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2007

Danes lose their crown ... but not without a fight, as Poland win again on home dirt
At Abensberg the home nation went into a 3-point lead with 4 races to go, but lost it when their riders in heats 22 and 23 both fell, giving Finland victory for the second successive year. Latvia, led by Puodzhuks, were the shock merchants, finishing a close third. In the other qualifier Russia, inspired by a maximum on his SWC debut from teen sensation Emil Sayfutdinov, were totally dominant.

In the main part of the tournament, reserves were added to the 5-man teams but, for some strange reason, could be used ONLY in the event of injury (hmmm)

The opening round at a very slick Vojens saw the Danish team cruise to victory with 14 race wins, 7 second places, four thirds, and no last places. Those of us unfortunate enough to be there witnessed most of the 25 races decided by bend 2, and were relieved when the whole boring event was over. Not one of the SWC's finest hours. Great Britain won Event 2 with the same score as the Danes in Event 1 (60pts), but Coventry provided much better racing than Vojens. Billy Hamill was absent due to a dispute, so the USA's expected place in the Race-Off went instead to Russia.

On a fine racetrack at Leszno, Australia gave a superb display to win the Race-Off in what was, for much of the meeting, a 3-team contest. Just one point seperated Australia from Poland and Sweden at the half-way mark. And Australia and Poland were level going into the final race, where Walasek gated in front, but was passed by track specialist Adams.
But at the Final, it was soon apparent that Australia had shot their bolt 2 days earlier, while the GB bikes were so slow they would have had trouble beating the tractor - they didn't score a point until heat 5. But the atmosphere inside the packed stadium was electric as the match became a two-horse race between the host country (Poland) and the holders (Denmark). And what a battle it was, with the points difference between the teams never being more than five. Poland led by a point going into the last heat, and Gollob made the gate. Hans Andersen didn't and was blocked by Scott Nicholls from even getting second place in the race - some might say retribution for the events of 3 years earlier when Andersen blocked Nicholls from going after Peter Karlsson in a last-race decider at Poole.

Poland had begun the meeting with 4 heat wins, but this was followed by two last places for Walasek. Prior to Walasek's third ride, it was announced that he had withdrawn from the meeting due to "injury" and would therefore be replaced by the reserve - Leszno rider Balinski. It made a mockery of the rules, but then such stupid rules are there to be made a mockery of. Later, Holder (Aus) and Kennett (GB) withdrew with "injuries" also, and were replaced by reserves. Respect to Jan Staechmann who refused to play that game and, who knows, that may be what cost Denmark the title. Not surprisingly, Walasek recovered from his "injury" to ride in the Polish league the next day. Also not surprisingly, the reserves disappeared from the future plans of the SWC. But while the Polish fans celebrated victory after the meeting, most of the talk of the British fans centered on that laughable reserve rule.

QUALIFYING ROUNDS 1 & 2 (Winners to Events 1 & 2)

QUALIFYING ROUND 1 Mon 28.05 : Abensberg, Ger Att: 3,000 Referee : Thierry Bouin (France)
Finland 43 Germany 40 Latvia 37 Slovenia 29
Kauko Nieminen 0 3 0 2 3 8 Martin Smolinski 3 3 3 2 2 13 Leonid Paura 1 1 0 2 2 6 Matej Zagar 2 3 3 3 3 2 16
Juha Hautamaki 2 2 1 0 1 6 Christian Hefenbrock 3 2 1 2 1 9 Aleksandr Ivanov 0 ex 0 - 1 1 Jernej Kolenko 1 0 0 0 1 2
Joonas Kylmakorpi 3 2 2 3 3 13 Tobias Kroner ret 1 1 3 f,ex 6 Viatcheslav Gieruckijs 2 1 3 1 ex 7 Izak Santej 1 2 1 0 1 3 8
Kaj Laukkanen 3 3 2 3 3 14 Mathias Schultz 1 0 2 1 f,ex 4 Kjastas Puodzhuks 2 3 2 1 3 3 14 Maks Gregoric 0 0 0 - 0 0
Tero Aarnio ret 1 1 0 0 2 Thomas Stange ret 2 3 2 2 9 Maksim Bogdanovs 3 1 2 1 2 9 Denis Stojs 2 0 - 0 1 3
Team Manager: Yrjo Laukkanen Team Manager: Robert Barth Team Manager: Nikolai Kokins Team Manager: Franc Kalin

