Saturday 8th October 2011, 13:00

Australian star Jason Crump hopes he can use his track knowledge to end a “frustrating” 2011 season with a World Championship medal at the FIM Enea Gorzow SGP of Poland tonight.

The 36-year-old goes into the season-closing event fourth in the standings on 104 points. He is 13 behind Polish star Jaroslaw Hampel who occupies third place in the table on 117.

With Jonsson one ahead in second, Crump knows he needs to end his season in a blaze of glory and hope AJ or his Vetlanda team mate Hampel suffer a rare dip in form if he is to reach the rostrum.

Crump has claimed a top three spot in each of the last 10 years – a feat only equalled by five-time champion Ove Fundin (pictured above right).

And with the prospect of a place in the history books on the line this evening, the Bristol-born racer refuses to give up on his medal hopes.

He said: “It’s the last Grand Prix of the year and it hasn’t been a particularly good year. But if I could finish on the podium, it would be a nice way to end a season which has been a bit frustrating.”

Crump starred for Australia in the Speedway World Cup Race-Off and Final at Gorzow in July, scoring 12 and 13 points in the respective meetings.

He also spent three separate spells as a Gorzow rider, debuting in Poland with the club in 1994, before returning in 1996 and staying a further two seasons in 2000 and 2001.

While there’s no guarantee that this experience will take him to the top of the podium this evening, Crump is looking forward to coming back to the Edward Jancarz Stadium.

He said: “It’s another day, but I rode for Gorzow for many years in the Polish league. It’s a track I like and a fantastic stadium.

“I think the atmosphere it generated in the World Cup was equal or better than every other event we’ve had this year. It’s certainly good fun to be at this place.

“The people here appreciate good speedway. In Poland, the fans’ knowledge is pretty high and they appreciate good speedway above everything else.”

Speedway supporters all over the world have been paying tribute to Crump’s grandfather Neil Street, who lost his battle with illness in Melbourne earlier this week.

The 80-year-old masterminded Australia to World Team Cup glory in 1999, before leading them to victory in the modern-day Speedway World Cup in 2001 and 2002.

Crump admits he has been somewhat taken aback by the volume of tributes paid to the former Poole, Weymouth and Newport boss. But he is delighted to see the great man held in such high regard by so many people within the sport.

He said: “It’s upsetting of course, but he had a good life and did a lot of things. A lot of people remember him fondly. If you’re time’s up, you go and people remember you fondly, then that’s a bonus.

“Some of the messages I’ve got have surprised me in terms of the people they have come from. But then you think about the way he was and the number of people he was involved with, helped and did different things with. So I suppose it’s not that much of a surprise.”

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