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/128110
min or c oncus si on, a b adly -grazed arm and what might yet turn out to be a broken bone in his hand . With Hamill out , all USA eyes focused o n G reg Hancock, b ut his invo lve me nt was e ven more brief. Two thi rd places in heats 11 and 15 s a w Han coc k exit , a nd bot h times he looked un e a s y a nd inexplica bly la c king in confidence. Ma rk Lo ra m , t he reig ning Wo rld Cha m p ion a nd the pe opl e 's fa vo rite, was afforded a pass ion ate and pa rtisan greeting every time he rode or a ppea red on the giant replay sc ree ns, but he , too, failed to rea ch the se m i-finals for a sec on d co nsecutive Grand Prix. Lora m hit th e air fence with so me force in he at 18 a nd was le ft b lood ied but unbowed . He had the c hance to m ake a me nds in heat 20, a nd t hi s time ca ug ht so me grip entering t he ba c k s traight to laun ch his m a ch ine to ward th e stars. Miraculously, he m a na g ed to stay a boa rd, a nd it wo u ld ha ve be en a n even greater m ira cl e had he then caught Grzegorz Walasek for se cond place a nd reached the last e ig ht. The crowd willed h im on for one la s t effort on the final lap , but the yo u ng Po le kept hi m a t ba y to leave Lo ra m ' s crown tilt ing after two of th is ye a r' s six rounds . King Kenny Roberts has given big t ime speedway h is seal of approval aft er the stunning su cces s of the Britis h Grand Prix at Ca rdiff's Millennium Sta dium. Roberts was on ha nd to le nd h is s u ppo rt to Team Roberts rider Hamill. "It took me back to m y t ime ra cing in fro nt of big audiences , a nd e ve rything about it was super, " Roberts said. "T he atmosphere was e lectri c for a d irt-track event, it was the best I've ever known - a nd the o rganization , musi c and presentation was perfe ct. O b vious ly th e track is always goi ng to be u nd er scru ti ny . a nd I thi nk all the guys working o n that did t he best job they cou ld when t hey had a s hort am o unt of time to p re pa re it. Sp e e d wa y h a s a big future goi ng on this occas ion . If the top g uys in the s port ca n contin ue work in g in t h is way , t hen the sport is go ing forward , that' s for sure." Rob e rts a ls o offered wor d s o f enco uragement for Ham ill after his Millen n ium Stadium disappoi nt ment. "Billy ha s not hin g to be ashamed of, he h a s no thing to be down in the d u m ps about ," Roberts s a id. " I be lieve he did everything he could, he ro de the whee ls off the motorcycle and he coul dn't have got any more from it . He prov ided some of th e most ente rtai ni ng action on the night, and he is a special talent on a speed way mach ine . I feel sure he 'll be ba c k after he 's got over h is disappoint ment , bu t I would urge him not to fee l down a bout it." Greg Han cock hasn 't given up o n cha llenging fo r the 2001 Gra nd Prix title , despite failing to rea ch the s emi finals fo r th e s e cond s uc ce s sive ro und in the magnific ent Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. "The stage was set, th e c rowd sent a chill up my spine and pra ctice went ex c e lle ntly ," Hancock sa id . "Eve ry thing was in place, but I just didn 't perform . "Whe n yo u c om e into the meeting halfway thr ough. it's vita l you get out in fro nt stra ight away . If not , you are almost like a c a rni v al. Th e whole c o nce pt of ha ving the GP in Card iff wa s fa nta st ic. It is like th e jewel in the GP crown. The tr a c k was good , a nd there was some tough ra cing , but you a lways expec t that in Gr and Pr ix meetings. I just ke pt p lugg ing away , bu t I m a de a change to m y s etup for the final , and that he lped me . I felt I wa s fast but not fa st e n