Tuesday 21st August 2012, 21:16

Chris Harris goes into the FIM Fogo British SGP with a huge weight off his shoulders after saving Vastervik from relegation and firing them into the Swedish Elitserien play-offs.

The Cornishman top-scored on 11 paid 13 points along with fellow SGP star Peter Ljung on Tuesday as the coastal outfit finished sixth in the standings with a 48-42 triumph over Piraterna.

It wasn’t all bad news for the Pirates, though, as they clung on for second place in the final table to advance into the play-off semi-finals after Dackarna went down 49-41 at Valsarna. The third-placed Malilla club must survive a quarter final tie to join them.

World champion Greg Hancock led the Motala outfit on 10 paid 11, while Grzegorz Zengota collected nine paid 10. SGP title chaser Chris Holder had a lacklustre evening on three paid four.

Valsarna’s last-heat 5-1 from Russian brothers Grigory and Artem Laguta saw them pull off an astonishing escape from relegation and send Nicki Pedersen’s Vargarna crashing into the Allsvenskan League.

The Lagutas’ maximum against Darcy Ward and Andreas Jonsson handed them the bonus point 90-89 on aggregate, meaning they finished second from bottom on 11 points – one ahead of the Wolves.

Grigory scored 11 for the Rollers, while former SGP regular Artem collected 10 paid 11 and captain Tomasz Gapinski accrued eight.

British hotshot Tai Woffinden was Dackarna’s main man on 12. Jonsson and Ward bagged eight each, but Freddie Lindgren managed just five paid seven.

Dackarna can choose Indianerna, Hammarby or Vastervik as their play-off quarter final opponents.

Hammarby will be desperate to avoid being lumbered with the Indians after the Kumla team dissected them 68-22 tonight.

Danish racer Niels-Kristian Iversen tore to a 13 paid 15-point maximum, while reserve Mathias Thornblom was unbeaten on 12 paid 15. SGP duo Hans Andersen and Antonio Lindback scored nine paid 10 apiece.

Hammarby fared badly without top gun Tomasz Gollob and rider replacement was never going to be enough to cover for him. Dennis Andersson was their leading light on seven paid eight.

Meanwhile, Vetlanda finished top of the table, cruised into the play-off semis and completed a full house of seven bonus points after beating Vargarna 48-42 to condemn them to life in the second tier.

Polish international Janusz Kolodziej was the hosts’ star on 13 points, while David Ruud romped to 11 and Leon Madsen tallied 10 paid 11. SGP racer Jason Crump scored six paid eight, while Grand Prix series first reserve Martin Vaculik added five paid six.

Nicki Pedersen was as dependable as ever on 11 paid 12 for the Wolves, while Peter Karlsson notched nine paid 11. Bjarne Pedersen contributed a straight eight.

For full details of the day’s Elitserien results and scorers and the final pre-play-off league table, click here: http://speedwaygp.com/league_results.

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