Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

SPEEDWAY WORLD INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIP (Left, left to right) Billy Hamill, Tony Rickardsson and Jimmy Nilsen whoop it up on the podium after Rlckardsson claimed th!, first speedway Grand Prix win of 1998, at"the Czech GP at Markets Stadium in Prague. Hamill was second and Nilsen was third. (Above) This stinks: The disappointment in defending World Champion Greg Hancock's face was evident after the Californian failed to qualify through to the semifinals in the "knockout-style" GP format. By John Hipkiss PRAGUE, CZECH REPBULlC, MAY 15' wedish superstar Tony Rickardsson fired a warning to his world title rivals with a stunning display of riding at Marketa Stadium in Prague. when he sped to victory in the championship final and laid claim to the Czech Grand Prix first-place trophy, thus 'reestablishing himself as a top threat for the world crown. Rickardsson, the 1994 World Champion who has been in superb form for British Elite League Ipswich in that team's march to the top of the table,~, come back from a real scare in the final race as he hit the wooden board at high speed just as he was approaching full throttle - and yet he maintained control and went on to pass Jimmy Nilsen and Billy Hamill. Hamill vowed to regain the crown he won in 1996 after finishing in the runner-up with a solid display. The Californian was determined and hard-working as always, and a consistent performance .like this could see him achieve his aim. Nilsen of Sweden was third. Polish sensation Tomasz Gollob came across in S o fourth place to complete the first Grand Prix of the 1998 series. Meanwhile, reigning World Champion Greg Hancock suffered a nightmare start in the series opener. The big, fa~t track hardly encouraged great racing, and Hancock was a victim of the new race format, as he traveled miles to the Czech Republic for just two rides. In fact, the race formula was more of a . talking point than the result, both on the packed terraces and in the pits area. Top riders like Hancock and Hamill had 00 wait until the main event (regular program) - Heat 11- before they got on track, as riders lower down the order fought through a knockout system in the first half before taking on the big guns. QUALIFIERS Ryan Sullivan, the Australian making his GP debut, got off to a dream start in the qualifier with a heat-one win ahead of countryman Craig Boyce. But there was a shock result in heat two, when Leigh Adams and Bo Brhel finished first ~nd second, with Chris Louis working hard to pass the unfortunate Jason Crump. World Under-21 Champion Jesper B. Jensen was worried before the meeting that he might struggle in such a big fjeld, but he made a dream start and earned a hard-fought win in heat four, the first turn proving crucial as' he took out his rivals superbly. Heats five and six were the first real pressure races as any riders finishing third or last would be packing their bags and going home. Italian Armando Castagl\a was perhaps the unluckiest man on the night, as he was. crusing to victory in heat five only to have his chain snap and throw him from the bike and out of the meeting. He was joined by Piotr Protasiewicz, Andy Smith and Peter Karlsson·as early casualties with Crump, Gerd Riss, Louis and Henka Gustafsson making further progress. Hungarian Zoltan Adorjan provided plenty of surprises and in heat seven. He pulled off a superb race to pass Brhel in breathtaking style to go through to the main event along with race winner Ryan Sullivan. Jensen worked hard from the back in heat eight and almost got the better of Adams,. but the Aussie provided some rare excitement for the vibrant crowd with a good pass on Boyce, with Jensen trailing in at the back. At least Jensen had another chance by going through to heat nine, the next sudden-death race, but he failed to take it and went out along with Crump. Stefan Danno was good value for his second place in heat 10, as he went from last to second, and he fully deserved to go through to the main event along with race winner LoUis. Boyce and Riss were the men to miss out. There may be talks held between the sport's governing body and the riders, because Hancock was not alone in making the long journey to Prague for such a small amount of track time. He stuttered for third place in heat 11, behind Sullivan and Jimmy Nilsen, and this immediately put him into a pressure situ.ation with only one race unc!er his belt. Veteran Hans Nielsen was a convincing winner in heat 12, as he pu,lled clear of Hamill, with Toni Kasper and Adorjan packing the minor placings. This was the first race that went as predicted, with the two seeds hOIne first and second. But Hamill had to work hard for it, as he picked his moment superbly to pass Kasper on the last lap despite the fact that he was clearly quicker. But if hea't 12 went according t6 plan, heat 13 certainly did not. Gustafsson and Danno were alearly sharp after their earlier races, and they caught Gollob and Brian Andersen cold. British Champion Mark Loram made his first appearance in hea t 14, and he put on a brave display despite dislocating his shoulder riding in England only four days earlier. He passed Brhel on the third lap and made a -good effort to close in on Rickardsson, who came home second, behind Louis. Then came the first pressure race of the main event, the race that ultimately proved to be Hancock's downfall and his passport to an early drive home: Heat 15 saw the third- and fourthplaced riders eliminated; and Hancock trailed in third with Brhel at the back! Gollob and AdOIjan were the riders tb progress in what proved to be a shock result, particularly with. AdOIjan dbing so well.

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