Heat Details FIN GER LAT SLN Heat Details FIN GER LAT SLN
1: Smolinski, Zagar, Paura, Nieminen 0 3 1 2 14: Smolinski, Bogdanovs, Hautamaki, Gregoric 23 24 21 15
2: Hefenbrock, Hautamaki, Kolenko, Ivanov 2 6 1 3 15: Zagar, Kylmakorpi, Hefenbrock, Paura 25 25 21 18
3: Kylmakorpi, Gieruckijs, Santej, Kroner ret 5 6 3 4 16: Zagar, Stange, Geruckij, Hautamaki 25 27 22 21
4: Laukkanen, Puodzhuks, Schultz, Gregoric 8 7 5 4 17: Kylmakorpi, Smolinski, Puodzhuks, Kolenko 28 29 23 21
5: Bogdanovs, Stojs, Stange ret, Aarnio ret 8 7 8 6 18: Laukkanen, Hefenbrock, Bogdanovs, Santej 31 31 24 21
6: Zagar, Kylmakorpi, Bogdanovs, Schultz 10 7 9 9 19: Kroner, Paura, Santej, Aarnio 31 34 26 22
7: Laukkanen, Stange, Paura, Kolenko 13 9 10 9 20: Puodzhuks, Nieminen, Schultz, Stojs 33 35 29 22
8: Smolinski, Santej, Aarnio, Ivanov ex 14 12 10 11 21: Puodzhuks, Zagar, Hefenbrock, Aarnio 33 36 32 24
9: Nieminen, Hefenbrock, Gieruckijs, Gregoric 17 14 11 11 22: Nieminen, Bogdanovs, Kolenko, Kroner f,ex 36 36 34 25
10: Puodzhuks, Hautamaki, Kroner, Stojs 19 15 14 11 23: Santej, Paura, Hautamaki, Schultz f,ex 37 36 36 28
11: Zagar, Laukkanen, Kroner, Ivanov 21 16 14 14 24: Kylmakorpi, Stange, Ivanov, Gregoric 40 38 37 28
12: Gieruckijs, Schultz, Aarnio, Kolenko 22 18 17 14 25: Laukkanen, Smolinski, Stojs, Gieruckijs ex 43 40 37 29
13: Stange, Puodzhuks, Santej, Nieminen 22 21 19 15

QUALIFYING ROUND 2 Sun 10.06 : Lonigo, Italy Att: 3,000 Referee: Pavel Vana (Cz Rep)
Russia 59 Czech Republic 46 Italy 31 Hungary 12
Denis Gizatullin 2 1 3 3 3 12 Ales Dryml 3 3 1 ret 3 10 Andrea Maida 1 ex-t 2 ret - 3 Sandor Tihanyi 0 0 0 1 0 1
Roman Povazhny 3 2 3 2 2 12 Lubos Tomicek 2 ef 2 1 2 7 Mattia Carpanese 1 2 2 3 3 1 12 Zsolt Bencze 0 0 - 1 0 0 1
Emil Sajfutdinov 3 3 3 3 3 15 Lukas Dryml 2 3 3 ef 2 3 13 Marco Gregnanin ret 0 3 2 1 1 7 Norbert Magosi 1 2 1 ef 0 4
Roman Ivanov 3 2 1 1 2 9 Zdenek Simota 2 1 2 2 2 9 Guglielmo Franchetti ex-t 1 1 3 2 1 8 Attila Stefani ex-t 0 1 1 - 2
Renat Gafurov 2 3 2 3 1 11 Josef Franc 3 2 0 - 2 7 Alessandro Milanese 0 1 0 - - 1 Joszef Tabaka 1 3 0 0 0 0 4

