Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Sullivan crossed the line second, well behind the reigning champ. "I agree with Tony Rickardsson when he states that it was the survival of the fittest: Sullivan said. "It cer· tainly was, and after I managed to scrape through to the semi-finals, I was feeling the pace. There was a rerun and I didn't have a lot of time to change my bike and I couldn't do enough to get the better of Tony in the final. It wasn't easy going from the outside, although I was pleased that the track was pretty consistent away from the start. It wasn't like Sweden last season when you had no chance at all from certain positions if you missed the start." Third-placed Karlsson was happy with his result after struggling to find the proper setups in Friday's practice. "I never got the right feelings all over the weekend, so to finish third in the meeting is great for me: Karlsson (Above) Billy "The Bullet" Hamill had a strong run at Norway, finishing In a tie for fifth place. (Left) Greg Hancock (left) also finished In the top 10, and he's tied for ninth as the series heads to Poland. (Right) Left to right: Ryan Sullivan, Rickardsson and Mikael Karlsson on the rostrum. race in comfortable style. Another former World Champion, Greg Hancock, also got his night off to a great start with an impressive ride from the start over Lukas Drymol in heat three. Andreas Jonss, on his full Grand Prix debut, worked hard in the first turn of heat four to go on and win that race. There was a horrific crash in heat six when Rune Holta, like Gunnestad in his home country, collided with Denmark's Nicki Pedersen. Both riders were sent flying like rag dolls. After some much-needed treatment, they were both able to walk away, but Holta was excluded for causing the crash. Pedersen, still battered and bruised, had clearly not recovered in time for the re-run and trailed in third. That put an end to his hopes, as the race was one of the opening elimination races of the night. Hancock was at his best again in heat seven to make progress with a fine win over Loram, who pushed him all the way, but Hancock used his head to use the right race lines and blocked Loram's every move. Rickardsson's first appearance of the night came in heat nine and, after a cautious opening lap, he went on to easily outpace his rivals with a superb ride. Passing was at a premium at this stage, although the track had started to show signs of causing problems when a rut began to form on the inside. Billy Hamill looked uncomfortable despite winning heat 10. He crossed the line almost a second slower than Rickardsson had in the previous race, and Hamill seemed far from happy with the track conditions. But he went on to win his next race, heat 16, without too many problems, as Carl Stonehewer was a fair way behind him. Hancock survived an elimination race before finally going out in heat 21 after a tense battle involving all four riders. Rickardsson had won all of his three outings by this stage, and he was through to the semifinal without difficulty. Hamill's night was ended with a crash in heat 23 when Rickardsson was leading, but referee Steel again had no option but to stop the race and order a re-run. The Swede made no mistake the next time, keeping his cool to book his place in the first final of the season alongside Mikael Karlsson, who worked hard to make a pass on Stonehewer. But Crump was still hovering in the background and appeared to be getting stronger as he won the second semi-final ahead of fellow countryman Ryan Sullivan when both went into the final. Once again, Rickardsson was made to wait for his glory moment when Crump came to grief and the red lights went on. Thankfully for him, he was able to stay cool once again, and his victory was well-deserved. "I can't have any complaints about the way it has gone for me," Rickardsson said. "Everything fell into place, and I'm really pleased about it all. I was a lot more nervous for this meeting than I normally am because it's the first meeting of the series, and I don't often have a good start in my GP campaigns. I didn't really know what to expect, and I just went to get into the A-Final and get a good result to set me up for the other nine rounds, but to actually win the meeting was great and it couldn't be any better for me." cue •• said. "I've got all the symptoms of a cracked rib, although I haven't been for an x-ray after crashing in Poland last Friday, but I've suffered from cracked ribs in the past and I know what it feels like. It's painful once you've had a couple of races, and as the meeting goes on it gets worse, especially on a track like Norway, where there was a few ruts. I thought the track was fine. I have to give it to them, they have done a really good job on the track and the only problem was a big rut on the inside, though you could avoid it fairly easily." CN Viking Ship Stadium Hamar, Naoway Results: May 11, 2002 [Roand 1 of IJ SEM.I 1 Top 2 transfer to A Final): t. Tony Rickerdsson; Mikeel KllIrlsson; 3. ellrl Stonehewer; 4. Billy Homill. SEMI 2 (Top 2 transfer to A Fmal): I. Jason Crump; 2. Ryan Sullivan; 3. Leigh Adams; 4. Todd Wiltshire. A FINAL: 1. Tony Rickerdsson; 2. Ryan Sullivan; 3. Mikael Karlsson; 4. Jason Crump WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After I of 9 rounds): 1. Tony Rlckardsson (25/1 win): 2. Ryan SullivlIn (20); 3. Mikael KlIrlsson (18); 4. Jeson Crump (16); 5. (TIE) Leigh Adoms (13)/Corl Stonehewer (13); 7. Billy HomiU (l1)/Todd Wlltshi~ (11); 9. Greg Honcock (8)/l'lork Lorom (8). Upcoming Round: Round 2 - Bydgoszcz, Poland, May 25 n • _ S • MAY 29, 2002 21

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