Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128339
World Speedwa y Championship going into the meeti ng, and I just need to kee p getting points over the guys near me . It's the final w he re you have to get the points . I came here w ith one thing in mind - to get into the final. And if it takes 10 minutes of sheer concentration to do that, the n that's what I have to do ." Hancock, who is set for his best finishing pos ition in the series since landing the title in 1997, didn't win a race and had to dig deep to see off the challenge of Rospiggarna te amm ate Andr eas Jonsson in heat 2 1, an eliminato r. Lee Richardson had sto pped at th e start, and Hancock was in second place beh ind Scott Nichollsand be ing hot ly pursued by the Swede. Jonsson made his move going down the back straight for the last time, burrowing under Hancock and mov ing him off-line . But the Californian kept his cool and re fused to buckle, and with Jonsson expected a cutback up the inside, Hancock stayed o ut wide and repassed the Swede on the runin to the line. "Jason [Crump] is a man on a mission and I can't beat the guy down," Hanco ck said. "He is riding on the crest of a wave and showing true de termination to be the World champion. It is going to be tough now for those of us chasing him, but every point still counts, and I am hoping he w ill still have a slip-up somewhere, 32 however small. I hope to be waiting to capitalize on it, but to be honest , the odds of it happening do look unlikely. I fee l happy with my own bikes, everything around me is going we ll, so I can't really com plain. 1will try and keep push ing him all the way to No rway. The race with Andreas [jonsson] in heat 2 1 was sweet. Somebody like Andreas can always give you a race like tha t, and not be dirty. He had to go to a point, but he we nt to that po int and still gave me a chanc e. It is very tight going into the third co rner and it is kind of only one rea l line. He had the edge on me, and all I cou ld do was vary it a little, slow down and make a move. All of a sudden, he made a turn and didn't run me as hard as I thought he wo uld, and it gave me t he chance to get up into the dirt ." Last year's farce at Gothenburg, whe n the meeting was abandoned after only three races due to an unfit track, loomed again whe n Friday's practice had to be abandoned . Swedish wild -card Peter Karlsson came off on a dodgy-Iooking th ird turn, wrecking his bike in the process, but remedial work on a circuit soaked by last week's rain eventually saw a hastily-rearranged practice session take place on Saturday morning . The tra ck, w hich had been given a liberal dressing of granite dust to mix into the damp shale, held up surprisingly well SEPTEMBER 1,2004 • CYC LE N EWS during the meeting, given Friday's fears, and once again it was a case of so near, yet so far for Britain's Nicho lls. He reached his th ird semi-final in succession but again bowed out ahead of the final when he was beaten into third place by Anders en and Crump in heat 23. Nicholls, a teamm ate of Andersen's at Ipswich, said: "Hans rode well, he mad e good starts, and he was both aggressive and quick, But did Tony [Rickardsso n] let him win, do yo u th ink, to return the favor after the Wor ld Cup? I am on ly joking - he was fast on the night and he deserved to win. I think the press have hyped up wha t happe ned in the Speedway World Cup final at Poole, but I am sure peo ple will continue talking about it for years to come. Hans will have his op inion , and I have mine , but it is in the past now. I was unlucky in Copenhagen, but I felt good this time and felt I cou ld race with anyone . I rode hard and I was happy wit h my bike, so it is becoming frustrating to keep making the semi-finals and not reaching the finals. I am pleased to keep getting into the semis, but I keep kicking myself for not reaching the final each time ." Fellow Brits Mark Lo ram and Richardson were both hit by mechanical prob lems - Loram blow ing one engine at practice and another dur ing the meeting, and Richardson's bike giving up the ghost 40th Anniversary at the start of heat 21 with either an ignition or spar k plug fault. It means Richardson remains in ninth place overall, still one spot and now two pointsaway from being one of the top eight, who qualify for the streamlined200S GP series. The leading five of Crump, Adams, Hancock, Rickardsson and Nicki Pedersen all look safe, but only nine points sepa rate Gollob in sixth place and fellow Pole Jarek Hamp el, who is 10th. Ande rsen has now moved into I Ith spot, and he will be hop ing th at Satu rday's win acts as a catalyst for the final three GPs in Sloven ia (Krsko on Se ptemb er 4), Poland (Bydgoszcz o n Septe mber 18) and Norway (Hamar o n Oc tober 2). Already through into t he 200S series are Antonio Lindback of Sweden and Poland's Tomasz C hrzanowski, who were first and seco nd in the recent qualifying final at Vojens. eN ULUVI STADIUM G OTHEN BURG, SWEDEN R ESULTS: A UGUST 2 1, 2004 SEMI I: I. Hans Anders en ; 2. Jason C rump; L Scott Nic holls ( 13); 4. Tomasz GoU b (II). o SEMI 2: Tony Rickardsson ; 2. Greg Hanccc k.L Nicki Ped ersen (13): 4. Leigh Adams ( I I). FINAL: Hans Andersen (25); 2. Jason Crump (20): 3. Tony RickardsSOfl ( 18); 4. Greg Hancoc k (16). W ORLO SPEEDWAY C' SHI P POIN T S STAND INGS (After 6 of 9 rounds): I. jaso n Crump ( 114); 2. (TIE) l eigh Adams/Greg Hancoc k (91): 4. Tony Rickardsson (87); ob 5. Nicki Ped ersen (76); 6. Toman GoU (M ); 7. Andreas Jonsson (60); 8. Bjarne Ped ersen (59): 9. Lee Richardson (57): 10. [arek Hampe l (55).