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Two of Rickardsson's biggest challengers faltered in Chorzow, as home favorite Tomasz Gollob (7) bagged a disappointing fourth in the Final, while Australia's Jason Crump (2) failed to make it out of the second semi. Billy Hamill's withdrawal, finished ninth on the night to bank seven GP points. Rickardsson devoted the win to his engine tuner Carl Blomfeldt. "During the run-up to the meeting Carl suffered a small heart attack and had to return home to Canada for an operation," Rickardsson said, "so this victory is for him. "There were some huge ruts in the track by the time we reached the final, and I tried to keep out of them, but Nicki and Lukas were just racing through them." As for chasing Mauger's record six titles, Rickardsson is adopting a rather blase attitude. "It won't change my life," he said. ""m just a normal guy, very privileged to ride a motorbike, and' have been lucky to win titles. But you need to be lucky - I have never heard about an unlucky World Champion!" Billy Hamill, who has pulled out of this year's series due to a lack of sponsorship, remains an interested observer, and though he believes Rickardsson is going to take some stopping, he believes that his fellow Californian Hancock should not be written off quite yet. "Tony Rickardsson is an awesome rider, and he has obViously marked his name in the history books with his five titles," said Hamill, who spent the Grand Prix weekend scoring maximums for both Coventry in Britain and Zielona-Gora in Poland. "He still has that hunger to win, and he knows how to win. All the same, I still think it could be one of his most difficult World Championship years because there are a number of guys in there who are capable of winning the title and a lot of guys capable of winning Grand Prix rounds. There are a batch of younger, up-and-coming riders who are raising their game, and , think it could be a very exciting series. " posed himself again and went out to win heat five and a re-run heat 11, cleverly passing Lee Richardson down the back straight in the latter. He then finished second behind Gollob in 16 and second to Rickardsson in 19 before winning the second semifinal. The home crowd enjoyed some tremendous racing by their young riders and, of course, the mesmeric Gollob, but the Polish superstar drew gate three in the final and trailed home last. However, Gollob did more than enough to show that he still has a title challenge in him. Young Pole Tomasz Bajerski, one of the two wildcards, won his first-ever GP race Hancock, who ended last year's series by winning the Australian Grand Prix, started with a second place behind Gollob in heat 10, ran another second behind Protasiewicz in 14, despite gating in front, but then ran a last in heat 19 as Pedersen and Krzysztof Cegielski put some big pressure on Rickardsson at the front. It meant that Hancock faced an eliminator in heat 22, and he bowed out after finishing third behind the impressive Norwegian Rune Holta and Adams. He was relegated to the back by Richardson at one stage but managed to battle back into third place. "I wasn't able to get away at the start in heats 19 and 22," said Hancock, "and it was hard to get any grip on the track to pass. The bikes felt very good at the practice on Friday, and when I look back, I think my second bike may have worked better on such a slick track." Mark Loram, who broke his upper left arm riding for Eastbourne in the British League less than a month before the first GP, did not take to the track. The FIM ruled that he was unfit to compete but awarded him five points. "It was the right decision," said Loram, the only rider apart from Rickardsson to have won a Grand Prix title in the last five years. "I didn't want to ride but would have done if forced to. But another fall could have put me out for months, and now I will continue to have treatment and should be much better in Stockholm." eN (Above) Racing was tight on the fast Chorzow circuit. Here, Poland's Krzysztof Ceglieski leads Crump (2), Sweden's Mikael Max (5) and Dryml (10) in qualifying action. (Right) Nicki Pederson fought his way through this wheelie and an even harsher exclusion to reach the Final, where he finish second. Pedersen, who won last year's European Grand Prix at the Slaski Stadium, revealed his hand early on, typically diving under namesake Bjarne Pedersen when his Danish compatriot strayed off line in heat four and forcing him off. Referee Tony Steele chose to exclude him, but video replays revealed that Bjarne Pedersen was not entirely blameless in turning back into his fellow countryman. It was hard on Bjarne Pedersen, but once he had let his anger subside, he com- in heat six, and the enigmatic Piotr Protasiewicz reached a semifinal for the first time. Sullivan finished two races, but the handicap of racing with a broken collarbone was plain to see, and the Aussie is now hoping that he will be much fitter for the second round in Sweden in two weeks time if the Stockholm GP goes ahead. A strike by council workers in Sweden is threatening the meeting, and a decision was due to be made sometime this week. .. U .... Siaski Stadium Chorzow, Poland Results: May 17, 2003 [Round 1 of 9J SEMI 1 (Top 2 advance to Final): 1. Tony Rickardsson: 2. Tomasz GoUob: 3. Piotr Protasiewicz: 4. Leigh Adams. SEM.I 2 (Top 2 advance to Final): I. Nicki Pedersen; 2. Lukas Dryml; 3. Rune Holta: 4. Jason Crump. FINAL: 1. Tony Rickardsson; 2. Nicki Pedersen; 3. Lukas Dryml; 4. TomaSI Gollob. FIM WORLD SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After I of 9 rounds): 1. Tony Rickardsson (25/1 win); 2. Nicki Pedersen (20); 3. Lukas D,yml (18); 4. Toma" Gollob (16) 5. (TIE) Rune Holta (13)/Piotr Protasiewicz (13) 7. (TIE) Jason C,ump (11 )jLeigh Adams (11); 9. (TIE) Greg Hancock (B)/Krzysztof Ceglieski (8). Upcoming Rounds: Round 2 - Stockholm, Sweden, May 31 Round 3 - Cardiff, Great Britain, June 14 n e _ S • MAY 28, 2003 35