IN AT THE DEEP END?

Wednesday 22nd February 2012, 16:23

Tomasz Gollob’s manager Thomas Gaszynski admits the FIM New Zealand SGP in Auckland may be the Pole’s first meeting of 2012, but he says the rider will be practicing hard.

At 40-years-old, Gollob is not exactly short of experience on a speedway bike. He won the 2010 World Championship and has five Speedway World Cup gold medals to his name.

But with this year’s SGP series starting at Western Springs on March 31 – a month earlier than usual – many riders are booking up trips to the UK to get in some racing before the big night in NZ.

Team Gollob are making plans to put in some practice laps before they board the plane to the Southern Hemisphere. And Gaszynski isn’t overly concerned if Gollob does not get a competitive meeting under his belt before making the trip.

"I think he is such an experienced rider that hopefully he could get by if we do not finalise any meetings."

- Thomas Gaszynski

Asked whether the Bydgoszcz-born racer was planning to race before the New Zealand round, Gaszynski replied: “It’s hard for me to say at this stage. There might be the possibility that it will be the first meeting, so we’ll have to wait and see.

“I think he is such an experienced rider that hopefully he could get by if we do not finalise any meetings.

“Practice is always on the agenda, though. We’ll definitely get some of that in. At this stage, we’re still waiting to see what the weather conditions are going to be like.

“We have a few options in the south of Europe and we’re keeping our fingers crossed to see what happens in Poland. If the weather permits, we’ll be doing a lot of practice here in Poland. If not, we’ll go down to southern Europe.”

Gollob has already started warming up for the season and recently travelled to Spain, where he took to his motocross bike.

The Polish icon famously broke his leg when a motocross jump went wrong days before the final Grand Prix of his title-winning season at Bydgoszcz in October 2010.

Fortunately, Gollob had sealed top spot at the previous round in Terenzano, and it’s clear that crash didn’t quell his enthusiasm for some alternative two-wheeled action.

Gaszynski said: “Tomasz loves motocross riding and he had a good time out there. It keeps him race-fit as well giving him contact with the motorcycle. It’s not a speedway bike, but a motorcycle nonetheless. Hopefully this will benefit Tomasz and the whole team.”

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