Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:41:01 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/ Leigh Adams Racing en-gb http://www.leighadams.com/images/news.gif http://www.leighadams.com/ info@leighadams.com http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=233 LEIGH Adams has announced the 2010 campaign will be his final one in Europe. The former world No. 2 plans to stage two farewell meetings, in Leszno, Poland, on October 10, and at Swindon on October 17, before he and his family return to their native Australia to begin a new life. It will bring to an end a hugely successful 22-year racing career for the 38-year-old, although he still hopes to remain involved in the sport back home. “You’ve got to stop somewhere and it’s just the perfect time to do it,” Adams told Speedway Star magazine in an exclusive interview. “I’m 39 this year and I’ve had 22 years of a great career in England. “Back home, I want to get heavily involved with my training schools, try and set up a Leigh Adams Academy and do weekends in Adelaide, Perth, Mildura, Sydney, and up to Queensland. “I’m always being asked to do them but I’ve never had the time. I’d like to get involved with MA (Motorcycling Australia), they’re pretty keen.” Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:41:01 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=232 Ten times Australian Speedway Champion, Leigh Adams, says he has no regrets about sitting out the 2010 Championship which starts on Saturday at Gillman, SA. Adams is the defending Champion, but says any thoughts that he has made the wrong decision by not riding have not had time to enter his head. “I have just been so busy since I returned from Europe that I haven’t had a moment to think about it. This is our second Australian summer in our new family home and we’ve been spending all our time working on getting that exactly as we want it. Adams has also commented on speculation that 2010 will be his last year racing in Europe, after news surfaced that he had requested and been granted a farewell meeting late this year. “I have made no secret of the fact that my career is drawing to a close and yes, I have asked for a farewell meeting, simply because the request had to be submitted early to the BSPA for the option to be available to me, but I’d prefer it if my wife and I were able to make a firm decision before anything is officially announced. “It is a big decision and once I make an announcement there will be no turning back I can assure you. I am the sort of person that thinks about these things long and hard before saying anything and that will be the case this time too”. Leigh will spend another 9 days in Australia before returning to Europe, where his children will return to school on January 11. Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:14:50 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=231 Australia’s Leigh Adams has agreed terms with the Swindon Robins for season 2010 and he now returns to Australia for a month’s break with his future settled in the UK, Poland and Sweden. Adams says he’s happy to have his contracts settled and he can now focus on doing a good job for each of his three teams. “I’m feeling good about 2010, but I suppose it will feel a little different when I watch the World Championship Rounds on TV the first couple of times, having been a part of it for so long. “I hope the decision not to take part in the Grand Prix Series will free up some time for the family, but I’m certainly not going to be taking it easy. “The UK league is very busy and even more so if we get a few rain offs at the start of the year before the better weather arrives”. Adams returns to the Robins having lead them to second place in the 2009 campaign and he will return to Leszno in Poland and Lejonen in Sweden. Leigh’s four week visit to Australia will not involve any racing, with the 39 year old acknowledging that the extensive travelling and busy schedule has a more telling affect on him than it would have previously. He has not, however, ruled out riding in the Australian Championship in the future. Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:16:34 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=230 Leigh was guest of honour at the recent STAR's night (Glasgow speedway Supporters Club). "It was a real honour to be asked to attend this function and we all had a fantastic time in Glasgow. I would like to wish the Club, continued success." Pictures by Ron MacNeill     Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:06:50 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=229 As the dust settles on his Grand Prix career, ten times Australian Champion and eight times Grand Prix winner, Leigh Adams, says he has no regrets about pulling the pin on his World Championship aspirations. The 39 year old was simply superb as he roared to second place in his last ever Grand Prix at Bydgoszcz on Saturday night, but he still believes the time is right to move on. "I've had a good run" he said. "The Grand Prix series is great for the sport and I've enjoyed every minute of it, but it can be a little relentless too and I need to slow down a bit and spend some time with my children while they are still young. "I had a good last meeting and I'm very pleased to have made it onto the podium, hopefully it is some sort of reward for my team and sponsors, who have endured this very disappointing season with me. "Their efforts have always been appreciated and it's been an absolute blast". Meanwhile, Adams was quick to pour cold water on the misconception that he has retired altogether. "I have not quit speedway, only the World Championship. "I still have ambitions as far as the league titles are concerned and although I'm not certain how many years I will go on, you will definitely see me racing in Europe in 2010", he concluded. