MattK 3,447 Posted August 21, 2017 Name riders not currently in the GP that will be better than any of the 8 who drop out? I don't like the idea of riders who raced the whole series and finished outside of the top 8 being given a wildcard. I'd rather see Lebedevs, Milik, Kildemand or even Madsen or Thorrsell than Holder, Vaculik, Zagar etc. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foamfence 2,917 Posted August 21, 2017 I don't like the idea of riders who raced the whole series and finished outside of the top 8 being given a wildcard. I'd rather see Lebedevs, Milik, Kildemand or even Madsen or Thorrsell than Holder, Vaculik, Zagar etc. I agree to a point, the top eight and selected wildcards can be a bit of a closed shop. It seems that people assume that a rider with brilliant league form has some sort of right to be a GP rider. How about top ten and five qualifiers? This year was supposed to have the strongest line-up ever but the distance between top and bottom is still quite wide. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gavan 5,050 Posted August 21, 2017 I don't like the idea of riders who raced the whole series and finished outside of the top 8 being given a wildcard. I'd rather see Lebedevs, Milik, Kildemand or even Madsen or Thorrsell than Holder, Vaculik, Zagar etc. I get what your saying but some riders deserve a wildcard like Holder and Hancock. I also think the likes of Lindback and Pawlicki are better riders than Milik , Kildemand, Madsen and Thorsell. Lebedevs could be a good shout but i feel riders like Hancock, Holder, Pedersen , Iversen, Lindback and Pawlicki would be chosen ahead of Lebedevs. You have to admit this season is a very strong line up and finishing 9th or 10th in that field is no disgrace. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MattK 3,447 Posted August 21, 2017 I get what your saying but some riders deserve a wildcard like Holder and Hancock. I also think the likes of Lindback and Pawlicki are better riders than Milik , Kildemand, Madsen and Thorsell. Lebedevs could be a good shout but i feel riders like Hancock, Holder, Pedersen , Iversen, Lindback and Pawlicki would be chosen ahead of Lebedevs. You have to admit this season is a very strong line up and finishing 9th or 10th in that field is no disgrace. I agree about Hancock, but not Holder. He scraped into the series by virtue of finishing eighth last year and this year looks like finishing lower. I don't see how that deserves a wildcard. As for the others, I'd like to see a bit of variety. In terms of strength I don't think there is much between Lindback, Pawlicki (who I think will finish 8th), Lebedevs, Milik, Kildemand, Madsen and Thorssell. You're correct, there is no disgrace in finishing 9th or 10th with the strength of the current field, but with so many capable riders knocking on the door I don't think current GP riders should get priority over wildcards. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted August 21, 2017 Imo we need one Dane Then Lebedevs and/or Milik, especially since they are probably top 2 in SEC. 9th placed rider usually gets one. Greg and Nicki have done their years and its time to bring in tomorrow's stars. We also don't know what riders they will be due to their injury problems. It would be unnecessary to give a wild card to an injured 40/50 year old. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DutchGrasstrack 804 Posted August 21, 2017 Imo we need one Dane Then Lebedevs and/or Milik, especially since they are probably top 2 in SEC. 9th placed rider usually gets one. Greg and Nicki have done their years and its time to bring in tomorrow's stars. We also don't know what riders they will be due to their injury problems. It would be unnecessary to give a wild card to an injured 40/50 year old. Fully agree Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Welwyn 62 Posted August 21, 2017 Do we even know if Hancock wants to ride next year? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,986 Posted August 21, 2017 Do we even know if Hancock wants to ride next year?Most red blooded males would like a ride everyday 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mixxxser44 1 Posted August 22, 2017 (edited) My types 1. Maciej Janowski 2. Jason Doyle 3. Patryk Dudek 4. Fredrik Lindgren 5. Tai Woffinden 6. Bartosz Zmarzlik 7. Emil Sajfutdinov 8. Antonio Lindback ............ 9. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 10. Artem Laguta 11. Craig Cook............. 12. Greg Hancock 13. Peter Kildemand/Michael Jepsen Jensen 14. Leon Madsen/Kenneth Bjerre 15. Chris Holder/Matej Zagar Edited August 22, 2017 by mixxxser44 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sotonian 610 Posted August 22, 2017 For me it's not about who is most worthy but who would bring most entertainment and that is most definitely not Greg. He relies too much on his gating nowadays. For years, the complaint was that the best 16 riders were not in the final. The current system goes a long way to addressing that but you would rather select on entertainment than ability. For me, it has to be the best riders at the top table regardless of persona/gating ability/sponsor. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted August 22, 2017 Do we even know if Hancock wants to ride next year? Yes he does. Did an interview at the last GP on BT with Nige & Kelvin. No thoughts of retiring. He is the current WC. He is 100% to get a wild card. Age shouldn't come into it, lets have the best 15 riders, whilst no fan of Hancock he must be in that group.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shockster 400 Posted August 22, 2017 Well it's confirmed that Greg is now out for the season. If Greg decides he's riding next year then I believe he is the most deserving EVER of a Wild Card and it should be a given he gets one. However, it is entirely possible that he will decide to get out on top. i suppose he'll know after his operation. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
horneymikh 86 Posted August 22, 2017 Agreed that Greg should be given a wild card next year Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Terry 1,319 Posted August 22, 2017 Hancock and Holder are the two most obvious wildcard picks in the history of obviousness ever. Anybody who says otherwise must be clinically insane. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waiheke1 4,295 Posted August 23, 2017 Hancock and Holder are the two most obvious wildcard picks in the history of obviousness ever. Anybody who says otherwise must be clinically insane. Not sure I agree re holder. Next year it will be 5 full seasons since he was world champ and he hasn't finished top 3 since then. His league form this year has been pretty poor everywhere.Hancock plus a Dane are nailed on. The question then is whether if holder finishes outside the top 10 of he has done anything to deserve a wildcard over riders who finish above him? Don't get me wrong I'd like to see him back next year and think he will get a WC. But I would say he is far from a clear cut pick. Hancock I agree with 100% 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites