Wednesday 6th June 2012, 14:25

Tomasz Gollob’s manager Thomas Gaszynski admits the Polish star isn’t “100 percent” ahead of the FIM Dansk Metal Danish SGP on Saturday, but said “we’re in the 90s.”

Gollob suffered a massive spill at his Swedish track Hammarby on May 22 and was knocked out on the shale. His concussion proved too big an obstacle to overcome in the Swedish SGP on May 26, where he missed out on the semi-finals with six points.

The five-time Speedway World Cup winner managed just two points in Gorzow in the Polish Ekstraliga on Sunday, but bounced back with eight paid 11 at Hammarby on Monday and 10 at Vastervik on Tuesday.

Gaszynski says the Bydgoszcz-born man’s condition has improved with time as he prepares to chase a second straight victory in Copenhagen.

Gollob’s right-hand man said: “He had a decent Monday meeting and a very good Tuesday in Vastervik, so things are looking up for us.

“I wouldn’t say he’s 100 percent. We’re in the 90s, so that’s much better. With an injury like he had, all you need is time. That’s hard to come by in the speedway season.

“We took a week off in Sweden and that helped a lot. We’re back in the game. Now we’re getting our heads down and getting to work for Copenhagen.”

At 41 years of age, it has to be questioned why Gollob still keeps taking punishment on the track, having won virtually everything there is to win in the sport.

But Gaszynski said: “It’s pretty simple – it’s his love of the sport. He just wants to keep racing because he enjoys his racing. If you ask some of the older boys why they do it, they’d probably give you the same answer. As long as he can race at a world-class level, I think Tomasz will do it.

“Tomasz has had some horrific crashes. He has had more than his fair share and more than most of the top class riders. But he has always been able to bounce back from them.

“You’ve only got to look at his accident in the 1994 World Final, the Polish Golden Helmet crash in 1999 four days before the last Grand Prix, which cost him the world title, or the airplane crash in 2007.

“Our team has been cemented together for the last 20 years, so we all know what we have to do with the bikes and mentally to help Tomek get back on top form.

“Tomasz has been recuperating over the last few weeks, but the team has been working really hard to get him back into play.”

Gaszynski is confident Gollob is still very much in the race for his second world title, despite trailing championship leader Greg Hancock by nine points. With so many riders in close contention for top spot, Team Gollob is ready to take the title fight to the wire.

“Tomasz is still in the title hunt,” Gaszynski said. “We have eight rounds to go and anything can happen. There are so many points to get and we’re pretty confident.

“It’s better that there are six riders, plus or minus, chasing the title because it definitely makes it easier. When one guy is on fire all the time, they’re unstoppable.

“If you’re gaining points this year, someone else is losing them and it’s much better, not only for us but for the fans. It keeps it more interesting. It’s definitely too early to call this year’s title race and it could go to a last heat decider in Torun.”

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