Crump second in Swedish GP

Australia's Jason Crump has finished second in the Swedish GP at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, but he has broken bones in his right hand to show for his efforts.

Russian rookie sensation Emil Sayfutdinov won the final, his second in three rounds, ahead of Crump, local rider Antonio Lindback and reigning world champion Nicki Pedersen.

A dry, slick surface rutted up badly as the night wore on, and conditions became increasingly more challenging. Fortune favoured the brave, and there were few braver than Sayfutdinov and Lindback, who chanced their arm to maximum effect.

The final saw the young guns up against Pedersen and Crump, two riders with five world titles between them, and was shaping up as a memorable shootout.

Some spectacular jousting saw Pedersen, Sayfutdinov (both had qualified with 11pts ) and Lindback trade places at the front until Pedersen drove up the inside of leader Sayfutdinov going into lap three and the Russian slid off after the pair made contact.

Crump, seemingly out of contention at the back, did well to drop his machine, but couldn't avoid colliding heavily with the Russian's bike. That's when the Aussie two-time world champion hurt his right hand, and also suffered ligament damage.

"I was forced to take evasive action by laying my bike down in the final to avoid Sayfutdinov and I seem to have come off the worst," said Crump. "The specialist has done a good job and feels that I will be able to ride after a week of rest, so I should be riding in Sweden next week, but I will definitely be riding at the next Grand Prix in Denmark.

"Thanks to the many fans and sponsors who have contacted us to see if I'm okay, it is really appreciated."

An incensed Pedersen was excluded, and in the rerun Crump, who was walking gingerly after the crash, looked to have taken command. But Sayfutdinov, who possessed tremendous speed throughout, came storming up the inside of Lindback and then passed Crump as they went into the final lap to celebrate another stunning victory for the 19-year-old twice junior world speedway champion.

Crump leads the title race on 52pts, ahead of Sayfutdinov (46), while Andreas Jonsson, who gleaned 12pts from the night after running a third in the first semi-final, is now third overall on 39.

Fredrik Lindgren, who top scored at Gothenburg last year, also rode the ruts well, but reared violently in the first semi-final as he battled behind fellow countrymen Lindback and Jonsson and hit the solid back-straight fence back first.

Crump, who was at the back at the time, grabbed his reprieve with both hands to finish second behind Lindback in the rerun, and eliminate Jonsson, his main challenger going into the meeting.

Rune Holta, the winner of last year's Swedish Grand Prix, also looked a good bet for the final. He had thrillingly caught Greg Hancock on the line for second place behind Kenneth Bjerre in heat 14 and finished on 10pts.

But though he was briefly second behind Sayfutdinov in the second semi-final, Pedersen muscled past at the end of the first lap to end his hopes.

Bjerre took the last semi-final spot on eight points when Tomasz Gollob and Sebastian Ulamek finished behind Sayfutdinov in the final qualifying race. Hans Andersen had also gone into heat 20 with a chance of a semi-final place, but the Dane wiped out Ulamek when he picked up some unexpected grip and was excluded.

Hancock, who was joint third overall with Sayfutdinov at the start of the night, also saw his meeting sabotaged by misfortune.

The luckless American hit the deck in heat six after locating a hole on the third and fourth turns, and then retired with a puncture when leading heat 18 when a race win would have taken him into the semi-finals. The American had won heat 10 after a real scrap with Lindgren.

It was a wretched night for Crump's compatriot Leigh Adams, who could only score 3pts in the heats and didn't progress to the semi-finals.

Click here to see the first attempt at the final, and click here to see the rerun.

For full results and standings, click here.