Heat Details RUS CZ IT HUN Heat Details RUS CZ IT HUN
1. A.Dryml, Gizatullin, Maida, Tihanyi 2 3 1 0 14. Povazhny, Maida, Stefani, Franc 33 28 12 9
2. Povazhny, Tomicek, Carpanese, Bencze 5 5 2 0 15. Sajfutdinov, Carpanese, A.Dryml, Tabaka 36 29 14 9
3. Sajfutdinov, L.Dryml, Magosi, Gregnanin ret 8 7 2 1 16. Franchetti, Povazhny, Tihanyi, L.Dryml ef 38 29 17 10
4. Ivanov, Simota, Franchetti ex-tapes, Stefani ex-tapes 11 9 2 1 17. Sajfutdinov, Simota, Bencze, Maida ret 41 31 17 11
5. Franc, Gafurov, Tabaka, Milanese 13 12 2 2 18. Carpanese, L.Dryml, Ivanov, Magosi ef 42 33 20 11
6. Sajfutdinov, Franc, Franchetti, Tihanyi 16 14 3 2 19. Gafurov, Gregnanin, Stefani, A.Dryml ret 45 33 22 12
7. A.Dryml, Ivanov, Milanese, Bencze 18 17 4 2 20. Gizatullin, Franchetti, Tomicek, Tabaka 48 34 24 12
8. Gafurov, Magosi, Tomicek ef, Maida ex-tapes 21 17 4 4 21. Carpanese, Simota, Gafurov, Tihanyi 49 36 27 12
9. L.Dryml, Carpanese, Gizatullin, Stefani 22 20 6 4 22. Gizatullin, Franc, Gregnanin, Bencze 52 38 28 12
10. Tabaka, Povazhny, Simota, Gregnanin 24 21 6 7 23. A.Dryml, Povazhny, Franchetti, Magosi 54 41 29 12
11. Gregnanin, Tomicek, Ivanov, Tihanyi 25 23 9 7 24. Sajfutdinov, Tomicek, Carpanese, Bencze 57 43 30 12
12. L.Dryml, Gafurov, Franchetti, Tabaka 27 26 10 7 25. L.Dryml, Ivanov, Gregnanin, Tabaka 59 46 31 12
13. Gizatullin, Simota, Magosi, Milanese 30 28 10 8

EVENTS 1 & 2 (Winners to Final ; 2nd & 3rd to Race-Off)

EVENT 1 Sat 14.07 : Vojens, Denmark Att: 10,482 Referee: Jim Lawrence (GB)
Denmark 60 Poland 44 Australia 39 Finland 11
Nicki Pedersen 2 3 2 3 3 13 Tomasz Gollob 1 2 1 2 0 6 Jason Crump 3 2 3 1 1 10 Juha Hautamaki 0 0 1 0 0 1
Niels K Iversen 3 2 1 3 2 11 Jaroslaw Hampel 0 1 - 2 3 6 Chris Holder 1 1 - 2 1 5 Joonas Kylmakorpi 2 0 2 0 2 6
Hans Andersen 3 1 3 3 2 12 Rune Holta 2 0 1 2 3 8 Rory Schlein 1 1 ex 1 1 4 Kauko Nieminen 0 0 0 0 1 1
Kenneth Bjerre 2 3 3 1 2 11 Grzegorz Walasek 3 3 2+2^ 1 2 2 13+2^ Ryan Sullivan 0 3 f 1 3 7 Kaj Laukkanen 1 2 0 0 0 3
Bjarne Pedersen 1 3 3 3 3 13 Krzysztof Kasprzak 2 2 2 3 0 9 Leigh Adams 3 1 3 2+2^ 1 1 11+2^ Tero Aarnio 0 0 0 0 0 0
Jesper B Jensen † - Damian Balinski † - Dave Watt † - Rene Lehtinen † -
Team Manager: Jan Staechmann Team Manager: Marek Cieslak Team Manager: Craig Boyce Team Manager: Yrjo Laukkanen

