Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

t , i ~ I I ~ I r f I ~ I ~ I l Go llob was there again in heat eight, as he made a stunning s ta rt to edge out Tony Rickard sson in a sta rt whic h appeared unequal. However, the referee allowed the race to continue with Ha ns Nielsen at the back. Hea t nine produced some entertai ning racing, with Rickardsson lead in g fro m the s ta rt , but th e action was for second place, as Chris Louis managed to edge ou t home s tar Rafal Dobruck i o n the finish line fo r second p lace, with every point cruc ial. There was a shoc k in hea t 10 whe n N ie lsen, la st yea r's se rie s leader un til H amill ' s la s t-ga sp su ccess , mis sed th e ga te altogether a nd Prot asiewicz pulled clear for a fine win. Heat 11 saw plenty of d rama , with Hancock and Hamill proving that they are grea t rival s as well as colleagues and frie nds. Thankfully, an incid en t whic h saw Hancock relegated to the back did no t have a lasting effect as both qualified for the A fina l anyway. In the first staging, Ha mill wen t down in th e firs t turn af te r cli p p i ng H ancock' s b a ck wheel, and the refer ee allowed all four rid ers back in the race. But Hamill made the bett er s ta rt to cut ac ro ss Hancock and follow Gollob hom e for a vita l second-place finish . Mark Lorarn produced th e best rid e of the night whe n he went from third to firs t in heat 12, pa ssing Peter Karlsson and then Jimmy Nilsen for an important w in in a ra ce w h ich was rerun a ft e r Henka Gustafsson fell and was exclud ed. Hamill secu red a vital second -place finish in heat 13, as he had the edge on Nielsen, while Chris Louis won comfortably - but by this sta ge, Hamill already had 10 points and looked good for the A final. Hancock kept his cool in heat 15, with a brilliant first turn to edge out P rotasiewicz. Ricka rdsso n ma naged to get sec o nd, putting p res sure o n Ha ncock. Both Hancock and Ha mill needed to sec ure thei r passa ge throu gh to th e A final wit h at least. second place in their fi nal q ualifying h ea ts, but th ey went through in fine style. Hancock took out Nielsen in heat 19 for a stunning victory to secure his pla ce with 12 points, clearly se nding ou t a warning to his rivals. Thi s w a s d es pit e th e fact that Gollob allowed Louis to win heat 17 with a pass o n the las t bend, po ssibly in the hope that Hancock a nd Hamill would miss out to Louis for a place in the A fina l. It pu t extra press ure on Ha mill in heat 20, as he need ed to win it or risk missing out and effectively writing off his titl e hopes. H o wever, he did th e bu siness a s he go t the better of Protasiewicz to secu re his place. GRAND PRIX FINALS Andersen rode throu gh the pa in bar rier to win the 0 final in s ty le, but he was clear ly unco mfortable. Nilse n was successfu l in the C final, and Rickard sson got the better of Louis for victory in the B final. For the A fi nal, Gollob ha d fi rst choice of gate positions, and he went for ga te th ree, with Hamill goi ng for gate two. Hancock immediately chose the pole. "I was almost relieved when Gollob went for gate three and I saw Billy going fo r gate two a t a time w hen I had a lread y decided 1 wanted the inside," Hancock said. Th ere wa s a theory that the out side would be more beneficial because of the outside dirt, bu t Hancock disproved the theory in style wi th a ride that was brillian t fro m th e st a r t. H am ill worked o vertime to di ve th roug h Go llob and Protasi ewicz , and th e title su d de n ly (Lell) Hamill caught a luc ky break after this crash in heat 11. which could have cost hi m a berth in the A final. But the referee allowed the defending cham pion t o restart. and he ultimately made the even t 's biggest race . (Below) (Lell to right) Hamill , Hancoc k and GaUob sm ile on the victory podium. With one round left, the championship has now effectively