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/128396
the previous weekend), Andersen and Richardson also have to play the waiting game before knowing whether they will return next year. But it is a fair bet that Aussie Ryan Sullivan, missing from the final round due to a virus, and Pole Tomasz Chrzanowski, who had one of his better GPs with a rare race win in heat two, could have ridden in their last Grand Prix meeting. Of the others who did qualify, Tomasz Gollob was barely recognizable as the spectacular rider who had won the previous GP in Bydgoszcz, mustering just four points on the night, while Bjarne Pedersen survived a nasty-looking first-bend crash in heat 19 to qualify for the last eight, only to miss out on reaching the final. eN MOTOCLUB LoNIGO LoNIGO, ITAlY RESULTS: SEPTEMIIER (ROUND 9 Of 9) 10, 2005 SEMI I: I. TOO! Ridw"dsson; 2. Gre%. H~ J. Ham ~; 4. Bjame Pede.-son. SEMI 2. I. Jason Crump: 2. Leigh Adams; 3. Scott Nichotls; 4. Andreas Jonsson. FINAL: I. Tony Rickardsson; 2. Jason Crump; J. Greg Hancock: 4. leigh Adams. FIM WORLD SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES STANDINGS (Alter 9 cl9 rounds): I. TOO)' Ricbrdsson (196/6 wns); 2. jason ~ (15-4/l wns); 3. L.e;gh Adamo (107); 4. NKld Pedenen (102); S. Greg Hancod< (100); 6. Bjame Pedenen (90); 7. _ GoIIob (83); 8. And"", Jons-oo (80); 9. Sma N _ (72); 10. _ Undbod< (71). Leigh [Adams) is tonight, so I came out with all things going as best I could," Hancock said. "I wanted to be in that third position again at the end, but it didn't play that way. These guys rode good. You've got to fight to the bitter end, but you've got no friends out there. It wasn't the best of starts for me this year, but once again I've had some shining moments, and if I ever manage to start the season off right, it might be a different story. I'm really happy with the way things are going. We worked hard all year, though we struggled for a while trying to get our engines working good." Hancock had started with a smooth win off the inside grid in heat three, then he ran two thirds in heats six and 12, being outgunned off the second bend by Bjarne Pedersen in the former, and being overhauled by both an aggressive Scott Nicholls and then Andersen in the latter. He was second in heat IS, battling for his position after a difficult first lap, and then finished with another third in heat 17 to finish with eight points. In the first semi, he followed Rickardsson home in second spot, and in the final, he bustled past Adams into third place but could make no impression on Rickardsson or Crump at the front. Lower down the standings, the battle for a top-eight placing saw Nicholls miss his chance of jumping above Andreas Jonsson. Nicholls suffered a cruel night of outrageous misfortune, shedding a chain in his first ride and then getting himself excluded for taking off Jonsson as he tried to drive under the Swede in his second outing, the slick track failing to give him sufficient ballast on the third and fourth turns. Nicholls bravely recovered with two determined wins, but he looked to have lost out when he packed up again with igni- tion trouble in heat 19. Pedersen was thrown out of heat 20 for taking off Zagar, and Lee Richardson finished second to Rickardsson in the rerun, while Nicholls had squeezed into the last eight with just six -points, by virtue of his two wins. Nicholls' hopes were further raised when Jonsson was harshly excluded when he came down on the first turn in the second semifinal. It meant Nicholls only needed to reach the final to haul himself into the top eight, but he finished third in the rerun behind Crump and Adams, and his fate is now at the behest of Benfield Sports International and the SGP Commission handing him one of the seven invites into the 2006 series. Antonio Undback, Jarek Hampel (absent in Italy after breaking a bone in his hand in Poland (Above to rislht) Crump, Rickardsson and Hancock celebrate on the final podium of the 2005 World Speedway Grand Prix Series. (Left) Tony Rickardssson, 2005 World Speedway Champion. CYCLE NEWS • SEPTEMBER 21, 2005 37