Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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IN THE WIND P30 WORLD SPEEDWAY KICKS OFF IN SLOVENIA D anish hotshot Peter Kilde- mand admits it's "a special feeling" to lead the FIM Speed- way World Championship for the first time following his Slovenian FIM Speedway Grand Prix win on Saturday, April 30. The Esbjerg-born racer defied rib damage sustained in a heavy crash in his hometown on April 19 to charge to victory in Krsko ahead of Jason Doyle, Chris Holder and world champion Tai Woffinden. Kildemand stormed through the pain barrier to pile up 15 points, putting him one clear of nearest rival Holder at the SGP summit going into round two— the Lotto Warsaw FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Poland on May 14. With 10 rounds still to race, Kildemand knows he still has plenty of work ahead in his quest for a world championship rostrum finish. But he's elated to start his first full season as an SGP star with a victory. "This is the best start to the season you can get," he said. "It's early days and I have to have my eye on the target and keep moving in the right direction. But I'm really happy right now. "For now, I'm on top and I just need to try to enjoy it, really," Kildemand added. "It's early days and the season is long. We'll do what we can do and it seems like what we are doing now is the right thing." Kildemand admits the ribs he injured in Den- mark's SGP qualifying round still gave him pain in Krsko. But he insists victory was the perfect tonic. "Right now I feel really good!" he said of the injury. "I had pain all night. With rib injuries, the doctor says you should take a month to one and a half months." Aussie ace Jason Doyle was delighted to end his night with second spot after some sluggish starts early in the meeting. "In my first two heats, I didn't think I was even going to make the semis," Doyle said. "I was struggling. I just tried to get some points. I thought I was going to go back to the van and have a good cry! But that's speedway. One minute you're down, the next minute you're in the final. "Speedway switches like that," Doyle added. "You get on another bike and think you can beat the world. We just started building the points up, made the semi and I got second. I'm happy." Third-placed Chris Holder went into the meet- ing determined to fight his way back into final contention after a tough few seasons with injury. So he's delighted to leave Krsko second in the world and one of the SGP frontrunners. American Greg Hancock got off to a conserva- tive start to the championship with seventh place. John Hipkiss PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HIPKISS Peter Kildemand opened the Speedway GP Championship with a victory in Krsko, Slovenia.