Leigh Adams marked his 100th Grand Prix in perfect fashion with victory in a thrilling Scandinavian event at Malilla.

Adams had vowed to forget about the mounting points gap to series leader Nicki Pedersen and concentrate fully on the meeting, and he gained his reward with a second consecutive GP win at the Swedish circuit.

The Australian got the better of Hans Andersen in the Final, the Dane having appeared to be the dominant force for much of the meeting after winning five of his first six rides and being able to pick the inside gate for both his semi-final and the Final.

Andersen led away but came under pressure from Adams' outside run as he initially blocked Nicki Pedersen on the inside - and although Andersen seemed to just have Adams covered as they went into the second lap, he moved further across the track on the back straight than he would have wanted, lost speed and Adams took full advantage.
Pedersen's third place was another triumph of consistency on a night when he was suffering mechanical troubles, the reigning champion still reaching the Final despite breaking down at the start of his third ride.

And that ensured he extended his overall lead by two points to 17 as his nearest challenger Jason Crump was behind him in the Final, having matched Pedersen's performance in the heats and semi-final.
Greg Hancock looked a possible winner too with 12 points from the heats, but he ran a last in the second semi-final, which still leaves him ten points behind Crump and now under threat from Andersen for a top-three position, the Dane having vaulted Tomasz Gollob - who squeezed into the semis but went out in the same race as Hancock.

Racing was close with plenty of overtaking and several of the lower riders in the standings threatened to take big results from the meeting before fading later on.

Both Krzysztof Kasprzak and Lukas Dryml, some way adrift going into the event, took welcome race wins with Kasprzak making the first semi-final before going out at the expense of Andersen and Pedersen.
Niels-Kristian Iversen added a useful nine points to his total thanks to a semi-final appearance, and both he and Fredrik Lindgren are now very much in touch with Rune Holta for a top-eight finish.

But it was a disastrous meeting for the British riders with Scott Nicholls scoring four points and Chris Harris three - the two once again coming together when they met, Harris going down as Nicholls came through on the inside in Heat 14.

Harris was excluded on that occasion but Nicholls had cause to rue his misfortune in Heat 17 when he was on the receiving end of a baffling exclusion after tangling with Holta as the duo left the start-line.

The victorious Adams said: "We're a long way adrift, but this is a stepping stone. We said we had to forget about the points and just try to enjoy it, and that's what we did. I'm still enjoying my speedway, still riding pretty well and I've got great people around me. With those hundred Grands Prix, it takes a dedicated team, and I have to say a big thank-you to my mechanics and my family because it's been a long old haul for many years.

"We've got to finish on top of the box a few more times. A few more of these and we'll be up there!"
 
RESULT:
Leigh Adams (Aus) 21, Hans Andersen (Den) 20, Nicki Pedersen (Den) 14, Jason Crump (Aus) 12, Greg Hancock (USA) 12, Krzysztof Kasprzak (Pol) 9, Niels-Kristian Iversen (Den) 9, Tomasz Gollob (Pol) 8, Fredrik Lindgren (Swe) 7, Andreas Jonsson (Swe) 6, Bjarne Pedersen (Den) 6, Rune Holta (Pol) 5, Lukas Dryml (Cze) 5, Scott Nicholls (GB) 4, Chris Harris (GB) 3, Peter Ljung (Swe) 3.
 
OVERALL after Round 7:
Nicki Pedersen 116, Jason Crump 99, Greg Hancock 89, Hans Andersen 84, Tomasz Gollob 82, Leigh Adams 80, Andreas Jonsson 61, Rune Holta 53, Fredrik Lindgren 52, Niels-Kristian Iversen 48, Scott Nicholls 45, Chris Harris 40, Bjarne Pedersen 38, Krzysztof Kasprzak 31, Lukas Dryml 25.