gbrussell

So will I, but on his current form would he make the team at a track other than Wrocław.

I’ve been asking myself that question for a while now. I guess that because gate 3 is often on the racing line, it can sometimes have no loose dirt at the start line. But we have seen GP’S where one gate other than 3 is totally useless. When the GP series started in 1995 I was suspicious of gates being doctored to suit whichever home rider had 2 starts from a particular gate and was the most likely rider to win. Now as it seems to be happening very regularly I am suspicious of the series organisers doing this intentionally so as any one rider can’t go through the card unbeaten. Track prep to make it fair for all is what we all want but it looks unlikely.

I don’t think Woffy is finished yet, but he has certainly gone backwards a little these last 2 years.Doyle looked done last year, but has fought back strong this year. No reasons Woffinden can’t do the same. As for Janowski, I have never rated him as a potential world champion. Too inconsistent, particularly in Gp’s away from Poland.

Someone said earlier that c) might not apply in World Championship events. I’m not sure one way or the other. Can someone please confirm.

I am away on holidays at present so I won't be seeing this GP until at least Thursday. Judging by the comments this was a call that could have gone either way. It did however go in favour of a home rider which does create doubts in fans thoughts. I've just searched the live updates site for the decision to exclude Sayfutdinov at Wroclaw in 2021, when Janowski came from behind at speed and clattered into Emil. As the referee was contemplating his decision the home crowd were chanting Janowski over and over again to pressure the referee. Like Warsaw the referee went the way of the home rider. It was however a different referee. I will watch the meeting with Interest when I get home. I am getting frustrated with home ground special decisions in other sports, particularly cricket. Hopefully that is not permeating it's way into speedway.

Very daft. With the strength at u21 level that Poland has, if they get their team selection right they have the trump card.

Agree. What frustrates me is older riders in the series who rarely fire a shot, have already got in for the following year via the GP Challenge.

As someone who has taken in GP's on Overseas Trips, at Cardiff twice, Parken and Torun I think 2 x GP"s on the same weekend at some but not all venues represents great value. Now that the temporary tracks seem to be of a better standard than they were, it makes sense to do double ups at Indoor venues which have a bigger capacity and as such should partially alleviate the cost of hiring them. I certainly would not have said this after witnessing the farcical practice session at Cardiff 2013 but as others have said the temporary tracks are much better than they were. Worth a shot for one season and lets see how it goes.

I think we have some older riders that are not real competitive anymore but they keep returning to the field. Nigel and Kelvin made the point in one of the early telecasts about Zagar not having much incentive to compete for the top 6 as he was already in for next year. I would say Zagar and NKI are past it. I also recall the frustration we all had when Andy Smith kept getting in through the challenge way back in the 90's. I feel if we have talented younger riders on the way up it would be more preferable than the return of the old stagers who in a lot of cases are just basically clogging up the field.

Piotr Pawlicki is very professional at falling off after a slight touch. I was quite impressed with the Latvian Rider Lebedevs in the swc a couple of years ago. What has he done lately since winning the SEC? On another note i would like to see riders in the GP field barred from entering the qualifying rounds held in the same season so they can't sneak back in through the back door for the next season. This would open the door for more riders on the way up rather than having riders in the series who rarely threaten to make the top 6 (formerly 8) but keep getting back in through the GP Challenge.

A meeting i have always wanted to see is the Czech Golden Helmet. The other meetings held nearby close to the helmet interest me as well. The 2019 staging was on the same weekend as thr Torun GP. Does anyone know the date for the 2020 staging? Hopefully it reverts to it's traditional date the week before Torun. Also hope Travel Plus do a tour. Any assistance received i would be grateful for. Glenn Russell Sydney NSW Australia

Some friends of mine are staying in Edinburgh at the Holiday Inn in Cowgate near the end of September. They are interested in going to the match against Glasgow on the 27th. Can someone enlighten me on the best way to get there by public transport or perhaps supporters coaches. Grateful for any assistance. Thanks Glenn Russell

Good day folks. Myself and a group of 6 friends from Australia and New Zealand are planning to be at Swindon for the 2nd leg of the Cup Final against Belle Vue 2 days before the Cardiff GP. We are staying in Bristol waiting for the Travel Plus group to arrive the following day to do the Pairs at Somerset and then the GP. It looks like we can get the train from Bristol Temple Meads and then a bus to the track. However it appears that the buses are finished well before the end of the meeting and thus getting back to the station is a problem. Can anyone on the forum give us some clues about a good way to get from Bristol to Swindon and importantly return back. We would be grateful for any assistance received. Glenn Russell Sydney N.S.W. Australia

Sincere thanks to all the forum members who responded to my request. Some good ideas there which I will follow through on as we get closer to the event. While Poole has been my team for many years, now that "noddy" isn't there it doesn't hold the attraction it once did. These days I just support most of our Aussie riders, so with Doyley at Swindon now, will get right behind him. I have worked behind the scenes as an official and centre green presenter (as you British call it) at Gosford when it was around. Not a big fan of Batch or Rory.

