Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the track. Screen had avoided th e inciden t, slipping back up the inside, but Cox, try ing to lay it d o wn, h ad nowhere to go bu t to ru n into the b ack of Crump. Holding his sh ou ld er as he wa lked b ack to th e pits, Ad ams mu s t h ave know n that his night w as over an d a d ia gn o sed broken coll arbone con firmed those fea rs . N o t o n ly was h is night ov er but so too were an y ho pes of s taying in fo r th e next Grand Prix a t Lonigo, Ital y, where he so impressivel y won the Grand Prix challenge w hich ha d earn ed hi m th e rig ht to be in th is ye a r' s se ries. Crum p too would al so have to si t o u t th e Lon igo m eeting as his exclu sion from th e rerun left hi m with ju st one GP po int to his name. Cox d usted himself down and bravely won the D fina l match race, kn owing o nly too w ell how critical four points rather Americans off to shaky start illy "The Bull t" Hamill (right) admitted he blew e his chances of Grand Prix glory after trailing in last in the A Final. Hamill finished joint top scorer with 11 points after his five prog rammed rides and was in the A Final along with reigning champion Hans Nielsen, Tony Ricka rdsson and Tomm y Knudsen. Hamill then missed the start and never looked likely to recover, but he remained positive after the event. "I blew my chances of winning the meeting at the start but I'm qu ite happy to have reached the top final; Hamill said. "It's a solid start to my GP campaign. 1still feel 1can go on and be World Champion this year. That's what I am aiming for, and I reckon I can do it. Last year was a good experience for me, and 1know what it's like to win a GP round, but when you look at how Hans won the title it was all about consistency. It's no good winning one round and then finishing halfway in the next, because you mess up all the good work." Greg Hancock settled for seventh place but hardly had the best of luck throughout the meeting. despite his brave efforts. "I think I had some bad luck but it has made me more determined to go out and do even better in Italy," Hancock said. "It's a disappointing way to start, but if I can get on the rostrum in Italy it will get me back on course. I am feeling quite happy with my machinery, and 1feel pretty good in myself. I just think I ran out of luck." Hamill and Han cock ha ve form ed ' Team Exid e' for th e GP campaign, and Exide spokesman Tony Summers has challenged them both to get on the rostrum by the end of the title race. "1 think many other riders will start to try and get sponsorship as a team effort and this 'idea that Greg and me had is just the start," Hamill said. "We could end up seeing a constructors championship similar to Formula One racing, and that can only be good for the GP. We are both positive about the Italian Grand Prix and we will both go out there to try and win the round. It's still early and a lot can happen in the next five rounds, but Team Exide mean business, and the rest had better watch out!" "Sudden" Sam Ermolenko struggled for consistency but salvaged some pride with victory in the C Final after looking unhappy with his bikes. "I'll be back," was Ermolenko's reaction after firing a warning to his rivals who have perhaps written him off. B (Left) Swedish hope ful Henrik Gustafsson su ffered a few setbacks at the opening round but came on strong to win the B final. Here, Gustafsson battles Sam Ermolenko (fore9round left). (Below) Team Exlde rider Greg Hancock (left) wound up third In the B final. (Left) Here we go again? : Ermolenko (right) was plagued with equipment prob lems once again at the opening round of the series. The 1993 World Champ ion managed a win