Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

progress wit h a su pe rb ga te in heat 16 after Hancock had ga mbled by ju mping befor e the tapes went up. He was joined at the exit door by Jimmy ilsen . The tw o big guns came together in hea t 17, and it looked like Go llob had go tte n the d ro p on Ricka rd sson when the Pole came off the ou tside in spec tacu lar sty le to cut across his rivals, only to watch Screen di ve undern eath him coming ou t of the seco nd bend . This enabled Rickardsson to follow Scree n, a nd Gollob was tak en wi de in th e th ird tu rn. Gollob 's last-p lace finish was no di sast er as he still had ano the r cha nce, bu t the p ress u re w as on as Ricka rd sson had already book ed his semifinal place. H a m ill co n tin u ed h is im p ressive (Above) Bill y Hamill (22) fin ally enjoyed a decent GP meetin g. The Amer ican and former World Champ ion won the Conso lat ion Fina l, thus gaining a bit of mome ntum as he heads Into the upcoming GP Challenge meet ing . (Left) Greg Hancoc k (6) went out early at Vojen s. Th e '97 World Champio n wo und up ninth In the serie s fi nal standing s. (Below) Jimmy Nil sen (2) was a co ntender early in th e GP season, but the Swede ult imatel y sli pped to fourth In the overall ser ies standings. form with a supe rb rid e in heat 18, getting the ed ge on Adams in the first tum d espit e th e tri ck y conditions. Hamill managed to pull clea r and build up an im pressive lead to w in th e ra ce with some comfort. N ielsen was facing up to po tentially hi s last-e ve r rid e in World C h a m p ionsh ip speed way, as he prepared to go into retirem ent af ter a glorious career . He was in an ali-or-nothing heat 19, off the outsid e, but he rolled back the years with a su perb s ta r t to swee p into th e first tum ah ead of his rivals. The com petiti on includ ed th e im pressive Lora rn, who tried everythi ng to pass the veteran but eve n tua lly had to settle for the runner-up s po t, with Peter Karlsson and Gustafsson going out. Th e ama zin g race for th e titl e took another s tu n ni ng twist wh en Gollob looked set to head ou t and ha nd the title to Rickardsson in heat 20. He was driftin g aw ay in la st pl ace when Su lli van seemed to lose control and got trapped under his own ma chine, which caused a s to p p age o f th e race . T h e re fe r e e ordered a reru n, and Goll ob was ou t of jail, but he was clearly unhappy as he changed ma chines b e for e th e rerun , knowing that he w as clinging to faint hopes of winning the title . In t he re run he fa ile d to ma ke the ga te ye t again, a nd h is la ck o f fitness was clear ly causi ng him problems, leaving Rickardsson with in one ride of the champion ship. Out in front was Mikael Karlsson - bu t only after passing Karger in s u perb s ty le to co nti nue his grea t night of racing. Adams saw his cha nces of reach ing th e fina l dashed w he n he tou ch ed th e tapes in the first semifina l, but he was unlucky as bo th Screen and Nie lsen also moved . It left only three riders for th e rerun, wi th Adams left to contemplate a place in the conso lation final. ielsen ens u red he would bow out with a place in the A-Final when he won the rerun handily, but all the action was behi nd him as Screen pulled off one of the race s of the night to pass home rider Karger and join Nielsen in the final. Rickard sson finally won his crown in hea t 22 when he made no mi stakes in th e rerun th at came after Hamill w as ex cl u ded . The American had go ne in hard under Lorarn o n th e th ird and fourth bend, and even though ther e was no co n tact, th e referee d ecided it was foul riding. Rickardsson ma de no mistakes, and we nt on to break Gollob 's heart in the rerun by " innin g co mincingly ahead of Lo ra rn. wh o a lso booked hi s pl a ce th rou gh to the A-Final. Mika