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IN THE WIND P46 NIELS-KRISTIAN IVERSEN TRIUMPHS IN TORUN N iels-Kristian Iversen won the FST Grupa Brokerska Torun FIM Speed- way Grand Prix of Poland, overhauling triple world champion Greg Hancock in the final, while Poland's Bartosz Zmarzlik finished third. The night started in tough circumstanc- es in heat three, when championship leader Jason Doyle crashed hard on turn three, forcing him out of the meeting with shoulder, elbow and lung injuries. Han- cock capitalized by gaining an 11-point lead at the World Championship summit. Iversen refused to let Hancock claim victory on the night, though, as he earned a 15-point haul that puts him ninth in the standings at 79 points. Iversen admits some mental coach- ing behind the scenes has played a key role in him turning his season around with two final ap- pearances in three rounds. Iversen saluted his team for their backing through a tough year. He said: "My mechanics are brilliant. They're all in, like me—they want to win as much as I do." Second-placed Hancock is now just 11 points away from guaranteeing his fourth FIM Speedway World Championship in Melbourne. But he was gutted to overhaul Doyle in such tragic circum- stances, when the Newcastle-born star crashed hard after being collected by the falling Chris Harris. "It's bad luck," said Hancock. "I can feel for Jason because I have been there. He's a tough guy and I hope his injuries are not so serious that he can't come back in Melbourne. He deserves a fair shot. Seeing his accident hit me inside. I know he didn't go in there very well." Hancock was content with his sixth final outing of 2016, despite Iversen snatching victory away. "We had it going well there and things slipped a bit in the last two laps," Hancock explained. "Niels was a man on a mission. He was determined. I'm bummed that I lost the win, but I was in another final and I got good points." Third-placed Zmarzlik is now fourth in the World Champion- ship and just two points behind Tai Woffinden, who currently occupies the bronze-medal spot. A podium finish in his SGP debut season would be some feat for the World Under-21 champion. But the Gorzow and Vetlanda hero isn't putting himself under any extra pressure heading to Mel- bourne after guaranteeing his pre-season target of a top-eight finish. He said: "A medal is not a must. I just wanted to take some good points into the next round and maybe put myself in a position to go for one there. I don't think third position in Torun is so bad and I am very happy." CN TORUN SGP SCORES: 1. Niels-Kristian Iversen 15 2. Greg Hancock 16 3. Bartosz Zmarzlik 13 4. Matej Zagar 15 5. Chris Holder 11 The win went to Iversen (pictured), but the championship lead went to American rider Greg Hancock in Poland.