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Future of the GP's...?

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Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season? Anyone agree ?

Last night the first 11 races were won from the inside gate and probably over half of all the races won from the inside.

There was very little serious overtaking plus the usual problem of races being spoilt by ruts.

I think Matej Zagar's comments were telling when he said that the track was not like it usually is-so someone has obviously messed aroung with the track and on last nights showing they didn't do a very good job.

Its difficult to point the finger of blame without knowing all the facts but it does seem that Ole Olsen has a lot to answer for. He has overall responsibilty. In the studio last night they were saying that they were unable to get to question him, which is pretty much par with his aloof and self-centred attitude as a rider.

Its bad enough for regular fans who understand speedway but how on earth will anything like lasts nights fiasco maintain the interest of the casual viewer ? It could never be described as a good advert for speedway and yet Olsen &Co seem to do very little about it.

What does everyone think ? Are the GP's good television, or if not what should be done ?

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Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season? Anyone agree ?

Last night the first 11 races were won from the inside gate and probably over half of all the races won from the inside.

There was very little serious overtaking plus the usual problem of races being spoilt by ruts.

I think Matej Zagar's comments were telling when he said that the track was not like it usually is-so someone has obviously messed aroung with the track and on last nights showing they didn't do a very good job.

Its difficult to point the finger of blame without knowing all the facts but it does seem that Ole Olsen has a lot to answer for. He has overall responsibilty. In the studio last night they were saying that they were unable to get to question him, which is pretty much par with his aloof and self-centred attitude as a rider.

Its bad enough for regular fans who understand speedway but how on earth will anything like lasts nights fiasco maintain the interest of the casual viewer ? It could never be described as a good advert for speedway and yet Olsen &Co seem to do very little about it.

What does everyone think ? Are the GP's good television, or if not what should be done ?

Maybe Phil Rising could comment on certain aspects of the GP`s.

 

1 Are BSI/IMG happy with the standard of entertainment ie racing this season being served up to the people attending and those watching on tv ?

 

2 Does the FIM jury member report back to the FIM on the racing,fairness of gates etc ?

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Perhaps the FIM should take the rights to the speedway world championship away from BSI for making a mockery of it!!

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It was dull, boring and processional. It was so bad I fell asleep. Who won?

 

Let's have some bloody dirt on the tracks and have some entertainment! Ole Olson seems hell bent on hard slick tracks and has been doing it for years to the detriment of the sport. We should be seeing the elite battle it out in a real spectacle, instead what we get more often than not is the first off of the 2nd turn winning the race.

 

Complete and utter balls up!

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Who won?

11 of the first 12 races were won from gate one .... the only rider than managed to win off another gate before the interval was Emil Sayfutdinov who went unbeaten all night to score 24 points.

 

Had Emil been missing from this meeting it would have been really bad, but I think Sam Ermolenko hit upon one of the problems in the Sky Studio. He was saying how Olsen does a great job with the GP's but maybe the track preperation should be left to the usual track men who know how to prepare a race track.

 

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.....I think Sam Ermolenko hit upon one of the problems in the Sky Studio. He was saying how Olsen does a great job with the GP's but maybe the track preperation should be left to the usual track men who know how to prepare a race track.

 

Which is what we've all been saying for the past three or four years. With any luck, with Olsen retiring (huzzah!) at the end of this season, Tony Olsson - or whoever his replacement will be - might even start to utilise the knowledge of the local track curators who, let's face it, know all about their track, vagaries in local weather/humidity etc.

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11 of the first 12 races were won from gate one .... the only rider than managed to win off another gate before the interval was Emil Sayfutdinov who went unbeaten all night to score 24 points.

 

Had Emil been missing from this meeting it would have been really bad, but I think Sam Ermolenko hit upon one of the problems in the Sky Studio. He was saying how Olsen does a great job with the GP's but maybe the track preperation should be left to the usual track men who know how to prepare a race track.

 

To be honest I thought it was Gary Havelock who said that,but not to worry who said it they got it completely right, Ole Olsen is killing the sport,totally one dimensional and void of ideas on track preparation.

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Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season? Anyone agree ?

Last night the first 11 races were won from the inside gate and probably over half of all the races won from the inside.

There was very little serious overtaking plus the usual problem of races being spoilt by ruts.

I think Matej Zagar's comments were telling when he said that the track was not like it usually is-so someone has obviously messed aroung with the track and on last nights showing they didn't do a very good job.

Its difficult to point the finger of blame without knowing all the facts but it does seem that Ole Olsen has a lot to answer for. He has overall responsibilty. In the studio last night they were saying that they were unable to get to question him, which is pretty much par with his aloof and self-centred attitude as a rider.

Its bad enough for regular fans who understand speedway but how on earth will anything like lasts nights fiasco maintain the interest of the casual viewer ? It could never be described as a good advert for speedway and yet Olsen &Co seem to do very little about it.

