Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127738
·SPEEDWAY . . World:Jndlvidull ~_ Series Round 3: Abensberg Speedway Heat nine must have felt strange fi Hancock and Hamill, who developed reputation as being the best pair in British league while riding for Cradl Heath. But this time they were ag . each other, and there were no favo asked or given. It was Hamill who aged to edge out his close friend Han cock with Riss third and the unfortuna Jan Staechmann stopping with bik problems. Hancock's second place was perha more important then Hamill's win as i put him at four points with a couple 0 rides left, and presented him with chance to reach the B Final Rickardsson made a tremendou recovery in heat 10, going from thir to first with Gollob going the othe way. This really was a brilliant race Gollob was on the wrong end of so rough treatment from the other me and was relegated to the back. H tried everything, but if he went wid someone would take him on th inside, and if he rode the inside line he would be taken on the board~ Rickardsson's win was particular impressive as he kept the gas 0 throughout the four laps, and desp' the fact that he had bike problems . the previous race, it worked out w for him. But then drama surrounded heat 1 when Rickardsson's chances of a pia By John Hlpklss ABENSBERG, GERMANY, JULY 8 anish veteran Tommy Knudsen salvaged his immediate Grand Prix fu ture with a stunning victory at the German Grand Prix in Abensberg - just edging out his fellow countryman Hans Nielsen in the A Final. "It's my birthday soon, so this is a great early present for me," said Knudsen. "It's one of the best moments in my career." And, once again, America's Billy Hamill hit the heights of the rostrum with a determined third-place finish in the A Final to add to his victory in Austria three weeks previously. Hamill took great pride in talking about his performance. "TIus is a great result for me," Hamill said."It means that I've been on the rostrum in the two full Grand Prix meetings that I have had." But Hamill's fellow Americans Sam Ermolenko and Greg Hancock struggled for consistency, and they had to settle for a place in the C Final which meant they were well down the field. Ermolenko continued to have problems with his machinery. His engines were once again not as quick as he would like, and his hectic racing schedule has meant that he is not having the best of times to work on it. Abensberg is a big, flat track which could quite easily produce processional racing, but that was not the case when the GP boys came to town as every rider gave his all and again demonstrated the skill and quality in~olved in such a prestigious meeting. D QUALIFYING HEATS Hamill made a dream start in heat one as he left reigrling World Champion and title hopeful Tony Rickardsson from the start and got his head down to roar to victory. Rickardsson was forced to pass Craig Boyce with a brave dive, but (Above) DenIMrll'. Tommy KnudsMl pulled off a stunning victory In lh8 A FlnsI to win lh8 GermlIn Grsnd PrIx lit AbsnsbItrg Speedway. Here. KnudMn (foreground ..,.) . . . . Tomaz Gollob (mldclle). Marvyn Cox (right) and Billy HlImIll (blIc:lIgrouncI) In held nv.. (Right) HIIns N.....n (..,.) once apn rode conslslently to ..m • rostrum spot In AbenbNrg. NIeIHn f1n1shecl MCOnd to )oln wlnnIIr KnudlMtn (mldclle) 8nd thirdplaced HlImIll (right) In the victory ceremon.... from this good start it was obvious that Hamill was set for a memorable night. On the other side of the coin, Hancock was in trouble at the start of heat two. Sporting new GTS Kevlar race clothing, Hancock was wound up to do well, but it seemed to work against him as the master himself, Nielsen, swept into the first turn with the lead. Hancock had just jumped at the gate, which affected his concentration, and he failed to recover from it. He trailed in last behind Nielsen, Tomasz Gollob and Andy Smith, which meant he had plenty of work to do later in the event. And Ermolenko, looking for a good start to boost his GP confidence, didn't get it as he missed out in an early heatthree tussle with Knudsen. The Dane edged out Ermolenko, and Swedish star Henka Gustafsson then made a bold move to relegate Ermolenko to third place. German wild card Gerd Riss was extremely impressive. His long-track ability obviously helped him on the big Abensberg track and his laid-down engine was very sharp. This was demonstrate