HERBIE SALUTES TOUGH CRUMP

Wednesday 1st August 2012, 09:48

World champion Greg Hancock hailed the resilience of title rival Jason Crump after he bounced back from collarbone surgery to score nine points in the FIM Fogo Croatian SGP on Saturday.

Hancock, who left Gorican with 10 points, is six clear at the top after Nicki Pedersen stormed to the gold medal and moved into second place.

But Crump is still only 10 adrift in third after reaching the semis on nine, despite having surgery just seven days before the meeting to plate the collarbone he broke in Russia.

The Californian and Aussie have competed against each other ever since the SGP series began in 1995 and beyond. So there is a great deal of mutual respect between them and Hancock was impressed with the steel Crump showed in Croatia.

"He battled through the pain barrier, came back and scored nine points; nine very valuable points. I take my hat off to the guy."

- Greg Hancock

He said: “I think the guy who deserves a hell of a lot of credit is Jason Crump for what he went through.

“He battled through the pain barrier, came back and scored nine points; nine very valuable points. I take my hat off to the guy.

“Jason put on a very brave face and I’m sure he’s in a lot of pain, but he has always been tough.”

With Pedersen, Crump and Chris Holder still chasing hard in the World Championship race, Hancock is expecting it to go to the wire this season. He won the gold medal with a round to spare in 2011, but the 42-year-old isn’t afraid to be pushed all the way.

“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “It’s the World Championship and it’s going to be tough to the end. It’s fun. I keep challenging and I keep battling, but it’s not easy to get a break with a field like this.

“I want to be in the finals and I want to win more finals. It’s not easy, but I’ll keep taking points and I’ll take advantage of every moment I get.”

The Swedish-based man may be leading the standings, but he still hasn’t been 100 percent happy with his form and equipment this term. Despite missing out on the medal race in Gorican, Hancock believes things are improving ahead of the FIM Fogo Italian SGP in Terenzano on August 11.

“I’m looking forward to Terenzano,” he said. “Everything is working better and better with my bikes now, so I feel I’m going in a very good direction.”

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