Saturday 6th October 2012, 13:41

Defending world champion Greg Hancock says even the “mathematical” chance of retaining his title is enough to fire him up for one last push in the FIM Torun SGP of Poland tonight.

Herbie is 10 points adrift of series leader Chris Holder with Nicki Pedersen eight ahead of the Californian.

Hancock knows he will need a special performance to claim title No.3 at the Marian Rose Motoarena. But the 42-year-old is a man who is has been written off before, only to come back and stun his critics.

When his World Championship star appeared to be fading in 2010, he won the Croatian SGP in Gorican and put together the breathtaking run which took him to the top of the world last year.

Hancock has led the standings for much of this year and isn’t keen to relinquish his grip on the SGP trophy just yet.

He said: “It’s probably one of the most crucial times of the year for me to attack what’s left of a chance at the title. The mathematical chance is there and for me that’s enough.

“I plan to be on it from the off. This is a hard, tough field and there is a lot riding on this meeting for a lot of guys. For me, it’s a case of thinking positive, going for every point, getting three, three, three, three and that’ll work for me.

“I am chomping at the bit to revive what hasn’t happened in the last few rounds. There is still a chance to do it. I never lose faith, I’m optimistic and this is the chance for me to make the grade again.”

Hancock has been drawn against Pedersen, 2010 world champion Tomasz Gollob and Peter Ljung in heat two. Holder, Jaroslaw Hampel and Emil Sayfutdinov are up next in race six.

So the Piraterna and Tarnow man has a tough start to proceedings. But he refuses to worry about his main title and medal rivals.

He said: “I don’t try to focus on any one particular individual at any time. There are 15 other guys here, who can upset your day at any one time and you never know when it’s coming.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s Chris, Nicki or Maciej Janowski, they’re all competitors and I have to beat them all.

“On a track like this, the races are all going to be tough. I’ve just got to make my mark, stand my ground and let them know I want to be the dominant one in the first heat.”

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