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/127860
the race, and Louis, wh o landed on his co llarbone, w en t out and won the rerun, overs hadowi ng th e myster y as to why Jensen esca ped exclus ion. H a n co ck a n d H am ill m et i n heat three, but they were for ced to figh t for seco nd best, as Sweden's Jimmy Nilsen took the w in , wi th Hancock finis hing se cond a n d Hamill th ird ; H an cock rec o vered well from a bad start to get some drive and mo ve past Ham ill. Former World Champ ion Ton y Rickardsson made a good star t to heat four and edged out eventua l winn er Ma rk Lora rn, and it was obvious that these two were in for a good night. Andersen continued his good start to the mee ting wi th an impressive win in hea t five, a nd Pete r Kar lsson wojked hard to get pa st N ilsen and Jensen. Ricka rdsson joined An derse n on th e lead erboard in heat six wit h a convin cing rid e over Pio tr Protas iew icz an d Mika el Karlsson. Hans Nie lse n go t th e better o f Hamill in heat seven, wh ich w ould prov e to be ano the r nail in the coffin of Hamill's world-title hop es, as he needed eve ry po in t possible to reac h the A fi nal. Hancock took a massive st ride toward glory wit h a victory in heat eight, w hich put him on five points from two rid es, and he was well on course to take the World Championship honors. Hamill had to work hard for his second place in heat nine, finishing behind Lorarn , and with five poi nts from three rides the reigning champion faced a tall order to qualify for the A final, furthering Han cock's title quest. Hancock picked up another im pressive win in heat 10, edging ever closer and proving that w hen the pressure was on , he could ha ndle it. He made a great s tart from the inside and w en t out toward the fence, lookin g as th ou gh he was losing ground - but this was not the case; he got extra gri p and blasted past Mikael Karlsson and Jensen.. Gollob need ed a wi n in heat 11 to presen" his chances of finis hing o n the e rost rum, and he responded in sty le wit h a superb ride to ge t the better of Nilsen who put him und er trem endou s pressure, wi th Rickardsson a t the back. There were surprises in heat 12 wh en Andy Smith beat hom e favorite Nielsen with a st un ning ride . Pet er Karlsson, who looks a world-beater in Bri tish Lea gu e action every week, stopped at the start wit h bike problems. H a ncock kept hi s cool during the interval to come out in heat 13 for his third successive win . and at this stage , he knew deep down that the title was his. Celebrations were delayed, but this was th e moment when Hancock wa s assured of a place in th e A fina l, and that was all he needed to win the titl e. His was a tremendou s ride, getting the better of Rickardsson, Andersen and Nielsen, and it proved that he is a wo rthy champion. Hamill' s first ride as form er cha mpion was almost as impressive, as he won heat 1-l ahead of Louis and the Karlsson brothers . He swe pt from the outside to beat his riv als and prove wh at a g rea t rid er he is. Gollob boosted his chances of making the A final when he beat Lora m in heat 15, and it was looki ng more a nd more like a Ha ncock /Hamill /Gollob rostrum. Nilsen, figh ting for a top-eight pl ace to ensu re qualification for next year's series, wa s an impressive winner of heat 16, ahea d of Lei gh Ada ms, and the effort was e no ug h to see him throu gh to a direct seed into the 1998 GPs. Adams was a surprise winn er" hea t of 17, as A ndersen s ta r ted to lose grip, clearly tiri ng wi th his collarbone injury but in truth thi s race wa s insig nificant. Nielsen won heat 18 to ensure his place in the B final , whi ch was a d isappointment for the former cham pio n who is sure to be back for more next season. Gollob beat Han cock in heat 19 with a bri lliant ride. Han cock made the start but seemed to lose power and had to be happy with second pla ce. But the celebrations started as Han cock realized he was home and d ry, and the new World Speedway Champio n. This was what he had bee n dreaming of all hi s life, and the re wa s a tear in the eye as his fiancee, Joanne, joined him on the track to celebrate. Rickardsson rounded off the qualifying race s with a w in in heat 20 o ver Hamill - but o n ly afte r a horri fying crash into the fence in the origi nal staging of th e race. Thankfull y, he was able to pick himself u p and wi n the rerun in fine style. GRAND PRIX ANALS H ome rid er [enscn und erlined his potential with a fine victo ry in th e D final , getting the bette r of Prota siewicz and Mikael Karlsson. Leigh Ad am s beat An dersen to the line for the C-final vic- tory, with Pet er Kar lsson third and Andy Smith a t the back. Hamill gav e himself a golden cha nce to finish runner-up in the wo rld standin gs w it h second place in the B final. behind Lou is , who just about did e noug h to ge t through to next year's series, The A final was won by Mark Loram, with Rickardsson second and Hancock third, leavi ng Gollob trailing in fourth, but he w as safe in the kn owledge that he w as co nfirmed as w orld number three, a fine achievement in itself. Hancock was na tura lly delighted to have secu r e d h is fi rs t title ju s t 12 mon th s aft er ge tting a taste for it by seeing Hamill lift the crown. "This is wha t racing is all about for me, an d I certa inly d idn't come this far in th e cham pions hip to let it all slip:' Hancock sa id. '" sti ll can't believe it has happened , and it wi ll take a bit of time to sin k in, but now I'm there, I am looking forward to the year ahead. " I a lways knew it wa s goi ng to be tou gh, and I had to work hard for it all, but tha t' s paid off and I'd like to pay tr ibute to m y team. The Team Exide boys have done it again , and I'm overjoyed . "This is a dr eam come true , righ t (Top) Meanwhile, Poland's Tomasz Gollob (13) was marching toward a berth In the A Final . Here . Gollob dropped a point to . Denmark's Brian Andersen (12), but the Pole would rebound and score 12 points to ensure his place In the top scorer's race . (Above) Past, and future (?) champions: Three-time World Champion Hans Nielsen (2) leads spectacular Br it Mark Loram in heat 18. Nielsen took the win in this one but ultimately missed out on the A final by one point. Loram, however, went on to make th e A. from th e time I was riding as a yo ung bo y back home in Californi a:' Han cock co ntinued. "An d now it's co me true it' s an unbelievable feeling." Hamill was naturally disappointed to see his ti tle slip away, but he can feel sa fe in the knowledge that he has been an ad mirable champion, and he is su re to be up there in years to co me. "If I had to lose the title, then I wo uld always ha ve wanted to lose it to Greg, because it's like keeping it in the family: ' Hamill said. "The Team Exide boys have don e it again, and we are up there o n to p o f th e wo rl d, but obvious ly I h ave to say I wo uld rath er be w he re r-, 0\ 0\ ,..... 00 .... Q) .0 .8 u o 21