Sunday, July 17, 2011

Joker in the pack

Polish skipper Tomasz Gollob admits his tactical joker triumph made all the difference after leading his country to an unprecedented third straight FIM PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna Speedway World Cup gold medal.The hosts reigned supreme in Gorzow on Saturday night after scoring 51 points and just fending off a furious Australian challenge.The men from Down Under finished on 45, while Sweden narrowly escaped a run-off for the bronze and scored 30 to claim third ahead of Scandinavian rivals Denmark on 29.The Poles were in last place after heat eight, but world champion Gollob transformed the meeting with two of the biggest race wins of his career. First he beat Darcy Ward, Gorzow team mate Nicki Pedersen and Andreas Jonsson to win heat nine.Polish boss Marek Cieslak then sent him out for heat 10 as a tactical joker, and Gollob earned his side a massive six points by leaving Kenneth Bjerre, Freddie Lindgren and Troy Batchelor trailing in his wake.This put the Poles just a point behind Australia and they powered on to victory. A delighted Gollob admits those nine points gave his side a huge lift and helped them overcome their early setup struggles.He said: “It was very important when we played the joker in race 10. Six points was a lot and when I won that joker ride, it was really good for the team and our concentration.”We made some changes to the bikes and we won. I think it was setup we struggled with at first, but then every guy went out and had a good meeting. To win a third title is fantastic for Poland.”It was a good meeting for Jarek (Hampel) and Piotr Protasiewicz did well in his last two heats. We’ve had a very good team and a very good competition. I have to say thank you to all the guys for their co-operation this week.”Gollob stars for Gorzow in the Polish Ekstraliga every week and his race wins received an especially deafening ovation from the raucous Edward Jancarz Stadium crowd.”I love racing this track,” Gollob said. “I’ve got perfect fans here. They’re the best fans in Poland and the whole of speedway.”Poland’s big names will now turn their attention to chasing Grand Prix gold medals and league championships all over Europe.But having become the first team to lift the Ove Fundin Trophy three times on the trot, Bydgoszcz-born legend Gollob is already hungry to win a fourth SWC crown in 2012.He said: “Maybe we can get the title for a fourth time. But we’re happy with this one and next year, I don’t know what will happen.”SWC FINAL SCORES:POLAND 51: 1 Krzysztof Kasprzak 8, 2 Jaroslaw Hampel 11, 3 Tomasz Gollob 17, 4 Piotr Protasiewicz 8, 5 Janusz Kolodziej 7.AUSTRALIA 45: 1 Jason Crump 13, 2 Darcy Ward 4, 3 Troy Batchelor 10, 4 Davey Watt 3, 5 Chris Holder 15.SWEDEN 30: 1 Andreas Jonsson 1, 2 Freddie Lindgren 12, 3 Antonio Lindback 8, 4 Jonas Davidsson 2, 5 Thomas H Jonasson 7.DENMARK 29: 1 Mads Korneliussen 3, 2 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 3 Niels-Kristian Iversen 8, 4 Nicki Pedersen 5, 5 Kenneth Bjerre 10.
F�d�ration Internationale de Motocyclisme : News EN

Maximilian Nagl Kurt Nicoll Bill Nilsson Jorgen Nilsson Graham Noyce

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