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FIM World Championship Speedway Grand Prix Series Round 2: Polonia Stadiuma STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN HIPKISS BYDGOSZCZ,POLAND,MAY25 Cj7 ony Rickardsson's aura of invincibility suffered a minor metaphorical puncture inside Bydgoszcz's packed-to-the-rafters Polonia Stadium in the latest round of the Speedway Grand Prix Series. But though beaten into second place on the night by huge home favorite Tomasz Gollob in a Polish Grand Prix of breathtaking quality, the reigning World Champion remained a comfortable step ahead of the field as he stretched his lead to 12 points after two of this year's scheduled 10 rounds. Consistency has been the super Swede's hallmark in recent years, and his 20th appearance in the last 27 GP finals is a record that illustrates just how tough it will be to pry the trophy from his grasp between now and the final round in Sydney, Australia, on October 26. Rickardsson, chasing his fifth World title, which would leave him only one win away from matching the legendary Ivan Mauger's all-time record of six World crowns, ran second places to both Ryan Sullivan - who is now his nearest challenger - and Gollob. They were his first two defeats in this year's series, but he is hardly likely to lose any sleep over those reverses given that he finished second on the night, and Jason Crump, the man many U believe is his biggest threat this year, was back in fourth. From an American perspective, Billy Hamill again reached the semifinals to collect 11 points for the second GP in a row, and he is nicely tucked in behind the leading pack, though 23 points behind Rickardsson already. But Greg Hancock endured a bitterly disappointing night, making his exit prior to the main event and only Gollob (foreground) outran reigning Wortd Champion Tony Rlckard....n (1) to win the A Final. 42 JUNE 12, 2002ยท II: U II: I e n e _ s Polish rider Tomasz Gollob redeemed his poor start at the season-opening GP of Norway with a popular victory In front of his countrymen at Polonla StadIum In Bydgoszcz. banking four points. He now has 12 points and needs a good round at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Saturday June 8 if he is to avoid falling by the wayside before the series has even reached the halfway stage. A meeting that boiled up into an eye-catching crescendo finally exploded into a carnival of attack and counter-attack, with Gollob's second win in the last 16 rounds greeted wildly by a partisan crowd of over 20,000 Poles. Mark Loram, who was crowned 2000 World Champion at Bydgoszcz, his home Polish club, was third, behind Gollob and Rickardsson, a brilliant performance that came against the backcloth of a behind-thescenes wrangle in which Loram and fellow Brits Scott Nicholls and Carl Stonehewer were each fined 500 Swiss francs (around $300) by the FIM for arriving late for Friday's practice. They had ridden in England the previous Thursday night and were delayed - along with Aussie Leigh Adams - firstly when their connecting flight out of Copenhagen had to be aborted just before take-off because of a technical fault, and then secondly when their taxi from Poznan to Bydgoszcz was pulled over for speeding, and a gun was drawn by the over-zealous Polish police. The fines left a sour taste in the mouth, especially when Roy Otto, the FIM jury president, said that the FIM and Benfield Sports Intemational, the rights holders of the series, "don't care about British speedway." Loram called that comment both "disturbing and offensive," though John Postlethwaite, chief executive of BSI, disowned such a viewpoint. Loram was in the thick of some pulsating action on a smooth track prepared to perfection, stalking Todd Wiltshire to find a way past to win heat 14, going from second to fourth and back to second in heat 20 and