Dave the Mic

Robert, what are you on about? Why would they? And, why are you not questioning Kildemand and Hancock, both of whom beat Woffindwn at the GP. Stop hiding behind your "I hate Tai" stance. You really are a fool.

See the engines of the top 3 at Krsko were all tested & found to be legal. Not really surprising, is it?

That is a massive factor.

Like some, I don't like the nomination system, but we have it so the four I would nominate would be:- Hampel & Kildemand - they have to be nailed on. Then it would have to be Lindback & Jepsen-Jensen. Assuming top 8 stays as it is & that the Russians all decline a place.

Mmmm!

What an absolute load of old cobblers you spout. If you honestly believe what you say about Woffinden etc, you are off with the fairies. Not a clue. I have just run a spreadsheet with the scoring system you suggest & guess what? Woffinden is 30 points ahead instead of 25, so this "I'm not interesting in winning lark" as you so quaintly put it, makes a huge difference doesn't it? Did it occur to you that he is interested in winning - winning the world title, which, in case you missed it, is what the GP series is all about. Sadly, because of his current condition it cannot happen, but I suspect if you were able to ask Ivan Mauger, the greatest of them all, if he would rather have won 3 GP's but finished second overall, or make the final most times & race the percentage game on his way to winning the world title, I think the answer would be the latter 100% of the time. Team riding - please. And why the highlighting of Hancock being 45 - what differenc does that make? You're a fool, The aim in the GP series is to win the GP series & whether you adopt your scoring system, or the one currently used, Woffinden would win, because he is the best. Agree with you to a point about Pearson, but Tatum has more knowledge in his appendix than you will ever accrue. If he baffles you - mmmm, that speaks volumes. Regarding the GP venues, you suggest what exactly? If we aren't going to have a series across those four nations, where else apart from what we have?

Think you're being kind. I would say it was slightly above average. Some good races, many follow the leader. As you may have guessed from the thread - Woffinden had "unnatural speed" & as such, a few of his efforts from the back were top drawer.

Yeah, I appreciate that Iris, it just gets my goat.

I can't get my head around all this rubbish some people are spouting on here. Greg Hancock is a 3 time world champion & indeed the reigning world champion. Is it not reasonable to assume he will have good machinery tuned to perfection by a top tuner? That could be part of the reason he has those 3 world titles, don't you think? That said, he has struggled to find the right set up for a long time this season, but seems to have done so now & as such is back to the top of his game, which, given he is a thrice world champion, is probably better than the A game most riders can bring to the GP, or indeed any other speedway meeting. You wouldn't think he has won just about every honour in the sport. As for Tai Woffinden, he was the 2013 world champion, so again, it would be reasonable to assume he will invest in decent machinery & have his engines looked after by the best, which is what he does. His bikes are quick, but that is because Peter Johns tunes them exactly the way his customer wants them tuned. That said he couldn't catch Greg (twice) or Kildemand, on Saturday, so not that quick then, huh? Woffinden is the best racer around at the moment & seems to be the complete package, a la Rickardsson, Mauger & Nielsen before him. He is focused & driven, has a settled home life & back up team, including tuner, mentor & pit crew. He is brave, smooth, in control, can gate (sometimes & it's fantastic to watch when he doesn't), has great track craft, can ride slick or grippy, has the best first bend brain in the sport & is savvy enough to know when to go for it & when to settle for what is required. Small wonder he is head & shoulders above the rest. These two guys are both a credit to our sport. They are great at what they do, in different ways. One is a legend already, one, if he steers clear of injury & maintains all of the above that he has built around him, could well go on to break all records. If they both have quick bikes, tuned by one of the best, good for them. It is up to the others to catch them. If any of you think either is cheating, don't hide behind veiled threats of "unnatural speed" (what the hell does that mean anyway?), have the balls to say so. Then prove it.

Average? Of course.

Agreed. Lots of paranoia I think.

Assuming your joking now? Have you not been watching speedway in the UK for the last 25 years? It has been spiralling downwards since before Tai was born & you think his not racing here this year is causing the death on the sport in the UK? And in a later post you call me clueless. I think you are posting on here deliberately to wind people up, because I know you can't be serious with the posts you are making. There is only one clueless person in this conversation Robert & if you need a "clue" to work out who it is, it isn't me,

Robert, get over yourself. Tai & indeed any other rider you care to name can race where they choose. Having watched the "Life of Tai" I can completely see why he reduced his schedule & I agree with Niamh regarding the EL schedule. The UK is not the centre of the universe for league speedway any more & we cannot expect riders to fit the UK in their schedule at our behest. As for not being picked by England for the World Cup - grow up. The likes of Mauger, Nielsen, Fundin, Rickardsson would have done the same. As for his engines, if he has the talent & the machinery to make other world class riders look like they are on mopeds, good for him. The fact is, he is the best rider on the best machinery. Oddly, that is usually a recipe for success. Get off your "I hate Tai" hobby horse & just accept he is the best around & it is up to the others to match him. It has always been that way in the past, why should it be any different now, on your say so? You're just a troll & stirring up a hornets nest for the sake of it.

Absolute rubbish. If you think Tai would have risked everything he has built by racing as he did in the semi with Nicki to help Greg, you are deluded. Greg was much quicker than Nicki, Tai could catch Nicki (twice) not Greg (twice). And?

