Greg leads Slo protest

A TRIO of world champions have ripped into Slovenian Grand Prix track bosses, accusing them of turning the opening round of the series into a soggy procession.

World No.1 Greg Hancock and ex-champs Tai Woffinden and Chris Holder were furious at wet and slimy conditions on a warm, dry night in Krsko.

Track staff spent hours watering the circuit and that upset all the big names as no rider on the outside gate won any of the 23 races and couldn’t even claim a second place in 19 of the heats. Hancock, chasing a fifth world crown and a veteran of 203 GPs, waded in. He said: “It’s a shame when the result is determined at the start and the only way to pass someone is if they make a mistake.” Brit Woffinden refused to blame the track conditions for his lowly ninth-place finish. But he blasted: “If I could explain what the track was like, you’d be apologising for my language. It was about making starts and nothing else.

“They had 24 hours without rain and the track was like it had been raining all day, so it was a complete mess-up by the people that organise it.”

Holder added: “There was no passing at all.

“It was just one line and I couldn’t make good enough starts.” CHAMPIONSHIP high fliers Ipswich have replaced injured Italian Nicolas Covatti with Aussie Justin Sedgmen, who also rides for Belle Vue in the Premiership.