JT

I may be wrong (and it’s a long time ago!), but I’m pretty certain after scoring about 7 in his first meeting at Somerset including a fall, Iversen went the rest of 2003 unbeaten at the OTA for Newport (has he ridden there since?). Once he figured the track out, he was majestic around Somerset back then, and I’m glad he’s got a confidence boosting max at the same place 15 years later.

Sorry to be a smart arse, but Iversen had gate 4 twice and won the bloody thing. JT.

PUK! Newport, Newport!

Interesting to see the Grand Prix Challenge will be held at Rybnik, Chris Harris's home track in Poland... JT.

They haven't though, have they? Been brilliant ALL season I mean. I can remember Bees fans complaining quite vocally at their lackluster start to the season. Even Chris Harris, a demigod among Coventry fans, started the season poorly, and there were a number of posts calling for his head. If the track is wet tonight, then Harris will thrive, he almost always does at this level. If it's dry and slick, then he will probably be less effective. Either way, I anticipate another tight meeting and as others have remarked, the title is far from decided. Barker OUT is a major boost for Coventry. JT.

Mr PC Pearson is having a fit now with Pedersen effing and blinding. Brilliant stuff. JT.

"I think it's going to kick off in the pits"... but let's not show the audience an exciting moment, let's just play the replay instead. JT.

If you're impressed with four points (including two lasts) then you're easily pleased, Tellboy68! What an absolutely abysmal Grand Prix season. Since the series moved to at least five rides per meeting, how many riders have failed to reach a single semi-final? JT.

Although I understand your sentiment, it's somewhat ironic on a Grand Prix thread about Chris Harris, a rider who has benefited more than anyone from being 'commercially viable' in the eyes of BSI. I'd go as far and saying Harris owes his entire Grand Prix career to the fact he was British at a time when we had very little international talent. That's not an affront to Harris; I perfectly understand why he jumped at the opportunity to ride on the international stage, not just for the prestige, but also the unique (and almost certainly lucrative) sponsorship opportunities that arose out of this arrangement. In a relatively short career who would blame him for capitalising on the generosity of the organisers? I don't think anyone on this thread is questioning that Harris has (finally) qualified from the Grand Prix Challenge, in that sense he deserves to ride in the series next year. What's frustrating for those of us who want to see genuinely world class riders in the GP's, is that Harris has had one decent (brilliant in this instance, 13 points in Lonigo was a great achievement, but he wasn't exceptional in the previous rounds, although I acknowledge he just did enough) international level meeting on foreign soil this year, and he finds himself back in a series where he has been nothing short of woeful this season. The guy has effectively had a 'free ride' in the GP's for years thanks to Wild Cards, giving him time to do the following; suss out set ups for the various tracks, build up a sponsorship base thanks to unprecedented TV exposure invest in good machinery work on his back up team improve his starting technique by riding alongside the best Given the above, can anyone honestly say that Harris has taken full advantage of the golden opportunities he has been given? I'm sorry but, "he didn't have much time to prepare this season", doesn't wash when other riders (Batchelor in his rookie year and Jepsen Jensen) have coped relatively well at short notice. In 2007 he won a GP, and was just pipped to a place in the top 8. Great, that's what these Wild Cards are for, and it was hard to argue against his inclusion the following season. At the tail end of 2010 he was freakishly fast and qualified by right for 2011. In every other season however he has been a failure to one extent or the other, culminating in one of the worst full time Grand Prix seasons I've ever witnessed this year. It's up to Harris if he rides next season, he's qualified, and I wouldn't blame him for accepting his place; as SCB pointed out, it must be incredible to travel the world and be paid for the pleasure, but I can't help but think we'll witness the same sorry saga all over again. Whist I congratulate him on his achievement, I can't say I'm looking forward to the prospect of Harris in the 2015 GP series. JT.

Never post after a heavy night out! I've edited my original post in the cold light of day. Aside from being a mobile advertising hording, I just can't see what Harris gets out of the Grand Prix series anymore. But as someone else pointed out, perhaps he really is the modern day Andy Smith. Either way, congrats to the bloke. If his talent matched his determination, he'd be challenging for the title... JT.

My, my! Fair play to Harris, but let's bypass the sycophancy and admit it, he's pretty poor at GP level (even worse, cringe worthy this season) and his qualification and continued involvement in the series, isn't exactly what th e GP's need. I think I give up on trying to predict speedway.... JT.

Whilst I appreciate Harris has been an excellent servant to Coventry, and does appear to give 100% in every race, aside from a freak spell at the end of 2010, and to a lesser extent his debut season in 2007, Harris hasn't really shown he 'can do it' on a consistent basis, has he? On the contrary he has failed every single year bar one to qualify in the top 8, and there's a strong chance this year he'll finish outside of the top 15. Yes, some riders have to finish outside of the top 8, and that doesn't necessarily make them bad riders, but if we're being honest here, without the benevolence of the organisers, it's unlikely Harris would have ever been in the series, let alone 'enjoyed' a Grand Prix career spanning seven seasons. To hear Tatum and Pearson describe Harris as 'unlucky' on Saturday night , when his unprecedented Wild Card opportunities probably mark him out as the most fortunate rider in Grand Prix history, really sums up the delusion in the Harris camp and among his biggest supporters. Harris has had year after year of 'free' Grand Prix racing to sort out his machinery for these tracks, and still he can't master it? What makes you think that will ever change? Why should he be given another opportunity to prove himself when there are far better riders out there? In the British league, Harris IS an exciting racer and a good rider in the main; but in Sweden he is a second string/reserve, and in Poland he doesn't even ride in the top league. Hardly great credentials for a Grand Prix rider, as demonstrated by his absolutely woeful year in the GP's this season. If the above remarks make me a 'hater', than so be it. I prefer to see them as a realistic analysis of a rider who has largely squandered the ample opportunities he has been afforded... JT.

