JASON Crump extended his lead in the World Championship to a commanding 35 points after finishing runner-up to Tomasz Gollob in the FIM Nordicbet Scandinavian Grand Prix at Malilla in Sweden.
Crump's major two rivals at the start of the meeting, Greg Hancock and Emil Sayfutdinov, both failed to make the cut for the semi-finals, and it means that the Aussie almost has one hand on his third World title with four GPs remaining, with Gollob now in second spot ahead of Hancock. The 38-year-old Pole, winner of the first ever Grand Prix at Wroclaw back in 1995, looked quick throughout and was good value for his win. He top scored in the qualifying with 13 points, and then won both the first semi-final and the final off the inside gate.
Crump, despite starting with a third place behind Gollob and Kenneth Bjerre in Heat 4, scored 11 points in the heats, and also raced to victory in the second semi-final from the favourable inside starting position. He finished second to Gollob in the final, ahead of Danes Hans Andersen and Kenneth Bjerre. Crump, who made some lightning starts and forcefully repassed Sayfutdinov for second place in Heat 12, said: "I am still taking it one round at a time, but with just four rounds left it is getting closer.
"I don't really think about the World title until after the meeting but I was pleased with the way I rode tonight. I was much more aggressive and it was good to bounce back after a poor performance in Latvia."
Latvian GP winner Hancock, who started the night in second place overall, 29 points behind Crump, missed out on the last eight on countback when he was one of four riders to finish on eight points, while Sayfutdinov paid the price for the night's only fall and exclusion in Heat 13. The Russian charger, who had four points from his first three outings, got too close to wild-card Antonio Lindback and ran into the Swede's back wheel to take a nasty-looking fall. Gating was paramount on a wet night in Malilla, with some tricky conditions in the early stages seeing trap one supply all the first seven race winners, and 10 of the first 11. Bjerre became the first rider not wearing the red helmet colour to take the chequered flag from gate four in Heat 8, and that win proved vital in the tiny Dane claiming a semi-final spot on countback. Andreas Jonsson, one of four riders from the Malilla-based Dackarna club taking part in the event (Andersen, Bjerre and Fredrik Lindgren were the others) looked a real threat in the heats with 10 points, a tally that included an brilliant cutback off the outside to win Heat 12, but he finished last in the first semi-final.
Brit Chris Harris got stuck in to make the semis, giving Gollob a real battle for second place in Heat 10, Andersen used his home track knowledge to good effect to reach the final and move back into the top eight overall, and Lindback again took his chance as a wild-card with both hands. On the opposite side of the coin, reigning World Champion Nicki Pedersen fell further adrift of the leaders - and dropped out of the top eight - in mustering only seven points on his return to the GP, while Leigh Adams, winner of the Scandinavian GP at Malilla in both 2007 and 2008, left himself with too much to do after running last places in his first two rides and came up short on five points.
FIM Nordicbet Scandinavian Grand Prix scores:
Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 22, Jason Crump (Australia) 18, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 14, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 10, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 10, Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 10, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 9, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 8, Greg Hancock (USA) 8, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 7, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 6, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 5, Leigh Adams (Australia) 5, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 5, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 5, Rune Holta (Poland) 2. World Championship standings: Crump 126, Gollob 91, Hancock 87, Sayfutdinov 82, Jonsson 67, Lindgren 64, Bjerre 63, Andersen 61, Pedersen 59, Adams 47, Ulamek 46, Holta 43, Harris 43, Walasek 37, Lindback 27, Nicholls 25, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 19, Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, Grigory Laguta (Russia) 6, Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1.
