Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.S E W Y.: . '.' .:P ED A :.World ChampionshipIndividual Speedway SerieS. Round 1: Wroclaw Stadium Hamill got his first taste of the action in heat nine and he appeared to lift in the first tum, which forced him to run in third place behind Nielsen and Gollob. Hancock's finest moment came in heat 10 when he took the checkered flag ahead of both Loram and Havelock. His start was a good one but there was still work to be done as he approached the first turn . Hancock went wide and pushed out Havelock, but this appeared to make Loram favorite down the back stra igh t. Hancock, however, had other , ideas and flew past Lorarn in sensational style down the back straight to earn the win . Just to underline Hancock's achieve-ment. Loram pulled off a brilliant ride in heat 13 to edge out Gollob. The home rider, cheered on by the majority of the By J oh n Hipk iss WROCLAW, POLAND, MAY 20 ome favorite Tomas Gollob, perhaps the hottest property ever to race in Poland. came from nowhere to secure a famous victory at the Polish Grand Prix, the first round of the 1995 World Championship Individual Speedway Series. A crowd of 25,000 roare d as their local hero wo n in a se nsa tional final which was the equiva lent of a sudde ndeath ru noff following the 20 qualifying hea ts. Iro nically, Gollob fin ished th r ee points behind leader Hans Nielsen , the three-time World Cha mpion from Denmark who looked odds on to claim first blood in the fight for Wor ld Speedway su premacy, in this new-style championship. But during the race that really counted, heat 24, Gollob was woun d up and ready to race. and he scored the victory for the thousands of loud Polish fa ns beh ind him. Go llo b, w ho is the q u ie t ma n of world cha m pio nship speedway, was understandably overjoyed with his success on his home shale. " Th is meant so much to me, and whatever happens now, I know I have won the Grand Prix in my own country," said the happy young Pole. The second-placed Nielsen was in a philosophical mood after the meeting, a touch disappointed at missing out on opening-night glory bu t also safe in the knowledge that he is still tipped for the title by many experts. " O f course I'm disappointed ," Nielsen said. "But I start the next round just two points behind the leader and that's not a bad position to be in. " I have cut down on my European commitments to spend a bit more time with my family thi s year and so far I think it's paying off for me. Now I have to go and win in Austria." While. the American hopefuls on hand put in a respectable showing. none were able to earn enough points to make the cha m pio ns hip heat 24. "Sudden" Sam Ermolenko, racing a Blomfeld tuned machine. missed out on a place in the final by just one point and ultimately a last place in his third ride proved expensive. " It could have been worse I suppose," Ermolenko said. "But I would have liked to finish higher up the order. I was disappointed not to qualify for that heat 24, which is where all the big points are handed out. I was a lot more relaxed than I am for a one-off World Final and I think that's the way I'll be throughout the series. " Greg Hancock, like Ermolenko, made a dream s ta rt - earning seven points from a possible nine - but faded badly; and the 25-year-old Californian who rides for Cradley Heath in the British Premier League was disappointed with the final result, an 11th-place finish in the final tally. "I have to stay positive, and just because I finished the meeting badly it doesn't mean that I can't do well for the rest of the Grands Prix," Hancock said. "I had some good races out there tonight, and I reckon a bit more consistency is all I need for the next five rounds." There was better news for Billy "The Bullet" Ha mill. w ho came to Poland as H 30 (Abo ve) Poland 's Tomas Gollob scored a sti rring victory before his home countrymen at the Poli sh Speedway Grand Prix (Right) Runner-up Hans Nielsen (2) leads Tony Rlckardsson (1), Marvyn Cox (6) and Sam Ermole nko (12). (Below right) Left to right: Niel sen, Gollob and lh lrd-placed Chris Louis celebrate atop the rostrum. first reserve despite the fact that he is currently third in the British national averages and top m'!!' at Cradley Heath above Ha ncock. Hamill could have had a wasted journey with a night sat on his backside in the pits, but he was handed a golden opportunity to chalk up some Grand Prix points when Denmark's . Tommy Knudsen fell badly in his second ride. Hamill took two races and qualified for Grand Prix heat 21, the fourth raceoff to decide the lower Grand Prix points allocation. " I was so pleased to get a cha nce, and at least I have some points und er my belt to take to Austria," Hamill said. "Of course I'm sad for Tommy, but I was at reserve and knew tha t if I had the cha nce I had to take it. Maybe I could have done better in my last ride, but you c~n't have .everything, I suppose." QUALIFYING HEATS The Wroclaw track was extremely smooth and encouraged plenty of hard racing with the likes of Nielsen. Gollob, reigning World Champion Tony Rickardsson of Sweden a nd Hamill using the dirt on the outside to their advantage in some spectacular action . English star Chris Louis, who finished thi rd in the Pocking, Germany, World Final in 1993 made a great start with a victory in heat one on his works laydown Jawa machine. Louis edged out Gollob and never looked back despite the fact that Gollob was always in contention. The heat spelled a bad start for Louis' fellow Englishman and former World Champion Gary Havelock, who trailed in last. A wo rld-class showdown was on the card s in heat two as Ermolenko took on Knudsen Gustafsson. Ermolenko· took Knudsen out to the boards in the first turn and then dived past the Swedish Gustafsson to roar home with a celebratory wheelie, Sweden's Michael Karlsson, the current World Under-21 Champion who was tabbed to replace injured American Josh Larsen looked well off the pace after missing the start in heat three. He looked nervous and he jumped at the ga te which was to prove costly. The Troy Lee Designs-backed Hancock got off to a steady start with second place behind Australia 's Craig Boyce in hea t four . Disaster struck the veteran Knudsen in heat six when he was throw n from the bike, sustaining a suspected collarbone in jury in a high-speed crash . . Knudsen was pushed wide in the first tum and appeared to lock up unexpectedly. It was no surprise when the Dane was taken off the track by ambulance. and Hamill was sen t into the fray. Hancock had a lot to thank Hans Nielsen for in heat seven. Nielsen pushed Louis out wide in the first turn, and in doing so, Hancock was allowed to dive inside for an important second place. Englishman Mark Lorarn, like Louis, is a [awa works rider, and he needed every bit of speed from his engine to hold off Rickardsson in heat eight. Rickardsson tried the inside, outside and every other possible route, but Loram was not to be denied . fans, seemed "to have tha t little extra speed in reserve, but Lorarn did enough to hang on for the win . Nielsen all but secured his place in the top scorers final with an important win in heat 14 as he swept acros s Have-lock, Gustafsson and Boyce from gate four to take the lead and then pull away . In heat 15, Ermolenko put Louis under great pressure. Ermolenko first had to work his way past Polish Wild Card entry Darius Sledz after making a mess of the start, but he was soon all over Loui s' back wheel. First, Ermolenko tried hilling the dirt, then he tried the inside, but Louis had the racing line and worked ha rd to keep Ermolenko at bay. Ermolenko appeared to be falling at one stage as he went close to the wall, but his skin and experience proved crucial, and he held on for second place. Hancock was back out in hea t 16, but . it was a race he would rath er forget after

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