What does everyone think ? Are the GP's good television, or if not what should be done ?

 

More moaning ....if you don't like it turn the tv off ...... :wink:

 

 

No i am with you on this one the gp's were one of the best things to happen to speedway they were a real shot in the arm but now they just got stale ..... The main reason is are just to many six would be plenty at the best venues and of Cause without Olsen in charge of them .

 

Also i like the old format with two losing rides and your out rather than more fairer thou boring points system .

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Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season? Anyone agree ?

Last night the first 11 races were won from the inside gate and probably over half of all the races won from the inside.

There was very little serious overtaking plus the usual problem of races being spoilt by ruts.

I think Matej Zagar's comments were telling when he said that the track was not like it usually is-so someone has obviously messed aroung with the track and on last nights showing they didn't do a very good job.

Its difficult to point the finger of blame without knowing all the facts but it does seem that Ole Olsen has a lot to answer for. He has overall responsibilty. In the studio last night they were saying that they were unable to get to question him, which is pretty much par with his aloof and self-centred attitude as a rider.

Its bad enough for regular fans who understand speedway but how on earth will anything like lasts nights fiasco maintain the interest of the casual viewer ? It could never be described as a good advert for speedway and yet Olsen &Co seem to do very little about it.

What does everyone think ? Are the GP's good television, or if not what should be done ?

 

It's just you and one or two others. :blink:

 

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Many riders from the past have said in interviews in magazines such as Backtrack, that they wished the GP system had been around in their day.

 

The GP system is popular with riders and it's here to stay.

The whole thing just needs an overhaul.

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The fact that Sky have 4 sports channels to broadcast on and still decided not to show the GP live after an hour without using the red button speaks volumes, especially as they are the main Elite League sponsors. A bad sign indeed !!

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Personally I love the GPs but dear me someone needs to get this sorted out, last night was dire and it's not the first GP you could use that word for.. Havvy nailed it when he said the track prep should be left to the people who do the job week in week out and know what they're doing..!

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Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season?

 

They've ALWAYS been dull... A 'lowest common denominator' system to decide a World Champion will always lack the drama, sudden death excitement of a traditional final.

The GP system is rather like FIFA looking back over the results of international fixtures over the past four years and declaring Spain (or Brazil or whoever...) as Football World Cup winners rather than bothering having a Finals competition... :rolleyes:

 

There is only one overhaul...: that's to consign the GPs to history and restore a proper open-to-all world championship..

And before anyone says you can't make changes like this, turn your mind back to the mid-'90s, huge changes were made then and they CAN be again...

 

Throwing out the World Final was a bit like giving away the family silver... A trip to the pawn shop to get it back is in order...: right now!! :approve:

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This GP series shows just how dull it can be. Great riders and often impressive stadia, all very flashy and hyped to the limit, albeit very professionally. Underneath it all, once you look past the shiny bits there's very little. The series is far too drawn out and the champion known far too long before the end. The racing is occasionally wonderful but far, far too infrequently so.

 

It's a bore.

 

What we have is a long series of build-up events building to...just what exactly?

 

Perhaps a streamlining is needed with say a half-dozen meetings with a wider field of riders with places in each meeting determined by on-track results, not reputations decided in meeting rooms building up to a final where the championship is decided, thus bringing it to a suitable thrilling climax?

 

Oh sorry, we had that but threw it away. Oh well, the sport must move on. If we keep telling people the current system's wonderful we'll still catch new mugs to replace the ones that see through it all and give it up as a bad job. Won't we?

 

Well, with luck Sky will start up another half dozen sports channels so maybe the GPs can find a place somewhere occasionally.

 

</irony>

 

Rob McCaffery.

Edited by rmc

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This GP series shows just how dull it can be. Great riders and often impressive stadia, all very flashy and hyped to the limit, albeit very professionally. Underneath it all, once you look past the shiny bits there's very little. The series is far too drawn out and the champion known far too long before the end. The racing is occasionally wonderful but far, far too infrequently so.

 

It's a bore.

 

What we have is a long series of build-up events building to...just what exactly?

 

Perhaps a streamlining is needed with say a half-dozen meetings with a wider field of riders with places in each meeting determined by on-track results, not reputations decided in meeting rooms building up to a final where the championship is decided, thus bringing it to a suitable thrilling climax?

 

Oh sorry, we had that but threw it away. Oh well, the sport must move on. If we keep telling people the current system's wonderful we'll still catch new mugs to replace the ones that see through it all and give it up as a bad job. Won't we?

 

Well, with luck Sky will start up another half dozen sports channels so maybe the GPs can find a place somewhere occasionally.

 

</irony>

 

Rob McCaffery.

 

 

100% agree Rob. Your post sums the whole thing up in a nutshell.

Just said my piece on the Slovenian GP thread on the GP section.

Boring, dull and so contrived its embarrassing for any true speedway fan to be

associated with it as it is now.

 

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