Crump Takes Second World Title

Jason Crump confirmed his place at the top of World Speedway taking his second World Title despite not reaching the final at the Marketa Stadium. On a night when his main rivals fell away Crump’s title was confirmed when Greg Hancock suffered an engine failure at the start line of Heat 15. Hancock who had uncharacteristically ploughed through the tapes in his first outing ended the night on a disappointing 3 points. Nicki Pedersen Crump’s other main challenger had an equally disastrous time suffering a tapes exclusion of his own before taking Ryan Sullivan into the fence in Heat 10. The Belle Vue skipper only had one scare on his way to the title bouncing off the air fence when Bjarne Pedersen lost control in Heat 11.

Hans Andersen was the winner on the night outpacing Matej Zagar in the final with Antonio Lindback and Jaroslaw Hampel filling the minor places. It was an ironic victory for Andersen the man who was controversially excluded from the series and only earned a place when former World Champion Tony Rickardsson retired. He was good value for his third Grand Prix victory although it was hard not to feel sorry for Leigh Adams who looked set for a place in the final when he suffered machinery problems in the second Semi Final.

It was a poor night for Lee Richardson Britains only representative in the field. A second place in his opening race again flattered to deceive as the Swindon man was forced to withdraw after a heavy knock in Heat 7. With two Grand Prix’s remaining the race is now on to finish in the top eight places and get an automatic entry into next seasons competition when the series resumes in Latvia on 9th September.

Czechcoslovakian Grand Prix: 1.H. Andersen 2 M. Zagar 3. A. Lindback 4. J. Hampel

World Championship: 1. J.Crump 170pts 2. G.Hancock 99 3. L.Adams 92 4. N.Pedersen 91 5. A.Jonsson 91