ough o ut of th e starts." S t ill , with th is wi n b e h ind h im , Ricka rdsson fe e ls that he is in with a good shot for the tit le, even tho ugh he says he hadn 't rea lly set out to win it t his ye ar. Afte r m a k in g a lot o f c ha nges to h is t eam , t h e goal was rea lly a rostrum position at best. "Not s o long ago I fe lt m y season might have bee n fini s he d wit h my broken thumb, " Rickardsson sa id. "I have ha d a lot of stic k for keeping on rid ing with the injury , but perha p s I have now pro ve d I have m a d e th e right de c is io n. I a m getting hu ngrier a nd hungrier for it, a nd with the ne xt round being in Vojens , perha ps I can be in front at the halfway stage . I like Voje ns a nd n o rm a ll y do ve ry we ll there . I a m a lso excited that the last Grand Prix is in S we d e n . It 'is no w sold o ut at Stockholm, and while the stadium is n' t as big as Ca rdiff, it will still be a grea t night , and on e I a m reall y loo king forwa rd to ." eN American hopeful Billy "T he Bullet" Hamill ricocheted to the ground In this ho rri fic Inci dent during the elimjnation heats. Battered and bruised, Hamill ex ited the meeting early. p laying catch-u p a ll the time . I never really knew where to go on the track, and I couldn 't get it figured out. Two heats wa sn 't enoug h for me , bu t that's the way it goes . The for mat is s o gruell ing a nd you ca n't afford to hav e one bad race . I s eem to be a victi m of th a t th ese days, and can't get the consistency and bit e nee d ed from the word go." But t h e Cardiff eve nt was most meaningfu l for winn er Rickardsson . T he Swede c losed the gap on e a rly Grand Prix leader Tomasz Gollob by ta king th e fu ll 25 po ints , bu t h e a d mi tt e d t ha t winning almost too k s e cond pla ce to th e mass ive boost th e night ga ve to Wo rld spe edway. "I am absolutely over th e m o on wit h my re sult , but som e t im e s you don 't th ink th e re sult is the most im po rta nt thi ng on a night like th is . It is important. Keep ing the Grand Prix develop ing a nd going into the Millen nium Stadium was a m ajo r step for ward in do ing tha t. The atmosphere in the c it y before th e meeting was (Below le ft) Re ign ing Wo rld Champion M arl< Lora m (1) saw his chances for a second straight title take a serious hit after he fa iled to make It int o the "el ite eight" that make up the semis to detennine th e Main Final fi e ld. (Below ri ght) Runner-up Jason Crump, Rlckardsson and Gollob (left to rig ht) take the ceremonial bubbly bath on the podium. The championship chase is qu ickly tuming into a two-horse race between Rickardsson and Gollob. cue. e MillenniumStadium Cardiff, Wales Results June 9 2001 (Round 2 of 61 : Finals SEMI 1 (To p two advance to Main Fin al ) : 1. T oma sz Gollob: 2. Nikla s Klingberg ; 3 . Grzegorz Wetasek : 4 . Todd Wiltshire. SEMI 2 (To p two advanc e to Main Fina l) : I. Ja son Crum p; 2 . T ony Ricka rdsson; 3 . Ryan Sullivan; 4 . Jim my Nilsen. CO NSOLATION FI NAL: I. Rya n Sull i va n; 2 . T od d W ilts hi re : 3 . Jimm y Ni lsen ; 4 . G rz ego rz Wa lesek . MAIN FINAL: 1. Tony Rlckardsson ; 2 . J ason Crump; 3. Tomasz Gollob; 4 . Niklas Klingberg. WO RLD C HA M PIO N S HIP S PEE DWA Y GRA ND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDING S (A ft er 2 of 6 rounds ) : 1. Tc rneaz Gollob (4 3/1 win) ; 2 . Tony Rickardsson (4 1/1 win); 3 . Todd Wiltshire (28 ); 4 . (TIE) Jason Crum p (25 )/ Ryan Sull iva n (25) / Nik ki Pederson (25 ); 7 . Henk e Gustafsson (23) ; 8. (TIE) Leigh Adams (20) / Niklas Klingberg (20 ); 10. Peter Karlsson ( 15). Upcoming Rounds: Round 3 - Vojens. Denmar k. July 28 Round 4 - Becherovka, Czech Republic, August 18 n e _ S • JUNE 27, 2001 4 9