| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
|
|
The Triple Crown 'Plus.'
Luck, of which Seneca the Younger said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." Ivan Mauger said, "Luck is only any good to you if you are in the position to take advantage of it." And he knew that only too well. It had to happen of course. I was kind of sad that Mauger lost that unique title. It was something special to him and when Tony Rickardsson became 6 times World Champion, Ivan still had that wonderful piece of history to himself. Okay, he's still the only rider to have won the World Final three years in a row, but now Bartosz Zmarzlik joins him as winner of the Triple Crown. Frightening thing is, should he go one better next year, and he's just the guy to do it, he too will become 6 times World Champion. Some have labeled him as lucky. And yes, they are right. No-one ever did win the World Final or SGP without that extra tea-spoon of good luck. But, read the intro again. His extra tea-spoons? Artem Laguta and Emil Sayfutdinov being banned from the last three years. We all know why. Nothing to do with them and they bravely spoke out. Could the outcome have been any different. Maybees, maybees not though. What we do know is despite the tragic loss to the series of those two Superstars, it cannot detract from the sheer brilliance of the Zmarzlik Star Machine. It just left a big hole. How big?
2016 1st Greg Hancock. 2nd Tai Woffinden. 3rd Bartosz Zmarzlik. That big! No-one questions Ivan's right to his Triple Crown. Was he lucky? Yes, of course, but he put himself in that position to capitalize on the misfortunes of others, same as Zmarzlik. Let's take a close look. 1968. The World Final is held at Gothenburg and the defending Champion, Ove Fundin has safely qualified but the rider many would have called the 'home favourite', Bengt Jansson was stuck at reserve. Tragic for him, tragic for the Final and Ivan scores the maximum without having to face the missing Ace. 1969. The Ronnie Moore comeback had been remarkable and he safely qualified for the Wembley Final. His last appearance was 1962. Such was his form, he was considered just as much a favourite to win as his Kiwi comrades, Mauger and Barry Briggs. Joining Nigel Boocock as the home favourite. However, tragedy struck on August 18 at Newcastle. The 2nd Test, England V New Zealand. In his second heat, Ronnie crashed and broke his right foot. With the World Final on September 13, there was just not enough time to recover. He made a brave attempt. Breaking the pain barrier many times in his preparations. But on the night, his 6 points were just a shadow of what he was capable of. Ivan won, needing no points from his last ride. And he did so without having to face a fully fit Ronnie Moore. 1970. The World Final is being held for the first time in Poland and Ivan goes to Wroclaw as the red-hot favourite. And he did not disappoint his faithful followers, taking the Gold Medal unbeaten. So where did that extra tea-spoon of luck come from? It was the same for the entire field. Edward Jancarz, who would have been the home favourite was missing. Taking the Bronze Medal on his debut in 68, he followed that with an impressive 6th place at Wembley in 69. Sadly, for this year, early season serious injuries, with no time to recover, saw him struggle in the Polish qualifying rounds and he failed to make it. The way Mauger scored the maximum on Final day, it's hard to imagine anyone else may have done better. But in the case of 'Steady Eddie', well, who knows? It's the same for Zmarzlik not facing Laguta or Sayfutdinov, over the past three years. The history books wont care and neither will his legion of devoted fans.
1967. 1st Ove Fundin. 2nd Bengt Jansson. 3rd Ivan Mauger.
2022. 1st Bartosz Zmarzlik. 2nd Leon Madsen. 3rd Maciej Janowski. Back to the question of luck. We can all think back, to the 1978 Wembley World Final, and that magnificent win by Ole Olsen. Many said he was lucky because of Dave Jessup's engine failure. They all fail to look beyond that. Ole's extra tea-spoon of luck was the same for the entire field. The home favourite Peter Collins, sitting in the stand after being knocked out of the competition in the British Final. Again, the history books could not care less. And so, right now, the Triple Crown belongs to Ivan Mauger 'Plus' Bartosz Zmarzlik. Both thoroughly deserving of their hard fought and won Golden Crowns. The end. Or is it???
This article was first published on 6th October 2024
|
||||||||||||
| Please leave your comments on this article or on the site as a whole | |||||||||||||
