1
NEWS
Lindback ends eight-year wait
Swede Antonio Lindback has won his first world speedway GP in Italy on August 11, with Aussie duo Jason Crump ad Chris Holder eliminated in the semi finalsRio de Janeiro-born Swedish international Antonio Lindback triumphed in the Italian Speedway Grand Prix at Terenzano on August 12, and admitted it meant “absolutely everything”.
Lindback, 27, made his world championship debut in Sweden on August 21, 2004. Despite scoring 2pts, he was already being billed as a future world champion and GP winner.
He has been battling to live up to those perilously high expectations since then, and delivered his maiden SGP gold medal by leading home Emil Sayfutdinov and world champion Greg Hancock in the final.
Australians Jason Crump and Chris Holder both fell at the semi-final stage but remain in the championship hunt – Crump third on 97ptsd and Holder fourth on 94pts. Hancock (111) leads from Pedersen (101) with four rounds still remaining.
“When I came into this meeting, I was more relaxed than normal. I just went out there and had big fun. I wanted to be myself and not think about scores and taking three points, three points,” said Lindback.
“I’ve listened a little bit too much to everybody; people say ‘you must score, you must do well.’ I didn’t listen to people. I just went out there, had a good time, I was relaxed, I listened to music and I was myself. It worked and I’m going to keep doing that.
“Finally I have taken that gold. I proved to myself that I am one of the guys who should be in the Grand Prix and I can win. That means absolutely everything. I’m just so happy.”
Lindback had a big slice of fortune in the final as the race was restarted when Slovak Martin Vaculik had a coming together with Sayfutdinov on turn one and was thrown over his handlebars.
The Slovak was excluded from the restart and Lindback, who missed the gate first time around, took full advantage of his second bite at the cherry.
He said: “That helped me. In the first start I was lifting a little bit and in the second one, I went there to make it. I didn’t have anything to lose. I just had everything to win. I went for it and I did it.”
Lindback’s triumph leaves him ninth in the world title on 62pts.
Next up for the SGP elite is world speedway’s flagship event – the British Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff on August 25. Hancock won the meeting in 2011, while Crump and Holder are also past winners.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1 Greg Hancock 111, 2 Nicki Pedersen 101, 3 Jason Crump 97, 4 Chris Holder 94, 5 Emil Sayfutdinov 84, 6 Tomasz Gollob 83, 7 Fredrik Lindgren 77, 8 Andreas Jonsson 70, 9 Antonio Lindback 62, 10 Jaroslaw Hampel 46, 11 Chris Harris 46, 12 Peter Ljung 44, 13 Hans Andersen 43, 14 Martin Vaculik 42, 15 Kenneth Bjerre 41, 16 Bjarne Pedersen 41, 17 Bartosz Zmarzlik 13, 18 Jurica Pavlic 12, 19 Tomas H Jonasson 11, 20 Josef Franc 9, 21 Przemyslaw Pawlicki 7, 22 Michael Jepsen Jensen 7, 23 Mikkel B Jensen 4, 24 Nicolas Covatti 3, 25 Peter Kildemand 2, 26 Jason Bunyan 1.TERENZANO SCORES
1 Antonio Lindback 16, 2 Emil Sayfutdinov 19, 3 Greg Hancock 14, 4 Martin Vaculik 14, 5 Jason Crump 10, 6 Chris Holder 10, 7 Nicki Pedersen 10, 8 Andreas Jonsson 8, 9 Peter Ljung 8, 10 Chris Harris 8, 11 Kenneth Bjerre 6, 12 Tomasz Gollob 6, 13 Fredrik Lindgren 5, 14 Hans Andersen 4, 15 Nicolas Covatti 3, 16 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 17 Michele Paco Castagna DNR, 18 Nicolas Vincentin DNR.
1 Antonio Lindback 16, 2 Emil Sayfutdinov 19, 3 Greg Hancock 14, 4 Martin Vaculik 14, 5 Jason Crump 10, 6 Chris Holder 10, 7 Nicki Pedersen 10, 8 Andreas Jonsson 8, 9 Peter Ljung 8, 10 Chris Harris 8, 11 Kenneth Bjerre 6, 12 Tomasz Gollob 6, 13 Fredrik Lindgren 5, 14 Hans Andersen 4, 15 Nicolas Covatti 3, 16 Bjarne Pedersen 3, 17 Michele Paco Castagna DNR, 18 Nicolas Vincentin DNR.
Read the latest Bikesales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the Bikesales Network's mobile site. Or download the all-new App.
Tags
Share this article
Written byBikesales Staff
See all articlesStay up to dateBecome a bikesales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Subscribe todayDisclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Contact
Advertise with us
Local marketplaces
International marketplaces
Consent
Download the bikesales app
