Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

bid to make u p ground on his countryman, but H am ill wa s not be deni ed and went on to win comfort ably. The biggest su rp rise turned out to be the man in last place - Rickard sson. The Swede tried ever yth ing to pu t pressure o n thirdpl a ce d Boyc e but tr ied too h ard an d nearly ended up in the grass on the ou tside of turns three an d fou r, Havel ock w as o bviously e njoyin g hi mself on the w id e Lonigo track, and he w as the comfortab le winner of heat 11, w h ich was a battle of th e Brits. Louis worke d hard to finish in second over Cox while Lo ram w as shoved to the back. Th e leaderboard had changed dr asticall y at th is stage and now in clu d ed Nielsen, Knudsen, Hancock and Hamill tied w ith se ven points ea ch . Havelock, Louis, Alfonso and Rickardsson w ere all level with six, and it was becoming obvio us that nobody would break clear until the fina l round of qu alifyin g heat s. Rickardsson d isplayed pl enty of character to bounce back from his previo us disa pp ointmen t with a fine w in in h eat 13 ahead of C o x ,w h il e Nielsen tried everything to make his way pa st Cox but wou n d up th ird a hea d of Alfons o . N ie lsen loo ked a touch dejected when the ch eckered flag fell, as he knew his chan ce s of rea ching the A final were sta rt ing to look slim. H an cock m oved into double figures wi th ' a fine ri de in h eat 14 to edge ou t Gustafsson after a tre mendous battle in the ea rly stages o f th e race, and M ark Lo ra m took out Errn o len ko to make it fou r straight last -pl ace finishes fou r the -, 1993 World Cha m pion. Karlsson picked up his first points of the n ight in h eat 15 when he fini sh ed second to Knudsen. Boyce beat Loui s for thi rd place. Drama eru p ted in heat 17 when H an- , coc k saw h is chances of reaching the A final go ou t th e window with a nastyloo kin g cra sh . Hancock w as in seco nd p lace in the heat, whi ch wou ld ha ve taken him to 12 poi nts, bu t instead he finished on 10. And when Nielsen won the reru n, it was en oug h to get him into the A final. Han cock w as inita lly fitte d with a surgical collar around his neck, but he woul d b e fit enough to co n test the B final. Hamill was out next in heat 18 and made sure of his place in th e A final wi th a fine ride that sa w h im ahe ad of Pe ter Karlsson, Ermolenko an d Cox. It was H amill's fourth successive victory. Bo y ce w a s th e w inner of h e a t 19 ahea d of Loram, Screen an d Alfonso, and Knudsen made sure tha t he finished level with Hamill on 13 points by wi nni ng heat 20. ~ GRAND PRIX HEATS Injury was added to Ermolenko's it alian Grand Prix ins ult when he fell d own a n d w as h it by bo th G u stafsson an d Karlsso n . It was qu it e o bvio us th at Ermolenko had su ffered a ra th er serious injury, w h ich wa s later d iagnosed as a cracked bone in his pel vis . He w as back in Engla nd 48 hou rs la ter. Ermo lenko w as unsure about his future, but he was left little doubt w hen FIM officials con firmed th at even if he was fit he would be out of the German Grand Prix. "I never expected any thi ng like this," Ermolenko said. "Not jus t th e injury, but the .fact that I was struggling so badly. But I'll be back. I'm disappointed abo ut missing m y family holiday because of m y injury, but I've now got some time to gath er my thoughts together about the res t of th e season." On the rerun, Louis wen t on to score the victory over Pe ter Karlsson an d Loram. . Louis w as the clea r winner in the C fina l ahead of Cox, Screen and Alfonso. Hanco ck put togethe r a fine ride to finish seco nd in th e B fina l behind Gary H avelock and in d oin g so claime d sixth place overall. Boyce finished third ah ead of Smith. Hamill cho se gate one - the ins ide -for the A final, but th ere w as no den yin g th e m