HAMPEL STILL CHASING

Saturday 24th September 2011, 13:00

Polish champion Jaroslaw Hampel concedes that the World Championship is almost within Greg Hancock’s grasp, but pledged to “race the best I can” in Gorican tonight.

The world No.2 is 31 points behind the American going into the FIM Nice Croatian SGP and if Herbie leaves the Speedway Stadium Milenium 25 points clear of his nearest rival, he will be guaranteed the title.

Hampel finished second to Tomasz Gollob last term and there is no doubt two silver medals would be a magnificent achievement for a man who spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons out of the SGP elite.

While Hancock goes into the business end of the season carrying a knee ligament injury, which could boost Hampel’s hopes, the Leszno man admits winning the gold medal would be a big stretch now.

"It’s a hard situation and Greg is a lot of points in front of me. I’ll try to go well on the track and this is all I can do for the moment."

- Jaroslaw Hampel

He said: “I will just try to race the best I can, and that’s it. It’s a hard situation and Greg is a lot of points in front of me. I’ll try to go well on the track and this is all I can do for the moment.”

Hampel has hit double figures in six out of the nine SGP rounds so far this year, but there’s no doubt two five-point hauls in Gothenburg and Cardiff, as well as an eight in Vojens on September 10, didn’t help his victory hopes.

The Lodz-born man added: “I’ve had a few bad Grand Prix rounds and I’ve actually dropped a lot of points. I need to race better if I want to stay at the top level. But that’s the plan for next year.

“Of course I will try to do well next year and maintain my performance right until the last race. We’ll see what happens tomorrow first, though.”

Hampel practiced along with his rivals in Gorican on Friday afternoon. The riders enjoyed perfect whether conditions and with the same forecast today, the Speedway World Cup winner can’t wait to take to the shale.

He said: “The track was good. It was really well prepared. It was not as hard as usual and the material was going out a little bit.

“We can use many lines on this track. The inside is okay and if I want to go outside, I have good speed there too. It will be interesting I’m sure.

“We’d like to have the same weather – another beautiful, sunny day. We’ll try to put on a great show for everyone.”

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