Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

first bend of the final before steaming full ahead to the wi n. "I am so pleased to have got through the meeting," said Rickardsson, whose face showed he was still in some pain and who had cut short his practice on Friday because of the injury. "I was very worried before the start, and it was very tough having seven rides. I would not have wanted an eighth!" Australia's Leigh Adams, bidding to improve on finishing fourth in the world in each of the last three seasons, squeezed into the final when he caught Hampel on the line in the first semi - despite the Polish announcer causing an uproar by prematurely giving the verdict to Hampel - and he was second, behind Rickardsson. Defending champion Jason Crump was third, as surprise finalist Lindback was relegated to the back after a no-nonsense pass down the back straight by Crump on the final lap. Afterward, Crump admitted that maybe this wasn't the perfect way to start the defense of his World title. "But I had my worst meeting of 2004 in Wroclaw last year, so third isn't so bad," he said. "There is always the chance of running a last, but at least with five rides you can fight your way back." Lindback passed Greg Hancock in the second semifinal to gain access to the final, and the American, who had finished with I I qualifying points, blamed himself for missing out on joining Rickardsson, Crump and Adams in the final. Had he done so, the World's number one, two, three and four riders would have all been at the tapes together. "I have been having a lot of bike mishaps this year, but the whole night went great for me on that front," Hancock said. "Finally we got everything together, and it worked perfectly. The only thing that went wrong was that I made a dumb mistake in the semifinal. I gave away second place, and I could kick myself up the backside for that." A new GP race formula (a traditional 16-rider, 20-heat meeting with two semifinals and a final tagged on the end has replaced the 24-rider "eliminator" system of past years) received mixed reviews, and certainly the meeting took its time to warm up. But Swedish prospect Andreas Jonsson was one of those who benefitted from the change, recovering from a poor start that would have seen him eliminated under the old system to win heats 13 and 19. He had managed only two points in his first three outings, but he was never confident in his engines, and he trailed at the back in the first semi as Rickardsson and Adams caught Hampel at the front. Polish icon Tomasz Gollob surprisingly mustered only six points after starting with two zeroes, while the much-fancied Dane Hans Andersen had a nightmare, collecting four last-place finishes and seizing an engine to finish 16th out of 16. Scott Nicholls and Lee Richardson - the only Brits in the series this year - both failed to reach the last eight. Both were unhappy with their bikes, with Richardson having to beg, steal and borrow what engines he could after his tuner, Flemming Gravesen, was taken ill. The only rider who appeared to have no problems at all was Rickardsson, when in fact he may have had the biggest obstacle of all to overcome, with his injury. But he dug deep to open with a sensational win, and the clever money is already on the Swede equaling the legendary Ivan Mauger's record of six World titles. eN WROCIAW STADIUM WROCIAW, POlAND IbSULTS: APRIL 30, 2005 (ROUND 1 OF 9) SEMI I: I. Tony Rickardsson; 2. Leigh Adams: 3. Jarek Hampel; 4. Andreas Jon~on. SEMI 2: I. Jason Cromp; 2. Antonio Undback; 3. Nicki Pedersen; 4. Greg Hancock. FINAL: I. Tony Rkkardsson; 2. leigh Adams: 3. Jason Crump; 4. Antonio Undback. FIM SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX POINTS STANDINGS (After I of 9 rounds): I. Tony Rickardsson (25/1 win); 2. Leigh Adams (20): 3. Jason Crump (18): 4. Antonio Lindback (16); 5. Greg Hancock (II); 6. (TIE) Nicki Pede"." (I O)/J""k H""pel (10); 8. Andreas Jonsson (8); 9. Ryan Sullivan (7): 10. (TIE) Tomasz GaUob (6)/Scott Nicholls (6). UPCOMING ROUNDS: Round 2· Moy 14, Eskilstuno, Sweden Round 3 . Moy 28, Krsko, Slovenia (Above) Not great, but not bad: Greg Han

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