HAMPEL: NO ISSUES WITH GOLLOB

Thursday 10th May 2012, 08:40

World Championship leader Jaroslaw Hampel says there is no grudge between him and Tomasz Gollob following their titanic tussle in the European SGP final on April 28.

The duo meet again at the FIM Mitas Czech SGP in Prague on Saturday, but fans are still talking about one of the greatest ever Grand Prix finals at Leszno last time out.

The Poles passed and re-passed, before Gollob appeared to run Hampel out of contention on lap three, turn two. This allowed Chris Holder into second, before the Aussie nipped under the 2010 world champion a lap later for the win.

Hampel tried to dive hard up Gollob’s inside on the final bend, but the 41-year-old held his nerve to bag second place.

The World Championship rivals and their teams had an angry exchange in the pits after that race. But Hampel insists both parties quickly resolved their differences.

He said: “We don’t have any problems. We’ve talked about the situation a little bit and everyone understands it.

“If you fight 100 percent, you put all your aggression into the bike and sometimes you get a situation like this one. But there’s no problem between us now.”

Hampel heads to Prague with an outstanding record, having reached the final in all six of his previous appearances there. Incredibly, one of world speedway’s most consistent riders has never topped the rostrum at the Marketa Stadium.

"I always try to race with a full throttle in the final, but maybe I need to be a little bit cleverer."

- Jaroslaw Hampel

The Lodz-born man is confident he has the speed to land gold, but believes he needs to be smarter at the business end of the meeting.

He said: “I have started every single final and it would be good if I could win in Prague.

“Last year everything was fine with my bike and I had good speed on the track. It’s really hard in the final race and I need to concentrate 100 percent on this.

“I know the setup in Prague very well. I just need to work a little bit more on the track at the end of the meeting, especially in the final.

“I have always started in the final, so if I keep the same speed in my bike. I need to be clever and use my bike well on the track.

“I always try to race with a full throttle in the final, but maybe I need to be a little bit cleverer.”

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