Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 24 JUNE 18, 2013 P103 HAMPEL AT HOME Jaroslaw Hampel takes his home GP for the first time STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HIPKISS J aroslaw Hampel claimed his second Speedway Grand Prix of the season on Saturday night to add to the one he collected in the season opener in New Zealand at the end of March, this one coming in his home Grand Prix for the first time. The Polish rider stormed past World Champion Chris Holder when the Aussie lifted on the back straight on the first lap. From there Hampel promptly pulled clear to take the checkered flag ahead of the Australian hero Tai Woffinden, who produced a miraculous performance to finish third just 12 days after undergoing surgery to plate and screw the collarbone he shattered at the British GP in Cardiff on June 1. Hampel was a popular winner, despite triumphing at the home of his Polish Ekstraliga club Zielona Gora's archrivals. The 31-year-old was delighted to celebrate his fourth GP victory in front of such a partisan crowd and admits he could feel the buzz from the stands as he seized the initiative in the final. "It was my first Grand Prix win in Poland and what can I say? It was an amazing feeling," Hampel said. "We had thousands of people in the stadium and the crowd was really wild when I started in the final. When I got in front, I felt all the people stand up around me and that was really cool." Hampel started the night with just a point from his opening two rides. But he scored seven in his next three heats to edge into the semis with eight points. He then led Holder, Krzysztof Kasprzak and Niels-Kristian Iversen in his last-eight battle and was pleased he was well placed to take advantage of a slip from Holder in the final, after the Aussie picked up drive and lifted following a sublime start. "I had a pretty quick bike before the final and it's really important to take your chance if it comes," Hampel said. "I did that when I raced behind Chris [Holder] very closely. When he made that mistake, I tried to take my chance and go for it. Early in the meeting, it was very tough and it was a shame I couldn't race better from the beginning. I made the wrong choice between the lines, even when I won the start, and everybody passed me very easily. It was very important to think about the races every single time and in the end, I knew what the best line was and I took it." Hampel is fourth in the World Championship with 66 points, but is still 18 adrift of frontrunner Emil Sayfutdinov, who exited the event at the semi-final stages with 15 – more points than any of his rivals achieved. He extended his lead over second-placed Woffinden from eight points to 11. Hampel knows Sayfutdinov is firmly in control at the halfway stage of the season but he refuses to throw in the towel as he bids to add 2013 World Championship gold to his 2010 silver and 2011 bronze. "Emil is in really good shape," Hampel said. "That's all I can say. He is racing great everywhere. He's one of the favorites this year for sure. I'll try to keep going. We still have six rounds to go and I will try to build on my wins and think about the good results. At this moment, it's hard to say any-

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