Krzysztof Kasprzak has defeated Australian Darcy Ward by the barest of margins to win the second round of the Speedway Grand Prix World Championship at Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Held in inclement conditions, the final was a thrilling affair with Ward, Kasprzak and Jarek Hampel switching the lead at will.
Ward held the advantage heading into the final lap and held that through to the final corner when Kasprzak swept underneath him to take his first ever Grand Prix win.
Hampel was third with American Greg Hancock fourth.
Post-race, Ward admitted that he was lucky to be taking part at all.
The knee injury suffered in New Zealand three weeks ago has kept him on the sidelines for his European league racing and he didn’t take part in Friday’s practice session.
“I think I’m lucky I was in Bydgoszcz given that I couldn’t even put my foot down. There was some good racing and it was hard work,” Queensland Ward said.
“I had to keep battling because everyone was so quick.
“My knee is definitely pretty bad at the moment. I got some good points and I didn’t realise how many I got.”
Former World Champion Chris Holder ended the meeting fifth on points after making the semi-finals. He bowed out behind Hancock and
Ward, meantime Troy Batchelor took a heat win in his march to four points.
Kasprzak leads the Championship by 11 points over Nicki Pedersen, Holder’s locked into equal third with three other riders on 22 points, with Ward seventh one point behind that and Fredrik Lindgren rounding out the top eight.
See below video of the European Speedway Grand Prix final
http://youtu.be/b4hc4hJW4hw
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