The 2011 Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) began in Leszno, Poland, on April 30, for the first time in the 11-round series. Reigning world champion Tomasz Gollob could only finish second in the grand final behind Dane Nicki Pedersen, but topped the table in points after a GP.
In the second round, the Swedish GP came to Gothenburg and was won by Australian Chris Holder, with American Greg Hancock finishing second. Hancock and Gollob were tied with 24 points each at the top of the overall leaderboard.
The Czech Republic GP in Prague provided the third different winner in three rounds when Greg Hancock took the top step of the podium, ahead of Jaroslaw Hampel in second place and Tomasz Gollob in third. Hancock topped the overall standings for the first time, six points ahead of Gollob.
The fourth round traveled to Copenhagen for the Danish GP. Tomasz Gollob was impenetrable scoring a maximum of 20 points and catapulting himself back to the top of the standings. Jason Crump finished second, his best result of the year so far and Chris Holder secured the bronze medal.
30,000 spectators at the Blue Ribbon of the Year event at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium saw Greg Hancock secure the victory, ahead of Nicki Pedersen and Chris Holder. A nightmare for Tomasz Gollob saw him win just one win and just seven points, meaning Hancock once again topped the overall standings.
The Olimpia Stadium in Terenzano, Italy hosted the sixth round of the championship. Swede Andreas Jonsson took the honors and another strong finish from Hancock saw him extend his overall lead over Tomasz Gollob to 22 points.
Malilla in Sweden hosted the seventh round of the SGP and Jaroslaw Hampel of Poland took the gold, ahead of Andreas Jonsson and Kenneth Bjerre. Greg Hancock failed to reach the final and finished with just nine points, but another terrible night for Tomasz Gollob saw him score just three points in the world championship and fell to third place in the overall standings behind Hampel and Hancock.
The SGP returned to Poland for the eighth round in Torun. Andreas Jonsson won the final, ahead of Jaroslaw Hampel and the wild card of Darcy Ward. Hampel’s strong finish saw him narrow the gap between himself and Greg Hancock at the top of the overall standards to 17 points.
Round 9 of the European Championship traveled to Vojens in Denmark for the Nordic GP. Greg Hancock cemented his place at the top of the overall standards with victory on the night, after the deaths of Jason Crump and Freddie Lindgren.
The ten rounds at Gorican in Croatia saw Andreas Jonsson win his third od GP of the year, ahead of Briton Chris Harris and Freddie Lindgren. In fourth place on the night, Greg Hancock extended his overall lead to 36 points.
The final round of the series took place in Gorzow, Poland, and under pressure from Greg Hancock he clinched a rain-soaked victory.
Congratulations to Greg Hancock, 2011 Speedway World Champion.
