Quarter Finals

World Pairs Quarter Final

Host nation Hungary won the first Quarter Final with Fekete outstanding and Benko offering strong support. The Netherlands had a similar story as Zevenbergen led them into the Semis with a strong display. Defending champions Russia had some struggles but eventually made it through with all of their available trio contributing. Finland beat former rostrum finishers Australia in a run-off for 4th place, with the top 2 4th placed sides also set to progress to the next round. Once the dust had settled at all the Quarter Finals Finland discovered they had just done enough - with their 5 bonus points the crucial factor in seeing off New Zealand. Had Australia won the run-off then it would have been New Zealand who would have progressed instead! The non-qualification of Australia was something of a shock with neither Montsach or Easty able to offer good enough support to top man Irwin. Buri did his best for Slovakia but with little support they never challenged whilst the Irish found the going too tough.

HUNGARY 25 - QUALIFIED

1. Jakub Fekete.............. 3 3 2 3 3 3 17

2. Zoltan Benko.............. 2* 0 1* 1 2* 2* 8+4

3. Tegzo Kerekes............. Did not ride

NETHERLANDS 21 - QUALIFIED

1. Abe Zevenbergen........... 3 3 3 3 1 2* 15+1

2. Henk Knapke............... 0 2* 0 1 0 3 6+1

3. Rodolf Schuyler........... Did not ride

RUSSIA 20 - QUALIFIED

1. Boris Dvoynev............. 2 2 R Fx - - 4

2. Denis Gomozov............. 1* 1* 2 3 2* 1 10+3

3. Nikita Federenko.......... 3 3 - - - - 6

FINLAND 18 - QUALIFIED

1. Ila Niemi................. 2 3 1* 1* 2 1* 10+3

2. Hannu Helinen............. 1* 0 2 2 1* 2 8+2

3. Yrjo Eskelinen............ Did not ride

AUSTRALIA 18

1. Ryan Irwin................ 3 3 3 2 3 0 14

2. Josh Montsach............. 2* 0 0 - - - 2+1

3. Brad Easty................ 1* N2 1 - - - 2+1

SLOVAKIA 15

1. Dalibor Buri.............. 1 1* 2* 2 1 3 10+2

2. Reznik Baluch............. 0 2 3 0 0 - 5

3. Leos Zvara................ 0 - - - - - 0

IRELAND 9

1. James Gachet.............. F 1 1 3 1 0 6

2. Sam McCurdy............... 1 0 0 2 - - 3

3. Alan Connor............... 0 0 - - - - 0

No. Results

1: Jakub Fekete, Zoltan Benko, Dalibor Buri, Reznik Baluch

2: Ryan Irwin, Josh Montsach, Sam McCurdy, James Gachet (F)

3: Abe Zevenbergen, Boris Dvoynev, Denis Gomozov, Henk Knapke

4: Jakub Fekete, Ila Niemi, Hannu Helinen, Zoltan Benko

5: Ryan Irwin, Reznik Baluch, Dalibor Buri, Josh Montsach

6: Abe Zevenbergen, Henk Knapke, James Gachet, Sam McCurdy

7: Ila Niemi, Boris Dvoynev, Denis Gomozov, Hannu Helinen

8: Ryan Irwin, Jakub Fekete, Zoltan Benko, Josh Montsach

9: Reznik Baluch, Dalibor Buri, James Gachet, Sam McCurdy

10: Abe Zevenbergen, Hannu Helinen, Ila Niemi, Henk Knapke

11: Jakub Fekete, Denis Gomozov, Zoltan Benko, Boris Dvoynev (R)

12: Abe Zevenbergen, Dalibor Buri, Henk Knapke, Reznik Baluch

13: Denis Gomozov, Ryan Irwin, Brad Easty, Boris Dvoynev (Fx)

14: James Gachet, Hannu Helinen, Ila Niemi, Alan Connor

15: Jakub Fekete, Zoltan Benko, Abe Zevenbergen, Henk Knapke

16: Nikita Federenko, Denis Gomozov, Dalibor Buri, Reznik Baluch

17: Ryan Irwin, Ila Niemi, Hannu Helinen, Brad Easty (N2)

