He rod e stead ily throughout for his 11 points and led the third place run-off from start to flag. Swede Danno and Dane Tommy Knudsen completed the third-place runoff. For Danno it's a first World Final, and he gained much in sp iration from brother Roland , crippled in a racing accident in Poland a few years ago, but nonetheless urging Stefan on in the Prague pits . Knudsen, who r eached his fi rs t World Final in 1981 , knows what it takes , and he called on all his vast experience to reach his sixth big night. Completing the qualifiers from Prague were young Aussie sensa tion Jason Crump a n d Hancock. Crump, whose father Phil was one of the sport's leading lights in th e 70s, looked very assured for his 18 years. He survived an early scare when he was bundled into the fence in the first tum of heat 5, referee Ebdon ruling all four back in th e rerun. _ "1 hurt my leg a bit when I fell, but I was making good starts and I felt comfortable at the interval. When I looked at the program I thought my first two rid es were a bit easier," said Crump, whose proud fath er Phil was by his side in the pits. For Hancock, Vojen s represents his second World Final following his disappointing debut at Pockin g in Germany last year. "1 was disappointed in Pockin g, but no w I know wha t's required and I've got to get myself gunned up for the Final," said Hancock. Hamill 's only chance of a ride a t Vojens now depends on misfor tune to any of the eight Prague qualifiers. Of those now out of the hunt, the biggest surprises were probably form er World Finalis ts Gert H andberg and Sim on Wigg. Dane H andberg mustered only two points, as did Wigg who, altho ugh English, is riding on a Du tch license this year. Wigg, whose speedway racing is confined to the continent in '94, admitted he hadn't ridden enough speedwa y meetings prior to Prague, tending to concentrate on the lOOO-meter longtrack cir cuits. The one consolation he has is that he'll start as one of the favorites for the World Longtrack Final in the C zech Republic on September 25. (N (Above) Meeting winner Tomasz Gollob leads Billy Hamill. Hamill touched the tapes when this heat was restarted, and will travel to the Final only as a reserve. (Right) Josh Larsen was the lone American to advance through the Bradford Semi-Final. He'll loin fellow yanks Sam Ermolenko, Greg Hancock and reserve Billy Hamill at the World Final. World Speedway SemI-Finals Prague, Czech Republic Results: July 10, 199'1 I. Tcmasz Co llob (poland) 14; 2. Tony RicJcardsson (Sweden) 12; 3. Jan Staechmann (Denmark) 11; 4. Sam Ennolenko (USA) II; S. Stefan Da nna (Sweden) 11; 6. To m my Kn udsen (De n ma r k) 11; 7. Jason Crump (Australia) 9; 8. Greg Hancock (USA) 9; 9. Billy Ha mill (USA) 9; 10. Tom as Tc pinka (Cz ech Rep ublic) 8; 11. Zoltan Ad orjan (Hungary ) 5; 12. Ryszard Francyszyn (Polan d) 5; 13 . Darius Sledz (Po la n d) 2; 14 . Ge r t Handberg (Den mark) 2; IS . Simo n Wigg (Hol land) 2; 16. An tonin Kasper (Czech Rep ublic) I. World Speedway Semi-Finals Larsen advanees BRADFORD. ENGlAND, JULY10 il e hi s co u n trym en we re adv ancing in Pragu e, Josh Lar sen was d oing likew ise at his Semi-Final in Bradford . The American shot from the gate in his first race at Odsal, w inning his op ening rid e, and sayi ng to th e rest of the field , "Watch ou t. Jo sh is h ere to book a ticket to Vojens." With two w ins, two seconds and a third place, Larsen heads for the Danish ~ World Final on August 20, along with Sam Ermolenko and Greg Hancock. Billy Hamill travels along as a reserve. Larsen has chosen to skip the British League this year and was not worried th at his English fans may have given him a hard time for not returning. "But they made so much noise when 1 was introduced on parade, th ey made me realize what a .grea t bunch th ey are," ad mitted Larsen. "1 came here confident of getting through, but with no great expectations of doing as w ell as I did. I' ve waited so long to ge t to a World Final. It's what I've always d reamed of, and if I can do it today at Bradford then I can be a good spoiler at Vojens," The likeable Californian was quick to pay tribute to his cr ew, all of whom ensured that all he had to do was concentra te on riding. "Carl Blornfeldt did a tremendous job on my bikes," said Larsen. "They were so quick, especially into the first comer, which is so important." a World Speedway Semi-Finals Bradford, England Results: July 10, 1994 O/A: 1. Mark Loram (Englan d) 14; 2. Ha ns Nielsen (De n ma rk) 13; 3. Henke Gustafsson (Swe de n) 12; 4. Marvyn Cox (Gennany) II ; S. Josh Larsen (USA) 11; 6. Chris Lou is (England) 9; 7. Piotr Swis l (Pola nd)! 8; 8. Craig Boyce (Australia) 8. 35