el Karlsson was in a good posi tion to qu alify for the final in the origi na l race, but in the rerun he missed out and only we nt through to th e co n sola tio n fi n a l. evert h e less, Rickard sson punched th e ai r wit h deligh t as he celebra ted success. To be fair to Gollob, the Pole did congratulate the ne~ champion immediately after ·the race. Hamill round ed a disappointin g Grand Prix year off in superb style to set himself up n icely for a big year 2000 w ith victory in the consol atio n fina l. He made a su perb ga te and p u lled w ell clear of Karger, who pa rked it in the dirt a n d lost m ome n tu m , which allowed Adams to d ive thro u gh . Mikael Kar lsson had to settle for third, and seve nt h on the nigh t. Rickard ss on co m pleted a go ld en double o n the night b y winni ng th e meeting its elf in b rea th taking s ty le, pa ss ing Nielsen for a su perb win . Nielsen mad e the gate and was looking co u ld n ' t h a ve d on e a ny more in th e build -up to the meeting. I felt good from the moment I arrived a t the tra ck, and I' m a proud man a fte r ach ieving thi s, my third World ti tle." Go llob w as u nd ersta nd abl y d isa p pointed, and he exp ressed his views to Polish TV immediatel y after see ing his title ho pes go out of the window. "I wa sn 't anywhere near fit going into the meeti ng, but I don't really wa nt to use tha t as an excus e," Gollob sa id. "It has happened, and it' s gone. Now I hav e to look to the future, and I'm looking forwardto the wi nter, w he n I can s pen d some time with m y fa m ily and think about where we go from here." For Hamill it wa s a supe rb end to the se ries, a d ifferent story from this tim e las t year when he was nursin g a broken bon e in his back after the Polish GP. "Thi s w as important to me , a n d I really feel I'm on the way back," Hamill sa id. "I knew I had to go into the wi nter with a good GP beh ind me, and I really th in k I can go forward fro m her e. I' ve good , but Rickard sson di ved und erneath and mad e a su pe rb pa ss. Lora m wasn' t finished either, and his determina tion took him through on th e th ir d la p to rel egat e Ni elsen to third pl ace, but by this stage it hardly mattered, as the season finishing order was d ecided. Rickard sson celebrated for a second time, and all fou r riders were delighted wi th their nig h t's work . The newly crowned champion refused to com men t on his im medi a te plans, as he has been linked with a move into car racing next season. " I would ra ther ta lk about t h is . moment , which is so special to me," Ricka rd sson said. "I' m delighted with th e way it's a ll worked out for me . I knew I had a chance because I came to Vo jens prepared fo r it , and I knew I started to impro ve my form on a consistent basis, and I feel I can become World Cha m pion aga in in the future. I en joyed th e G P, a n d I'm d eli ghted w it h th e result." CN Vojens Speedway Vojens, Denmar k Results: Sept. 25, 1999 (Round 6 of 6) CONSOLAn O N FINA L, 1. Billy Hamill: 2. Leigh Ada ms; 3. Mikael Karlsso n. 4. Bria n Karger . A-FINAL: 1. Ton y Rickardsso n: 2. Mark Loram; 3. Han s Nielsen; 4. JOt.' Screen. WORLD INDI VIDUAL CHAMPIONS HI P SE RIES PO INTS STANDINGS (After 6 o( 6 ro un ds): 1. Tony Rickardsso n (111/ 2 wins ); 2. To masz Go lloh (98/ 2); 3. Ha ns N ie lse n (76/1); 4. Jim my Nil se n (73); 5. Ma rk - Loram (71/ 1); 6. JO- Screen (68); 7. Leig h Ad a ms (67); 8. t. uS" Jason C r u m p (66 ); 9 . C re g Han cock (62); to . Ryan Sulliva n (55); 11. Stefan Da nno (52); 12. Chris Louis (SO); 13. (TIE) Peter Karlsson / Mikee l Karlsso n (45); 15. Ton i Kasper (39); 16. Brian Karge r (36); 17. (TIE) Henke C us ta fsso n (35)/Billy Ha mill (35); 19. Joh n jor ge nse n (32); 20. An d y Smith (22). ~ o U o 27

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