Last Chance For The Top Eight

With the World Championship already in the hands of Jason Crump the focus of attention at this weekend’s Polish Speedway Grand Prix will be the race for automatic qualification into next seasons series. Only eight riders are guaranteed a spot on the lucrative Grand Prix circuit so the final meeting of the year will bring heartache for some. Amongst those struggling to get into the top eight is Great Britain skipper Scott Nicholls whose performances so far have been patchy at best. A first ever rostrum place in Italy in July should have been the springboard for the Coventry Bee to finally establish himself on the circuit. A broken collarbone that forced him out of the Czech Grand Prix in Prague halted his momentum and now Nicholls finds himself 9 points short of his target.

Another man who will be hoping for a big night in Bydgoszcz is Jarowslaw Hampel. The talented Pole carries his country’s main hopes of a qualifying place along with former champion Tomasz Gollob who is currently one place below his compatriot. A capacity crowd will cheer Hampel on as he attempts to reach the final for only the fourth time this season. With fanatical support at home it seems almost inconceivable that next seasons competition may not include a Polish rider and should Hampel and Gollob fail to make the cut its likely one of them would receive a wild card. That though is too much of a chance to take for 24 year old Hampel who many people feel has the credentials to become a future World Champion.

Last seasons Polish Grand Prix provided Britains Lee Richardson with his finest moment finishing second behind Gollob. 12 months later the Swindon rider will bow out of the competition after a torrid series that has seen him fail to progress beyond the qualifying heats. Denmark’s Bjarne Pedersen still believes he has a chance of a top eight finish. He showed plenty of promise in the middle part of the season when he reached the final at his home Grand Prix his performances have dropped off dramatically since then though.

Draw: 1.Jason Crump (Aus) 2. Scott Nicholls (GB) 3. Leigh Adams (Aus) 4. Niels Kristien Iversen (Den) 5. Matej Zagar (Slo) 6. Piotr Protasiewicz (Pol) 7. Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 8. Lee Richardson (GB) 9. Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 10. Hans Andresen (Den) 11. Jarowslaw (Hampel (Pol) 12. Wiesla Jagus (Pol) 13. Greg Hancock (USA) 14. Nicki Pedersen (Den) 15. Bjarne Pedersen (Den) 16. Antonio Lindback (Swe)