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(Left) Peter Karlsson (right) leade BHly Hamill (left) and Joe SCreen In heat 12. Karlsson went on to finish second In the A final. Hamill won the C final. (Below) Henka Gustafsson (8) finished third in1he A final. Nielsen marched on in heat 16 when he beat Greg Hancock, again in convincing style as the fans struggled to stay awake. Hancock had to give close attention to the fact that Cox and Crump were battling behind him, but the Team Exide man had done enough. Nielsen's only defeat came in heat 17 when Rickardsson struck a psychological blow with a dear win over the reigning champion. GRAND PRIX HEATS Ermolenko salvaged some pride with victory in the D final, and he was clearly relieved to have achieved this result after another tough night on the Grand Prix cirruit. Hamill, who also had problems, was an impressive winner of the C final to finish ninth overall despite his illness. Hancock did well to finish sixth overall with second place behind Louis in the B final. Nielsen, Rickardsson, Karlsson and Gustafsson were left to challenge for victory'in the A final, and the outcome was all but predictable. ielsen earned the victory after sweeping wide to go past his rivals while Karlsson worked hard to fight off the challenge of Gustafsson and Rickardsson to take a well-deserved runner-up spot. After the meeting, Nielsen was happy to have built up a comfortable lead in the race for the title, but he refused to admit that he had already done enough. "It has gone very well for me so far, and I have to stay consistent," Nielsen said. "There is still a long way to go, so I am not prepared to say I am going to go on and win it. Everything fell into place for me, and I was happy to get the win because Tony had done so well to beat me comfortably in my previous race. The conditions were not perfect, but we all had to adapt to them, and I am very happy." Nielsen said that he still believes a compromise can be reached in the row Ermolenko, too, was satisfied to be in the event at all. "To sit on your backside for three weeks before a Grand Prix is hardly good preparation, but I am pleased I came and rode," Ermolenko said. "I am very jealous of the top guys, but I have to be positive about the future, and that's just the type of attitude I have." "After the start I made, it's a bit disappointing to finish sixth," Hancock said of his result, but again I will take the positive points forward to the next round in Sweden." CN (Below) Greg Hancock (left) racea underneath Andy Smith (right) In hut 18. Hancock took the runner-up spot In the B final. (Below right) A battered and bruised Sam Ermolenko (3) took part In the German round and came away with a 0final victory, over the use of solid-block tires to rescue the remainder of the series. "I feel sure we can have constructive talks before.fue Swedish Grand Prix, but situations like this can never be resolved in a simple manner overnight. They do take time. Something needs to be done in order to make the sport more exciting for the fans, and I have to say that the use of the new solid-block tires is now the way forward, and we have to look at other areas. The riders are prepared to talk about it, and I just hope that common sense wins the day." Karlsson was delighted with second place after a nightmare run of. results in the opening two Grands Prix, and he is confident of winning one of the next three rounds. "I had all sorts of problems in the first two meetings with both my confidence and machinery, which both have to be spot-on to stand a chance of doing well in the Grand Prix," Karlsson said. "It makes everything seem much better because after I had struggled in the first two rounds, I was pretty down about everything, but now I feel confident that I can actually go out and win a round or two." Meanwhile, third-placed Gustafsson is also a nearly-man of the Grand Prix, but he is another Swede who made a vital breakthrough in Pocking. "T have always had faith in my own ability,. and I believe I can get better from here," said Gustafsson. who regularly beats the best riders in the world in league racing thrO\lghout Europe. Hamill was happy to have secured ninth place after admitting that he felt exhausted even before the meeting began. "I have not felt right for a couple of days, and I always knew that it was going to be tough," Hamill said. "I'm just so pleased that to have pulled through with ninth place when it could have been much worse. I wasn't making the starts, but at least I kept picking up points throughout my five qualifying rides." German Grand Prix Pocking, Germany Results: July 6, 1996 (Round 3 of 6) Qua1ifyingH.... O/A POINTS: I. (TlE) HaM ;elsen/Tony Rickardsson (14); 3. (TtE) Peter Karlsson I Henka Gustafsson (U~ 5. (I1E) Chris Louis/Greg Hancodc (10); 7. Gerd Riss (7); 8. (UE)JasonC:ump/Leigh Adams/Billy Hamill!)oe Screen/Mark Loram (6) 13. (TIE) Craig Boyce/Sam Ermolenko/ Andy Sooith (3~ 16. Marvyn Cox (I~ Grmd Prix Heats D FINAL 1. Sam Ennolenko; 2. Andy SnUth; 3. era;g Boyce; 4. Marvyn Cox. C FINAL: 1. Billy Hamill; 2. Leigh Adams; 3. Jason Crump; 4. Mark Loram. B FINAL: 1. Ou:is Louis; 2. Greg Hancock; 3. Cerci IDss; 4. Joe Screen. A FINAL: 1. Hans Nielsen; 2. Peter Karlsson; 3. Henka Gustafsson; 4. Tony Rklcardsson. WORLD INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 6 rounds): 1. Hans N;elsen (68);2. Tony Rkkardsson (56); 3. Billy Hamill (45); 4. Tommy Knudsen (41); 5. Greg Hancodc (38); 6. Henka Gustablson (36); 7. Chris loWs (31); 8. Peter Karlsson (30); 9. Joe Screen (21); 10. (TIE) Mark Loram/Sam Ermolenko/Craig Boyce/ Andy Smith (14); 14. (TIE) Gerd IDss/Marvyn Cox (13); 16. Thorn.. Gollob (11); 17. L,e;gh Adams (10); 18. Jason Crump (8); 19. Stefano Alfonso (6). Upcoming Rounds: Round 4 - Unkoeping, Sweden, August 10 Round 5 - London, England, August 31 . 17