Granted Harris has improved in the Elite League, but at Grand Prix level he is frankly awful, to the extent that he's barely ahead of riders who have ridden in less than half the rounds he has. Whilst I would never wish a rider bad fortune, I hope the real Harris turns up at the Grand Prix Challenge and he fails to qualify. The thought of him plodding around for another year, when you have so many exciting, world class riders around, doesn't bear thinking about really. JT.

http://www.speedwaygp.com/news/article/3662/challenge-for-chris You've got to hand it to Harris, he may be terrible at Grand Prix level, but he's always there at the right time... Philip Rising, you've got the inside view on the GP's, surely BSI are hoping to hell Harris doesn't qualify after this years shambles? JT.

Only four points behind Harris, whose own season has to go down as one of the worst by any rider in Grand Prix history. If MJJ was British, he'd be a regular in the series by now… JT.

I'm sorry but how many chances does the guy need? It's alright doing it against a weakened Swindon side in the Delete League, but this season he has been absolutely abysmal in the GP series, has dropped to reserve in Sweden, and he's a middle of the road heat leader in the Polish Second Tier. Hardly great credentials for proving himself on the world stage. Nobody is doubting Harris is an exciting rider when the track looks like an allotment, but the vast majority of circuits aren't like that. He's been riding in the GP series (thanks to the charity of the organisers mainly) almost every season since 2007, and he still can't figure out how to set up his bikes on slick tracks? What makes you think that's going to change? Likewise his gating; a hugely significant attribute for a rider. Harris is a good EL rider (not a No.1 I would add), but he's had his chance to prove himself on the world stage, and 2007 and 2010 aside, has hardly shown himself in a great light. JT.

My pet hate in speedway broadcasting, can anyone explain why, when an incident has occured in the race, the camera pans away from the riders involved after the chequered flag?! Is it some kind of PC nonsense? It's no good Tatum saying "it's quite clear there's some afters", when we can't bloody see it... JT.

Why not just do away with the clearly unpopular race-off and go straight to the final after two qualifiers (two sides from each 'semi' qualify). Thus making the semi finals more cut throat. If the organisers are concerned about the home side not reaching the final, give them the 'easier' Semi... JT.

I asked myself exactly the same thing, Shawn! I don't know what the difference is, but it may explain why he's "a bike length clear by the first turn"... EDIT. Apparently "other riders have tried it and don't like it" according to Nicholls. JT.

Interesting reading and much appreciated, but I'm surprised NKI is -0.83 considering he's probably top of the EL averages, his GSA has gone from 9.12 to 9.21 and as far as I know his average with bonus has gone up to around 10 points from around 9 and a half. I guess the figures are minus bonus points? JT.

His girlfriend looks a lot like Miranda Kerr, very attractive. JT.

"In my eyes I didn't want to be one of those riders who receives wild cards year after year" Well said. JT.

"When all else fails, there's always delusion." It's difficult to fathom why Harris wants to put himself through another year of Grand Prix misery by trying to qualify again. Even BSI, effectively his sugar daddy, must start to question why they bothered propping up his Grand Prix career for so long, when time after time he rewards their 'faith' with failure. It's inevitable Bomber will feature in the Challenge, the organisers will make sure of it, but what does he hope to achieve? Does he look upon the series as an opportunity for a dozen holidays in a year? Or does he actually enjoy propping up the leadership table? Harris is an exciting British league rider and he's been a great servant to the Team GB World Cup cause, but his abject start to the Grand Prix season shows once and for all he's past his prime at this level. Instead of going on the defensive every time someone breaks this to him, Harris would probably do well to acknowledge the fact and focus on his strengths, league racing and the World Cup. JT.

It's safe to say Harris will be in the meeting proper. Barring a disaster, Zagar will be firmly entrenched in the top 8 come the Grand Prix Challenge, and will probably pull out of the meeting again, promoting Harris into the meeting proper. King, Bridger and Cook scored 5, 4 and 1 respectively and are all out. The Italian pick will inevitably go to Covatti and the FIM one to a Swede. As we know from our own wild card picks, the desire to satisfy national quotas far outweighs the desire to get the best riders in the series. Given his 8 point haul, I'd give it to Berntzon, but the BSI and FIM are obsessed with familiar faces, so expect Lindgren or Jonsson to get the nod. Again. JT.

If a rider is a meeting reserve, can FIM nominate them as a Wild Card? I think we all know who will get the nod if so… JT.