It proved a disastrous night for both Oxford speedway aces Todd Wiltshire and Jimmy Nilsen in the third round of the Grand Prix series at Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday.

Wiltshire, lying second overall before the start, dropped five places after being eliminated in heat 19, just a step away from the semi-finals, and Nilsen, nowhere near fit to ride despite being cleared to take part, just went through the motions to complete the four laps each time.

Wiltshire came into the fray in heat 13 and, despite having the favoured inside red draw, couldn't cope with Tomasz Gollob and Chris Louis. He still had a chance as he lined up in heat 15 where he made no mistake, getting a flier to win from Peter Karlsson and Joe Screen. However, the crunch came in his third ride, heat 19, when despite another good start, he went from first to last and with the third and fourth being eliminated, his Polish venture was over.

Before the meeting, Nilsen had stated that he would ride for the five points on offer and that's just what he did. But it will be some time yet before the Swedish ace gets back in the groove.

The event was won in some style by reigning champion Tony Rickardsson, who came through the qualifiers quietly before unleashing his best form in the final. The victory took him level with England No 1 Mark Loram, who won the B final with an impressive ride from Gollob and Jason Crump.