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Australian Jason Crump has some hard work ahead of him as he heads to Gothenburg in Sweden for the second round of the World Speedway Championship Grand Prix Series on Saturday evening, May 14.
 
After coming away from the first round in Poland with just five points, Crump needs to produce the blistering form that has kept him ranked as one of the top-three riders in the world for a record-breaking 10 years.
 
Crump was eager to put his first Grand Prix result behind him and concentrate on a better showing at Gothenburg.
 
“Poland was not one of my best nights.” said the 35 year old Aussie. “I made mistakes that cost me valuable points and that has made the chase ahead of me more difficult.  But there is still a long way to go in the 11-round series, so I have time to get back to the pointy end of the field.”
 
“It won’t be from lack of trying I can assure you of that.  I am going to Sweden totally focused and concentrating on the job ahead of me and I will be giving it my best.”

Outgoing World Speedway champion Australian Jason Crump is determined to round out a challenging 2010 season on a high and grab an extra place on the standings at the same time at this weekend’s Polish GP in Bydgoszcz. The event, to be held at Polonia Stadium, has completely sold out, and Crump is hoping that the roar from the grandstand will spur him on to a solid result after a tough outing in Italy where he was only able to score seven points.

World Speedway champion in 2004, 2006 and 2009, Crump is unable to bridge the points gap to first, but he can climb from third to second on the standings if he scores two or more points than rival rider Jaroslaw Hampel.

“This is one of the most emotional team victories for me,” said Crump. “I’ve been leading this team the entire season and I kind of feel like the riders are my boys. I’m very pleased and proud of what they have achieved, this is going to be one of the highlights in Speedway for me.”

Following the Polish GP Crump is scheduled for surgery to repair nerve damage to his left arm which he injured in the closing stages of his 2009 championship season.

“I haven’t won at Bydgoszcz since 2001 so it would be a good way to round out the year if I was able to win this weekend,” continued Crump. The championship has been decided but second is still very much up for grabs. For me it is all or nothing, I will focus on the GP win and if I can pull it off then that would be a good effort to finish runner-up in a season where I didn’t think I really had a chance. I’m booked in for more surgery after the weekend which will hopefully have me back on track and fighting fit for 2011.”

Crump will make race his 115th Grand Prix in Poland and is looking to add to his tally of 22 wins, the most in World Speedway competition.

Australia’s three-time Speedway World Champion Jason Crump has recovered well from an operation to repair damage to his upper arm, finishing second at the Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix in Malilla yesterday.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

Despite undergoing the operation only three weeks ago, Crump returned to the track last Tuesday and spearheaded Swedish Elite League team Vetlanda to a 49-46 victory over Vargarna.

Crump, who has maintained impressive form following his surgery, took 15 championship points from today’s event and further reduced the point gap to world championship rival Jaroslaw Hampel in second.

“I had a pretty good day and most importantly I felt quite comfortable,” Crump stated. “Having only had the operation three weeks ago I was a little unsure of how strong I would be so it was very pleasing to come away scoring points in all but one race. In the final Rune checked out and I battled with Thomsz for second throughout the race before finally pulling away from him on the last lap.”

After yesterday’s event, he Australian headed straight to Poland for today’s Polish League quarter final where he will line up for Wroclaw when they take on Torun.

Top-Ten Speedway World Championship Standings
1. Tomasz Gollob, 107pts
2. Jaroslaw Hampel, 102pts
3. Jason Crump, 90pts
4. Rune Holta, 76pts
5. Kenneth Bjerre, 75pts
6. Chris Holder, 66pts
7. Hans Andersen, 61pts
8. Andreas Jonsson, 55pts
9. Fredrik Lindgren, 54pts
10.Greg Hancock, 53pts

Australia’s three-time World Speedway Champion, Jason Crump has announced from his English base today that he has regrettably withdrawn himself from Australia’s 2010 Speedway World Cup team.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

Despite being comfortable in the chase for the 2010 Speedway Grand Prix title, the current World No 1 has confirmed that he will undergo further surgery on his left arm in an attempt to regain strength and movement.

Crump, who has been a member of the Australian team since its inception in 2001 said he was bitterly disappointed to have to withdraw but conceded that at this point in time his well being must take priority.

“It was a tough call for me to make as I have been in the team every year since it started and representing my country means a lot to me,” Crump explained. “On top of that, with Leigh retiring from international competition, the last thing I wanted to do was destabilize the team, but it was imperative that we try to get this arm right.

