HANS Andersen has recovered from the hand injury that ruled him out of the last two Ipswich Witches meetings in time to take his place in today's World Championship Grand Final.
HANS Andersen has recovered from the hand injury that ruled him out of the last two Ipswich Witches meetings in time to take his place in today's World Championship Grand Final.
The 23-year-old Dane knows only a top-two finish at Vojens will guarantee him a Grand Prix place next season.
At the end of a turbulent week, Andersen admitted he had been buoyed by the news of the Witches success over Eastbourne at Foxhall and had kept in regular contact with the Witches this week via text messages.
Andersen said: “I was pleased to hear the boys beat Eastbourne on Thursday night - and by such an easy margin.
“It cheered me up because we needed to win that after the defeats at Eastbourne and Poole. And to do it so easily sounded great.
“My hand injury is still very sore, but getting better. It was the same hand I hurt at Ipswich when riding for Peterborough last season. There is a nasty blood clot behind the knuckles, but it has gone down a bit now.
“I will be back at Belle Vue for the Witches on Wednesday and would have been at Poole and Ipswich this week if I hadn't crashed on Tuesday.
“The Witches are important to me and I really didn't want to miss this week's meetings. These were the first meetings I have missed for Ipswich this season and I want to be back in the side.
“Now I just want to get on with my racing and want to help Ipswich win trophies.
“The whole World Cup thing has been blown way out of proportion and there were 60 pages on one web-site about it - madness.”
Andersen takes his place in a 20-heat meeting today, with two semi-finals and a final. Only the top two in the final will qualify for next season's GP series. If he fails to make it today, he would have to finish in the top eight of the GP series this season - an unlikely scenario.
“I knew I wouldn't finish in the top eight of this season's GP series, although I must admit I expected to do better than I have.
“This meeting in Vojens will be difficult, but firstly I must get in the semi-finals. You can still finish eighth in the heats and win the final.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here