The Czech charger collected seven points from his five races at Daugavpils to come up just short in his semi-final bid.

Dryml bagged three second places but a heat seven fall ultimately cost him the chance to advance.

City-based former Panthers captain Hans Andersen was another to finish on seven as his sparkling GP form came to an end. The Dane had finished second in the two previous rounds of the World Championship.

Panthers asset Niels Kristian Iversen endured a miserable night as he raced through the pain barrier after dislocating a shoulder last Wednesday.

The Dane crashed heavily in one of his heats as he could manage a single point – a result which dented his hopes of claiming a top eight finish in the overall standings and qualifying automatically for the World Championship in 2009.

The four top riders in the series contested the final with second-placed Jason Crump taking victory from title favourite Nicki Pedersen. Tomasz Gollob was third and veteran American Greg Hancock came in at the rear.



Latvian GP results: Jason Crump 19pts, Nicki Pedersen 18, Tomasz Gollob 16, Greg Hancock 13, Andreas Jonsson 10, Chris Harris 9, Leigh Adams 9, Bjarne Pedersen 7, Hans Andersen 7, Freddie Lindgren 7, Scott Nicholls 7, Krzysztof Kasprzak 7, Lukas Dryml 7, Rune Holta 4, Grigory Laguta 2, Niels Kristian Iversen 1, Maxims Bogdanvos 0.

Overall World Championship standings: Nicki Pedersen 134pts, Jason Crump 118, Greg Hancock 102, Tomasz Gollob 98, Hans Andersen 91, Leigh Adams 89, Andreas Jonsson 71, Freddie Lindgren 59, Rune Holta 57, Scott Nicholls 52, Niels Kristian Iversen 49, Chris Harris 49, Bjarne Pedersen 45, Krzysztof Kasprzak 38, Lukas Dryml 32.