Kasprzak beats GP nightmare surface (From Bournemouth Echo)

Kasprzak beats GP nightmare surface

7:00am Monday 26th May 2008 in

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PIRATES team manager Neil Middleditch admitted he had his heart in his mouth every time Krzysztof Kasprzak took to the track in the Swedish Grand Prix.

The 416-metre circuit in the Ullevi Stadium at Gothenburg had a nightmare surface that caused almost half the field to crash.

There were deep ruts all over the temporary track that clearly became dangerous for the riders and caused Niels-Kristian Iversen, Tomasz Gollob and Greg Hancock to suffer particularly bad falls.

Iversen, who sustained a suspected dislocated shoulder, was forced out of the meeting after only two rides.

The track may also have played a part in Scott Nicholl's costly spill with Billy Forsberg in heat 16 and Gollob's controversial collision with Andreas Jonsson three races later.

Jonsson, who hit Gollob from behind at the end of one of the straights as the Pole was turning left into the corner, took no further part in the meeting despite qualifying for the semi-finals.

After hitting the safety fence hard, he sustained suspected lower back muscle damage.

At times late on in the meeting, the racing was a lottery as the material used on the track failed to bind.

Kasprzak, however, was able to avoid the ruts and, fortunately for injury-hit Poole Castle Cover Pirates, came out of the meeting unscathed, albeit with only five points.

Middleditch, in Sweden to help Brit Scott Nicholls on a one-off basis, said: "I must admit my heart was in my mouth every time Krzysztof took to the track because it was catching so many riders out."

"With the luck Poole have been having this year it makes you feel nervous when conditions are like they were."

Middleditch has seen Pirates' bid to lift the Elite League title seriously hampered by injuries to more than half his side in the opening three months of the campaign.

Zbigniew Suchecki could be out for the rest of the season with a broken femur and Karol Zabik departed the club after wrist injuries played havoc with his form.

Bjarne Pedersen is currently sidelined with a broken hand, while Adam Skornicki continues to ride through the pain barrier with a heavily strapped broken wrist.

Kasprzak's stop-start campaign continued as he failed to score from his first three rides in Gothenburg.

But he showed what he could do late on by leading heat 14 before finishing second behind Greg Hancock.

Then he comprehensively beat reigning world champion and runaway current GP leader Nicki Pedersen in race 18.

Kasprzak, who had scored 16 paid 17 for Poole in their 51-39 victory at Swindon in his previous meeting, said: "I chose the wrong engines again for my first three rides and that cost me many points."

The Pole, who had originally chosen the wrong bike in the European GP at Leszno where he also struggled, added: "It was very hard out there as the track was very difficult to ride, with many holes appearing that you had to avoid.

"I'm very disappointed with my early rides, but it was nice to finish with five points.

"But I really need more as I want to stay in the GP."

Kasprzak is equal 14th in the series with 14 points and is 14 adrift of a re-qualification place for next year's event.

Bjarne Pedersen, who has missed the last two rounds through injury, is 19th - a mighty 24 points adrift of an automatic 2009 spot.

He should return for the next round in Copenhagen on June 14.