asterful Nielsen, wh o sho t fro m the star rt and w ent aro u n d eve ry body to pull clearly ah ead of Hamill down th e back straight. Hamill hel d off Rickardsson to finish seco nd . Kn udse n w as running fourth and h ad th e m isfortune of crash ing on th e fin al bend. Th e Dane sustained a broken collarbo ne in th e incident. Nielsen reveled in th e wi n, but after the meeting he admitted that it was not all an easy ride. "We had some bike problems during the meeting, and at o ne stage it looked as though I might have to settl e for a place in the B final , which w ould have been unusual for m e," Nielsen sa id. "I'm very ha ppy th at we.changed machinery and got it just about right toward th e end, because that's when it counts." Runner-up Hamill w as anothe r rider who had pr obl ems durin g the m eeting, but he, too, did th e busi ness when it mattered tlie most. ' (Top and above) Catastrophe: Sa m Ermolenko (left) fell while lead ing the D final and was struck by both Henka Gustafsson (8) and Pete r Karlsson (right). The 1993 World Champion was seriously injured and will miss the Germa n Grand Prix. (Left) Greg Hancoc k (4) chased 1992 World Champ ion Gary Havelock (14) In the B final. Havelock , too k the win. (Below) (Left to right) Nielsen , Rlckardsson and Hamill were all s miles on the Ita lian pod ium. Nielse n leads the series standings with Rlckardsson third and Hamill fourth, res pectively. "After that crash I w as really do w n, ' an d I th ough t it wa sn 't going to be 'm y d ay," Hamill sa id . " Bu t I have a great team around me, an d they all helped m e. . It was a bit more of a mental thing than phy si cal even th ou gh I felt a littl e uncom fortable. But it w as a bi g ride w hen I go t the b etter of H an s and Tommy, and I knew th at I cou ld do w ell in the rest of th e meetin g. Rick ard s son w a s h a p p y t o cl a im th ird place after he su ffered su ch a bad r esu lt during t h e m ee t in g, a n d h e remains third in th e overall series stand. ings. " It w a s h a r d w o r k o u t there, " Rickardsson said. "Every bod y was going for it, and I think it was a good sh ow for the fans . I'll be happy to stay in th e A final th rou gh out th e series, because at th e final GP I'll be ch alle nging for the title." eN Ita lian Grand Prix Lonlgo, Italy Results: June 1, 1996 (Round 2 of 6) QUA LIFYING HEATS O /A , PO INTS , 1. (T IE) Bil ly H a m ill / T omm y Kn u dsen (13 p oi nt s ); 3. (TIE ) H an s Ni elsen /Tony Rick ar dsson (11 ); 5. Greg Hancock (10); 6. (TIE) Gary H avelock /Craig Boyce (9); 8. (1lE) Chris Louis I An dv S mi th (7); 10. (TI E) Ma rv yn Co x /Joe Scree n / Stefa n Alfonso (6); 13. (TIE) Peter Karlsson / Mark toram (4); IS. Henrik Gustafsson (3); 16. Sam Ermolenk o (I ); 17. (TIE) Leigh AdamslJason Crump (0). GRAND PR IX HEA TS o FINAL: I. Henrik Gus tafssorc 2. Peter Karlsson; 3. Mark Loram; 4. Sam Ennolenko. C FINAL: 1. Chris Loui s; 2. Marvy-n Cox ; 3. Joe Screen ; 4. Stefan Alfonso. B FINAL: 1. Gary Ha ve lock ; 2. Greg H ancock; 3. Craig Boyce; 4. Andy Smi th. A FL "'lAL: 1. Hans Nielsen; 2. Billy Ha mill; 3. Tony Rickardsson; 4. Tommy Knudsen. WORLD INDIV ID UAL CHAMP IO N S H IP S ERI ES PO INTS STANDINGS (Aft er 2. of 6 round. ), I. Hans Nielsen (43 points/I win); 2 Tommy Knudsen (41 /1 ~ 3. To ny Rickard sson (38) ; 4. Bill y H a m ill (26); 5. Ga ry H a vel o ck (27); 6 . Greg H an co ck (25); 7. H enrik Gustafsson (18); 8. Ch ris Loui s (17); 9. (TIE) Ma1V}"Tl Co x /Craig Boyce (12); 11. (TIE) Toma sz Gollo b l An dy Smith (II); 13. (TIE ) Sam Ermolenko/Peter Karlssonlloe Screen ( IO~ 16. Mark toram (8); 17. Stefan Alfonso (6); 18. LeighAdams (2 ); 19. /ason Crump ( I~ Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - Pocking, Germany, July 6 Round 4 - Linkoeping, Sweden , August 10

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