IN
THE
WIND
P48
GRAND
PRIX OF
POLAND
NOT SO
GRAND
T
he opening round of the
FIM Speedway Grand
Prix Series in Warsaw,
Poland, April 18, got off to a
rocky, if not disastrous, start.
Poor racetrack conditions
and a faulty starting gate saw
the racers finally refusing to
compete halfway through the
evening.
With riders making a num-
ber of unforced errors and
struggling badly with track
conditions on the first bend,
enough was enough after 12
rides. Their goodwill ran out
and they refused to carry on
racing, despite pleas from
organizers and officials and
lengthy meetings with the
FIM jury. The jury decided:
"After consultation with the
riders and appropriate of-
ficials involved, the meeting
unfortunately cannot contin-
ue on the grounds of safety."
The points the riders had
earned up to that point of the
night were used to determine
the final finishing order, with
Slovenia's Matej Zagar taking
the win with eight points over
Great Britain's Chris Harris with
seven points. Poland's Jaroslaw
Hampel was credited with third
having earned seven points.
American Greg Hancock was
awarded fifth with five points.
Slovenia's Matej Zagar was awarded
the victory at the shortened Speed-
way Grand Prix of Poland.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JOHN
HIPKISS
