Prague GP, Saturday June 15th 2019

[RPNY 608]

18 minutes ago, Mark said:

Heat 12 was good and the two semi's were good.  The rest were very repetitive and a bit boring.   Who wants action only late in a meeting.   The paying fan want and desrve action for most of the meeting.    The whole idea of a Prague GP seems to revolve around the city being lovely.  

Have to disagree there were a good few races with passing for the minor places. Some argy bargy, few crashes (thankfully no one hurt) a dramatic engine failure, there was enough to make it an interesting meeting. Plus when you are there live it really is some spectacle the speeds they are hurtling round that track. Although I appreciate it may not translate to well on TV at times. However Its clear some people have clearly decided they just dont like the track and refuse to see any good. Wasnt a classic but wasnt awful.

[RPNY 608]

20 minutes ago, Mark said:

It might be a positive.   See a good GP in the north and one in the south.     Plenty of moaners on here who says Cardiff is too far to travel.   

Agreed. Crazy they dont have a GP there

[tarkens 119]

On 6/16/2019 at 11:08 AM, OveFundinFan said:

You must be joking!

what mistakes do you think he made?

how about the 1st semi? Doyle and Madsen ended up going through, Doyle clearly jumped the start while Madsen fouled Fricke

Craig Ackroyd simply isn't good enough, we all saw it in Krsko and now in Prague, just bin him off so we can all enjoy speedway and don't have to talk about a blind Brit who doesn't understand how warnings work etc.

[OveFundinFan 4,137]

7 hours ago, Col said:

How big is the stadium in Pardubice, surely that would be a better track to have the Czech GP?

May have something to do with funding that the go is at Prague. Doesn’t look like Pardubice is a big city,  ore like a town. Could be Prague city council provide funds on the basis thousands spend money in the city over go weekend. I don’t think Pardubice has the same attraction.  Good track though.

[OveFundinFan 4,137]

32 minutes ago, Mark said:

Half the Tory cabinet who rule the UK have done worse than Dudek.   Hardly a hanging offence what Dudek done as a very young kid.   Learn from it and move on.  

 It half the Tory cabinet didn’t wizz round a speedway track at over 60mph with 3 others in close combat whilst on the drugs. But Dudek and Madsen have served what was deemed appropriate, so it’s closed.

[racers and royals 8,712]

59 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

I've skimmed through the races and didn't think it was too bad actually - there doesn't have to be overtaking for it still be a decent race - positioning and defending are key skills.  Don't want to see any more Polish rounds.

To see Fricke getting Fricked was rather ironic but Madsen should have been disqualified there.  Is it both him and Dudek that have been banned previously for drugs offences?  It's another argument as to whether they should be allowed to compete in the GPs but I'm not keen on it.

Also very interesting in that the GP highlighted the advantages of having the right gate position at the right time.  Standard regrades every four heats and at semi/final stages always spoils things for me as those races immediately prior are often better contested/more unpredictable.

Don`t think Madsen has been banned like Dudek- he did get into a bit of trouble with a silencer some time ago but i think that`s all.

[tarkens 119]

yeah it was 2010 or 2011 i think, nothing to do with drugs, he tried to use an illegal silencer in a meeting in Denmark (I think) but got caught before the racing even began and had to pay a fine, wasn't banned.

Edited June 17, 2019 by tarkens
more info

[SPEEDY69 1,249]

4 minutes ago, racers and royals said:

Don`t think Madsen has been banned like Dudek- he did get into a bit of trouble with a silencer some time ago but i think that`s all.

Ok, thanks for clarifying - must have just been rumours

[iris123 20,935]

27 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

May have something to do with funding that the go is at Prague. Doesn’t look like Pardubice is a big city,  ore like a town. Could be Prague city council provide funds on the basis thousands spend money in the city over go weekend. I don’t think Pardubice has the same attraction.  Good track though.