“The reality is that my arm should have been a little further along in its recovery process by now. My preference was to wait until the end of the season but my doctors would prefer to check and see if there is an issue sooner rather than later.”

“The support from the Australian team and our team manager Craig Boyce has been humbling. I really hope they can go one better than we did last year and bring the cup home for Australia.”

Crump suffered severe damage to his bicep in a racing incident in September 2009 and despite the injury, claimed his third world title a month later.

Although having endured a number of surgeries and skin grafts in the later part of 2009 the injury still left Crump in doubt of making the 2010 season opening European Speedway Grand Prix in April.

The Australian’s never-say-die attitude has helped him carry the injury through this season to date scoring a win at the opening round and positioning himself in the title chase as the series enters the second half.

Crump is aiming to be back on the grid to continue his world title defense at the Scandinavian Speedway Grand Prix on Saturday August 18.

Three-time FIM Speedway Grand Prix world champion Jason Crump has made a triumphant return to the podium, finishing second at the FIM British Speedway Grand Prix in Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on Saturday. The Australian scored more heat wins than any other rider, winning four out of his six races and took second place in his semi-final race. While the Cardiff track once again proved to be a happy hunting ground for Crump, he was unable to find a way past fellow Australian Chris Holder in the final.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

Acknowledging he felt more comfortable on the bike tonight Crump said he was very happy with the way he raced.
“I’m starting to get a bit better and starting to race a bit harder and I’m back in the top three now which is pretty cool,” said Crump. “Cardiff is a special place for me, it is my home race and I have won here five times before. We have our summer break now so I will use this time to continue to get better and hopefully come back and close Jarek (Hampel) and Tomasz (Gollob) down at the top,” he stated.

Crump accumulated 17 championship points at tonight’s event and now sits third in the standings on 75 points.

The next event on the Speedway Grand Prix calendar is the FIM Scandinavian Grand Prix, which will be held on August 14 at Sweden’s Malilla Stadium.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Championship top-10 standings after Round 6 of  11
1. Jaroslaw Hampel, 92pts
2. Tomasz Gollob, 90pts
3. Jason Crump, 75pts
4. Kenneth Bjerre, 66pts
5. Chris Holder, 60pts
6. Rune Holta, 56pts
7. Hans Andersen, 56pts
8. Nicki Pedersen, 51pts
9. Andreas Jonsson, 48pts
10. Freddie Lindgren, 43pts

Defending FIM Speedway World Championship title holder Jason Crump is chasing a top result at this weekend’s 10th anniversary of the British Speedway Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, the event he has enjoyed the most success at in his 14 years as a professional rider. The event is the sixth round on the calendar and is set to be significant in deciding the 2010 championship.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

The Australian won the event in 2009 en route to his third world title, adding to four previous victories, the first of which was recorded in 1996. He also holds the GP track record at Millennium Stadium, posting a 55.80 effort in season 2008.

Crump’s form in local league races has wavered. Following the Torun GP he has had a solid showing for Elit Vetlanda against Indianerna, getting better starts and helping his team to 30-plus point wins on two occasions.

He contributed a valuable 10 points in Wroclaw’s most recent victory in the Polish league also.

This past weekend’s Swedish showing against Västervik was a tough affair for the Aussie, only scoring five points after slow starts to each heat and problems with his race bike.

Crump was eager to put the mid-week results behind him and concentrate on a better showing at Millennium Stadium.

“We’ve been working hard between the GPs and have had some varied results in the league races,” said Crump. “I’ve been feeling much better on the bike and am really working on being back close to my best for Cardiff. A few slow starts in this week’s league races cost me a good result, coupled with some bike problems. This isn’t too concerning, we’ve identified the issues to work on and I’m looking forward to another competitive outing at a GP where I’ve been successful in the past.”

The Speedway World Championship consists of 11 point-scoring rounds. Crump heads into the British GP fourth on the standings with 58 points, just a single point shy of Kenneth Bjerre in third. Tomasz Gollob heads the series on 78 points.

Defending FIM Speedway Grand Prix world champion, Australia’s Jason Crump, took another step in his fight back from a form slump this week, playing a lead role in his Swedish league team’s solid win ahead of the Torun Grand Prix.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

The 35-year-old Great Britain-based rider has weathered a difficult start to his 2010 campaign, and is hoping that recent results – including his team’s demolition of Lejonen on Tuesday – are an indication of improvement.