18: Jakub Fekete, Zoltan Benko, James Gachet, Alan Connor

19: Dalibor Buri, Hannu Helinen, Ila Niemi, Leos Zvara

20: Henk Knapke, Abe Zevenbergen, Brad Easty, Ryan Irwin

21: Nikita Federenko, Sam McCurdy, Denis Gomozov, James Gachet

22: Ila Niemi, Hannu Helinen, Brad Easty, Ryan Irwin

World Pairs Quarter Final

The Czech Republic and America both turned in fine all-round displays to progress with some ease to the Semi Finals in this meeting. Treadwell led Scotland, who relied on a late cameo from Briggs, through to the next stage also and their progression never looked in any real doubt. Slovenia took 4th but relied too much on Verner and 17 points left them looking unlikely to claim one of the top scoring 4th placed spots in the Semis. Spain threatened to cause an upset with a burst of scoring mid meeting before fading and falling just short. Croatia couldn't give enough support to old stager Petkovic whilst the hosts France were always well adrift of the qualifying battle.

CZECH REPUBLIC 24 - QUALIFIED

1. Tibor Nemecek............. 3 2* 2 2 2 3 14+1

2. Milan Stajner............. 2* 3 1* 1* 1* 2* 10+5

3. Josef Gavenda............. Did not ride

AMERICA 23 - QUALIFIED

1. Ricky Antunovich.......... 1* 1* 3 3 1 2* 11+3

2. Jack Hagen................ 2 2 2* X 3 3 12+1

3. Braxton McChesney......... Did not ride

SCOTLAND 21 - QUALIFIED

1. Scott Bridges............. 3 F 0 - - - 3

2. Luke Treadwell............ 1 3 3 3 2* 1* 13+2

3. Mark Briggs............... F 3 2 - - - 5

SLOVENIA 17

1. Petr Verner............... 3 3 2 1 3 Fx 12

2. Jernej Keglovits.......... 0 1 1* R 0 - 2+1

3. Janez Djbas............... 3 - - - - - 3

SPAIN 15

1. Felipie Cazares........... 0 1 3 2* 1 Fx 7+1

2. Jose Alonso............... 2 0 2* 3 Fx 1 8+1

3. Demario Fuentes........... Did not ride

CROATIA 14

1. Matija Petkovic........... 0 2 1 2 3 1 9

2. Roberto Asanovic.......... 2 0 0 - - - 2

3. Vedran Jajalo............. 1* 2* 0 - - - 3+2

FRANCE 12

1. Matt Le Saux.............. 0 1 0 3 0 0 4

2. Xavier Blanc.............. 1 3 1 0 2 1 8

3. Jules Roux................ Did not ride

No. Results

1: Tibor Nemecek, Milan Stajner, Xavier Blanc, Matt Le Saux

2: Scott Bridges, Jose Alonso, Luke Treadwell, Felipie Cazares

3: Petr Verner, Jack Hagen, Ricky Antunovich, Jernej Keglovits

4: Xavier Blanc, Roberto Asanovic, Matt Le Saux, Matija Petkovic

5: Milan Stajner, Tibor Nemecek, Felipie Cazares, Jose Alonso

6: Luke Treadwell, Jack Hagen, Ricky Antunovich, Scott Bridges (F)

7: Petr Verner, Matija Petkovic, Jernej Keglovits, Roberto Asanovic

8: Felipie Cazares, Jose Alonso, Xavier Blanc, Matt Le Saux

9: Luke Treadwell, Tibor Nemecek, Milan Stajner, Scott Bridges

10: Ricky Antunovich, Jack Hagen, Matija Petkovic, Roberto Asanovic

11: Matt Le Saux, Petr Verner, Jernej Keglovits, Xavier Blanc

12: Ricky Antunovich, Tibor Nemecek, Milan Stajner, Jack Hagen (X)

13: Jose Alonso, Felipie Cazares, Petr Verner, Jernej Keglovits (R)

14: Luke Treadwell, Matija Petkovic, Vedran Jajalo, Mark Briggs (F)

15: Jack Hagen, Xavier Blanc, Ricky Antunovich, Matt Le Saux

16: Petr Verner, Tibor Nemecek, Milan Stajner, Jernej Keglovits

17: Matija Petkovic, Vedran Jajalo, Felipie Cazares, Jose Alonso (Fx)

18: Mark Briggs, Luke Treadwell, Xavier Blanc, Matt Le Saux

19: Tibor Nemecek, Milan Stajner, Matija Petkovic, Vedran Jajalo

20: Jack Hagen, Ricky Antunovich, Jose Alonso, Felipie Cazares (Fx)

21: Janez Djbas, Mark Briggs, Luke Treadwell, Petr Verner (Fx)

World Pairs Quarter Final

Former champions Norway dominated this meeting with both Bergestol and Juritzen in top form and they must be highly fancied to challenge for the title once again this season. As expected Poland qualified with some ease, although required a good display from reserve Kryznowek to make sure, while Germany also turned in a good pairs display to reach the Semis with few problems. Italy, riding on home shale, took 4th place and their 20 point haul is definitely enough to ensure a Semi Final spot. Of the rest Canada relied too heavily on Stanyk while the same was true of Bulgaria and Stoyanov. At the foot of the scorechart, as most predicted, were Brazil although Bellini took a couple of scalps and the 17 year old looks to have some promise for the future.