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:22:19 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=228 Jason Crump was crowned World Speedway Champion in the final FIM Grand Prix of 2009 at Bydgoszcz in Poland. Crump landed his third World title in six years when he won Heat 13 ahead of outgoing champion Nicki Pedersen, Russian wonderkid Emil Sayfutdinov and Fredrik Lindgren. The 34-year-old Aussie star went into the meeting requiring eight points on the night to take the crown, and that was trimmed to six when main challenger and local hero Tomasz Gollob finished third in Heat 12. Crump, still nursing a painful arm injury that required a skin graft last month, had already gained five points from his first three rides, so only needed a point in Heat 13. He completed the job in style by winning the race after a jet-propelled start from the outside gate left Pedersen trailing in his wake. Crump, who won three of this year’s 11 GPs, said: “Five weeks ago I thought my season was over after my crash at Belle Vue, but a fantastic team of people have got me back on track and I have to thank them all. “The first half of the season went like clockwork, but I messed up a little in the second half when I became a speedway rider rather than a speedway racer. "The injury never helped but things came good at the end and it was pretty special to win Heat 13 when I only needed a point. It’s an awesome feeling to be World Champion again.” Gollob finished runner-up in the series, with Sayfutdinov a remarkable third in his debut season, but Gollob’s hopes of winning on the night ended in a controversial second semi-final. He had already gone down once in a tangle with Pedersen on the first turn, when in the re-run he felt he had been unfairly passed by the hard-charging Dane at the end of the first lap. Gollob retired after getting out of shape and parked his bike on the start-finish line, forcing referee Tony Steele to stop the race and exclude the Pole. Rune Holta and Pedersen kept Crump in third place to join Sebastian Ulamek and Leigh Adams in the final, with Adams, having announced his retirement from World Championship racing at Friday’s practice, bidding to end his GP career with a fairytale finish. Adams pulled out all the stops in the final, but he had to be content with runners-up spot behind Pedersen, who ended a difficult and frustrating campaign as reigning World Champion with his first GP win of the year. Ulamek, competing in his first GP final, was third and Holta fourth, but the latter had already done enough to win the battle to finish in the top eight and qualify automatically for the 2010 series. Holta began the night in 10th place behind Andersen and Lindgren, but stormed to 11 point to reach the semi-finals as both his Scandinavian rivals missed the cut for the last eight. Holta jumped to seventh place while Kenneth Bjerre, who had been vulnerable to the riders behind him, also stepped up to the plate to finish eighth overall. However Holta admitted afterwards that he had still to make a final decision whether or not to ride in the 2010 GP series. FIM Polish Grand Prix: Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 18, Leigh Adams (Australia) 15, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 16, Rune Holta (Poland) 14, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 12, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 11, Jason Crump (Australia) 9, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 8, Greg Hancock (USA) 8, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 8, Adrian Miedzinksi (Poland) 6, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 6, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 4, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 3, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 3, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 3. Final 2009 World Championship standings: Crump 159, Gollob 144, Sayfutdinov 139, Hancock 121, Jonsson 116, Pedersen 110, Holta 99, Bjerre 98, Lindgren 94, Andersen 91, Adams 81, Ulamek 75, Walasek 66, Harris 62, Nicholls 45, *Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 27, *Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 20, *Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, *Matej Zagar (Slovenia) 7, Adrian Miedzinski (Poland) 6, Grigory Laguta (Russia) 6, *Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, *Guglielmo Franchetti (Italy) 2, *Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. *denotes reserves and wild-cards. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:04:22 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=227 Leigh Adams confirmed today that this weekend's Polish Grand Prix at Bydgoszcz will be his last. The 38-year-old Australian has been a regular in the series since 1996, appearing in 114 GPs and winning eight. Going into tomorrow’s final round of the 2009 campaign, Adams is currently placed 11th with little likelihood of amassing enough points to gain a top eight place and a ticket to the 2010 series. His past record might have made him a contender for a wild-card, but Adams has opted to call time on his GP career. “This is it,” says Leigh. “I still feel as though I can put a lot into it, but to run 11 rounds and be consistent is very tough. “I don’t want to be in there making numbers up, I want to be there pushing for the World Championship. “Obviously this year has been ultra-disappointing, it would have been nice to have bowed out in a better fashion, but the