Thursday 3rd May 2012, 11:32

World champion Greg Hancock was disappointed to suffer an engine failure in the FIM Fogo European SGP semis on Saturday, but has pledged to bounce back in Prague.

The 41-year-old was holding second place behind Andreas Jonsson, but Chris Holder rounded him going into lap two and Herbie ground to a halt on lap three, bend two.

The Californian normally has some of the most reliable bikes in the SGP pits and was gutted to lose the chance to hold on to his World Championship lead, which he conceded to Jaroslaw Hampel.

Hancock, who left Leszno with nine points, said: “I’m not disappointed. I’m frustrated more than anything because we had a bike failure in the semi-final. That doesn’t normally happen with us.

“It was something internal with the motor. It just stopped. It started to get slower and slower. After the first lap, it didn’t feel so good and it just about stopped completely going into the third lap. I had to shut it off.

“You saw people dropping points at the beginning and making them up at the end. I took points in virtually every heat, except my last one. That cost me a good gate position.

“It wasn’t a bad night. It was okay. It’s a long way to go, but I’m feeling good and I’m looking forward to Prague now. We’ll be back and we’ll be stronger.”

Hancock is second in the SGP standings on 31 points and trails Hampel by two going into the FIM Czech SGP on May 12.

The six of the last eight winners in Prague have gone on to win the World Championship in the same year and Hancock would love to make it seven out of nine this term. He said: “It’s a great place to race and a great place to win. I’m going for it.”

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