GRAND PRIX CHALLENGE FINAL - top 5 qualify, along with 2 wild card picks to be made at the end of the meeting
| At the interval stage three riders had broken clear of the pack with Hayden Wood, Braxton McChesney and Fillippe Chong all scoring 8 points from 3 rides and looking well set to get back into the GP Series at the first attempt. Behind was a cluster of riders, separated by just 3 points down to 14th place and all still battling for a vital top 5 spot. |
| Luke Treadwell was the first to break from that pack, winning heat 13 ahead of Chong, and David Bedford did likewise by winning heat 15 to put the pair into the top 5 places, behind the same trio who still led and had all now done enough to guarantee they would be returning to the Grand Prix for next season. |
| So to the crunch races then and Bedford was first up, knowing that 2 points would see him join Wood, McChesney and Chong in a qualifying place; in the end he managed just 3rd but knew that he was at least assured of a runoff at the very worst now. In heat 18 Luke Treadwell was looking for 2 points while Martin Shaw needed a win to join Bedford on 8. For old timer Shaw it proved a step too far but Treadwell's win meant we would be seeing the Scotsman returning to the sport's top table as he moved to 10 points and certain qualification. Not it was just a case of whether one or two of Henrik Hansen, Petr Verner, Carsten Ostenstad or Scott Bridges could match Bedford's 9 points and force a runoff for the final guaranteed place in next season's series. |
| In the end only Henrik Hansen could do it and the pair would face a showdown for the big prize. Before that McChesney won a decider for 2nd in the meeting, beating Chong with the pair completing the rostrum places behind Hayden Wood. Hansen then repeated his fine heat 19 win in the big race to complete a fightback from a mid-meeting dip, which saw him fail to score in races before and after the interval, and complete the quintet who knew for definite they would be in next season's GP series. Immediately after the run-off itself was |
| Immediately after the meeting the 2 wild card picks for permanent inclusion in the series next year were announced as 21 year old Polish rider Boguslaw Kryznowek and Russian star Nikita Fedorenko who has just led his Moscow side to a 3rd straight European League title and top scored for Russia as they won the World Pairs Final a few weeks ago. |
| 1. Hayden Wood............... 3 2 3 3 1 12 (QUALIFIED) |
| 2. Braxton McChesney......... 2 3 3 2 1 11 (QUALIFIED) |
| 3. Fillippe Chong............ 3 3 2 2 1 11 (QUALIFIED) |
| 4. Luke Treadwell............ 1 0 3 3 3 10 (QUALIFIED) |
| 5. Henrik Hansen............. 3 3 0 0 3 9 (QUALIFIED) |
| 6. David Bedford............. 3 1 1 3 1 9 |
| 7. Carsten Ostenstad......... 2 0 3 1 2 8 |
| 8. Petr Verner............... 0 1 2 3 2 8 |
| 9. Boguslaw Kryznowek........ 0 2 0 2 3 7 |
| 10. Denis Gomozov............. 2 1 0 1 3 7 |
| 11. Ricky Antunovich.......... 2 0 2 1 2 7 |
| 12. Scott Bridges............. 1 3 1 1 0 6 |
| 13. Martin Shaw............... 1 1 2 2 0 6 |
| 14. Johannes Flood............ 0 2 1 0 2 5 |
| 15. Rafal Narozny............. 1 2 1 0 0 4 |
| 16. Jason Isaacs.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
| 17. Rudi Juritzen............. Did not ride |
| 18. Ludek Janicek............. Did not ride |
| No. Results |
| 1: Henrik Hansen, Ricky Antunovich, Rafal Narozny, Jason Isaacs |
| 2: Hayden Wood, Carsten Ostenstad, Luke Treadwell, Johannes Flood |
| 3: David Bedford, Braxton McChesney, Scott Bridges, Boguslaw Kryznowek |
| 4: Fillippe Chong, Denis Gomozov, Martin Shaw, Petr Verner |
| 5: Braxton McChesney, Rafal Narozny, Petr Verner, Carsten Ostenstad |
| 6: Fillippe Chong, Hayden Wood, David Bedford, Ricky Antunovich |
| 7: Henrik Hansen, Boguslaw Kryznowek, Denis Gomozov, Luke Treadwell |
| 8: Scott Bridges, Johannes Flood, Martin Shaw, Jason Isaacs |
| 9: Hayden Wood, Martin Shaw, Rafal Narozny, Boguslaw Kryznowek |
| 10: Carsten Ostenstad, Ricky Antunovich, Scott Bridges, Denis Gomozov |
| 11: Braxton McChesney, Fillippe Chong, Johannes Flood, Henrik Hansen |
| 12: Luke Treadwell, Petr Verner, David Bedford, Jason Isaacs |
| 13: Luke Treadwell, Fillippe Chong, Scott Bridges, Rafal Narozny |
| 14: Petr Verner, Boguslaw Kryznowek, Ricky Antunovich, Johannes Flood |
| 15: David Bedford, Martin Shaw, Carsten Ostenstad, Henrik Hansen |
| 16: Hayden Wood, Braxton McChesney, Denis Gomozov, Jason Isaacs |
| 17: Denis Gomozov, Johannes Flood, David Bedford, Rafal Narozny |
| 18: Luke Treadwell, Ricky Antunovich, Braxton McChesney, Martin Shaw |
| 19: Henrik Hansen, Petr Verner, Hayden Wood, Scott Bridges |
| 20: Boguslaw Kryznowek, Carsten Ostenstad, Fillippe Chong, Jason Isaacs |
| RUNOFF FOR 2nd: Braxton McChesney, Fillippe Chong |
| RUNOFF FOR FINAL GP PLACE: Henrik Hansen, David Bedford |
2016/17 GRAND PRIX SERIES LINEUP
| 1. Liam Reay - England |
| 2. Nick Ambrose - England |
| 3. Chris Adams - England |
| 4. Gabrys Irzyk - Poland |
| 5. Hans E Bergestol - Norway |
| 6. Olle Bjorn Thoresen - Norway |
| 7. Maciej Tercjak - Poland |
| 8. Steen Eriksen - Denmark |
| 9. Hayden Wood - England |
| 10. Braxton McChesney - America |
| 11. Fillippe Chong - New Zealand |
| 12. Luke Treadwell - Scotland |
| 13. Henrik Hansen - Denmark |
| 14. Boguslaw Kryznowek - Poland |
| 15. Nikita Fedorenko - Russia |
Reserves:
| David Bedford - England |
| Carsten Ostenstad - Norway |
If required other riders will be used by finishing order in the GP Challenge above.