Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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Davidsson, who were off the inside two gates, were hampered by the tapes going up crookedly, giving Jarek Hampel and Greg Hancock an unfair advantage that they fully took. The impressive Jonsson got the first gate choice in the first semifinal and flew away off the inside. with Leigh Adams benefiting to take second when Gollob and Nicki Pedersen resumed their contretemps from heat 14. The Dane had been controversially excluded from that race when Gollob went down on his outside going into turn three, having hung on when the Pole did something similar to him on the previous lap. Pedersen admitted - in the heat of the moment - that he was considering withdraWing from the meeting as a protest against referee Marek Wojaczek's decision, but ultimately he carried on, and a second place in his final ride gave him 10 points. The rematch between Pedersen and Gollob in the opening semifinal saw them too preoccupied with each other, allowing Adams, who had recovered from a slow start to score eight points in his final three qualifying rides, to nip in for second, behind Jonsson. Crump beat Rickardsson in the second semifinal, with Rickardsson giving Nicholls an unhelpful clout on the first turn as Hancock was squeezed out, and the Aussie then repeated that in the final. Jonsson led for a couple of laps but was unable to cover Crump. who drove around him in terrific style. Jonsson's disappointment at being deprived of his first GP win (he has now finished runner-up to Crump on two different occasions) was tempered by him lifting himself into the thick of the battle for a top-eight place in the points. The Swede, who was riding on his home track in Sweden, is now ninth overall on 60 points, just one point behind Hampel, who currently occupies the eighth and final place in the frame of automatic qualifiers for 2006. Hancock is tied for sixth, with 66 points, but he feels no pressure going into the last two GPs. He started with a couple of second places, then ran a third and a last, but he won his final qualifying race to earn a semifinal spot. "I am not even thinking about having to fight for my place in the top eight," Hancock said. "I am still concentrating on getting my bikes set up perfectly and reaching the final in both of the last two rounds. I don't want to finish the year without winning at least one GP. I chewed more dirt than I sprayed out, and it was tough going. I had a couple of good heats to start with, but I rode three different bikes. I felt good on my first bike, but then it started slowing up, and I switched to number two. I wasn't happy with the way that performed, so I went onto my third bike for my last heat. I knew I had to win that one, and it paid off. "I also made a decent start in the semifinal off gate four," he added, "but I got stuck outside of Jason [Crump), Tony [Rickardsson) and Scott [Nicholls). and they wouldn't let me in. I knew I had to pull out something special, and it never happened." Round eight, the penultimate GP of 200S, is at Bydgoszcz in Poland on Saturday, August 27, with the final round at Lonigo in Italy a fortnight later, on Saturday, September 10. eN MAuUA STADIUM MAuUA, SWEDEN R£sws: AUGUST 13, 200S (ROUND 7 OF 9) SEMI I: I. Anckeas joosson; 2. Leigh Adams; J. Tomuz GoIk>b: 4. NKki PedeI'sen. SEMI 2: I. Jason Crump; Tony Rickardsson: 3. Scott Nicholls; 4. Greg Hancock. FINAL: I. Jason Crump; 2. Andreas Jonsson; 3. Tony Rkkardsson; 4. Leigh Adams. FIM WORLD SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 7 of 9 rounds): I. Tony Rkkardsson (16]/5 wins); 2. Jason Crump (116/2 wins); 3. Nicki Pedersen (88): 4. Leigh Adams (SO); 5. Bjame Pedersen (73); 6. (TIE) Greg Hancock (66)/Antonio Undback (66): 8. juek Hampel (61): 9. And,eas Jonsson (60): 10. Scott Nkholl, (58). UPCOMING ROUNDS Round S: Sydgoszcz, Polond, August 27 Round 9: lonigo, Italy, September 10 (Top to bottom) Rickardsson (2), shown here leading Antonio lindback, had an off night in his home country, but he now only needs four points from the next two rounds to lock up the title. Greg Hancock (3) struggled with bike setup all night but still made the semis. Hancock appeared unconcerned, as he continues to focus on improving his machines in the hopes of a 2006 title run. Take thatl Rickardsson (right) lets Crump (left) know just exactly what he thinks about having to wait two more weeks to be crowned World Champion. CYCLE NEWS. AUGUST 24,2005 27