Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

Han cock too k his place in the co ns o lation fina l a nd was loo k ing go od fo r s econd pla c e when Ric kardsson wo rked ha rd to pass hi m , and the re wa s little Han c oc k could do . The n came the g ra nd fin al - and wh a t a ra ce this was . Dugard pass ed Su llivan in th e e a rly stag es with a clev e r mo ve wh ich had the c ro wd o n their fee t as th e ma n who al most los t h is caree r a ye a r ago for a n ugly offtrack incide nt with a no ther rider we nt on to record a stunning win. Du gard ' s ce le b ra t io n s s e e m ed a littl e s u b d u e d at f ir s t, p ro ba b ly b e c aus e o f t he fa c t t h at h e co uld ha rdly believ e wha t he had ach ieved . "Things went well tonight," Dugard sa id, "An d th is is a g re a t res ult fo r me. I wa s really down la st yea r and lost some of m y e nthus iasm, but now I ha ve it back. I really hav e to get into the Grand Prix next ye ar, and I can do that by winn ing th e Int er c ontinental Final in Denmark next m onth ." Dugard came from th e back to win the F inal , ov erhaul ing Australia' s Ryan Sullivan in fa nta stic fa s hio n. But at least Sullivan had the consola tion of enjoying his best GP of the year, th ou gh he was understandably d isappointed to come so close to victory. Lo ram was th ird an d n ow has a fo ur -p oint lead ove r defend ing World Champi on Ton y Rickardsson who was ph ilos o p hic a l a bo u t th e Br itish Gra nd Prix. "It wasn't really m y night but I didn't lose too mu ch ground on Mark and we still ha ve a ll to race for. It is re a lly tou gh out the re now. But it wouldn't be worth winning if it was easy." Greg Ha ncoc k was happy with his di sp lay a s ba tt led th rou gh fro m th e pr e - ma in e ve n t t o qu ali fy for t h e se m i-fina l. He sa id : "I reall y fe el I ma d e progr ess in th is me eti ng , it wa s ha rd work o ut there but I'm happy with m y pe rforman c e . "The trac k wa s fine a nd I think th e fans had th e ir mone y's worth , it was a good nigh t of entertainment fo r them . "' really fe e l as though I'm making p rogr es s and th is is a major step for ward fo r m e be cause things haven 't reall y been go ing that we ll in the GP. "I' ll n ow ta ke sto c k o f t h is and see wh ere I go from here, bu t I fe e l I c a n build on th is and t ak e it fro m there ." eN (Above) Never woulda guessed It: Wildcard rider Manln Dugard (left) put together a magic night that culminated In a win when he held off the advances of Ryan Sullivan (right) during The Anal. (Ri ght) Greg Hancock pett) continued to make slow progress while still coming to tenns with his factory Jawas. Hancock made It to the semifinals before bowing out. He cUrTenUy sits 1 1th in the serie s standings. (Be low ) Runner-up Ryan Sullivan pett) and th ird-place finisher Mark Loram (right) join winner Martin Dugard (c ent e r! on the podium. Consistent finishe s by Loram have placed him atop the championship lea de rboa rd despite his not w inning a round yet. Coventry Speed. ly Coventry, England Results: July 29, 2000 (RD und 4 of 6J THE FINA L: 1. Martin Dugard; 2. Ryan Sullivan; 3 . Ma rk Loram : 4 . Jason Lyons. WORLD C'SHIP SPEEDWAY GRAND PRIX SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (A tter 4 of 6 rounds): I . Marl< Loram (7 3 ); 2. Tony Ricka rdsson (69/1 win) 3. Billy Hamill (56 / 1 win ); 4 . .Jason Crump (52/1 win); 5 . Chr is Louis (5 1) ; 6. (T IE ) Ryan Sulliva n/ Tod d Wil tshire (48) ; 8 . Leigh Adam s ( 47 ); 9 . To m e s z Gollob (43 ); 10 . (TI E ) Jimmy Nilsen/Mik ael Karlsson (32 ) : 12 G reg Hancock (3 1): 13 . Mart in Dugard (2 5 /1 win) ; 14 . Carl Sto nehewe r (2 4) ; 15 . Stefa n D anna (23); 16 . Toni Kasper (22 ); 17 . Peter Karlsson (20) : 18 . Joe Screen (1 9) ; 19 . Henka Gustafsson ( 18): 20 . Jason Lyons ( 16). Upcom ing Rounds: Round 5 - Vojens, Denmark, Septemb er 2 Round 6 - Bydgoszcz, Poland , September 23 c ue I e n e vv s A UGUST 1 6 , 2 0 0 0 37

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