Heat Details DEN POL AUS FIN Heat Details DEN POL AUS FIN
1 Crump, N Pedersen, Gollob, Hautamaki 2 1 3 0 14 Crump, Kasprzak, Iversen, Laukkanen 32 24 22 8
2 Iversen, Kylmakorpi, Holder, Hampel 5 1 4 2 15 Andersen, Adams^, Gollob, Aarnio 35 25 26 8
3 Andersen, Holta, Schlein, Nieminen 8 3 5 2 16 Iversen, Holta, Adams, Hautamaki 38 27 27 8
4 Walasek, Bjerre, Laukkanen, Sullivan 10 6 5 3 17 Andersen, Walasek, Crump, Kylmakorpi 41 29 28 8
5 Adams, Kasprzak, B Pedersen, Aarnio 11 8 8 3 18 Kasprzak, Holder, Bjerre, Nieminen 42 32 30 8
6 Sullivan, Kasprzak, Andersen, Hautamaki 12 10 11 3 19 B Pedersen, Gollob, Schlein, Laukannen 45 34 31 8
7 Bjerre, Gollob, Adams, Kylmakorpi 15 12 12 3 20 N Pedersen, Hampel, Sullivan, Aarnio 48 36 32 8
8 B Pedersen, Crump, Hampel, Nieminen 18 13 14 3 21 B Pedersen, Walasek, Holder, Hautamaki 51 38 33 8
9 N Pedersen, Laukkanen, Holder, Holta 21 13 15 5 22 N Pedersen, Kylmakorpi, Schlein, Kasprzak 54 38 34 10
10 Walasek, Iversen, Schlein, Aarnio 23 16 16 5 23 Sullivan, Iversen, Nieminen, Gollob 56 38 37 11
11 Bjerre, Walasek^, Hautamaki, Schlein ex 26 20 16 6 24 Hampel, Andersen, Adams, Laukkanen 58 41 38 11
12 B Pedersen, Kylmakorpi, Holta, Sullivan f 29 21 16 8 25 Holta, Bjerre, Crump, Aarnio 60 44 39 11
13 Adams, N Pedersen, Walasek, Nieminen 31 22 19 8

EVENT 2 Mon 16.07 : Coventry, UK Att: 5,000 Referee: Istvan Darago (Hun)
Great Britain 60 Sweden 49 Russia 27 USA 20
Lee Richardson 0 3 3 2 3 11 Fredrik Lindgren 1 2 3 1 2 3 12 Denis Gizatullin 2 1 2 3 1 2 11 Greg Hancock 3 2 2+2^ 2 1 3 13+2^
Simon Stead 2 3 2 2 1 10 Peter Karlsson 3 1 0 3 2 9 Sergei Darkin 1 0 1 f,ns - 2 Charlie Venegas 0 0 0 - 0 0
Edward Kennett 3 2 1 3 1 10 Antonio Lindback 2 f - - - 2 Emil Sajfutdinov f,rm 2 1+1^ f,ex 2 5+1^ Chris Kerr 1 1 f,ex f,ex 0 0 2
Chris Harris 3 3 3 2 3 14 Mikael Max 2 1 2 2 1 8 Roman Ivanov 1 1 1 1 0 4 Tommy Hedden 0 0 - - 0 0
Scott Nicholls 3 3 3 3 3 15 Jonas Davidsson 2 3 3+3^ 3 2 13+3^ Renat Gafurov 1 ret 0 1 - 2 Billy Janniro 0 2 1 0 ex 0 3
Oliver Allen † - Magnus Karlsson † 0 2 2 Danil Ivanov † 1 1 2 (no reserve) -
Team Manager : Neil Middleditch Team Manager: Mats Olsson Team Manager: Oleg Kurguskin Team Manager: Richard Childs/Dave Joiner

Heat Details GB SWE RUS USA Heat Details GB SWE RUS USA
1 Hancock, Gizatullin, Lindgren, Richardson 0 1 2 3 14 Harris, Gizatullin, Janniro, P Karlsson 34 28 14 14
2 P Karlsson, Stead, Darkin, Venegas 2 4 3 3 15 Nicholls, Hancock, Darkin, M Karlsson 37 28 15 16
3 Kennett, Lindback, Kerr, Sajfutdinov f,rm
5 6 3 4 16 P Karlsson, Richardson, Gafurov, Kerr f,ex 39 31 16 16
4 Harris, Max, R Ivanov, Hedden 8 8 4 4 17 Gizatullin, Stead, Lindgren, Janniro 41 32 19 16
5 Nicholls, Davidsson, Gafurov, Janniro 11 10 5 4 18 Kennett, Max, D Ivanov, Darkin f,ns, Janniro ex
44 34 20 16
6 Richardson, Janniro, R Ivanov, Lindback f
14 10 6 6 19 Davidsson, Harris, Hancock, Sajfutdinov f,ex
46 37 20 17
7 Stead, Hancock, Max, Gafurov ret 17 11 6 8 20 Nicholls, Lindgren, R Ivanov, Kerr 49 39 21 17
8 Davidsson, Kennett, Gizatullin, Venegas 19 14 7 8 21 Richardson, Davidsson, Gizatullin, Hedden 52 41 22 17
9 Harris, Lindgren, Kerr, Darkin 22 16 7 9 22 Lindgren, Sajfutdinov, Stead, Janniro 53 44 24 17
10 Nicholls, Sajfutdinov, P Karlsson, Hedden 25 17 9 9 23 Hancock, P Karlsson, Kennett, R Ivanov 54 46 24 20
11 Richardson, Max, Sajfutdinov^, Venegas 28 19 11 9 24 Harris, M Karlsson, D Ivanov, Venegas 57 48 25 20
12 Davidsson^, Stead, R Ivanov, Kerr f,ex
30 25 12 9 25 Nicholls, Gizatullin, Max, Kerr 60 49 27 20
13 Lindgren, Hancock^, Kennett, Gafurov 31 28 12 13