NORWAY 26 - QUALIFIED

1. Hans E Bergestol.......... 3 1* 1 2* 2* 3 12+3

2. Rudi Juritzen............. 2* 2 3 3 3 1 14+1

3. Olle Bjorn Thoresen....... Did not ride

POLAND 21 - QUALIFIED

1. Jakub Baran............... 3 3 3 1* 2* 0 12+2

2. Gabrys Irzyk.............. 2* 0 0 - - - 2+1

3. Boguslaw Kryznowek........ 2 3 2 - - - 7

GERMANY 21 - QUALIFIED

1. Hans Benkarth............. 1 3 3 1* 1 1 10+1

2. Otto Juttke............... 3 2* 1 2 0 3 11+1

3. Henrik Wasserman.......... Did not ride

ITALY 20 - QUALIFIED

1. Enzo Innacone............. 2 0 2* 2 3 3 12+1

2. Luigi Tabaglio............ 0 1 3 Fx 2* 2* 8+2

3. Donato Dragotto........... Did not ride

CANADA 17

1. Wilbur Stanyk............. 3 3 2 3 1 2 14

2. Bruce Twamley............. 1 2* 0 X - - 3+1

3. Dwayne Houtby............. 0 0 - - - - 0

BULGARIA 13

1. Rumun Dimotrov............ 1 0 2 0 R - 3

2. Dimitar Stoyanov.......... 0 1 1* 3 1 3 9+1

3. Venci Hristov............. 1 - - - - - 1

BRAZIL 8

1. Paulo Camargo............. 0 1 0 0 - - 1

2. Marco Bellini............. 2 R 1 1 1 2 7

3. Lucio Vilanova............ Fx 0 - - - - 0

No. Results

1: Otto Juttke, Enzo Innacone, Hans Benkarth, Luigi Tabaglio

2: Wilbur Stanyk, Marco Bellini, Bruce Twamley, Paulo Camargo

3: Hans E Bergestol, Rudi Juritzen, Rumun Dimotrov, Dimitar Stoyanov

4: Jakub Baran, Gabrys Irzyk, Luigi Tabaglio, Enzo Innacone

5: Hans Benkarth, Otto Juttke, Paulo Camargo, Marco Bellini (R)

6: Wilbur Stanyk, Bruce Twamley, Dimitar Stoyanov, Rumun Dimotrov

7: Jakub Baran, Rudi Juritzen, Hans E Bergestol, Gabrys Irzyk

8: Luigi Tabaglio, Enzo Innacone, Marco Bellini, Paulo Camargo

9: Hans Benkarth, Wilbur Stanyk, Otto Juttke, Bruce Twamley

10: Jakub Baran, Rumun Dimotrov, Dimitar Stoyanov, Gabrys Irzyk

11: Rudi Juritzen, Enzo Innacone, Hans E Bergestol, Luigi Tabaglio (Fx)

12: Dimitar Stoyanov, Otto Juttke, Hans Benkarth, Rumun Dimotrov

13: Rudi Juritzen, Hans E Bergestol, Marco Bellini, Paulo Camargo

14: Wilbur Stanyk, Boguslaw Kryznowek, Jakub Baran, Bruce Twamley (X)

15: Enzo Innacone, Luigi Tabaglio, Dimitar Stoyanov, Rumun Dimotrov (R)

16: Rudi Juritzen, Hans E Bergestol, Hans Benkarth, Otto Juttke

17: Boguslaw Kryznowek, Jakub Baran, Marco Bellini, Lucio Vilanova (Fx)

