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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128381
having a ball," he said. On a stifling hot night, the early action was less than gripping, though it built up into an enthralling climax. The sweeping 387meter Krsko circuit may have benefited from a tad more dirt on it, but that is usually the case in most GP rounds these days. The first three races were all won from gate two by Kenneth Bjerre (who was again replacing the injured Jarek Hampel) and Aussies Crump and Leigh Adams, who smashed Zagar's track record in heat three. Greg Hancock started with a third in heat three behind Adams and Rickardsson before Pedersen completed the opening round of races by landing heat four off the inside grid, Antonio Lindback's mistake allowing Ryan Sullivan to steal second place. Debutant referee Wojciech Grodzki had to make his first major decision of the night in heat five when Ryan Sullivan, off the inside, came down going into the first turn when Hans Andersen leaned on him. All four went back to the tapes, and Sullivan got it right in the rerun to force his way to the front. Andersen's challenge then disappeared when Lee Richardson surged around him off turn four to relegate the Dane to third place. Hancock got away in front to win heat six off the favorable gate two, and the rapid-trapping Pedersen claimed a second win in heat seven. Rickardsson then got a flyer in heat eight and sailed away into the distance to win by a country mile. It was an early indication that he was dialed in and determined to put some daylight between himself and the rest of the field. Round three started with a first-ever Grand Prix win for Zagar, over Andersen, Adams and the fickle Andreas Jonsson, and another impressive victory from Rickardsson in front of Pedersen in heat 10. Lindback was thrown out of heat I I when his blatant attempt to muscle over Scott Nicholls off the outside gate ended with him sliding into the safety fence. Nicholls, with only a point from his first two rides, swept past Tomasz Gollob to win the rerun, and Crump won heat 12 to take his tally to eight points, the same as Rickardsson and Pedersen after all I 6 protagonists had completed three rides apiece. Sullivan and Zagar were tied a point behind, on seven points, with Hancock one of four riders on five points. Rickardsson blitzed Crump in heat 13, with Andersen also getting his nose ahead of the World Champion off the first two turns, but Adams found himself at the back in heat 14, and though salvaging a point, he was still left needing a good result in his final ride. Nicholls put together back-to-back wins by taking heat IS, passing Hancock with a sublime inside pass after Jonsson had slipped from first to last, and Pedersen then won 16 in a real scrap with home favorite Zagar. Ahead of the final rides for each competitor, Rickardsson (I I), Pedersen (I I), Sullivan (10), Crump (9) and Zagar (9) all appeared to be safely though to the semifinals, and there were four riders on seven points Hancock, Andersen, Nicholls and Gollob. The final round resulted in wins for Gollob - who was switching between GM and Jawa engines - Crump, Sullivan and Adams, the latter needing to pass Lindback in heat 20 to squeeze Nicholls out of the frame of semifinal qualifiers. Hancock also missed out on the semifinals, finishing on eight points, having followed his win in heat six by sandwiching a second in heat 15 behind Nicholls with two disappointing third places. Nicholls had claimed two wins after starting with one point from two rides, but he too missed out when he finished on eight points, his relegation from first place to third in his final outing in heat 19 proving costly. So, Rickardsson and the revitalized Sullivan led the qualifying, 13 points apiece, with Crump one point shy of those two on 12 and former World Champion Pedersen on I I. The other semifinalists were Gollob (10), Zagar (9), Andersen (9) and Adams (9). World number four Adams, who had been third in the standings, behind Rickardsson and Crump after the first two GPs, failed to come through a rollercoaster first semifinal despite leading at one stage. Having been slipstreamed by Zagar, he hit a hole on turn four, which allowed Pedersen through as well, and the Dane jumped above the Aussie into thirdplace overall after finishing second in the final, behind Rickardsson. "I started with the track record, and then it just all went downhill," Adams said. "I had two gate fours and didn't make the right choice in where I came off gate four. It was a weird track. You could get clear and off you went, but when you were coming from behind, it was really tough. It wasn't my night." Though Pedersen jumped above Adams in the series standings, he is still 24 points adrift of the imperious Rickardsson, who looks as hungry now as he was when the Grand Prix series first started in 1995. Though he was beaten by Crump in the first semifinal, Rickardsson saved his best for last to avenge that defeat in the final. It meant a win in Krsko for the second successive season. It was also the 16th GP victory of his career. He has also reached the final for the seventh successive GP - and he is surely going to take some stopping in the final six rounds of the 2005 series. eN STADION MATJE GUBCA KRSKO KRSKO, SLOVENIA RESULTS: MAy 28, 2005 (ROUND 3 OF 9) SEMI I: l. Matej Zagar; 2. Nicki Pedersen; 3. Leigh Adams; 4. Ryan Sullivan. SEMI 2: I. Jason Crump; 2. Tony Rickardsson; 3. Hans Andersen: -t, Tomas Gol1ob. FINAL: I. Tony Rickardsson: 2. Nicki Pedersen: 3. Matej Zagar; 4. Jason Crump. FIM WORLD SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 3 of 9 rounds): I. Tony Rickardsson (70/2 wins); 2. Jason Crump (59/1 win); 3, Nicki Pedersen (46); 4. Leigh Adams (42); 5. Antonio Undback (27); 6. (TIE) Greg Hancock (25)/Bjame Pedersen (25); 8. Ryan SulHv.n (II); 9. (TIE) J...ek H=pel (IO)lTom= Chrzanowski (10). UPCOMING ROUNDS Round 4: Cardiff, Greol Britain, June 11 Round 5: Copenhogen, Denmark, June 25 CYCLE NEWS • JUNE 8, 2005 39