RACE-OFF (1st & 2nd to Final)
Thu 19.07 : Leszno, Poland Att: 7,000
Australia 53 Poland 52 Sweden 40 Russia 7
Ryan Sullivan 3 1 2 3 3 12 Tomasz Gollob 1 2 3 3 2 11 Jonas Davidsson 2 2 1 2 1 1 9 Denis Gizatullin 0 0 0 ret ret 0
Chris Holder 2 3 1 1 1 8 Damian Balinski 3 2 2 2 1 10 Andreas Jonsson 0 1 1 1 - 3 Danil Ivanov 1 0 0 0 1 2
Leigh Adams 3 3 1 3 3 13 Jaroslaw Hampel 2 1 3 3 3 12 Mikael Max 0 3 2 0 0 5 Emil Sajfutdinov 1 0 0 0 0 1
Rory Schlein 1 1 1 1 2 6 Grzegorz Walasek 0 2 3 2 2 9 Fredrik Lindgren 2 3 2 2+2^ 2 11+2^ Roman Ivanov 3 0 0 1 0+0^ 4+0^
Jason Crump 3 2 3 3 3 14 Krzysztof Kasprzak 1 1 3 2 3 10 Peter Karlsson 2 3 2 1 2 10 Renat Gafurov 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dave Watt † - Rune Holta † - Sebastian Alden † - (no reserve) -
Team Manager: Craig Boyce Team Manager: Marek Cieslak Team Manager: Mats Olsson Team Manager: Oleg Kurguskin

Heat Details AUS POL SWE RUS Heat Details AUS POL SWE RUS
1 Sullivan, Davidsson, Gollob, Gizatullin 3 1 2 0 14 Crump, Balinski, Davidsson, R Ivanov 28 26 25 5
2 Balinski, Holder, D Ivanov, Jonsson 5 4 2 1 15 Hampel, Sullivan, Jonsson, Gafurov 30 29 26 5
3 Adams, Hampel, Sajfutdinov, Max 8 6 2 2 16 Adams, Balinski, Karlsson, Gizatullin ret 33 31 27 5
4 R Ivanov, Lindgren, Schlein, Walasek 9 6 4 5 17 Hampel, Davidsson, Schlein, D Ivanov 34 34 29 5
5 Crump, Karlsson, Kasprzak, Gafurov 12 7 6 5 18 Crump, Walasek, Jonsson, Sajfutdinov 37 36 30 5
6 Lindgren, Crump, Hampel, Gizatullin 14 8 9 5 19 Sullivan, Kasprzak, R Ivanov, Max 40 38 30 6
7 Karlsson, Walasek, Sullivan, D Ivanov 15 10 12 5 20 Gollob, Lindgren^, Holder, Gafurov 41 41 34 6
8 Holder, Davidsson, Kasprzak, Sajfutdinov 18 11 14 5 21 Kasprzak, Schlein, Davidsson, Gizatullin ret 43 44 35 6
9 Adams, Gollob, Jonsson, R Ivanov 21 13 15 5 22 Crump, Gollob, D Ivanov, Max 46 46 35 7
10 Max, Balinski, Schlein, Gafurov 22 15 18 5 23 Sullivan, Lindgren, Balinski, Sajfutdinov 49 47 37 7
11 Walasek, Max, Holder, Gizatullin 23 18 20 5 24 Hampel, Karlsson, Holder, R Ivanov^
50 50 39 7
12 Kasprzak, Lindgren, Adams, D Ivanov 24 21 22 5 25 Adams, Walasek, Davidsson, Gafurov 53 52 40 7
13 Gollob, Karlsson, Schlein, Sajfutdinov 25 24 24 5

