Australia are the first nation into the World Cup Final after defeating hosts Poland in a run-off at the end of a thrilling tournament opener at Leszno.

The meeting's two outstanding riders clashed after both sides had finished on 56 points and it was skipper Leigh Adams, who had previously dropped his only point to maximum man Jarek Hampel, who emerged on top.

Hampel, after five straight wins, made the start from the inside but Adams cut back on the second bend and raced clear to leave Poland heading for Thursday's Race-Off.

They will be joined there by Russia, who put in a thoroughly entertaining showing highlighted by the performance of fast-rising star Emil Sajfutdinov, indicating that they are a nation who will only improve over the coming years.

The expected battle for top honours between Poland and Australia started with Australia in terrific form as they took 13 of the first 15 points available with Poland left on ten.

However, the consistency of Hampel, Rune Holta and Tomasz Gollob saw Poland take control during the middle stages of the meeting, leaving Australian boss Craig Boyce contemplating his tactical options.
When he did make his move in Heat 19, it turned out to be perfectly timed because not only did Adams bank a full six-pointer, Polish competitor Wieslaw Jagus broke down on the first lap so their lead was wiped out in the space of one race.

Australians then won the next three races courtesy of Chris Holder, Jason Crump and Leigh Adams, and they received a bonus when Hungarian joker ride Matej Ferjan held on to second place ahead of Jagus in Heat 21.

It left Poland with a four point gap to make up, and the final races provided more dramatic action as Sajfutdinov totally eclipsed the battle between the big two by winning Heat 23 for six points, Holta keeping the Poles in contention by taking second ahead of Ryan Sullivan.

Then Gollob showed remarkable awareness to maintain first place in Heat 24 whilst also ensuring that Grigory Laguta came home ahead of Davey Watt, to give Hampel a chance of completing a late comeback.
Hampel duly won Heat 25 but Holder limited the damage by going between Ferjan and Danil Ivanov coming out of turn two, leaving Australia and Poland all-square - and it was the Aussie skipper who had the final word in the run-off.

Adams said: "We're delighted, all the boys put such an effort in and rose to the occasion. We were here to come away with the win, and we'll take the week's rest ahead of the Final. "We're expecting a lot from some pretty inexperienced guys and it was a tough meeting, as the Poles are renowned to be very good on their home turf. "Everyone rode their socks off, we had a great atmosphere and now we'll look forward to next Saturday."
 
FIM NORDICBET SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP EVENT 1

AUSTRALIA 56:
Leigh Adams 20, Jason Crump 11, Chris Holder 11, Ryan Sullivan 8, Davey Watt 6.

POLAND 56:
Jarek Hampel 15, Rune Holta 13, Tomasz Gollob 12, Krzysztof Kasprzak 10, Wieslaw Jagus 6.

RUSSIA 36:
Emil Sajfutdinov 14, Denis Gizatullin 7, Grigory Laguta 7, Danil Ivanov 5, Renat Gafurov 3.

HUNGARY 10:
Matej Ferjan 9, Jozsef Tabaka 1, Sandor Tihanyi 0, Norbert Magosi 0, Laszlo Szatmari 0.