The 2011 Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) kicked off in Leszno, Poland on April 30 for the first time in the 11-round series. Reigning world champion Tomasz Gollob could only manage second place in the grand finale behind Dane Nicki Pedersen but topped the points table after one GP.
Round two saw the Swedish GP reach Gothenburg and was won by Australian Chris Holder, with American Greg Hancock finishing second. Hancock and Gollob were tied with 24 points each for the top of the overall leaderboard.
The Czech GP in Prague provided the third different winner in three rounds as Greg Hancock took the top step of the podium, ahead of Jaroslaw Hampel in second and Tomasz Gollob in third. Hancock topped the overall standings for the first time, six points ahead of Gollob.
Round four traveled to Copenhagen for the Danish GP. Tomasz Gollob was unwavering scoring a maximum of 20 points and catapulting himself back to the top of the standings. Jason Crump finished second, his best finish of the year so far, and Chris Holder secured the bronze medal.
30,000 spectators at the year’s flagship event at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium saw Greg Hancock secure victory, ahead of Nicki Pedersen and Chris Holder. A nightmare for Tomasz Gollob saw him win just one heat and just seven points, meaning Hancock once again topped the overall standings.
The Olimpia Stadium in Terenzano, Italy, hosted the sixth day of the championship. Sweden’s 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 Poland’s Jaroslaw Hampel took gold, ahead of Andreas Jonsson and Kenneth Bjerre. Greg Hancock failed to make it to the final and finished with just nine points, but another terrible night for Tomasz Gollob saw him score just three world championship points and drop to third in the overall standings behind Hampel and Hancock.
The SGP returned to Poland for round eight in Torun. Andreas Jonsson won the final, ahead of Jaroslaw Hampel and wild card Darcy Ward. Hampel’s strong finish saw him close the gap between himself and Greg Hancock at the top of the overall standards to 17 points.
Round nine of the 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, killed by Jason Crump and Freddie Lindgren.
The ten rounds at Gorican in Croatia saw Andreas Jonsson win his third GP of the year, ahead of Britain’s Chris Harris and Freddie Lindgren. Fourth place of the night saw Greg Hancock extend his overall lead to an unattainable 36 points.
The final round of the series was held in Gorzow in Poland and with pressure from Greg Hancock he achieved a rain-soaked victory.
Congratulations to Greg Hancock, 2011 World Speedway Champion.