VOL. 51 ISSUE 37 SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 P23
HANCOCK FORCED OUT
W
orld Speedway Champi-
onship leader Greg Han-
cock missed his first-ever FIM
Speedway Grand Prix after in-
jury forced him to withdraw from
the Nordic GP at Vojens on Sat-
urday night.
The 44-year-old Hancock,
who leads the championship
with 112 points, is the only rider
to have appeared in all 177 GP
rounds since the series was
launched in 1995.
But a broken and burned left
hand, suffered at the Gorzow
FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Po-
land on August 30, denied him
the opportunity to continue that
extraordinary record – one that
may never be beaten.
Hancock had surgery to repair
a broken index finger in Gothen-
burg last week. This was after
his dislocated middle finger was
reset in Poland. The rider is also
on a heavy dose of antibiotics to
guard against the risk of infection
posed by the burn.
The American icon underwent
intense physiotherapy in a bid
to defend what was a 14-point
advantage in the World Cham-
pionship. But after a test run in
Sweden on Saturday afternoon,
he was forced to admit defeat in
his battle to be fit.
John Hipkiss
Injury forced Greg Hancock (left) to miss his first Speedway Grand Prix
in 177 races on Saturday night. He still leads the World Championship,
however, by seven points over Tai Woffinden (right).
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
JONSSON WINS,
HANCOCK OUT
S
wedish racer Andreas Jons-
son was elated to end three
years of frustration in the FIM
Speedway Grand Prix series af-
ter winning Saturday night's Nor-
dic GP at Vojens to reignite his
2015 qualification hopes.
Jonsson has endured a rotten
run in the World Championship
and has been without a victory
since finishing second overall in
2011 and winning GP rounds in
Andreas Jonsson
ended a three-year
winless drought
with a victory in the
Nordic Grand Prix on
Saturday night.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
continued on page 24
