Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

• any more than I did here tonight, and that's important to me ." Nielsen wa s pushed ou t in the early stages and, like Rickardsso n befor e him , took the sa fe option and let the rest ge t on with it. Sullivan can feel delighted with third p la ce , as it wa s e n o ug h to see him th rou gh to next year' s series, mai nly thanks to Hamill's dreadful misfortun e. And not surprisingly, Gollob's celebrations were wild, as it seemed the w hole of Poland joined in! style. But Nielsen ag ain proved to be the master. Both [acek Gollob and Adorja n saw their night end in heat nine, with Kasper again looking fast as he pu lled clea r to move into the main event with p len ty of speed. Andy Smith finis hed second to join him. Boy ce w as pu t u nd er p ressure by Swe dis h sensa tion He nka Gu stafsson in hea t 10, as bo th ri d ers went th roug h, with Andersen a surprise failure - along wi th ano the r home favorite , Piotr Protasiewicz. MAIN EVENT Rickardsson wasted no tim e in making su re of hi s second Wor ld crow n, wi nning his first race of the night in hea t 11. He looked conv incing from the start as he pulled we ll clear of Nielse n, with Mark Lora m wo rking ha rd for his third place. "I we n t into the meeting knowing all I had to d o was get a few points and I wo uld be cha m pio n, but it's no t in my nature to play it cool," Rickar dsson sa id later. "I want ed to do j he job properly and ensure that I was crowned cha mpion after racing as ha rd as I could, and I was very p roud when th e other g uys were cong ra tulating me. It means everything in the sport to be Worl d champion . I can ' t tell yo u how happy I am at this mom ent - and I want to party! " It w a s a to ug h m ee ti n g , b ut I' m happy it's all over becau se I kn ew ther e w as a lot on it " y,ou only have to look at Billy crashing ou t and his hopes ha ve gone. That could have happened to me," Rickardsson added .\ , ' To hi s cr edit, Ni elsen' was qu ick to congratulate Rickardsson , w ho 'won the last one-off World final back in Vojens, Denmark, in 1994. Ha mill ' s injury opened the door for Au ssie Ryan Sullivan to challenge for a place in next year's series, but he needed to progress througli this round to make it. And he made the perft'Ct sta rt with a co m fo rtab le win in he a t 12, with h is coun trym an Crump continui ng his heroic efforts wit h a spectacular second place. Reigning ch a m p io n H a ncock put behind him his concern ove r his best pal Hamill, and the loss of his ow n Wo rld crown, to make a flying start in heat 13 to signal a warning to his rivals with a great w in. Tomasz Gollob wa s spec tacu lar, perform in g a brilliant ride down the back s traigh t in heat 14 to join Jim my N ilsen in th e latte r stages . G us tafsso n a nd Boyce crashed out in heat 15, with Stefan Dann o p a ssin g M ar k Loram in impressive style, going wide in the second turn and w orkin g hard dow n the back straight. (Above ) With his heat -11 win over Nielse n (7), MarkLoram (5) and Armando Castagna (11), Rickardsson (4) was able to lay claim to the title well before the meet ing's end. (Right) With Billy Ham ill's unt imely and painful exit from the meet ing, Australia' s Ryan Su llivan (9) se ized a go lde n opportunity to take the last direct see d into the '99 series. He did so with brilliant rides, culminating in a runner-up finish in the final. (Below) Goodbye for now: America 's Greg Hancock (1) rode his final race as World Champion in heat 19. Hancock was clearly upset over the misfortunes of Team Exide teammate Hamill, but he vowed to return strong in 1999. Kasper di d well to ho ld off Smith for a vita l wi n under pressure in h e a t 16, with Lou