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A ny remaining doubt whether Jason Crump will be crowned 2006 World Cham- pion was surely put to bed when the Australian star won the Italian Grand Prix on Saturday night. In triumphing at Lonigo, Crump extended his lead at the top of the stand- ings to a massive 57 points with four rounds remaining, as he was the only rider of the top seven going into the meeting to reach the final. And yet if there was one meeting where Crump could, and maybe should, have been vulnerable it was this one. Forty-eight hours prior to the event, Crump was beating the track surface at Coventry in the U.K. in frustration after a last-race, last-corner fall left him with ankle damage. The Belle Vue captain picked up the injury, ironically, as he tried to avoid an accident when the home side's Rory Schlein, a fellow countryman, slowed with mechanical trouble - and Crump, in laying his machine down, hit the fence. Initial treatment at the Brandon Stadium indicated he had escaped with no break, and rather than visit the hospital in Britain, Crump flew out to Italy as sched- uled and made use of the medical facilities on-site at Lonigo. And when he blasted away from his rivals to win heat two by a distance, it was clear that his only significant discomfort was going to be in walking to and from his machine - and in climbing the rostrum at the end of the meeting! Crump dropped points in his next two outings to Matej Zagar and Hans Andersen, the Dane replacing reigning World Champion Tony Rickardsson, who was ruled out due to suffering from dizzy spells after a crash earlier in the season. That ended Rickardsson's 100-percent participation in the series since the launch in 1995 and left Greg Hancock as the only remaining ever-present rider. Andersen, the sport's current out- standing rider, along with Crump, looked every inch a potential winner, as he card- Scott Nicholls, who suddenly got his act together after scoring just three points from his first three rides. Nicholls hooked things up on the inside to head home in heat 16, and then took advantage of the squabble between Hancock and Pedersen to race clear in his fifth ride. Zagar booked his place in the semi- finals by holding off Jonsson to win heat 20 in the race, which spelled frustration for the Swede, while Leigh Adams was always a likely top-eight finisher, by taking two wins and a second place from his first three rides. Nicki Pedersen's nine points were enough to take him through, although Niels-Kristian Iversen was excluded after ed 14 points from five rides, although Crump appeared faster throughout their battle, which Andersen eventually won in heat 12 - and that became significant in the final. Crump won his last two qualifying r i d e s , w h i l e H a n c o c k f i n a l l y b e a t Andersen in his fourth outing. It was a crucial win for the American who had started slowly. Hancock scored just one point from his first two rides, and that was in the first race of the night when Antonio Lindback drove into the tapes and spectacularly flipped his machine. But set-up changes worked wonders for Hancock, who got his meeting back on track with wins in heats 10 and 14, making a sweet switchback inside Bjarne Pedersen to take the flag in heat 10. And another overtaking move proved vital in his last ride, as the 1997 World Champion overhauled Nicki Pedersen for second place in heat 18 to finish up with nine points - usually enough to comfort- ably make the semifinals, but not enough for Andreas Jonsson on this occasion, the Swede eliminated on count back. That was largely due to British captain Lonigo, Italy Round 6 July 30, 2006 AUGUST 9, 2006 • C Y C L E N E W S 36 World Speedway Grand Prix Series Crump On The Verge BY JOHN HIPKISS Jason Crump further extends his lead in the World Championship Lee Richardson, American Greg Hancock and Tomasz Gollob do battle in one of the heats. Jason Crump leads Leigh Adams (left), Scott Nicholls and Hans Andersen (right) in the final during the Italian Grand Prix. Jason Crump leads Leigh Adams (left), Scott Nicholls and Hans Andersen (right) in the final during the Italian Grand Prix.