time has come to let the young ‘uns take over. “I’ve realised I’m not going to be World Champion. That’s a difficult thing to come to terms with, but then you look at all the good. "I’ve had a lot of good years, 2007 was my best when we pushed Nicki (Pedersen) right to the end, it was only in the last couple of rounds, when I was injured, that I couldn’t give it any more. “So, we’ve had good years, you can’t dwell on these things. There are two things I haven’t got, a league championship for Swindon and being World Champion! (Leigh’s British club, Swindon, lost to Wolverhampton last Monday in the Elite League play-off final). “That’s life isn’t it? The sun always comes up the next day.” Leigh admits his family, wife Kylie, son Declyn (11) and daughter Casey (7), had a large bearing upon his decision. “That is a big factor, I’ve got to start concentrating on that,” he said. “I’ve done a pretty hard schedule for maybe the past ten or more years, running 110 plus meetings a year, but Declyn’s in secondary school now, it’s a pretty full-on lifestyle I can tell you. “It’s time to look for them and wind it back a bit.” Leigh revealed he’d more-or-less made his mind up this would be his final GP campaign before the start of this season. “I don’t know whether that’s been a factor in my results, whether I’ve been a bit more laid-back with it. I can’t put my finger on it, I’ve felt great every Grand Prix I’ve gone to and gone bad, work that one out!” Leigh said he had no plans to stop league racing, and hoped to be back with Swindon in the British Elite League, and Leszno in the Polish Extraleague in 2010. His best two Grand Prix seasons were 2007, when he finished runner-up to Nicki Pedersen, and 2005 when he was third behind Tony Rickardsson and Jason Crump. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:25:03 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=226 SWINDON skipper Leigh Adams put his vast experience to good use as he carried off the Elite League Riders' Championship for the first time. Adams was left with the unfavoured inside gate in the Final but as Bees skipper Chris Harris, Chris Holder and Fredrik Lindgren furiously contested the early stages, Adams held the kerb-line to go clear of his rivals. With Lindgren locking up on turn three and subsequently retiring, Harris and Holder engaged in such a battle for second place that neither were able to land a challenging blow on the leader, although Harris did gain a consolation runners-up spot. A thoroughly entertaining meeting in front of a good crowd at Brandon quickly developed into a battle between nine riders for the six places in the semi-final and Final, with Harris and Holder heading the qualifying scores on 13 points apiece. Adams' only blip came with a last place in Heat 15, a race which brought together four of the main contenders, so despite his four wins he was forced to go into the semi-final. There he met Lindgren, Bees man Edward Kennett who had won his first two rides, and former Coventry skipper Scott Nicholls - and it was Lindgren and Adams who progressed. Those to narrowly miss out on top-six places were Niels-Kristian Iversen, Matej Zagar and Hans Andersen, whilst Robert Miskowiak's fast-starting also made him a factor in several races. The meeting went ahead with 15 starters after the late pull-out of Lee Richardson due to illness. Reserves Josh Auty and Joe Haines shared his rides, and neither youngster disgraced himself, with both scoring a genuine point against much more experienced opponents. SCORES: Chris Holder 13, Chris Harris 13, Leigh Adams 12, Scott Nicholls 11, Fredrik Lindgren 11, Edward Kennett 10, Niels-Kristian Iversen 9, Matej Zagar 9, Hans Andersen 8, Robert Miskowiak 7, Adam Skornicki 5, Mads Korneliussen 4, Davey Watt 3, Jonas Davidsson 2, James Wright 1, Lee Richardson dnr, Joe Haines (res) 1, Josh Auty (res) 1. SEMI-FINAL: Lindgren, Adams, Kennett, Nicholls. FINAL: Adams, Harris, Holder, Lindgren. MEETING SUMMARY BY DAVID ROWE Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:57:18 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=225 ROBINS' skipper Leigh Adams is desperate to lift the Elite League trophy for Swindon! Speaking at the recent behind-closed-doors practice session, he said: "Listen, I have won the Elite trophy a couple of times in the past for Poole and Oxford, but the big one is for the Robins. It's fair to say that the curtain is coming down on LAR Speedway, but we want to add the Elite title with Swindon to our list of honours. "Swindon has been my home for many years and nothing would mean more to me than to kiss that trophy and spray the champagne on the centre green at the Abbey in a couple of weeks' time. It's been far too long for a team with the history that we have at Swindon to go without a major chunk of silverware. "The fans at Swindon are truly awesome and I do mean that. Even during the tricky times we are in at the moment, the crowds still show up to make some noise and drive us along. The Robins have the firepower to get the job done, but the fans will be our eigth rider on the night. Let's go and finish what we started..." Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:56:23 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=224 CONFIRMATION that Robins' skipper Leigh Adams' Swedish club, Lejonen, have won the Swedish Elite League title. Although, not competing in the event, Leigh was in Sweden to join in the party! Another 7,000 plus crowd turned out at Gislaved to watch the Lions overturn the previous night's 54-42 defeat against Vargarna. Former Swindon rider David Ruud, who had failed to score in the first leg, made amends with a paid 15-point maximum as Lejonen took control with four 5-1s in the first eight races. Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:54:57 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=223 Mildura’s Leigh Adams is set to compete in some very important races over the next month, with critical British League and World Championship meetings on the agenda. In the UK, Adams will lead his Swindon Robins side in a two leg semi final against the Coventry Bees, with the away leg on Monday, September 21 and the home leg at Swindon a week later. Adams has battled for many years to bring team honours to Swindon and this may present him with his best ever opportunity. “Coventry are a good side”, he said. “They’ve hurt us in the past and this time we have to put them away and prepare to take on the winner of the Lakeside/Wolves semi final. All riders lift at this time of the season and we are well aware that everyone will be fired up to bump us off”. On the World Championship front, Adams finds himself 17 points outside the top 8 (automatic qualification for next year) and must find another gear in Italy next weekend and at Bydgoszcz three weeks later if he is to climb the ladder. “It’s been a tough season in the GP I must admit, but I have to take every meeting as it comes and if I can have a real good one things can change very quickly. I have never lost faith that I can turn it round and that’s how I feel right now. I’ll let the maths take care of itself, I can’t control what other riders do”. High resolution photos available on request – rcmedia@bigpond.com Or phone Rod - +61409366713 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:44:47 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=222 SWINDON skipper Leigh Adams continues to pile-up the points as he closes in on another milestone. Thursday's crucial match against Wolverhampton was the Aussie's 509th club appearance and his five-ride tally of 13+1 took his career total for Swindon to 5,992.5 points. That leaves him just 7.5 points short of the magical 6,000 mark. The match versus Wolves also marked Adams' 850th official appearance in British speedway, from which he has accumulated a staggering 10,380.5 points. OFFICIAL SWINDON SPEEDWAY STATS UPDATE Wed, 09 Sep 2009 04:00:09 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=221 Australian born Grand Prix Speedway star Leigh Adams is keeping very busy at the moment, with critical meetings ahead in both league and world championship racing. Adams just failed to make the semi finals in Saturday’s Danish round of the SGP Series, following up two wins and a third with two last places and missing the finals by a single point. “It was a disappointing way to end the night,” said Leigh. “I started very well and I was confident of a top three finish, but there was a high number of riders on the pace and it really was cut throat stuff. I can take some positives from it, but I’ll admit it could have been better”. Adams’ Polish Team Leszno have now ended their run in that country’s premier competition, so he is now concentrating on bringing some long overdue hardware to Swindon. “It’s really exciting in the UK league this year and we’ve worked hard to get ourselves to the top of the table, but there are a couple of teams going really well at the moment and we can’t afford to let it slip. We’ve come so far now and I’m very keen to take out this competition after coming close a number of times previously”. The GP Series now moves to Krsko in Slovenia on September 12, a track on which Adams has previously won a World Championship round. “I love that track, it’s big and fast and I’ll be up for it for sure. I’m definitely looking for a huge finish to the season”, he concluded. Info from Rod Colquhoun – Leigh Adams PR Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:47:30 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=220 CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, Leigh Adams, established a new track record during the Robins' victory over Poole. In winning heat one at pace from Hans Andersen, the brilliant Aussie clocked a super-fast 63.86 seconds. Remarkably, this shaved over a third-of-a-second off Adams' previous best for the 363-metre circuit, which he set on 2 August 2007, when the watch stopped at 64.21 seconds. OFFICIAL SWINDON SPEEDWAY STATS UPDATE Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:55:13 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=219 Andreas Jonsson celebrated the fourth GP win of his career in an eventful FIM Dansk Metal Nordic Grand Prix at Vojens in Denmark. The stylish Swede had to make two starts to win the final after the first running was halted when Emil Sayfutdinov was excluded for bringing down Kenneth Bjerre on the back straight of lap three. Jonsson, who was clear at the front from Rune Holta, again took control in the re-run to head home Holta and local favourite Bjerre. But despite not making the final for the first time this season, Jason Crump extended his advantage at the head of the World Championship leaderboard by a single point - and now has a 36-point lead with three GPs remaining. Crump scored eight points in the qualifying, crucially losing the lead to finish third in Heat 10, and missed the cut for the semi-finals on countback after finishing level with Sebastian Ulamek. But Crump's nearest challenger Tomasz Gollob lost ground on seven points, battling back from gleaning only one point in his first three rides by winning his final two, while Greg Hancock, who is third overall, failed to take full advantage when he trailed at the back in the first semi-final. Crump, chasing his third World title, now has 134 points, with Gollob on 98 and Hancock on 97. The