Russian Sensation Sweeps Past Australian at Slovenian Speedway Grand Prix

The pressure is on Australian Jason Crump as the 2009 World Speedway Grand Prix Championship Series reaches its final stages. Russian teen Emil Sayfutdinov swept to his third GP win of the season with a perfect seven wins out of seven rounds at the FIM Slovenian Speedway Grand Prix in Krsko.

Two time World Speedway Grand Prix champion Jason Crump had his overall lead trimmed from 36 points to 26 by Russian Emil Sayfutdinov at the FIM Slovenia Grand Prix in Krsko
Two time World Speedway Grand Prix champion Jason Crump had his overall lead trimmed from 36 points to 26 by Russian Emil Sayfutdinov at the FIM Slovenia Grand Prix in Krsko
Sayfutdinov reduced Crump’s 36 point gap down to 26 points with only two rounds remaining. Crump lost out to Rune Holta and Nicki Pederson as they battled past the Australian in a three way scrap.
If Jason Crump finishes in front of Emil Sayfutdinov in the next round of the World Speedway Grand Prix at Olympia Stadium in Terenzano, Italy he will become the next World Champion
If Jason Crump finishes in front of Emil Sayfutdinov in the next round of the World Speedway Grand Prix at Olympia Stadium in Terenzano, Italy he will become the next World Champion

Australian Jason Crump reached the semi-finals with 11 points, but lost out to Poland's Rune Holta and Denmark's Nicki Pedersen in a three-way battle
Australian Jason Crump reached the semi-finals with 11 points, but lost out to Poland's Rune Holta and Denmark's Nicki Pedersen in a three-way battle

The two-time world champion scored 11 points from his five heats at the Matije Gubca Stadium, but the points leader was eliminated at the semi-final stage after finishing in third place.

“I should have done better and at least got through to the final,” said Crump. “I rode well in the heats but my semi-final let me down and now I have a lot of work ahead of me at the next two rounds to maintain my lead and win the championship.”

After nine rounds the top ten riders in the 2009 World Championship Standings are:

Jason Crump, Australia, 146 points
Emil Sayfutdinov, Russia, 120 points
Tomasz Gollob, Poland, 110 points
Greg Hancock, USA, 106 points
Andreas Jonsson, Sweden 92 points
Kenneth Bjerre, Denmark, 85 points
Fredrik Lindgren, Sweden 82 points
Nicki Pedersen, Denmark 80 points
Rune Holta, Poland 77 points
Hans Andersen, Denmark 70 points

“If I finish in front of Sayfutdinov at the next round I will be the World Champion,” said Crump. “But, if he outscores me by more than two points, then the championship will be decided in the last round at Bydgoszcz in Poland. Naturally I will be giving it everything I have at the next round and going for the win. I will also be racing with K&N products. In my sport filtration is the most important thing for reliability. Reliability wins me races and World Championships and that is why I rely on K&N motorcycle filters. I race on the dirt and keeping the dirt out of the engine is critical. At the same time K&N lets my engines breathe for maximum performance on the track every time.”

Round ten of the 2009 Speedway Grand Prix World Championship will take place at Olympia Stadium in Terenzano, Italy on Saturday September 26.

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