co me down to a tw o-h orse race between the Americ ans, as an othe r World title • for the U.S. appears im m inent. became a s tr a ight s hooto u t between H ancock a n d H amill. Ha ncoc k prevailed . Han cock's celebra tio ns we re emotional, and Ham ill was one of the first to cong ra tu la te him, the latter kn owing his own gri p on the title could be abo ut to slip. Afte r th e meeti ng , Ha ncock was u nders tanda bly exhausted but over joyed as he exte nded his lead despite a catalog of misfo rtune . "Thi ngs have been going against me in recent weeks, which makes a win like this even more speci al," sa id Hancock. 'This is great, because I am ready to go on and win the title. Last yea r I saw what it meant to Billy, and now I want it for myself. 1 ha ven' t co me this far for no thin g, and 1 want to finish the job off. Billy did it last year, and Team Exid e is on top again. I can hardly wait for it to start in Denmark." Ha mill, m ea n w hil e, is refusing to give up hope of re ta ini ng his crown, a lthough he admi ts Ha ncock is in the driver's seat. "It's a tall order, because G reg has d one so well an d he a lmost h a s h is name o n th e titl e," Hamill said . " Bu t th ere is a big meeting to come in Denmark, and I'll be giving it my best shot, just like Greg. 1 haven't wo n a meeting yet in th is series, and 1 kn ow I have to win in Denmark to sta nd any chance of cha llenging for the title . "I thought Go llob was the ma n to catch, beca use he was on his home track a nd looked s o good th ro ug hou t th e m eeting, " Hamill conti nued . "Greg deserves all the credit goi ng, and 1 was pleased to see him so happy afte r everything he has gone through - but I want to keep the title , and I'll do everything 1 can to do it in Denmark." O nly Hamill a nd Gollob can catch Ha nc ock, a nd it seems unlikely that Gollob ,,;11 be able to win the title, as he is a massiv e 24 po in ts behind Hancock. That effe cti vel y m eans it' s a no th er American w orld-title success as the Team Exide boy s look to continue their d ominatio n of the G ra nd Prix se ries. A nyt hi ng less th a n a Ha ncock w in wou ld be a major su rprise, bu t it would mea n th at Ha mill co u ld r eta in his crown. f~ Polish Grand Prix Wroclaw, Poland Resu lts: August 30 , 1997 (Round 5 of 6) QU.1 in g H u b Ufy Q IA PO I NT S: 1. To ma s z Go lloh (14); 2. Bill y H a m ill (3); 3 . Crt'S Ha nC OCk (2); 4 . (TIE) Pi ot r Prot as lewicz / Ch ris Louts (11); 6. (TIE) Sla wom lr DrabillTllllY Rid ...u d"....n (to); 8. Molrk Loram (8); 9. Hetn Nit'l-..m (7); 10. mE) Jimmy Nil"ot"fl /Simon Wigg " (5) ; 12. Pe te r K .H l ~ !'oon (4) ; 13. (TIE) Raf,, 1 Dohrucli /Lpigh Ad a m... () ; 15. (T t E) H e nri l Gu ...t a f..... n /Brian o Andt'r~n ( 2) ; 17 . (T IE ) A nd y Smith/ Mibd Ksrlsscn (0). Gnnd Prix Fin.rols D ANAl.: 1. Bria n An denen; 2. Leig h A dam!'; 3. Henrik Gu.~tafs.'K'Jn; -I. Rafal Dobrocki. CANAl.: 1. Jimmy Nil'll"l'l; 2. Simon Wigs; 3. H.. s m Nic~ 4. Peter Kartsscn. B FINAl.: 1. To ny Ricbrdsson ; 2.. Chris Louis; 3. Mark Lor-un; 4. Slawomir Dra bik. A FINAL: 1. Greg Ha ncock; 2. Bill y Ha mill; 3. Tomasz CoUob; 4. Piotr Prot.1siewia.. . WO RLD IN D I V I D UA L SPEEDWA Y C H A M P IO N S H IP SERIES POINTS ST ANDINCS (Aftr r 5 of 6 rou nd , h 1. Greg Ha ncock (100 /2 wins); 2. Billy Ha mill (88); 3. To masz Gollob (76/1); 4. Brian Andersen (n I l); 5. Tony Ricka rdsson (70); 6. Ha ns Nielsen (63 / 1); 7. Jimmy Nilsen (60 ); 8. Ma rk Loram (56); 9. Chris Lou is (45); 10. Slawomir Drabik (37); 11. Leigh Ada ms (33); 12. Peter Karlsson (30); 13. Piotr Protasiewicz (28 ); 14. Hl>nrik Gustafsson (20); 15. Andy Smith (16) ; 16 . Simon WiAA (13 ); 17. M ikad Karlsson (12); 18. mE) J~ 5c:Twn/J,l.!>On C rump (8); 20. ROOm Ildrt (1) . Upcoming Rounds: Round 6 - Vojens. Denmark, September 20 lR a a ~ r-, 0\ 0\ ..... r-....' ..... .... OJ .0 E OJ .... 0.. OJ (J) 35

• Cover