You would have thought the situation would be the other way round. On the basis Prague is one of Europe’s major tourist cities the council don’t need to attract speedway fans. In fact in a lot of major cities they are turning against attracting tourists. On the other hand Pardubice council might want to attract a few thousand foreigners for a weekend. But I don’t think the speedway club want to touch the GP

Quick google shows both Prague and Czech Republic had a record tourist year in 2018 and Prague is already taking measures to clamp down on Air bnb and have appointed a night life Mayor to try and get to grips with the excesses of tourists and cheap drink 

Edited June 17, 2019 by iris123

[screm 8,050]

1 hour ago, RPNY said:

This is what I dont get there has been more then of its fair share of decent racing at Marketa in recent times. Even Saturday there was some decent action later on (same happened last year) For me this HAS to stay as part of the series. Lovely little stadium, great City. Its a must

As this was the first year in a new contract it fare to say we will see SGP at Marketa for a year or two yet.

[Tactical Joker 60]

Now back in Blighty after an excellent weekend. Yes it is all about being there seeing and hearing it live, you can be close to the action if you chose the right seats, although one of our party won't wear a white shirt next time . Will watch a recording later this week to see how TV compares but Warsaw and Prague are a must for the total package they offer.

As for a Manchester and Cardiff GP, providing they are at opposite ends of the season it could be worth a go if the costs are not prohibitive. Easier to get to than the middle of a Swedish forest.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Tactical Joker

[HenryW 1,178]

4 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

 It half the Tory cabinet didn’t wizz round a speedway track at over 60mph with 3 others in close combat whilst on the drugs. But Dudek and Madsen have served what was deemed appropriate, so it’s closed.

I don't think there was ever any question of there being any danger to others from what Dudek was caught taking.

If I remember right, I think it was also generally accepted that he took it unknowingly as it was an unlisted ingredient in a training supplement that he used.

As others have said, I don't recall Madsen ever having issues with drugs, just machinery.

Edited June 17, 2019 by HenryW

[iwright71 206]

On ‎6‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 2:31 PM, PHILIPRISING said:

FIRST visit to a GP for me this year. Prague remains a fabulous city to visit and ensures a great weekend regardless. Good to see a sell-out crowd at the Marketa, the threatening thunderstorms kept away but the racing until the latter stages was disappointing. Agreed with many who felt that the track had been over-watered at times but an exciting climax and another great evening in the city. Understand young Pavel Ondrasik and Tomas Topinka have plans to upgrade the track which would be the icing on the cake.

Ah track changes, that old chestnut rolled out again for about the tenth time after another poor Prague GP. Rather than defend all things Speedway GP why not admit what everybody knows, Krsko and Prague have never been or will never be great race tracks providing  the quality of spectacle expected for the Speedway GP.

[AFCB Wildcat 1,362]

5 hours ago, Tactical Joker said:

Now back in Blighty after an excellent weekend. Yes it is all about being there seeing and hearing it live, you can be close to the action if you chose the right seats, although one of our party won't wear a white shirt next time . Will watch a recording later this week to see how TV compares but Warsaw and Prague are a must for the total package they offer.

As for a Manchester and Cardiff GP, providing they are at opposite ends of the season it could be worth a go if the costs are not prohibitive. Easier to get to than the middle of a Swedish forest.

Likewise, I had an excellent weekend too and the weather was the icing on the cake. We flew out Thursday morning and back to Bournemouth on Sunday so had a couple of days to explore before the meeting. Will definitely go again but will choose different seats next time. We were at the end of the start line straight by the first bend and with everyone leaning forward our view of the starts and the run to the line were obscured so will probably opt for one of the bends next time.

I was a bit surprised on how low key the event was in the city with no merchandising or large gatherings of fans before the meeting like Cardiff but was impressed with the Metro system which made getting to and from the Stadium from the city centre and back to our hotel a doddle.

The meeting itself was a slow burner but some decent racing later on so all in all had a good time and look forward to the next one.