It has been 37 years since a citizen of Poland has won the FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship; that was Jerzy Sczcakiel back in 1973. At the FIM Nice Italian Speedway Grand Prix at Terenzano on 25 September, Tomasz Gollob, at age 39, tasted victory and with it became the 2010 SGP World Champion and the first Polish Champion of the 21st Century. To say that Gollob was elated at his victory would be gross understatement. With the pressure he was under by being a star athlete in his home country, it was also a great relief.
It took Gollob all of 20 years to achieve this goal. With hard work from him and his large contingent of supporters - including crew, sponsors, family and friends - he was able to pull together the points to put him in a good position even before traveling to Italy. Then it was the fortunes of his competitors and the unpredictability of racing which put him over the top. During the second semi, Gollob’s primary threat in the points race, Jaroslaw Hampel, was defeated by Chris Harris and that limited Hampel’s points from the event to only 10. Gollob did not let that give him any peace, though, as he kept up
his pace throughout the meet to grab the Italian SGP first place trophy for the second consecutive year by out-riding Harris, Greg Hancock and Nicki Pedersen. It was a memorable evening of racing for fans and racers alike.
The SGP has one race remaining and, interestingly enough, it is the Bydgoszcz Speedway Grand Prix of Poland, which is to be held on 9 October. Gollob is certain to receive a hero’s homecoming and you can expect great racing even if the Championship is already decided. Tomasz Gollob, reigning SGP World Champion, returns home for the final race of the 2010 season…and the crowd goes wild!