Correct Colin & if, Joe, you think Tai passed Nicki to help Greg, you're deluded. Nicki was nowhere near as quick as Greg & passing Nicki was an easier task than catching & passing Greg. Regarding Harris, it doesn't matter if he has reached a plateau, shot his bolt, never wins a GP again etc, etc. The fact is, he has done what a lot of other riders couldn't do & qualified, fair & square for next year's GP. Whether he has a chance of winning the tile or not is irrelevant. He has the right, just as much as Tai, Greg & Nicki to attempt to qualify & the fact is, whether you like it or not, he has done just that & as such deserves his place. The reality is, every rider in the series wants to be world champion, but only 3 or 4 of them start the season with a realistic chance. Therefore, based on your logic, let's just have a series with 4 riders, because the world champion will probably come from one of them.

Think you are looking for an invisible conspiracy theory - you do both great riders a massive disservice. Before last night's GP, Tai was 20+ points ahead & in terms of the complete package he is a street ahead of everyone. As such he is riding a percentage game & has earned the right do that by being by some distance the best rider around. He didn't need to catch Greg & rightly settled for what he had with minimum risk. As for Greg, obviously his career shows he needs points handed to him on a plate - his 3 world titles demonstrate that. It could just have been that in the last few weeks he has got it all dialled in & last night it came together. Get over yourself. The difference is, Harris qualified fair & square, something that, as yet, Kildemand has been unable to do. If Kildemand, or any other rider you care to name, could have beaten Harris in Rybnik, then they would deserve a place. As it is, only Zmarzlik & Pawlicki managed it & guess what - they earned their place in next years series, just as Bomber has. Change the record. It has never been any different. The best riders in their day win by a large margin many, many times. Someone said Ivan never did - rubbish. I cut my speedway teeth at Exeter in the 70's & saw Ivan strut his stuff for 4 seasons & many was the time he was half a lap in front after 4 laps. The same can be said of all the great riders, eras old & new. In any case, all the bikes are rocket ships these days, but it just so happens that some riders know exactly how to get the best from them. I too, would love to see Tai as world champ & for one, am perfectly happy the way he is doing it - please keep missing the gate Tai!!!

I define it as having qualified. I appreciate that Hamel has been unfortunate, but my personal view is that is part of speedway. I appreciate that you may have a different view, but that is my opinion, right or wrong. I don't like the nomination system, I prefer to see riders who have qualified.

Don't they just!

I disagree. All that does is makes it more of a closed shop. Sadly, injuries - as we all know only too well - are part and parcel of the sport. Many riders have missed out qualification in the past due to the timing of injuries. It is unfortunate, but I would much rather have 16 riders in the GP series on merit, rather than having been handed a place.

Agree totally with your first paragraph. To me, he has a touch of the Ivan Mauger about him. He has a good team, settled personal life, works hard off track, is organised, disciplined, physically tough, mentally strong, is dedicated, driven & knows what is required. He is simply going about the business of accumulating points & knows that is what is needed to win the title. If that means that getting to most finals & every semi & not taking undue risks, then so be it. He is doing what he needs to & I think he has more gears if he needs them. Some of his moves at Gorzow were astonishing, really astonishing. I rather fancy that if Ivan had competed in the GP series, his approach would have been the same. Delighted for Bomber. Totally deserves his place & qualified on merit ahead of many racers favoured to qualify. Good on you Chris. Top man, top effort.

Jus got back from a holiday & trying to catch up. The original topic of this thread was about risk & just wanted to add my bit. The bottom line is riders have a choice. No-one forces any of them to ride/race. Watch the excellent Life of Tai documentary & he will openly state that whilst riders know the risks are very serious indeed, they just accept it because it is what they do. I have been criticised on here before for defending riders who race to entertain us & whilst that statement is a fact, I totally accept that they would race in my back garden (if it were big enough) in front of me & my neighbours cat for nothing, because they race for the same reasons that we watch - the buzz, adrenalin, whatever you want to call it. To criticise the authorities is all very well, but how many riders wear a neck brace, or the inflatable that Bomber does? Less than a handful, so they have to accept some of the responsibility if anyone is claiming the risk is unacceptable.

If Emil wanted to race in the GP's he would. I suspect it is about money, just as it was in the SWC. Either he wants to be world champion, or he doesn't.

I have looked at the pics & watched the clip. The pics don't do Doyle's position any favours - he appears to stick his leg out, whilst the clip doesn't do Pedersen's position any favours as he appears to go straight on, when perhaps he should be turning. In his release, he says he was right on the white line, but wasn't. I could see a referee calling that either way & if it was in the first turn, it could have been all 4 back. However if Pedersen was red carded for the crash, that's daft. Difficult to comment on the pit incident as it was probably six & two threes and neither was likely admit to being wrong. Storm in a tea cup really & some of the comments on here toward both riders are a little harsh. Comment regarding Doyle's taking out Eklof is correct, but not relevant, as it is a different type of clash, although I would say that he does that quite a bit - at least twice in GP's I can recall already. About the comment "Doyle being a "pussy" & "pussyway", I would say 2 things. You're joking, right? If you think anyone who races a speedway bike is a pussy, at best you're being disrespectful, at worst downright insulting. Speedway riders are among the bravest sportsmen around. Period. At the same time, Pedersen does seem to want it all his own way. He is the first to dish out hard riding & then defend it as just that - hard but fair racing, but in the Swedish match tonight, he was on the receiving end of two hard but fair pieces of racing & bleated like a child after each, in one race actually retiring having been pushed to the back. The reality is, if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. Doyle found that out tonight with 2 exclusions, so did Pedersen - very much on the receiving end of some of his own "hard but fair" treatment & didn't like it. Can't have it all ways, Nicki!

Thinking of you Lewis-and your family too.

All the best David. hope you enjoy a long and happy life after speedway-you deserve it. I'm sure everyone on the speedway family thinks the same and would like to thank you for all you've given our great sport.