18: Enzo Innacone, Luigi Tabaglio, Wilbur Stanyk, Dwayne Houtby

19: Otto Juttke, Boguslaw Kryznowek, Hans Benkarth, Jakub Baran

20: Dimitar Stoyanov, Marco Bellini, Venci Hristov, Lucio Vilanova

21: Hans E Bergestol, Wilbur Stanyk, Rudi Juritzen, Dwayne Houtby

22: Jakub Baran, Otto Juttke

World Pairs Quarter Final

England and Sweden, riding at home, strolled through to the next stage as expected, Wood and Blomqvist in top form for those nations respectively. The rest was a tight affair with Denmark just taking the third automatic qualifying spot as Hansen stepped in from reserve to support Isaksen and see them through. New Zealand turned in a see-saw performance with a last race maximum enough to take 4th but not quite enough in the final analysis as Finland had picked up one extra bonus point, in matching their 18 point total, which proved crucial as the Scandinavian side went through. Clipstone was outstanding for Wales and they looked like causing an upset at one stage but Szczygiel faded and they fell short eventually. The other two sides were never in the running despite decent displays from Draghu for Romania and Latvia's Viyups but the supporting cast couldn't add any serious points.

ENGLAND 27 - QUALIFIED

1. Hayden Wood............... 3 2* 2 3 3 2* 15+2

2. Liam Reay................. 1 3 1* 2* 2* 3 12+3

3. Nick Ambrose.............. Did not ride

SWEDEN 25 - QUALIFIED

1. Hasse Blomqvist........... 3 3 3 2* 2 3 16+1

2. Eric Bjork................ 1 2* 0 3 1* 2* 9+3

3. Gote Nordvall............. Did not ride

DENMARK 19 - QUALIFIED

1. Jens Isaksen.............. 3 3 1 1 3 1 12

2. Steen Eriksen............. 2* 0 0 - - - 2+1

3. Henrik Hansen............. 0 2* 3 - - - 5+1

NEW ZEALAND 18

1. Fillippe Chong............ 0 2 1* 2* 1 3 9+2

2. Leigh Billington.......... 1 1* 2 3 0 2* 9+2

3. Wynton Te-Huna............ Did not ride

WALES 16

1. Tony Clipstone............ 0 1* 3 3 3 1 11+1

2. Rhodri Szczygiel.......... 1 2 0 2* 0 0 5+1

3. Joe Finch................. Did not ride

ROMANIA 11

1. Sorin Draghu.............. 2 3 2 1 0 2 10

2. Florin Luntraru........... 0 0 1 0 - - 1

3. Dragan Moosz.............. 0 0 - - - - 0

LATVIA 10

1. Janis Viyups.............. 2 1 3 0 Fx 1 7

2. Leonid Izotov............. 0 0 - - - - 0

3. Vladislav Antonenko....... 1 1 1 0 - - 3

No. Results

1: Hasse Blomqvist, Janis Viyups, Eric Bjork, Leonid Izotov

2: Hayden Wood, Sorin Draghu, Liam Reay, Florin Luntraru

3: Jens Isaksen, Steen Eriksen, Rhodri Szczygiel, Tony Clipstone

4: Hasse Blomqvist, Eric Bjork, Leigh Billington, Fillippe Chong

5: Liam Reay, Hayden Wood, Janis Viyups, Leonid Izotov

6: Sorin Draghu, Rhodri Szczygiel, Tony Clipstone, Florin Luntraru

7: Jens Isaksen, Fillippe Chong, Leigh Billington, Steen Eriksen

8: Hasse Blomqvist, Hayden Wood, Liam Reay, Eric Bjork

9: Janis Viyups, Sorin Draghu, Vladislav Antonenko, Dragan Moosz

10: Tony Clipstone, Leigh Billington, Fillippe Chong, Rhodri Szczygiel

11: Eric Bjork, Hasse Blomqvist, Jens Isaksen, Steen Eriksen

12: Tony Clipstone, Rhodri Szczygiel, Vladislav Antonenko, Janis Viyups

13: Hayden Wood, Liam Reay, Jens Isaksen, Henrik Hansen

14: Leigh Billington, Fillippe Chong, Sorin Draghu, Dragan Moosz

15: Tony Clipstone, Hasse Blomqvist, Eric Bjork, Rhodri Szczygiel

16: Jens Isaksen, Henrik Hansen, Vladislav Antonenko, Janis Viyups (Fx)

17: Hayden Wood, Liam Reay, Fillippe Chong, Leigh Billington

18: Hasse Blomqvist, Eric Bjork, Florin Luntraru, Sorin Draghu

19: Fillippe Chong, Leigh Billington, Janis Viyups, Vladislav Antonenko

20: Liam Reay, Hayden Wood, Tony Clipstone, Rhodri Szczygiel

21: Henrik Hansen, Sorin Draghu, Jens Isaksen, Florin Luntraru