Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127857
SPEEDWAY W DINDIVIDUAL ORL CHAMPIONSHIP :'P lishGrand Prix o (Left) Greg Hancock (3) took a huge step toward earn ing his f irst Wo rld Individual Speedway Championship when he won the A final at the Polish Grand Pri x. Hancock outran Billy Hamill (1) and home-country favorites Tomasz Gollob (t 3) and Piotr Protaslewlcz (15). By Jo hn Hipkiss WROCLAW POLAND, AUG. 30 , merican Greg Hancock is on the verge o f succeedi ng co un try- m a n Bill y H amill as World Champion after a stunning victory at the Polish Grand Prix. Han cock ha s hard ly had the best of lu ck in recent wee ks , bu t he proved what a strong character he is to edge out Ham ill in a dramat ic A fi nal. It now means a straight shootout between the Team Exide-sponsored boys when they meet in Vojcns, Denmark, on Septembe r 20 - the scene of Hami ll 's crownin g glory last year. Danish star Brian Andersen, tied for second wi th Ha mill before the mee ting, was handicapped before the first race, as he crashed in Sweden four days before a nd broke his collarbo ne, Remarkab ly, he had su rge ry tw o days before the meeting to plate the collarbo ne, though ultimat ely he couldn' t handle the wet cond itions. The riders were again mad e to wait for the action as, for the second time this series, rain played a major part in the meeti ng, w hich was delayed. The rid ers were clearly not happy with the conditions, and a meeting was held with Grand Prix race director Ole O lsen to try to reach a so lution to the prob lem . Af ter extensive work o n the racing surface, four senior ri ders took to the track to see if the meeting could go ahead. Q UALIFYING HEATS 4 Eve n tu a lly, hea t on e sta rte d mo re than two hours behind sched ule - bu t it (Right) Brian Anderse n (12) saw his chances for the wor ld title all but slip awa y as the young Dane was unable to overcome the pa in of a broken co llarbone and only scored two po ints for .a berth in the 0 fi nal. was worth the ~a i t for Hancock, w ho m a d e a flyi ng sta r t d es p it e ano the r nightmare on his way to the track. Hancock's van broke down - w hich w as ironic, since his transport burned out on the way to the British Grand Prix - but this hard ly seemed to affect him as he roa red to a brilliant win in the opener. One of Hancock's main title rivals, Brian Anderse n, was stru ggling at the back in the heavy conditions, which was make .ing life imposs ible for him, as the British Gra nd Pri x wi n ne r had cra shed in a Swed is h Lea gu e m eeting fo u r d a y s before this meeti ng in Poland and sus ta ined a b roken co lla r bone, w hi ch meant he wa s always battli ng against the odds. Hom e favorite Tomasz Gollo b, who sta r ted the mee ting in a cha llengi ng overall Grand Prix pla cing, sta rted his home rou nd in sty le with a flying start from the ou tsid e gate in hea t two , and he never look ed back from the re. Heat three saw anot her hom e favorite, 51aw omir Drabik , get the bet ter of Hans N ielsen with a fine ride from the start and, just like Gollob, he neve r looked to be in any da nger. Reig ning champion Billy Hamill made a dream sta rt in hea t four w hen he we n t wide in the ea rly stages; Tony Rickards son tried to dive undern eath , but Ha mill roared on for a grea t opening-heat victory. Dra bik and Piotr Pro tasiewicz foug ht a grea t battle in heat five, as both riders managed to avoid a collision in the fourth bend, with Protasiewic z just having the edge. Hamill was out again in heat six, and he made it tw o straight wins a head of Peter Ka rlsson as Brian Ande rsen shu t off in the early stages, clearly feeling his co lla rbone in ju ry . Hancock joi ned Hamill on the leaderboard wi th a success in heat seven, ma king a fine start from the ou tside to hit the d irt and get the better of Leigh Ada ms, who look ed to have the ad van tage at one stage . But J