Vojens track had been covered to keep the rain off, and though a heavy downpour during Heat 19 threatened the final stages of the meeting, the storm clouds soon passed by. Bjerre, who rides for Vojens in the Danish Superleague, gave the home fans plenty to enthuse over by winning his first two rides, and finished joint top scorer after 20 races on 11 points, the same as Jonsson, Sayfutdinov (both of whom had overhauled Crump in Heat 10) and Fredrik Lindgren. Hancock and reigning World Champion Nicki Pedersen scored 10 points, both recovering from exclusions to hit double figures. Pedersen was disqualified from Heat 8 when he went down on the outside of Sayfutdinov on a tight first lap, while Hancock and Gollob were both excluded from Heat 12, a race that took four runnings. After an unsatisfactory start, Hancock was thrown out after taking Gollob off, and the Pole then earned an exclusion when he was thrown wide by a hard-riding Lindgren and collected Holta on his outside. Holta, who took a hefty high-speed fall, got up to dust himself down and beat Lindgren. Both Pedersen and Hancock won their final two rides, Hancock fending off Russian sensation Sayfutdinov in Heat 13 and Pedersen expertly passing Lindgren in Heat 14. Holta, celebrating his 36th birthday, looked quick from the outset, and finished second behind Sayfutdinov in the first semi-final to eliminate Lindgren and Hancock. In the second semi-final Pedersen produced a brilliant cut-back on the first two turns to take the lead, but was quickly passed by Jonsson, before Bjerre lined him up as well. But with Hans Andersen lacking speed and mustering just four points on the night, Pedersen at least moved back into the top eight overall. FIM Dansk Metal Nordic SGP scores: Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 20, Rune Holta (Poland) 15, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 15, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 14, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 12, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 11, Greg Hancock (USA) 10, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 8, Jason Crump (Australia) 8, Leigh Adams (Australia) 7, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 7, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 7, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 4, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 3, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 1, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 1. World Championship standings: Crump 134, Gollob 98, Hancock 97, Sayfutdinov 96, Jonsson 87, Bjerre 78, Lindgren 76, Pedersen 70, Andersen 65, Holta 58, Adams 54, Ulamek 54, Harris 44, Walasek 44, Nicholls 28, *Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 27, Iversen 20, *Jaroslaw Hampel (Poland) 9, *Grigory Laguta (Russia) 6, *Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, *Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. *denotes wild-cards. Iversen has appeared as both a wild-card and reserve. Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:52:17 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=218 JASON CRUMP extended his lead in the World Championship to a commanding 35 points after finishing runner-up to Tomasz Gollob in the FIM Nordicbet Scandinavian Grand Prix at Malilla in Sweden. Crump's major two rivals at the start of the meeting, Greg Hancock and Emil Sayfutdinov, both failed to make the cut for the semi-finals, and it means that the Aussie almost has one hand on his third World title with four GPs remaining, with Gollob now in second spot ahead of Hancock. The 38-year-old Pole, winner of the first ever Grand Prix at Wroclaw back in 1995, looked quick throughout and was good value for his win. He top scored in the qualifying with 13 points, and then won both the first semi-final and the final off the inside gate. Crump, despite starting with a third place behind Gollob and Kenneth Bjerre in Heat 4, scored 11 points in the heats, and also raced to victory in the second semi-final from the favourable inside starting position. He finished second to Gollob in the final, ahead of Danes Hans Andersen and Kenneth Bjerre. Crump, who made some lightning starts and forcefully repassed Sayfutdinov for second place in Heat 12, said: "I am still taking it one round at a time, but with just four rounds left it is getting closer. "I don't really think about the World title until after the meeting but I was pleased with the way I rode tonight. I was much more aggressive and it was good to bounce back after a poor performance in Latvia." Latvian GP winner Hancock, who started the night in second place overall, 29 points behind Crump, missed out on the last eight on countback when he was one of four riders to finish on eight points, while Sayfutdinov paid the price for the night's only fall and exclusion in Heat 13. The Russian charger, who had four points from his first three outings, got too close to wild-card Antonio Lindback and ran into the Swede's back wheel to take a nasty-looking fall. Gating was paramount on a wet night in Malilla, with some tricky conditions in the early stages seeing trap one supply all the first seven race winners, and 10 of the first 11. Bjerre became the first rider not wearing the red helmet colour to take the chequered flag from gate four in Heat 8, and that win proved vital in the tiny Dane claiming a semi-final spot on countback. Andreas Jonsson, one of four riders from the Malilla-based Dackarna club taking part in the event (Andersen, Bjerre and Fredrik Lindgren were the others) looked a real threat in the heats with 10 points, a tally that included an brilliant cutback