The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Cook is bidding to serve up some World Cup glory
Speedway - World Cup Final
Panthers number one Craig Cook is bidding to help Great Britain rule the world . . . but he won’t have time to celebrate! Cook will line up in the World Cup Final this Saturday night at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester – his home track at Elite League level.
Cook joins the two-time world champion Tai Woffinden, the reigning British champion Danny King and rising talent Robert Lambert i n Alun Rossiter’s Great Britain quartet.
TheywilltakeonEventOne winners Poland and Event Two top dogs Sweden along with the winning side from the Race-Off tomorrow night (Friday) which features Denmark, Australia, Russia and America.
Cook said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been selected for the World Cup as part of a young, hungry and ambitious team which wants to succeed.
“We’ve got a top quality performer in Tai to lead us while Danny is riding on the crest of a wave after winning the British title.
“No-one tries harder than young Robert, who really has the bit between his teeth, and there is probably no other British rider who can ride the new Belle Vue track better than me.
“I really think we are capable of putting a cat among the pigeons and I thoroughly believe wehaveasgoodachance as any team who will be there on Saturday night.
“We’re all relishing the opportunity and hopefully we can make the most of it with all the British fans behind us in a fantastic stadium.”
But the 29 year-old won’t be savouring the moment for too long if Great Britain manage to pull off a surprise victory.
Cook has important Premier League business the following night when Panthers travel to his first club, Workington, on Sunday.
Cook also rides for Panthers tonight (Thursday) at Sheffield before joining up with his international teammates tomorrow.
Panthers promoter Ged Rathbone said: “It is a ‘huge honour’ for the club to have a rider competing in the World Cup Final.
“Craig is in the team on merit andI’msureall our supporters will join me in hoping he can have a good meeting.
“It’s obviously going to be very tough for Great Britain, but hopefully they can dowell and win a medal.” There is nothing like a confidence-boostingresulttostart a dauntingly difficult run of away fixtures . . . and this was nothing like it.
It was quite the opposite, in fact. A morale-sapping misery of a derby defeat in whichonly twoPanthers riders emerged with any credit.
That duo, Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen and Ashley Morris, provided the visitors’ four race wins and also produced 22 of their points between them.
BuskJakobsenroaredtoa classy 15-point haul boosted by a successful tactical ride while Morris battled his way to seven after winning heat two. The less said about the rest, the better.
Panthers were undone by a run of five Ipswich 5-1s in the space of six races after initially keeping their hosts in check.
They responded to an openingmaximumfromBritish champion Danny King and James Sarjeant ( who both went through the card - a15-pointfull-housefromfive riders for the former and an 8+4paid effort fromfour riders for the latter) with a Morris-inspired 4-2 in heat two.
A couple of shared races then followed before the hosts upped the ante with back-to-back 5-1s to ease into a 10-point advantage.
Busk Jakobsen made the most of a double-points outing in heat seven to eat into those arrears, but it provided only temporary respite as another three Ipswich 5-1s (including in the re-runs of heats eight andnineafterthe returning ZdenekHoluband skipper Ulrich Ostergaard were excluded respectively) were followed by a 4-2 to wrap up victory for the hosts with four races to spare.