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a vulnerable position, especially if he is still troubled by the back injury when round eight comes knocking at Chorzow, Poland, on Saturday, September 14. "I thought I would feel a lot better than I did," Hamill said, "and there is obviously something wrong with my back that I need to get sorted. I thought the practice may loosen me up, but instead it left me cramped and locked up on Saturday. I was feeling pretty banged up, and I need to get some advice on whether it is just soft-tissue damage, or something more. I am getting pain between my shoulders, and headaches as well, so I need someone to tell me what I need to do." Despite the difficulty of the conditions, there was only one major incident, when Great Britain's Carl Stonehewer survived a horrific three-rider crash in heat 12 involving Niklas Klingberg and Wiltshire. All three hit the safety fence on the first turn, with Stonehewer taking the brunt of the accident. He was motionless on the track for several minutes before being taken away by an ambulance for further examination. Luckily, he escaped with severe bruising, but there was nothing wrong with his sense of humor. "I hope they captured the crash on television,' Stonehewer said. "I feel really battered, but there doesn't seem to be anything broken." CN DespIte being dlsa_intad with his fourth-place finish, Hancock Is definitely on a roll in speedway. having eamecl his third straight Final appearance. He also currently leads the ANA National Championship Speedway Series back home. CLeft to right) Rickard. .on. Adams and Dryml celebrate on the podium. Rickardsson now holds a nine-point lead over Aran Sullivan with three • rounds remaining. who is 11 th and just outside the frame of the top 10 who will automatically requalify for next year. Hancock, leading the way in the race for the revamped AMA National Championship Speedway title, looked smooth and stylish from the outset, and wins in heats 10, 16 and 20 took him into the semifinals. He rode the perfect line in 10 to see off Sullivan's challenge, and then hooked up down the back straight in 20 after the race had been restarted when his helmet touched the tapes. A masterful first corner took Hancock out of Sullivan's reach again and into the last eight. He finished second behind Lukas Dryml in the second semifinal, though hit a hole on the last turn and nearly lost out to Crump. In the final, he was off the outside gate and was left trailing at the back, though he was unhappy with events at the start of the race. "I was sitting at the start line in the final when the two-minute clock hit zero, and I looked over and Tony was backed up on his footrest, adjusting himself," Hancock said. "I looked back up at referee Tony Steele, and saw him standing there looking down. I'm sure he saw it, but he claimed he hadn't. "I just thought it was wrong. I thought for sure it was going to be stopped. It didn't affect the race at all, it's just the way it happened, but to me, Leigh [Adams] rode very smart. He rode the smartest race of all of us. He deserved that win and it was long-awaited for that boy. "I feel as if I am gaining momentum all the time, and hopefully I can get to the top of the rostrum as well before the series is over," Hancock added. "A medal position doesn't seem that far away now, and it is a great feeling to be where I am after such a poor start to the year." Though Hancock said that he was happy enough with the track, the ruts did little to help Billy Hamill, who battled his way through to heat 17, but was unable to come to terms with his back injury. Hamill, diagnosed with a compressed fracture of a lower lumbar vertebra (L 1) after crashing in the second AMA National Championship Speedway round at Fast Fridays two weeks earlier, could hardly get out of bed on Saturday morning, following Friday's practice, and was always at a disadvantage. He was seeing a doctor in Sweden earlier this week for a further check-up, and was also waiting to hear from his doctor in the States after he had received the Xrays taken after the crash at Auburn. Hamill finished second behind Rickardsson in heat nine, battling to see off both Dryml and Crump, but was then third in heats 15 and 17 to bow out with six GP points. He actually led the latter race, but managed to locate several ruts on the third and fourth bends and lost out to Nicki Pedersen and Rune Holta. He repassed Holta at one stage, but the Norwegian had the final say, and Hamill's night was over and out. It leaves him in 10th place overall in the standings, but only seven points ahead of Wiltshire and still in Ullev; Stadium &otehnhurg, Soveden Results: August 31, 2002 (Round 7 at 101 SEM.I 1 (Top 2 trZlOsfer to Final): I. Tony Rickerdsson; 2. Leigh Adems; 3. Mikeel Karlsson; 4. Rune Holla. SEMI 2 (Top 2 transfer to Final): I. Luklls Dryml; 2. Greg Hancock; 3. Joson Crump: 4. RyzlO Sullivan. FINAL: 1. Leigh Adams; 2. Tony Rlckerdsson: 3. Lukas Dryml: 4. Greg Hencock. FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES STANDINGS (After 7 of 10 rounds): I. Tony Rickerdsson (132/2 wins); 2. Ryan SulJivlln (123/2 wins): 3. J.son Crump (108/1 win): 4. Leigh Ad.ms (104/1 win): 5. Mikeel Karlsson (85): 6. (TIE) Tomasz Gollob (84/1 win)/Merk Lorllm (84); 8. Greg H.ncock (78): 9. Luk.s Dryml (68); 10. Billy H.mill (62). Upcoming Rounds: Round 8 - Chorzow, Poland, September 14 Round 9 - Vojens. Denmark. September 28 Billy Hamill's performance suffered at Gothenburg, as he is still troubled by his recent back problems. The former World Champion Is currently 10th In the series. cue' • n e _ S • SEPTEMBER 18,2002 41