Aussie icon Jason Doyle insists only the final standings count as he chases down Patryk Dudek at the Kjærgaard Danish SGP in Horsens on Saturday.
Aussie icon Jason Doyle says he’s paying little attention to the current FIM Speedway World Championship standings, insisting “you have to be top at the end” ahead of the Kjærgaard Danish SGP in Horsens on Saturday.
The Newcastle-born rider, who has 50 points, is just one behind leader Patryk Dudek in second going into round five of 12. But with Slovak star Martin Vaculik (44), Sweden’s Fredrik Lindgren (43) and Polish racer Maciej Janowski (41) in hot pursuit, Doyle is taking nothing for granted.
Having led the standings ahead of the penultimate round in Torun last year, where his title challenge was cruelly ended by elbow, shoulder and lung damage, JD knows better than most that mid-season standings count for little.
Doyle, who heads to Horsens with a foot injury sustained in Torun last Sunday, said: “It doesn’t really bother me, what’s happening at the moment.
“As long as I’m near the top and scoring good points, it doesn’t matter if you’re top of the World Championship, even going into the last round – you have to be top at the end.
“I just think back to what happened in Torun last year. I went there with a five-point lead and it means nothing when it comes to lifting the crown in Melbourne.”
The man who did claim the crown in Melbourne, four-time world champion Greg Hancock, is back on form as he overcomes the equipment issues which blighted his start to the season.
He said: “It’s really going from strength to strength right now. I’m so happy with the equipment and when it’s working like this, it feels great.
“I’m in a much better place. We’ve been testing and playing around with some stuff over the last few weeks and now I feel like I’m right back in the hunt for the World Championship again.
“I really like the track in Horsens. Last year I had a pretty good result there with 14 points and I just made a big mistake in the semi-final. I hit a groove and almost wiped myself out.
“That goes to show it’s not over until it’s over, but I was really on the pace and had things working great. I like the place and I am heading into it with a lot of confidence.”
One man determined to make his mark in Horsens is wild card Kenneth Bjerre. The former world No.7 has always been very vocal about his ambition to become world champion.
He fell short of qualifying for this season’s GP Challenge after losing out in a run-off at the qualifying semi-final in Olching, Germany on June 15. But Bjerre refuses to give up on his dream of one day reaching the top of the sport.
The Esbjerg-born ace said: “I think every rider in the top 50 or 100 in speedway has that dream. I’m just not scared to talk about it.
“It’s not easy to get it done. The world champion is the best in the world that year. It’s something special and it is hard work.
“All the top riders in the world have the talent to ride the bike. It’s just about finding the consistency to win. I still have the dream and that’s what motivates me to keep riding.
“But you have to be in the championship to be able to do it. Any top rider who has a spot-on year without injuries can do it. I can do it as well.
“It’s not just about having that one good year, though, you need to be consistent and be able to have good meetings everywhere you ride. I know what I can do. I just need to get back in there.”
KJÆRGAARD DANISH SGP LINE-UP (in ranking order with rider numbers): 45 Greg Hancock, 108 Tai Woffinden, 95 Bartosz Zmarzlik, 23 Chris Holder, 69 Jason Doyle, 777 Piotr Pawlicki, 85 Antonio Lindback, 88 Niels-Kristian Iversen, 55 Matej Zagar, 71 Maciej Janowski, 66 Fredrik Lindgren, 25 Peter Kildemand (substitute for 12 Nicki Pedersen), 692 Patryk Dudek, 54 Martin Vaculik, 89 Emil Sayfutdinov, 16 Kenneth Bjerre, 17 Andreas Lyager Hansen, 18 Frederik Jakobsen.
FIM SPEEDWAY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS: 1 Patryk Dudek 51, 2 Jason Doyle 50, 3 Martin Vaculik 44, 4 Fredrik Lindgren 43, 5 Maciej Janowski 41, 6 Piotr Pawlicki 39, 7 Greg Hancock 38, 8 Tai Woffinden 37, 9 Emil Sayfutdinov 33, 10 Bartosz Zmarzlik 32, 11 Niels-Kristian Iversen 28, 12 Chris Holder 27, 13 Matej Zagar 25, 14 Antonio Lindback 21, 15 Vaclav Milik 13, 16 Peter Kildemand 9, 17 Nicki Pedersen 8, 18 Maksims Bogdanovs 8, 19 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 3, 20 Nick Skorja 1.