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(Left) Reigning World Speedway Champion Tony Rickardsson suffered a controversial exclusion that prevented him from earning a place in the GP final. Like Hamill, .Rickardsson must now do the chasing if he is to earn another title. (Above, from left to right) Runner-up Hancock, winner Gollob and third-placed Jason Crump share the podium spoils. (Below) Danish destroyer: Multi-time World Champion Hans Nielsen had a mediocre bid at the Prague GP, scoring six points, but don't count him out. Nielsen is all but guaranteed to be a factor by season's end. he had twice used to devastating effect in his previous races, and Australian Jason Crump completed the lineup. Hancock made a good start from his grid while ilsen was stuck in the sludge at the line. But the American arrived at the corner just as GoUob had begun one of his stunning outside bursts. The Pole had built up a head of speed that Hancock was powerless to stop, and Hancock could do nothing but wait for a mistake from Gollob. It never came, but the relief for Hancock as he cro sed the line in second was immeasurable. Hancock is well-recognized as one of the world's most consistent riders, and GoUob has a reputation for losing his cool when it comes to the crunch. With Crump taking third and Nilsen finishing fourth, the finalists stole a march on their main rivals for the World title. Defending World Champion Tony Rickardsson went out before the semifinals after being controversially exduded for delaying the start of heat 19, and multi-time World number one Hans . ielsen went out after just two rides. Hamill was also ranked among the contenders for the crown, but the 28year-old from Monrovia, California, fell way behind in the order. He finished third in heat three after giving Danish rider Brian Andersen a run for his money on the first lap. But Hamill did not have the speed to catch Andersen, and that left Hamill to fight for survival in heat six, an eliminator race. Britain's Andy Smith made the start and led into the fourth turn, but he went wide, and Hamill had a brief opportunity to follow Swedish rider Henka Gustafsson through the gap. Smith beat him to the next corner by a yard, and Hamill could make up no ground. He was left to fight off the attentions of Mario Jirout from the Czech Republic in the dosing stages of the race for a third place which left him with just two Grand Prix points. The early exit came as a major shock and was a hammer blow to Hamill, who had just been told there was a place for him in Coventry's British League team after be.ing left on the sidelines for the opening months of the season. Hamill had been keeping busy with commitments across Europe, but the regular competition in England should see him return to the form that has won him three Grand Prix events since 1995. The next round is at Linkoping, Sweden, on June 4, and Hamill's fans will be keeping their fingers crossed in the hope that he can repeat his 1996 Swedish GP victory at the same track, just as he did during his World Championship-winning season. And certainly Hancock is a man on a mission to win the World Speedway Championship again. When the 28-yearold rider was closing in on his first World crown in 1997, he said the mark of a true champion was winning a second title, just like Hancock's childhood mentor Bruce Penhall. After a nervous defense of his title last season, Hancock is back among the main contenders, and he has vowed not make the same mistakes twice. Hancock slumped to sixth place in the 1998 series and was forced to fight for an automatic place in this year's competition, but his.second placing on Saturday in Prague signaled his return to the form of a championship hope.ful. "I really got caught up in myself last year with the World Championship and everything around it," Hancock said. "It was a lot to come into. 1 was so excited, but 1 also knew everybody was gunning for me. Last year is a blur in my memo- ry righ t now. 1 don't think I ever got into the groove. 1 feel bad saying that, because 1 was World Champion, but 1 want to win the World Championship again, and 1 can guarantee when 1 come to retain that title it is going to be a different story. 1 learned a lot last year, and it's the same old thing: You never stop learning; the day you do is the day you'd better call it quits." The new race format that was introduced to last year's series caught Hancock unawares, but he was ready for it this time around, and he also stayed out of trouble on the soaked track. "1 rode the exact same line in every single race, apart from one lap, for the whole meeting," Hancock said. "I stayed on the inside, right on the groove, so 1 didn't get too much trouble and spray coming my way." The next round in Sweden is less than a month away and Hancock is in determined mood. "I feel good and I'm looking forward to the next round now, I'm on the road to the World title, and I'm not going to stop:: he said. The only rider ahead of Hancock in the World championship standings is, of course, Gollob, the highest-paid sportsman in Poland. Gollob said the pressure would' now be on him from his country- men, whose hopes of celebrating their first World Champion since 1973 rest on his shoulders. "Linkoping, for the next round, is a good track, 1 like it, and things look promising," Gollob said. "It is good to win the opening meeting, but it adds to the pressure because the other riders will be looking for me now. 1 hope 1 can keep up the vision and points between the other riders and myself, and 1 should be all right. This is only the first Grand Prix of six, so [can't say now that 1 am going to be World Champion, but I will keep on going and see what happens. [ am not getting too carried away." _ Czech Grand Prix Prague, Czech Republic Results: May 8, 1998 (Round 1 of 6) GP F1NAL: 1. Tomasz GolJob; 2. Greg Hancock; 3. Jason Crump; 4. Jimmy Nilsen. WORLD INDIVIDUAL SPEEDWAY C'SH\J? SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After l of 6 rounds): 1. Tomasz GoUob (~5/1 win); 2. Greg Hancock (20); 3. Jason Crump (18); 4. Jimmy Nilsen (6); 5. Antonio Kasper OS); 6. John Jorgensen (14); 7. Joe Screen (12); 8. Stefan Danno (l0); 9. (TIE) Chris Louis/Peter Karlsson (8); 11. (TtE) Tony Rickardsson/Mikael Karlsson (7); 13. (TIE) Hans Nielsen/Ryan Sullivan (6); 15. mE) Henrik Gustafsson/Andy Smith (5); 17. (TIE) Leigh Adams/Robert Dados (4); 19. Brian Karger/Brian Andersen (3). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - linkoping, Sweden, June 4 Round 3 - Wroclaw, Poland, July 3 I _ II III ~ lii Q