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Championship League Riders Championship

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9 hours ago, eide67 said:

Well done to Cookie...great to see him enjoying his racing again. Still a legend (even when wearing red & white). And congrats to Erik Riss on making the final. Great entertainment!

I don't get the argument that GP riders shouldn't be in the Championship - I'm happy to see the best riders possible in the league that I watch my speedway.

Craig is good enough to compete at SGP level, he just needs to believe in himself a bit more. I hope he does himself justice in a GP before the season is out.

No he's not... There is a reason why he can't get an Ekstraliga team ...

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1 hour ago, Cue Ball said:

Forgot to say, hat off to Cookie for donating his winnings to Ricky Ashworth - there aren’t many riders / people generally around who would do that.

A great gesture,hats off to him.

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5 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

A great gesture,hats off to him.

And let's not forget what he did for young Dan Bewley too

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27 minutes ago, cinderfella said:

And let's not forget what he did for young Dan Bewley too

And Mitchell Davey. Actions speak louder than words and Cookie has shown just exactly what sort of person he is by doing something he didn't have to do to help some of his fellow riders who have suffered serious injury.

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12 hours ago, Midget said:

Watch cook for a few years now, found his level, in fact if any thing he's on the decline, Rob Lambert has overtaken him now 

Remind us... Where did Lambert come in the GP qualifiers?

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Can echo what Bagpuss said about Craig Cook with self belief/confidence, it definitely appears to be his biggest issue.

I know what people have said about GP/Premier Riders, but had we taken all of those out we would have been left with a line up of second strings and reserves, and this is supposed to be the Championship's plum individual event with the cream of the League in! I also don't remember much dissention about Carl Stonehewer racing in the PLRCs when he rode in the GPs either! The only issue I would have with Cook's eligibility is that he has hardly ridden any Glasgow meetings, where there used to be a cut off point for qualification for this meeting.  But the fact this hasn't applied, well this season at least, is not Cookie's fault. 

It was an excellent meeting I thought, how close it was shows by the fact that the top 3 after 20 heats were all on 11!  Ty Proctor may well have been top qualifier had it not been for his crash, I don't think I've ever seen him race Sheffield as well as yesterday (auditioning for 2019 maybe? :D )  Both Kyle and Charles started like steam trains but then faded a little, but like Kyle said, "third is better than bottom". 

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Must admit I'm not a big cook fan and don't agree with his qualification for the meeting when everybody else has had to be consistent all season.But never the less he won the final with a great ride and deserved to win.Great gesture to donate to Ricky too.Thought the meeting was decent and I've never known 2 points between top and 6 th place,it kept the meeting tense till after heat 20.Well done Cooky.

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It's not Cooks fault that he was allowed to ride in the meeting they have obviously changed the qualification rules,but to compare it with Stonehewer is wide of the mark as he still rode for Workington all season  in that division when he appeared in it.Well done to Cook.

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No Cook isnt good enough to be in the Grand Prixs and never will be to be honest,  but hes a damned good league rider and thats where he should just settle now.

He wont make it in the leagues abroad , so should just base himself full time in the UK and make hay whilst the sun shines.

 

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History will show that Craig Cook is a champion. It will also show he was a GP rider. 

How many other riders will history show as both. Not that many.

Well done Cookie.

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Was never a huge fan of Cookie before this season, but was delighted when he made the GP's last season meaning two Brits were permanent members of the series. Having followed Cookie over the season and seen the way he has interacted with his fans and given opportunities to those who have helped him has been absolutely superb and people really shouldn't forget that. It's nothing to the riders to give these opportunities to people but for the fans it's a huge memory to treasure. I am gutted for him that it hasn't gone to plan this year and he has struggled. Whilst his self confidence isn't the highest, his lack of track craft and experience have been his downfalls in the Grand Prix and it was a huge shame he didn't secure his place in the run off with Lindback in Germany. Track craft again was a big example of his issues there!

However, moving back to Cookie, what he has also done for his fellow riders is fantastic and he has used his position within the sport as a GP rider admirably and whilst at times he has let himself down this year according to some, the majority of his actions have been superb. I'm all for British riders riding in both leagues personally, there isn't a huge difference between the leagues and if someone wants to ride, let them. I'm sure many fans go to tracks specifically to see Cookie now he's back in the Championship. 

Congratulations to Cookie for the win yesterday and hopefully he can have a good end to the season in the GP's.

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21 minutes ago, Star Lady said:

History will show that Craig Cook is a champion. It will also show he was a GP rider. 

How many other riders will history show as both. Not that many.

Well done Cookie.

It just seems that people want to knock Cook for no real reason.

No he isnt a top line gp rider and will probably never will be , age isnt on his side.

But when he retires he can say he took his talent as far as he could.

People used to mock Harris and Smith but they were in it all the time and by rights as well. There are 15 riders in a gp and most seasons you can always pinpoint the riders that will probably struggle.

Maybe the qualification for the riders championship is flawed but thats not Cooks fault

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1 hour ago, Tigerblade said:

Can echo what Bagpuss said about Craig Cook with self belief/confidence, it definitely appears to be his biggest issue.

I know what people have said about GP/Premier Riders, but had we taken all of those out we would have been left with a line up of second strings and reserves, and this is supposed to be the Championship's plum individual event with the cream of the League in! I also don't remember much dissention about Carl Stonehewer racing in the PLRCs when he rode in the GPs either! The only issue I would have with Cook's eligibility is that he has hardly ridden any Glasgow meetings, where there used to be a cut off point for qualification for this meeting.  But the fact this hasn't applied, well this season at least, is not Cookie's fault. 

It was an excellent meeting I thought, how close it was shows by the fact that the top 3 after 20 heats were all on 11!  Ty Proctor may well have been top qualifier had it not been for his crash, I don't think I've ever seen him race Sheffield as well as yesterday (auditioning for 2019 maybe? :D )  Both Kyle and Charles started like steam trains but then faded a little, but like Kyle said, "third is better than bottom". 

Only difference was Stonehewer was full time in the lower league Cook hasnt been. Think also the GP was easier back in Stoneys day with 22 riders ( i think) which meant that there would be around 8 or 9 riders (Andersen, Ferjan, Smith, Walsek, Karger to name a few) that would have all been at the same level as Stoney. Also you could get further in a GP as it was the 2 rides and out system and you could get through race due to a failure of others.

I seem to remember Chris Louis at Coventry in 1999? Came second in his first ride then last then second again (due to a rerun) then last but ultimately got to the final and came second! Under the current format he would have had 4 points from 4 rides.

Cook now is with arguably the bets 15 riders in the world.

He isnt good enough for top ten in the GP but if the gp had 22 riders he would be 15th or 16th i would imagine

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