off the outside to win Heat 12, but he finished last in the first semi-final. Brit Chris Harris got stuck in to make the semis, giving Gollob a real battle for second place in Heat 10, Andersen used his home track knowledge to good effect to reach the final and move back into the top eight overall, and Lindback again took his chance as a wild-card with both hands. On the opposite side of the coin, reigning World Champion Nicki Pedersen fell further adrift of the leaders - and dropped out of the top eight - in mustering only seven points on his return to the GP, while Leigh Adams, winner of the Scandinavian GP at Malilla in both 2007 and 2008, left himself with too much to do after running last places in his first two rides and came up short on five points. FIM Nordicbet Scandinavian Grand Prix scores: Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 22, Jason Crump (Australia) 18, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 14, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 10, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 10, Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 10, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 9, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 8, Greg Hancock (USA) 8, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 7, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 6, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 5, Leigh Adams (Australia) 5, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 5, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 5, Rune Holta (Poland) 2. World Championship standings: Crump 126, Gollob 91, Hancock 87, Sayfutdinov 82, Jonsson 67, Lindgren 64, Bjerre 63, Andersen 61, Pedersen 59, Adams 47, Ulamek 46, Holta 43, Harris 43, Walasek 37, Lindback 27, Nicholls 25, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 19, Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, Grigory Laguta (Russia) 6, Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. Sun, 16 Aug 2009 23:20:18 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=217 Australia’s former World number 2 speedway racer, Leigh Adams, is in a determined mood as he approaches this weekend’s Latvian Grand Prix. Leigh’s season has been anything but what he had planned but he is focussed on putting that right over the next three months. “There are a number of tracks coming up that I like and we have got past the indoor man made stuff,” he said. “I am as fired up as I have ever been to get some good results and while winning the championship is now out of reach, going out with a bang this year certainly isn’t. “I have been as frustrated as anybody by how the Grand Prix Series has gone for me and I’ve tried everything to put it right, but it just hasn’t been my year. “If you’d have told me at the start of the year that I’d be outside the top ten at the half way mark of the series and I’d have said you were crazy, but unfortunately that is how it has ended up. “The good part about these things is that if you have a good one you can really make some quick progress up the rankings and I fully intend to be the biggest mover in the pack between now and the end of the Series”. Progressive points: Jason Crump (Australia) 98, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 67, Greg Hancock (USA) 59, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 53, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 52, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 51, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 49, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 38, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 38, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 35, Rune Holta (Poland) 34, Leigh Adams (Australia) 31, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 30, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 25, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 17, Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 17, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 11, Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. Rod Colquhoun - RC Media Thu, 30 Jul 2009 23:42:58 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=216 Australia’s Leigh Adams was philosophical after coming within a whisker of stealing the World Cup from Poland on Sunday at Leszno. The Australians were led superbly by Captain Adams with 12 points along with fellow Grand Prix star Jason Crump, but a last race joker from Poland produced a double point ride that thwarted the Aussies’ brave challenge. “That was close, real close” said Adams. “We had one hand on the trophy but it slipped away and that is what the Joker rule is designed for I suppose, but that doesn’t make it any easier to take. “Perhaps we could have thought things out a little better and held on, but we were just doing our best and got caught out”. Following Australia’s narrow defeat many people wondered if they’d seen the last of Adams in a World Cup, but the Aussie would not be drawn into the discussion. “I am a current Grand Prix rider and my first aim is to finish the season well and also help my club teams to finish as high as they can in the various leagues I ride. I never think about the next season until the current one is complete and this will be no different,” he concluded. Rod Colquhoun - RC Media Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:52:00 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=215 Speaking a few days days following the "shocker" that was the British leg of the Grand Prix series in Cardiff, Leigh has adopted a very pragmatic approach to a performance that was out of line with his domestic season: "Yes I was bitterly