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r- brough t the house down. Wilson spent many years riding for Bradford , and his knowledge of the track showed. Sam Ermolenko was back in business in heat 12. He ma d e a fast sta r t and pulled well clear of Stonehew er and Boyce, and by that stage he was as good as through to the next round - though he also wanted to cha llenge for the title. But a third place in his fourth ride prevented that from happening, and he had (Left) Starts were eruetal on the rain-soaked Bradford track. Here, SCreen (fo reg round) gets a good one to lead Dukie Ermolenko (left) , Venegas (cent er) and Shane Parker (behind Screen). to se tt le for a runoff wi th Wil son a nd Boyce, wh o a lso finished with II points. Ta tum had to win heat 20 in order to for ce a runoff with Screen , who h ad won hea t 17 to put the p r"",ure on , but Tatu m responded well with a fine win. In the th ird -place ru noff, Wilson mad e a great start a nd took th e win , w hile Boyce n u d g e d o ut Sam Ermolenko • wh o was dea rly happy to set tle for wha t he had already achieved, to finish fourth. And in the title decider, wha t should ha ve bee n a thrilling finish was d isappoi nting, as Screen ran into bike trouble and Tatum pu lled well d ear for a comfortab le win. Tatum, who many people believe should ha ve achieved so mu ch mo re d ur ing his illustrious speedway career, was naturally delighted wi th the resu lt. "1 came here w it h the atti tude th at my first priority was to qua lify," Tatum said . "But to actua lly win the meeting is a grea t bonus fo r me. It was always going to be tough for us in these conditions, but I tho ught everybody put on a good show , and now I'm determined to go through to the Grand Prix series." The sec ond -placed Scr een, me anwhi le, was philosophical in defeat. "Full credit to Kelvin," Screen said. " He's a rid e rI respect a lot, and he deserves success, because he 's been p retty consist ent down th e years. My bikes we re going well, and if 1 had to have a retirement , I suppose it's always best to happen du ring a runoff when you have already qualified for the next stage. But I am a little d isappointed not to win the tit le, beca use it w ou ld ha ve been ni ce to have added tha t to my British title." Sam Ermolenko was understanda bly happy with his qualification as well, and it looks as thoul;h the hard-luck American's career ma y not quite be over yet. " Co n d irio ns we re rou gh, very ro ugh," Ermolenko sa id. "B ut you have to a da p t to every t h ing in th e World Cham pionship. That's my motiva tio n, and I'm deligh te d to be th rou g h . I' m co nvinced I ca n still mat ch the best riders in the world on my d ay, and all 1 wa n t is the opportunity to prove that, afte r a bad run with inju ries and b ike p rob lems last yea r. Th is w as a lways go ing to be a tough meeti ng, bu t I was we ll aware of how i mpor tant it was for me, and I' m so relieved to be thr ou gh." Ironica lly, Ermolenko is now on s tandby for t his year's Grand Prix Se ries, after an injury to Swede n' s Henka Gu stafsson, wh o has broken his '" leg in two places. Bradford Speedway Bradford , England Resutts: June ~ 1997 OIA: 1. Kel vin Tatum (14); 2. Joe Screen (14); 3. SL-an (11); ... Cra is Boyce (I l l; 5. Sam Ermolenko (11); 6. Gary Hav elock tI OI; 7. Ryan Sul liva n (91; 8. Dea n Barker (9); "J. JolSOn Crump (8); 10. Chris Manchester (6); 11. Sha ne Parker (6); 12 Ca rl Stonehc.-wer (5); 13. Dukic Ermo lenko (3 ); 14. Charlie veeegas (2); 15. Chris Penny (2); 16 lCaroly Lechk y (0) . QUAUAED RID ERS: 1. Kelvin Tatum (14); 2. Jew Scra-n (14); .1 St-~n Wihon (l 0; 4. Crot g Boyre (11); S. . i 5.Jm Ennolt:"JIko {I I}; 6. Gary H."E' luck (0); 7. Ry an Sul li\"an (9) ; 8 . Of.an 8.lrkr (Q). RESERVES: 1. }a.IOI\ Cru mp (8). ' N ON·QUALlfJ EO RID ERS: 1. Chri." Manchest er (6); 2. Shane ParM.-r {ol; 3. Carl Stonehcwer (5 ); 4. Dakie &molcnko (31 5. Ch.lrlie v eeegas (2); b. C hm Penny ; (2); K.1roly I...echky (0). W il~ Upcoming Rounds: Intercontinental Final : Vastevik , Sweden, July 27 Grand Prix Challenge: Weiner-Neustadt, Austria , October 5 (Abo ve left) Ch ris Manchester (left) was in the hunt t o qualify for most of the day, especlaliy after this win over Ryan Suliivan (m iddle) In heat 13. The Amerlclln Ilicked . consistency, and finished with sl. points. (Above) Australia's Cra ig Boyce (foreground) continued h is quest to rejo in the GP contingent by II nl sh lng fourth at Bradford and advancing to t he Interconti nental Final at Vastevlk. Sweden. (Right) The top three fi n ishers: sean Wilson (left) Tatum (center) and SCreen (right). 51