FINAL
Sat 21.07 : Leszno, Poland Att: 21,000 Referee: Tony Steele (GB)
Poland 55 Denmark 52 Australia 29 Great Britain 15
Krzysztof Kasprzak 3 3 2 3 3 14 Hans Andersen 2 2 2 3 1 10 Ryan Sullivan 1 1 1 1 3 7 Lee Richardson 0 1 ret 1 2 4
Jaroslaw Hampel 3 3 3 2 2 13 Kenneth Bjerre 1 2 3 3 1 10 Jason Crump 2 ex-t 3 3 1 9 Simon Stead 0 0 1 - 0 1
Tomasz Gollob 3 3 3 0 3 12 Niels K Iversen 2 3 2 1 1 9 Chris Holder 1 2 0 - - 3 Edward Kennett 0 0 0 - - 0
Rune Holta 3 2 2 2 3 12 Nicki Pedersen 2 3 2 3 2 12 Leigh Adams 1 2 1 1 0 5 Chris Harris 0 0 1 2 0 3
Grzegorz Walasek 0 0 - - - 0 Bjarne Pedersen 2 1 3 2 3 11 Dave Watt 3 1 0 0 0 4 Scott Nicholls 1 1 1 1+1^ 0 2 6+1^
Damian Balinski † f,ex 2 2 4 Jesper B Jensen † - Rory Schlein † 0 1 1 Oliver Allen † 0 ret 0
Team Manager: Marek Cieslak Team Manager: Jan Staechmann Team Manager: Craig Boyce Team Manager: Neil Middleditch

Heat Details POL DEN AUS GB Heat Details POL DEN AUS GB
1 Kasprzak, Andersen, Sullivan, Richardson 3 2 1 0 14 Crump, Andersen, Harris, Balinski f,ex 31 29 19 5
2 Hampel, Crump, Bjerre, Stead 6 3 3 0 15 Bjerre, Kasprzak, Nicholls, Holder 33 32 19 6
3 Gollob, Iversen, Holder, Kennett 9 5 4 0 16 Crump, B Pedersen, Richardson, Gollob 33 34 22 7
4 Holta, N Pedersen, Adams, Harris
12 7 5 0 17 Andersen, Holta, Nicholls^, Schlein 35 37 22 9
5 Watt, B Pedersen, Nicholls, Walasek 12 9 8 1 18 Bjerre, Balinski, Adams, Allen 37 40 23 9
6 N Pedersen, Holder, Richardson, Walasek 12 12 10 2 19 Kasprzak, Harris, Iversen, Watt
40 41 23 11
7 Kasprzak, Adams, B Pedersen, Stead 15 13 12 2 20 N Pedersen, Hampel, Sullivan, Nicholls 42 44 24 11
8 Hampel, Andersen, Watt, Kennett 18 15 13 2 21 Holta, Richardson, Bjerre, Watt 45 45 24 13
9 Gollob, Bjerre, Sullivan, Harris 21 17 14 2 22 Sullivan, Balinski, Iversen, Stead 47 46 27 13
10 Iversen, Holta, Nicholls, Crump ex-tapes 23 20 14 3 23 Kasprzak, N Pedersen, Crump, Allen ret 50 48 28 13
11 Hampel, Iversen, Adams, Richardson ret
26 22 15 3 24 B Pedersen, Hampel, Schlein, Harris 52 51 29 13
12 Gollob, N Pedersen, Stead, Watt
29 24 15 4 25 Gollob, Nicholls, Andersen, Adams 55 52 29 15
13 B Pedersen, Holta, Sullivan, Kennett 31 27 16 4

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Lonigo Vojens & Coventry Leszno
† reserve ; ^ extra "joker" points
Contributors : Tom Marriott, Roger Stevens, Jonas Holmqvist

© Brian Collins