Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

World Championship Speedway Grand Prix Series Round 4: Matije Gubjca Stadium STORY AND PHOTOS BY JOHN HIPKISS KRSKO, SLOVENIA, JUNE 22 I yan Sullivan's second successive Grand Prix win gleaned the Aussie flyer a clear lead at the head of the World Championship rankings in steaming-hot conditions at Krsko in Slovenia. Sullivan, fresh from winning the British GP at Cardiff, and in red-hot form in both the English and Swedish Leagues, swept to five wins out of five to open up a 12-point cushion on reigning World Champion Tony Rickardsson, who failed to make the final for the second consecutive round. Sullivan (83) and Rickardsson (71) are clear of Tomasz Gollob (63), and there are four riders now in the 52- to 55-point bracket, though neither Billy Hamill nor Greg Hancock are among them. Sullivan, looking the picture of confidence, found himself up against Gollob, Mark Loram and surprise packet Andreas Jonsson in the final, and it unfolded into one of the tightest finishes in Grand Prix history. The Peterborough rider led from gate two but was pushed every inch of the way by GoUob, who started off gate three, and the Australian had to utilize all his track craft to keep his pursuer at bay. Gollob, feverishly switching lines in trying to locate a route past Sullivan, got closer and closer as the finish approached, and one last, mighty effort on the inside off the final turn saw the pair cross the line together, Gollob with his front wheel in the air 52 JULY 10. 2002' cue • 111 and his left leg flailing. Polish referee Marek Wojaczek had to check the video replays before giving Sullivan the verdict in a photo finish, and victory meant he had opened up a clear advantage over Rickardsson, having moved level with the super Swede after winning at the Millennium Stadium a fortnight earlier. "This feels even better than my last win," Sullivan said. "Full credit to Tomasz, who pushed me all the way. I knew he was close, I could hear him, but I was never in any doubt I had beaten him to the line. I thought after winning at Cardiff that it might open the door for me, and it has. But now I am the championship leader for the first time, and the pressure will be n 111 _ S Ryan Sullivan (right) shocked World speedway by winning his second Grand Prix In a row and taking over the points lead at the inaugural Grand Prix of Slovenia. on me in Stockholm in the next round." Rickardsson, chasing a fifth World title, had failed to reach the final again when he finished third off the outside gate in the first semi-final. World number-two Jason Crump had been excluded for jumping into the tapes in the same race, but Rickardsson then went past the flag behind Sullivan and Loram. Hamill and Hancock successfully negotiated their way through the pre- main event, the two Americans taking the first two places in both heats two and 17 on their way to heats 21 and 22. Both looked as if they had the speed to go all the way to the semifinals in the first-ever Siovenian Grand Prix, but, in the end, they again fell just short. Hancock, who had seen off Niklas Klingberg and driven up the inside of Lukas Dryml in heat seven, made his best start of the series to sail away from Hamill in 17, and both Americans were just one race away from a semi-final spot. But Hancock, who had won the GP Challenge at the Krsko track last year to salvage his Grand Prix place, finished third behind Loram and Leigh Adams in heat 21, taking three laps to get past Dryml. Hamill, who had won heats two and eight (stylishly pulling away from Hancock in the former), came in last off gate four in heat 22 behind Mikael Karlsson, Rickardsson and Krzysztof Cegielski. "I started off okay, but it was difficult off gates three and four, and I suffered because of that in the second half of the meeting," Hamill said. "I felt quick in the pre-main event, and I was happy with my bikes, but it was so hot that you could feel the engines actually losing power during races. I have never ridden in a Grand Prix before in such heat. I was there or thereabouts, and I felt I could keep things going in my favor, but I had Jason Crump and Tony Rickardsson on my inside in heat 14 and that was always going to be difficult." His poor finish means that Hamill is now in ninth place overall, and Hancock 11 th, with next weekend's round in the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm, Sweden, representing the halfway stage in this year's 10-round series. The top 10 qualify for next year's Grand Prix, but unlike in previous seasons, there is no last-chance GP Challenge meeting to recover a

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