Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

SPEEDWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPEEDWAYGRAND PRIX SERIES Round 3: German Grand Prix superb, and I really feel I haw a chance to challenge for the title." . California's Greg Hancock kept his lead at the top of the series wit h a third place finis h be h ind Brian Andersen, w ho made his firs t A final, a nd with three rounds rem aining he is in the dri- ver's seat with a 14-point advan tage. But with Nielsen and Billy Hamill still up there it see ms like there are 33 rou nds for Hancock, not just thr ee! When the rain came down on Satur- day, th e in sid e line of the tr a ck w as flooded an d there was Iittle prospect of a meeting go ing ahead th e foll owing afternoo n. After a long discussion between the riders and Grand Prix organizers, Satur- day's action was postponed to the folllowing day. When everyone arrived at the Lands hu t circuit on Sunday, it was a pleasant surprise to see a dry su rface that eve n needed watering later in the meeting. QU ALIFYING HEATS Heat one set the tone for the rest of the meeting, with Thornasz Gollob, who was in second place in points after the last round, making a good start and looking good for an opening victory but Nielsen made a fine pass to get the better of him by diving on the inside. (Len) Hans Nielsen celebrates his Afinal victory with .si wheelie. Nielsen showed his form of old and dom inated the meeting start to fin ish . (Below) Greg Hancock coll ided with Bill y Hamill In the A final. Series leader Hancock's footpeg destroyed most of Hamill's rear spokes, relegating Hamill to last place . Hancock was third. Br ian Andersen (outside) finished second. By J ohn Hlpklss LANDSHUT, GERMANY, JULY5 22 reat Dan e Hans Nielsen proved ., he is still a serious threa t in the World Cha mpionship Speedway series wi th a mas terfu l display of skill in the German Grand Prix. N ielsen, w ho struggled for consistency in th e opening two roun ds, was a class above his rivals a t the big, flat Landshu t circuit, sco ri ng top points in qualifying, then going on to top the A final, But he had to wai t for victory as the meeting was postponed from Saturday night un til Sunday afternoon - the first time this has ever happened in Grand Prix history. . Television schedu les an d travel ar rangements were messed up, but Ni elsen kept his cool and went on to record a vital victory that put him back in the race for the tit le he has already won four times. "I always knew I could do it tod ay and I felt very fit and comfortab le on the bike," Nielsen said. "My machinery was Former Champion Tony Rickard sson looked good for victory in heat two until he started losing power and pulled out of the race, allowing England 's Andy Smi th a clear run to the finish . Ha ncoc k ma de a good sta rt in heat three, but he came u nder severe p ressu re from Pet er Karlsson ; w ho tried every line to get past him , but "Herbie" w as too powerful and he pull ed clear after a det ermined effort. Hamill' s openin g ride wa s in heat fo u r and h e looke d like th e clea r favorite . But Piotr Protasi ewicz mad e the start with plenty of power into the first tum. Hamill sta yed well-behaved at the star t line, as opposed to both Protasiewicz and Chri s Lou is, who almos t hit th e tap es. Hamill had to se ttle for second place in his opening rid e. Pro tasiewicz, current World Unde r 21 Cha mpion, pro ved his first race was no fluke as he blasted away from the start again in hea t five, but his countryman Thomasz Go llob was relegat ed to the back. At this stage the meeting was shaping up to provide p lenty of surprises, but it was also producing some excellent racing. Heat six saw Hamill look ing comfortable up front until Nielsen, who made a poor start, started making up serious ground. When he picked his moment it looked as though Hamill had fallen asleep. Hamill even pu t his right leg out to di stract Nielsen, bu t there was no stopping the Dane. Mark Loram is widely regarded as one of the most exciting talents in the world, and he tried everything to get the better of his countryman Louis in heat seven, but he picked up some unexpected grip and was given no choice but to back off. Rickardsson continued his spectacular start to the mee ting when he tangled w--,...,

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