is and Castagna the casualt ies at this stage. Gollob was spectacular again in heat 17, as he went from third to first with a breat ht aki n g dive . Hancock just mi ssed out on seco nd p lace despite pushing Rickardsson hard . " It' s a terri b le b low for Billy, and that put a shad ow over the meeting for me - the on ly good th in g is tha t I'm throu gh for next year w hen we start all over again," Hancock said . " I wo u ld like to co ngratula te Tony and hop e h e enjoys his tim e as Worl d C h a m p ion . I've e n joyed it and I wa nt some more!" Nielsen d ived p ast Su lli van for a vic tory in heat 18, w ith Jimmy N ilsen thi rd - but he still went throu gh, as this was not an elimin ati on ra ce. Hanco ck' s h ope s wer e ended in heat 19 when he made a slow s ta rt a n d, d e spite h is b e st e ffo rts, couldn't find a w ay pa st Smith, with Ad ams p ulling w ell clear to win th e race. An d C ru m p went ou t in th e n ext race, wi th Nilsen a nd Lor arn worki ng h a rd fo r th eir fir st tw o pl a ces , a n d Lor am in particular fighti ng off a brave bid by Cru mp. FINAL EVENT Go llob ma de su re of his place in the fina l with a po pular win as most of the 25,000 fans cheered him to victory in the first semifina l, d espite the brave efforts of Sullivan. Loram managed to get the better of Leig h Adams on the line for -third place. Smith was in da nger of punishment for delaying the start in heat 22, as he turned back three times, complain - ing that his goggles were steaming up. And w he n the race started , he was relega ted to the back, as Niel sen won from the ga te and was joined in the fina l by Nilsen . . The Conso lation fina l, raced to establish the final standi ngs , was won in sty le by Adams, but Rickardsson w as obious ly p layin g it safe, as he stayed out of trou b le in th e first bend . Lo ra m a nd Smi th had a rea l battl e for second place, which Lora m finall y managed to win but on ly after four laps of w heel-towhee l actio n . Gollob made no mistake in the fina l, as he chose the insi degate and breezed away from the start, with N ilsen d oing well to cut insid e fro m the outs ide ga te for the runner -up spot. "Of cou rse I'm very p leased for Tony as a fellow co untryman, but I w is h I co u ld h a ve sustained m y cha lle nge throughout the six rounds, " N ilsen sai d . "I don't rea lly think I could h~ve done "Tony deserves it, but I'm also very . happy with my efforts," Gollob said. "I feel as tho ugh I am a better rid er af ter riding in the British League so often this year. To win a Grand Pri x in Poland is special, and the support was brilliant for t~ me." Bydgoszcz Stadium Bydgoszcz, Poland Results: September 18,1998 (Round 6 of 6) S EMI 1: 1. Toma sz Gollob; 2. Rya n Su lliva n; 3. Mark Lorarru4. Leig h Adams. SEM I 2: 1. Hans N ielse n; 2. Jimmy Nilsen; 3. To ny Ricka rd sso n; 4. And y Smith . CO NSO LAnON: 1. leigh Adams: 2. Mark Lora rr u 3. Andy Smit h; 4. Ton y Rickardsso n, FINA L: 1. Toma s? Go llob; 2. Ryan Su ll iva n; 3. Jimmy N ilse n: 4. Hans Nielse n. WOR LD INDIVID UAL C HA MP IO NS H IP SE RIES POI NT S ST AND INCS (After 6 of 6 ro und s); I. Tony Rickard sson (1 11./ 3 wins); 2. Jimmy Ni lse n (99); 3. TOfTh1.sZ Collob (97/ 1); 4. Han.... Nielsen (76/ 1); 5. Chris Louis (75); 6. Greg Ha ncock (69); 7. Ryan Su llivan (6tH; 8, Jaso n C ru m p (62/ 1); 9. Billy Ham;1I (62); 10, (T IE) Mark Lora m / Leigh Adams (51); 12. Toni Kasper (SO); 13. Stefan Denno (49); 14. Henka Gusta fsso n (43); 15. Andy Smith (43); 16. Brian Anderse n (32); 17. Pe ter Karlsson (27); 18. Armando Cas tagna (23); 19. Zolta n Adorjan (21); 20. Craig Boyce (18). 00 0\ 0\ '"'"" -; l-< (l) ..0 o ..... u o 31

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