JASON Crump will take a 17-point lead into the final Speedway Grand Prix of 2009 at Bydgoszcz in Poland on October 17.
The Aussie bit the bullet to battle through the pain barrier at an absorbing FIM Italian SGP at Terenzano, bravely bagging four points in the penultimate round of this year's 11-leg series, despite being in severe pain following a recent skin graft operation.
Crump, who suffered serious burns less than two weeks ago while riding for Belle Vue, started the night with a 26-point lead over Emil Sayfutdinov in second place, but the Russian teenager lost the chance to make up significant ground when he finished last in the second semi-final.
Tomasz Gollob, who began the night in third place overall, had no problems in winning the first semi-final, and his victory in the final ahead of Hans Andersen, Nicki Pedersen and Grzegorz Walasek leapfrogged the Pole ahead of Sayfutdinov into second spot. Crump, with three weeks to recover before the final GP, is still odds on to clinch his third World crown, but there is added spice in that Gollob traditionally rules the roost at Bydgoszcz - and it is also Sayfutdinov's home circuit in Poland.
However Gollob admitted afterwards: "Seven points, maybe no problem, but 17 is too much. And Jason deserves to be World Champion. But I will do my best in Bydgoszcz - it my home town and my favourite track."
The classy Gollob only dropped a point in seven races, finishing behind Sayfutdinov in Heat 18 when the young gun barged into the lead off gate four on a crowded first turn, but he completed his first ever Italian GP victory when he passed Andersen at the end of lap two in the final.
Andersen had his best GP of the year on the sandy Italian surface to score 12 points in the qualifying, and then follow fellow Dane Pedersen home in the second semi-final. His second place in the final boosted his bid to finish in the top eight who automatically qualify for the 2010 series, with Andersen now just in the frame on 88 points - but level with Fredrik Lindgren in ninth place.
Andersen said: "I have made a lot of mistakes this year, I have had too many engines and too many tuners. And not riding in England was wrong as well. But, hopefully, that is sorted now and I was much happier with my bikes. I want to be in the Grand Prix and I know I can do better."
Outgoing World Champion Pedersen looked out for the count when he had mustered only two points in his first three rides, but he won his fourth outing and then a second behind Walasek in Heat 17 when he overhauled Chris Harris squeezed him through to the semi-finals on countback ahead of Greg Hancock. Like Andersen, both Walasek and Harris enjoyed their most fruitful GPs of the campaign.
The Pole reached his first final at the 21st attempt, scoring 11 in the qualifying, eight of which came in his final three rides. He then saw off Harris and Rune Holta in the first semi-final. Harris, meanwhile, enhanced his case for a permanent wild-card in 2010 by scoring 10 points in the qualifying, a tally that embraced passing Sayfutdinov for second place in Heat 9.
FIM Italian SGP scores:
Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 23, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 18, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 12, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 13, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 12, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 11, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 11, Rune Holta (Poland) 8, Greg Hancock (USA) 7, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 6, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 6, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 5, Jason Crump (Australia) 4, Leigh Adams (Australia) 3, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 3, Guglielmo Franchetti (Italy) 2.
World Championship standings: Crump 150, Gollob 133, Sayfutdinov 131, Hancock 113, Jonsson 104, Pedersen 92, Bjerre 90, Andersen 88, Lindgren 88, Holta 85, Adams 66, Walasek 63, Harris 59, Ulamek 59, Nicholls 41, *Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 27, *Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 20, *Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, *Matej Zagar (Slovenia) 7, Grigory Laguta (Russia) 6, *Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, *Guglielmo Franchetti (Italy) 2, *Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1.
*denotes reserves and wild-cards