dissapointed with what went on in Cardiff, the track was good and with the engines I had, a foot on the boxes at the end should not have been out of the question but everything went against me and in the end we just didnt get the breaks we needed to push on." " No excuses from me, thats racing I guess and we have to put the first part of the GP series away, thats history now and look to picking up some silverware in the World Cup events coming up." " I always see Cardiff as the halfway point of the year and we will be looking to making amends through the second part of the GP season, spray some champagne and ride for pride I guess" " To some degree, I can now kick back a little and get back to having some fun in the GP events and maybe spoil one or two big days for the other guys." " I would like to extend my thanks to all of the fans throughout the speedway world for your continued support. Sitting in the back of the motorhome wondering what went wrong is a bad place to be at times but I always get a lift from seeing you guys supporting me and Australian speedway." " Leigh Adams is still around, we just need to hook everything up and put on a show in the next GP events." Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:07:04 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=214 British Grand Prix result : Jason Crump (Australia) 24, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 16, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 15, Greg Hancock (USA) 14, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 9, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 9, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 8, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 8, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 7, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 7, Rune Holta (Poland) 7, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 6, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 5, Edward Kennett (Great Britain) 4, Leigh Adams (Australia) 3, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 1. World Championship standings : Crump 98, Sayfutdinov 67, Hancock 59, Gollob 53, Pedersen 52, Jonsson 51, Lindgren 49, Andersen 38, Bjerre 38, Ulamek 35, Holta 34, Adams 31, Harris 30, Walasek 25, Nicholls 17. Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:44:01 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=213 Australia’s Leigh Adams will go into this Saturday’s British Grand Prix in Cardiff with nothing to lose and everything to gain after an inconsistent start to the 2009 Championship. Adams has battled hard over the past month to overcome some confidence sapping engine problems and his recent scores in domestic racing would suggest that he is now back to something like his best. “I feel good now,” he said after another stunning performance at his home track of Swindon (UK). “Tonight everything seemed to fall back into place and I’m starting to get my ‘mojo’ back. “The past six weeks probably haven’ been as good as I’d have hoped but these one off tracks (such as the one in Cardiff) can really throw up some strange results. “If the cards fall the right way it is not impossible to have a 15 point turnaround in the standings. Everyone has good and bad rounds and if I can get off to a good start and make my own luck I reckon I can get the job done this time around. “I came within a whisker of winning Cardiff a few years back and I’m definitely looking to give my fans and team something to cheer about this Saturday night,” he concluded. Just a reminder that the British Grand Prix will start at the new time of 5.30 pm. Rod Colquhoun - RC Media Email: rcmedia@bigpond.com Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:01:21 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=212 Jason Crump extended his lead at the head of the World Championship leaderboard to 14 points with a majestic victory in the FIM Dansk Metal Danish Speedway Grand Prix at Copenhagen. Crump produced a spectacular start to the final to clinch his second win in four rounds this season, and in doing so equalled Tony Rickardsson’s record of 20 GP victories. He also doubled his prize money with the PARKEN meeting the second of this year’s three Super Prix rounds. Victory for Crump meant he fully capitalised on two of his main rivals, Emil Sayfutdinov and defending champion Nicki Pedersen, failing to finish their respective semi-finals. The Russian teenager, who had outscored Crump 14 points to 13 in the qualifying, didn’t even start his, a momentary lapse in concentration seeing him drop the clutch too soon and earn an exclusion for touching the tapes. Pedersen, who had three stitches in his nether regions after an early crash with Sayfutdinov, was in the same semi-final as Crump and was challenging the Aussie entering the back straight for the first time when he had a puncture and pulled up. It left Crump, who had started the meeting with a six-point lead over Sayfutdinov, lined up against Greg Hancock, Tomasz Gollob and wild-card Niels-Kristian Iversen in the final, and he swept imperiously to the front off the outside gate to claim the six points, and 22 in total. Gollob was in second place but drifted wide and Hancock, who was struggling to make the semi-finals when he had only six points from four rides, stole in for runner-up on the rostrum. Gollob was third and Iversen fourth. Sayfutdinov and Pedersen, who has clashed controversially in the final of the last Grand Prix in Gothenburg, had another of their dramatic coming-togethers in Heat 7. Both had won their opening rides, and Pedersen looked to have got the drop on the Russian out of the start. But he lifted uncontrollably