FOUR-time World champion Tony Rickardsson paid tribute to his main rival of the past seven years after Tomasz Gollob won the Polish Grand Prix at Bydgoszcz.

The Swede, Pirates' spearhead this year, finished runner-up to Gollob on the Pole's hometown track in front of a particularly partisan 25,000 crowd in Eastern Europe.

But Rickardsson still increased his lead at the top of the overall GP standings to 12 points from five ahead of second-placed Ryan Sullivan.

The Poole Meridian Lifts rider said: "I didn't get the victory but I am still very pleased with the result.

"We were really close in the final and I thought I could pass him. But Tomasz rode a superb race and I couldn't pull off any good moves on him to get past.

"It's all about picking up points round by round and those big points come when you get to the finals.

"In all honesty, the inside gates were not helping, they were more of a handicap.

"So getting second place was not a bad result for me. You could call it almost a perfect night, not a totally perfect one, but I'll take it."

Rickardsson added: "Tomasz is like a God in Bydgoszcz. He sure is one. And he really deserved his win here.

"He had a tough meeting. He started from the beginning in the pre-main event, struggled a bit all the way through, but in the final, where it counts, he came out really good.

"It was good when we finished the final race to get back to the pits and see Tomasz with a big smile on his face.

"I know what it is like to win in your own country. But I have never won a GP in Bydgoszcz and at this stage of the championship second place was a very good result for me."

Gollob, who has finished runner-up to Rickardsson for the World title several times, is now back in the race for this year's crown after only finishing joint 11th in the Norwegian GP.

Rickardsson, who won the Norwegian GP, has 45 points and is followed by Sullivan (33), Gollob (32), Jason Crump (32), Mark Loram (26), Leigh Adams (26) and Mikael Karlsson 25.

The Pole said: "Norway was not good for me, my bikes were not good there, but in Bydgoszcz, apart from one little mistake, everything was fine for me.

"Tony is a very good and very fast rider and to beat him makes me feel very good.

"It is always so tough riding against Tony as he is so good at everything.

"Right now, though, I have a great feeling. It was my night and I am going to remember it for a long time."

Rickardsson and Gollob next come together on the GP stage in the British GP at Cardiff on Saturday, June 8.

Before then, however, Pirates fans are in for a real treat as both riders contest the lucrative Golden Jubilee individual meeting at Poole on Bank Holiday Monday, June 3.

The winner of that meeting will walk away with £7,500 - more than the winner of a GP round receives - and you can be sure Rickardsson will be aiming to get swift revenge over Gollob.