Elit Vetlanda broke Lejonen’s home track stranglehold, becoming the first team to beat them at their Gislaved base since 2004. In addition, Crump was the top scorer in his Polish league match for Wroclaw earlier this month.

The three-time world champion, who won the opening Grand Prix of Europe, slid down the standings after a pair of uncharacteristic showings at the Swedish and Czech GP events.

Crump is confident of continued improvement at this weekend’s fifth world championship meeting of the year, the FIM Speedway Grand Prix of Torun at Motoarena Torun in Poland.

“The league races have helped me to work on a few areas, the more time on the bike I get the more confident I become,” said Crump. “The Polish GP will be challenging, there are a number of form riders that will be tough to beat for a spot in the final. It would be good to start putting the pressure back on the top three but it will come down to how I feel on the night, I’m determined to put everything in place properly rather than risking another injury.”

Crump last won the Polish GP in 2001 and is hoping for a good result this weekend in order to climb from fourth on the standings on 43 points. He remains the most successful rider in the current field with 22 victories next to his name, a record which began with his first win in 1996.

Defending world champion Jason Crump has maintained his fourth position in the FIM Speedway World Championship standings, finishing seventh at the FIM Dansk Metal Danish Speedway Grand Prix at Copenhagen’s Paken Stadium today.

Photo Credit: Jarek Pabijan

Recognizing he has struggled with form at the previous two events, Crump has spent the past two weeks working hard to get back to his best, and he took 10 valuable World Championship points from today’s event. The Australian was much happier with his heat race results, where he scored points in all but one of the races, and won his last two contests to progress to the semi-final. Crump missed a spot in the final finishing third in his semi-final race but said he felt he had turned the corner and was on the right track.

“I did much better tonight,” Crump explained. “Compared to the past few weeks I definitely feel like I rode a lot better. It is a long season, we are not even at the halfway point yet so I just have to keep chipping away at it. I know I am heading in the right direction, we made some small steps forward and I am much happier with my performance.”

Crump heads straight back to Poland for tomorrow’s Polish League match where he will line up for Wroclaw. Racing also resume this week for Crump’s Swedish League team, Elit Vetlanda, who have had a fortnight mid season break.

“I have a lot of races between now and the next Grand Prix which is invaluable. The aim is to keep improving and be back on the Grand Prix podium at Torun (Poland) in two weeks time,” Crump concluded.

The FIM Dansk Metal Swedish Grand Prix was won by Jaroslaw Hampel who was joined on the podium by Thomas Gollob and Chris Harris.

World Championship Standings (after four rounds):
1. Jaroslaw Hampel, 60pts
2. Kenneth Bjerre, 55pts,
3. Tomasz Gollob, 54pts
4. Jason Crump, 43pts
5. Andreas Jonsson, 43pts
6. Hans Andersen 37pts
7. Nicki Pedersen, 36pts
8. Chris Holder, 35pts
9. Magnus Zetterstrom, 31pts
10. Chris Harris, 31pts

A difficult night of racing at the third round of the FIM World Speedway Grand Prix Series at Marketa Stadium in Prague on May 22 saw defending Champion Jason Crump finish eighth and drop to fourth in the World Championship standings.

The Australian struggled with his bike throughout the first heat and opted to switch to his spare for the next race. The second heat yielded a third placing, but he lost control of the bike in his third heat while sitting second, sliding into the air fence and out of the points.

Ironically, Crump changed to the bike he felt least comfortable on during practice and won his final two heats in emphatic style, leading from start to finish. The two wins put him through to the semi-final race but he was unable to capitalize and progress to the final.

“I am struggling at the moment,” Crump admitted. “I am not riding great and to be honest I feel I am out of form.  It was really disappointing tonight, I went from the bike I thought would work best at this track to my favorite engine then to the one I was least comfortable on during practice and everything ran opposite. I am just genuinely having a rough run, it happens to everyone at some point, and the only way out of it is too keep riding.”

The FIM Czech Republic Speedway Grand Prix was won by Tomasz Gollob ahead of Nicky Pedersen and Jaroslaw Hampel.

Severe flooding throughout Europe saw Crump’s Polish league race scheduled for Sunday postponed. There are three league races scheduled between now and the Danish Grand Prix on Saturday June 5.