I am seeking help from Swindon fans as to the best way to get to the stadium from Bristol. Myself and our party of seven from Australia and New Zealand will be based in Bristol for a few days before we join the Travel Plus Group for the British Grand Prix at Cardiff. We are thinking about try to get to the Abbey Stadium for the match against Poole. 2 days prior to Cardiff. It looks like we can get a Train from Bristol (Temple Meads) to Swindon Station, but from there we need some guidance as to whether there are buses to and from the station to the track and return on Race Nights. Any assistance given would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance Glenn Russell Sydney N.S.W. Australia

Hi Folks, Trying to put together a tour of British Speedway League tracks (All three divisions). With the recent changes to Race Nights in the Premiership League to Mondays and Thursdays, it does beg the question what nights other tracks are running, particularly in the Championship League. I have put up here what I suspect what nights some tracks will run, and left the others blank for assistance from British fans. Belle Vue and Wolves probably Monday Ipswich, Poole and Swindon probably Thursday King's Lynn and Peterborough ???? They all could not possibly run on Thursday. Somerset probably Wednesday Glasgow and Edinburgh Friday Redcar and Scunthorpe probably Friday Berwick Saturday Birmingham, Leicester and Eastbourne ???? Sheffield ???? will they have to move from their traditional Thursday Night? Newcastle Sunday Any assistance given is greatly appreciated. Regards Glenn Russell Sydney NSW Australia.

Absolutely correct. Vey suspicious of Piotr Pawlicki's falls. Like a few in the past he was not challenging for the lead at the time, left a huge gap for smolinski to go through and tried to close it late by turning back in after smolinski had about 3/4's of his bike in front. Similar incident to the one with zagar at Malilla with the same result. In football terms Pawlicki is "milking" the situation to his own advantage. Refs seem oblivious to his tactic.

Just awoken in Sydney Australia to hear the sad news of Bryn's passing. Highly respected in this part of the world from his many trips out here to Oz, where he was very popular and a good drinking mate to many. I Met Bryn at Gosford Speedway and also at the Jason Crump tribute dinner after Jason won his first world title in 2005. I will also remember he was there to help young Aussie riders when they first arrived at the IOW. Absolutely great bloke, with speedway knowledge and a passion second to none. I will also remember his passion for Welsh Rugby and the delight in his voice when Wales defeated England. Will think of you Bryn the next time that happens. Sincere best wishes to his family and friends at this sad time. R.I.P. My Welsh friend. Glenn Russell (Former Gosford Speedway Announcer).

Good points Humphrey. While Etihad is a good stadium, very close to a major train station, and trams not far away, the major problem I see is that Melbourne is not a city that runs regular Motorcycle Speedway. Adelaide now seems to be the only Australian State Capital city that has a proper speedway track close by (Gillman). Not much where I live in sydney either, but the hotbed in nsw at Kurri is about 200 k's or so north. When Sydney's Olympic Stadium is converted to a rectangular and covered stadium holding 75,000 similar to the Millenium in Cardiff, around 2019, it could turn out to be a better venue for the Oz GP. Local promotion is also a good point. My wife and I have been to Cardiff 2013, Parken and Torun 2014, and Melbourne 2015 and 2016. It was only Cardiff and Torun where we saw banners and signs advertsing the GP, scattered around both cities. We saw Chris Holder and Jason Crump on Channel 9's morning show on Friday, but saw nothing in the Melbourne papers when we arrived. I suspect there was very little local promotion. As far as cricket and AFL football are concerned Melbourne draw bigger crowds than anywhere else in the country. However when it comes to speedway bike racing, there would be a very small fans base. Doyle's unfortunate injury probably made a difference, but this was not the total cause of the small crowd. Some new thinking is necessary for 2017.

Phil, Planning a holiday to Spain and Portugal in September 2017 and we are thinking about doing the Stockholm GP before returning home to Oz. Would you have any advance info on the likely date perhaps September 23 or 30? Regards Glenn Russell Sydney Australia

My name is Glenn Russell and I am from Sydney Australia. I am looking for a British based contact who has access to Sky Sports Speedway Telecasts, but is not able to see the Grand Prix's and World Cup meetings as they do not have access to BT Sport. In their infinite wisdom Fox Sports in Australia decided not to show British Speedway in 2016 but are showing the GP's and SWC's. I am looking for someone in GB who might be in the opposite position to me, who would be willing to exchange DVD'S. My email address is; Glenn.Russell54@bigpond.com Regards and Thanks Glenn

As someone who has performed the role of trackside commentary in Australia for about 10 years, I would echo the sentiments of my "welsh buddy" Bryn in saying it is not an easy job and very different to what an announcer does in the UK. There are different cultures in the two countries in this area. It gets even harder when the number of riders in the race is increased to 10 or 12 in Aussie Long Track meetings and riders are NOT compelled to wear helmet colors. You also have to rely on track officials with walkie talkies to give you the correct information and at the right time which is NOT when the riders are a the tapes. Hard ro say whether tv commentary is easier or harder as they seem to need different skills. With regard to Brendan Gledhill he is not only someone who puts his heart and soul into Mildura he is a very versatile official who can not only commentate but is a competent referee as well.I would not doubt he has the skills to be a clerk of the course or any other job at the track.

I have known Taylor's dad Mick pretty much since Gosford opened in the early 1990's. Mick had a desire to succeed and did his best to move his career forward until the unfortunate end when he crashed at the Wagga Long Track. I have always had doubts whether Taylor had the similar type of desire that his father possessed. He has also had a couple of injuries that would have dented the enthusiasm. Thus I am not surprised he has retired and I sincerely doubt it is a dispute about money. Not sure if he has a trade to fall back on.

Thank you, I have not heard his name mentioned before.

I am an Aussie, on tour with the travel plus group taking in both the gp and the u/21 next week. Some of us are a bit bemused by some refereeing decisions last night. Can anyone who watched the tv coverage tell us who was on the button, thanks.