in the C final and vowed to be much stronger when the series moves to Lonlgo, naly. th an three could bec ome as th e series matures. British brothers-in -law Mark Loram an d Ch ris Louis w ere p it ched ag ainst ea ch o ther in th e C final with fo rmer W o lv e rh amp t on t e ammate s Peter Karl sson and Sam Ermolenko as thei r ri vals . Ermo le nko h ad stru gg le d a ll eveni ng and was more th an a little d isenchanted wi th his eq ui pment. He ev en bo rrowed both of reserve Craig Boyce' s Klaus Lausch-tuned bikes for h is sec ond and third ou tings, and in two oth ers m ade a last-minute sw itch among hi s o w n m o tors. Th at in d ecision w ith e q u ip m en t ce rta inly d oesn ' t h el p a ri der con cen trate o n th e importa nt is s u e s o f wi nning, an d u n le s s th e W o rld number t hre e ca n qu ick ly resolv e his m ach ine problem s he could find himself losing too much gro u nd in this years com petition . H e tri umphed for nine poin ts in th e C fina l after a cat a n d - m o u se b attl e with Lo uis whil e Peter Ka rlsson w as untroubled by the struggling Loram. G us ta fsso n 's s ca n t rew ard for a well -contested m ee ting w as victory in the B final anda stark warning to his 17 'op po nen ts, If he can keep e ve ryth in g -together then he is going to be a bi gger threa t this time ar ound than he wa s las t year w hen he had to face a last-d itch runoff at th e en d of the British Grand Prix aga inst Gollob to avoid the gruel ing Lonigo challenge . But with th e rai n easing slightly, th e Wrocl aw m e e t in g cl i maxe d with anoth er convincin g ri de fro m Knud sen . Second out o f the gate , he mana g e d to turn the p owe r o n a s they entered the back str aig ht, and sp u rred on by the frantic cheers fro m the p artisan crowd Knud s en e a s e d u nder Nielsen. The maneuver left an opening for Rickardsson to elevate him self in to sec o nd pl ace a nd le a v e the World Chamion lan g uishing in th ird place, clear of Ham ill. Knudsen' s vi ct ory was as w armly rec eived by th e cro wd as Gollob's '9 5 wi n was, and he will clearl y begin as one of the fa vo rit es w hen the G ra n d Pri x circus m o ves to Lonigo, Ita ly, on n June 1. Polish Grand Prix Wroc law, Poland Resu lts: May 18, 1996 (Round 1 of 6) QUA llFYL "lG HEAT S O /A POINTS: 1. (TIE) Tommy Kn u dsen / H ans Nie lsen / Bi lly H amill (11 p o in ts ); 4 . (TI E) Ton y Ricka rd ss o n /To ma sz Gollob ( 10) ; 6. (TIE) H e nke Gustalsson /Gary Havelock (9); 8. Greg Han cock (8); 9. Peter Karlsson /Sam Ermolenkc (7) ; 11. Chri. Louis (6); s i 2. (T IE) Ma rk Lcram /Letgh Adams (5); i 4. (TI E) Mervyn Co xnoe Screen (4); i6 . Jason Crump (3); 17. (TIE ) Craig Boyce I And y Smith (0). GRAND PRIX HEATS . o FIN AL: 1. Marvyn Cox; 2. Joe Screen; 3. Leigh Adams; 4. Jason Crump. C FINAL: 1. Sa m Ermolenko: 2. Chris Louis; 3. Prier Karlsson; 4. Mark Lo ram. B FINAL: 1. Henrik Gustafsscru 2. Cary Havelock; 3. Greg H ancock; 4. Tomasz Go Uob. A FINAL: 1. To m m y Kn u dse n; 2 . Tony Rickardsson; 3. Hans Nielsen; 4. Billy Ham ill. WORLD iNDIVIDUAL CHAMP IONSHIP SERIES POI N T S STA NDINGS (Afte r 1 o f 6 roun d s ): 1. Tommy Kn u dsen (25) ; 2. Ton y Rickard sson (20) ; 3. H ans N ie lsen (18 ); 4 . Bitl y H amill (16) ; 5 . Hen ri k C ustafsso n ( 14) ; 6 . Gary Ha ve lock ( 13) ; 7. G reg Hanco ck (12) ; 8 . To m asz Co llob ( 11 ); 9 . Sam Er mo lenk o (9 ); 10. Chris Lou is (8); ll. Peter Kar lsson (7); i 2. Mark Loram (6); i 3. Marv yn Cox (4); i4 . Joe Screen (3); IS. Leigh Adam s (2); 16. Jaso n Cru mp (1). Upcoming Rounds ; , Round 2 - Lonigo, Italy, J une 1 Round 3 - Linkoeping, Sweden, July 6 25

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