exiting the second bend and collected Sayfutdinov on his outside. The teenager was far from happy at being wiped out, but there was no malice involved, and Pedersen came off far worse, injuring his rear end when he slammed hard into the bottom of the air-fence and getting himself excluded. In the re-run, Sayfutdinov didn’t make the start, but sliced through Iversen and Chris Harris to pull away for a second win. Pedersen was in obvious discomfort in his third ride, where he nicked third place off Hans Andersen when his fellow Dave got out of shape on lap one, but was never a threat to Crump at the front. Sayfutdinov won his third ride by a distance, but dropped his first point to Crump in his next outing in Heat 15. The Aussie, who had started with a couple of second places behind Grzegorz Walasek and Sebastian Ulamek, powered to the front off gate four, and then repelled all Sayfutdinov’s efforts to pass him. Some jet-propelled starting saw Pedersen win Heats 16 and 17 to ensure his place in the semi-finals on 10 points alongside Sayfutdinov (14) and Crump (13), and they were joined by Iversen (9), Hancock (8), Gollob (8), Ulamek (7) and Kenneth Bjerre (7). Ulamek qualified by virtue of two race wins while Bjerre nudged Walasek out of the last eight on countback on second places. But the first semi-final saw the tension get to Sayfutdinov, who had first choice of gate position and went for the inside. He clearly touched the tapes as they rose, leaving Swedish referee Krister Gardell with no option but to exclude him. In the re-run Gollob and Iversen eliminated Ulamek, and in the second semi Crump was outmuscling Pedersen when the Dane’s bike had a puncture down the back straight. Hancock took advantage by slipping into second, and that meant an exit for Bjerre. Leigh Adams, who admitted before the meeting that this was make-or-break for his title aspirations, missed out on the last eight on six points, and Fredrik Lindgren, who led the GP standings after the opening round in Prague, continued his up-and-down campaign with just three points. At the foot of the standings, Harris celebrated his first ever race win at PARKEN and Scott Nicholls had his best GP of the season so far. Nicholls ran two lasts to kick off with, but won a battling point off Iversen in Heat 9, another off Hancock in Heat 15, and then finished with a flourish by carving through traffic to win Heat 18 and finish on five points, the same as Harris. FIM Dansk Metal Danish Speedway Grand Prix scorers: Jason Crump (Australia) 22, Greg Hancock (USA) 14, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 13, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Denmark) 11, Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 14, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 10, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 8, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark ) 8, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 7, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 7, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 6, Leigh Adams (Australia) 6, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 5, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 5, Rune Holta (Poland) 5, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 3. World Championship standings: Crump 74, Sayfutdinov 60, Jonsson 46, Hancock 45, Pedersen 44, Gollob 44, Lindgren 33, Bjerre 31, Adams 28, Holta 27, Ulamek 27, Walasek 24, Andersen 23, Harris 21, *Lindback 17, Nicholls 11, *Iversen 11, *Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, *Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. *denotes wild-cards. Sun, 14 Jun 2009 23:31:19 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=211 FIM Swedish SGP scores: Emil Sayfutdinov (Russia) 20, Jason Crump (Australia) 16, Antonio Lindback (Sweden) 17, Nicki Pedersen (Denmark) 13, Andreas Jonsson (Sweden) 12, Rune Holta (Poland) 11, Fredrik Lindgren (Sweden) 9, Kenneth Bjerre (Denmark) 8, Tomasz Gollob (Poland) 7, Sebastian Ulamek (Poland) 6, Grzegorz Walasek (Poland) 6, Greg Hancock (USA) 5, Hans Andersen (Denmark) 5, Chris Harris (Great Britain) 5, Leigh Adams (Australia) 3, Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 1. World Championship standings: Crump 52, Sayfutdinov 46, Jonsson 39, Pedersen 34, Hancock 31, Gollob 31, Lindgren 30, Bjerre 23, Adams 22, Holta 22, Ulamek 19, Andersen 17, Walasek 17, *Lindback 17, Harris 16, *Jarek Hampel (Poland) 9, Nicholls 6, *Matej Kus (Czech Republic) 1. *denotes wild-cards. Sun, 31 May 2009 02:11:04 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=210 We are delighted to announce that the new 2009 LAR fleece jackets are now in stock! They will be made available for purchase from the Swindon Robins trackshop this coming Thursday and online from our LAR Online store shortly. Price and sizes TBA. Thu, 28 May 2009 03:32:35 +0000 http://www.leighadams.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=209 Leigh's mood following the European GP in Leszno could only be described as 'philosophical'. "I am disappointed with my performance on Saturday but we just have to park this one and move on. A podium was the target and possibly even the top step but it wasn't to be, thats racing I guess. It's a long way from over and we will get back to base, have a look at what went wrong and put things right. No excuses from me, the track was slicker than usual and the number one draw meant that I was always racing after the grading. As I have said before, after 14 years racing at Leszno, I think I should know the place by now. We are still in the mix and a couple of wins puts us back in the chase." Sun, 10 May 2009 23:33:08 +0000