Speedway: Aussies hold nerve to reach World Cup Final

Australia won the Speedway World Cup Race-Off here in Manchester tonight to claim the last remaining place in tomorrow night’s final at the city’s new National Speedway Stadium.

The Aussies led from Heat 2 until the end, but the Danish team staged a fightback in the closing stages and were just one point behind going into the last heat. But Australia’s Jason Doyle held his nerve to speed away from the start to win the deciding race and secure victory for his country.

Australia’s success was all the more impressive considering they lost in-form 20-year-old Max Fricke to injury after his first ride and his outings were covered by 19-year-old reserve Brady Kurtz.

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Defeat for Denmark, who miss out on the final for only the second time this century, will be controversial. They left out two of their biggest names, three-time world champion Nicki Pedersen and recent Grand Prix winner Peter Kildemand, and the inquest will centre around whether their experience would have made the difference if they’d been selected.

The third-placed Russian team lacked depth, with former world number three Emil Sayfutdinov scoring half of their 32 points as they finished 12 behind the winners.

The American team were a distant last on just nine points, after the withdrawal of their lynchpin Greg Hancock. The three-time world champion withdrew from the team, saying he wanted his nation to give youth a chance, and that decision ended the USA’s chances of making any impact in this Race-Off.

Hancock, 46, rode in Tuesday night’s qualifier in Sweden and his 17 points were the only reason the USA made it through to the Race-Off – the other three riders only managed five points between them.

Without Hancock in Manchester they were sitting ducks and America’s riders finished last in 15 of the 20 heats. Teenagers Luke Becker and Broc Nicol both showed guts on a track that’s twice the size of the tiny circuits they race in the States, but neither scored a point against such seasoned opposition.

Australia will now face Great Britain, Poland and defending champions Sweden in tomorrow’s final, which starts at 7pm and is being televised live on BT Sport.

Speedway World Cup Race-Off. National Speedway Stadium, Manchester. Friday, July 29

 

Australia 44

Jason Doyle 15, Sam Masters 12, Chris Holder 9, Brady Kurtz 6, Max Fricke 2)

Denmark 41

Niels-Kristian Iversen 16, Michael Jepsen Jensen 11, Leon Madsen 7, Kenneth Bjerre 7

Russia 32

Emil Sayfutdinov 16, Grigory Laguta 7, Artem Laguta 5, Andrei Kudriashov 4

USA 9

Ryan Fisher 6, Billy Janniro 3, Broc Nicol 0, Luke Becker 0

 

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