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/127965
SPEEDWAY ' GRAND PRIXC ALLENGE H , 1.;. -' Ermolenko's cina ting ba ttl e on th e track. Th e eig ht qualifiers who can now look forward to next year's six Gra nd Pri x meetings are Ad a ms, Bri an Anders en , He nk a Cu stafsson, And y Smith, Stefan Danno, Mika el Karl sson, Scree n and Jorgensen . Dane Nikki Pederse n, who has raced in th e British League's low er tie r a ll year, made an im pressive sta rt with a fast ga te in heat one to ou tpace Craig Boyce and Gary Havelock. Pedersen was well-equipped on fast machinery and his superb style wa s perfect for the big Pardubice tra ck, 'and he flew down the stra ights with his head d own. Mikael Karl sson, the younger brother of Peter who has alrea d v made it in to next year's seri es a fter h is runner-up position in the Int ercontin ental Final , started his action in heat tw o and had to settle for se cond pl ace, behind Poli sh talent Piotr Protasiewicz. Former World Under 21 Champion [esper B. Jens en ha s strugg led in this year's Grand Pri x series, and many people thoug ht he was in Pardubice sim ply to make up the number s. But this wa s clearl y not the case, as he made a dream start in heat thr ee that put him thr ou gh to heat seven, in whic h he was to meet co lleague h is Wol v e rh a mpt on Ermolenko, because Ermo lenko had finished second beh ind Sebast ian Ulamek in hea t four as he struggled to keep up with the Pole. . The first elim ination race was in heat five, and it was a n ea rly exit for Dan e Ronni Pederse n and Hungary' s Robert N agy, wh o was just pleased to be in the event aft er chea ting d eath foll owing a By John Hipkiss PARDUB CZECHREPUBUC, OCT. 3 ICE, u stralian ace Leigh Adams roa red to victory in a har d foug ht Gra nd Prix Challenge meetin g to head the qua lifie rs for next yea r's World Cha mpionshi p Series . But t here was hea rtb reak for A me r ica n "Sudden" Sam Ermolenko, w ho missed ou t at the final hurdle, and his chances of being a Grand Prix regu lar again look lim ited . The Califomian .rwho won the World Championship in 1993, was a casualty in heat 20 d espite his chasing hard after Jo hn Jo rgens e n and Jo e Sc re en, w ho both made it through. It was a tense atmosphere in the pits, as the mee ting was raced under the controversia l new Gran d Prix forma t, with riders facing elimination in a high-pressure situa tion. When Erm olen ko went to the line in heat 20, he kn ew that third or fourth pl ace w ouldn 't be eno u gh a nd would mean th a t his dreams w ould be shattered - that's how mu ch pressure he was feeling. More than 10,000 fans packed into the Pardubice Stadiu m on a cold afternoon, but they we re warmed by the fas- Jt 00 0\ 0\ ...... ...... N l-< QJ .g ..... o U 24 (Top) Australian Leigh Adams leads Joh n Jorgensen and Brian Anderson en route to one of his victories in the Grand Prix Challenge, held in the Czech RepUblic. (Above) Robert Nagy, Sam Ermolenko and Seb astian Ulamek do battle in heat four. The win went to Ulamek, with Ermolenko taking second.