BWitcher

The replay shows that everything you have said is totally wrong. You claim Gollob went into the corner out of control... the replay shows he was in perfect control, didn't drift out and rode the perfect line around the corner. It also shows that BEFORE they reach the bend Gollob is ahead. Now, where can Gollob go? He enters the corner with his front wheel almost touching the kerb. AJ has 15 yards of track to choose from. Its his own fault if he tried to close the door to late. Too many riders (Nicki P is an expert) try this move when they are being passed.

Funny that. Seeing as Gollob's front wheel was almost touching the kerb as he went by.

Well there's several things there you are stating as FACTS that weren't. Gollob wasn't out of control, or else he would have ended up in the fence. Gollob didn't even take Aj's foot away as AJ lifted his foot OVER Gollob's wheel. There wasn't even any contact.

Gollob had passed AJ. That was pretty obvious. As I have said before, a rider then has two choices.. 1: Do what AJ did and try to hold his position even though it is lost. 2: Yield the position and enter the bend slightly wider. AJ chose option 1. He caused the stoppage and rightly excluded.

Finally some sense! I am sick and tired of people thinking because there is a slight bit of contact riders have to be excluded. Gollob had taken the position from AJ on the straight. He entered the corner as close to the inside as he could. At this point, AJ has a choice, move wide as he has lost his place, or do as he did. AJ caused the stoppage, Gollob did nothing wrong but engineer an excellent pass.

And exactly what would looking at the replays have achieved? We have all looked at the replays and there are many different opinions for every one of the incidents. Your argument only holds credence when there is a unanimous opinion that the referee got it wrong. Several posters may have agreed about some dubious decisions... several others agreed the decisions were correct. There were no 'glaring' mistakes made in this meeting or there would be a nigh on unanimous castigation of them.

Foreverblue.. What really seems to be escaping you is that, if you read this thread, you will quite clearly see that on every single one of the referees decisions there is a difference of opinion. Which renders your entire argument invalid.

Afraid that it isn't the bottom line. Simply reading this thread will see many different points of view on ALL of the incidents. And as for incompetent refereering making a sport look ridiculous... very far fetched comment. Are football, cricket & numerous other sports also ridiculous? They suffer from poor refereeing decisions also.

Correct. Bjarne tried to cut across from gate 4.. and didn't get there. He put himself into the situation. If you watch the replay, when they reach the corner, Hougaard is still right on the inside, with Pedersen trying to angle across him. It was obvious Hougaard would move out, which is the correct thing to do as a rider. The contact occured before midtrack, so the argument that Pedersen had 'nowhere to go' is rubbish also.

Referees have used the replay facilities at Monmore many times in the past, even when Sky aren't present.

Wouldn't that make you jealous?

Its not only the joker, but the tactical subs also. Remember, that it allowed Hampel to ride in two of the last 3 races. Otherwise Protasiewicz would have been in Heat 23.

Agree its dumb in something like the World Cup Final. However, it will never go... as it helps to produce dramatic climaxes like we just saw.

Crumps faulty. Why give them the chance to use the joker.. AND give them the chance to use Hampel twice. Utterly stupid stupid decision to pass Kasper

Exactly. If the Aussies were 1pt behind they would want to race. As you say, if 3 teams are willing to race, then on they should go. If the Aussies don't want to, let them sit in the pits.

Agreed there Dekker... its a tactic Nicki has used often himself and been the beneficiary of.

Agree, Pedersen should NOT have been excluded then. He didn't even run the Russian that wide, he left him plenty of room down the back straight. Sure, there was contact, but once again its a case of a rider being passed making sure there is contact. Its becoming more regular in speedway, its the equivalent of a dive in football.

Agree on everything there 21st. I commented, that if we were run by the Poole promoters, they would have been offering Correy a contract after his first race and sending Stichaeur on his way.

Billy was probably a bit nervous in the last one, one fall could have caused him problems. It was a staged dance, but they were still going pretty quick and he just hadn't the pace to get there unless they'd have slowed quite dramatically at the end. He was definately slower than the others (understandabley so) as evidenced when Correy outpaced him, and Sam after 2 laps of messing around made up 40 yards on him. Correy... he would make a much better reserve than Mr Stichauer! At home anyway!

Just want to echo everyone else in saying that yesterday was a wonderful day. And as a Wolves fan, just seeing those Cradley race jackets brought back some wonderful memories. And I did feel genuinely sorry for all those fans from Cradley, decked out in their colors, some with faces painted to see their heroes one more (hopefully not last) time. Lets hope that sometime soon, somewhere can be found for this great club to return. Their fans deserve it.

You forgot to add seeing Sam get his butt back on a bike, and then deposit it on the track in a traditional Ermolenko slide-off! Always something enjoyed by the Cradley contingent!

There are usually coaches run by Wolves to Cardiff. Not been on them, but presume they depart from Wolverhampton.

Unsure if its the right year, but I am guessing you are referring to in the first running of the heat Ermolenko (or Correy, can't remember which first) was excluded on the 1st turn. And on the second running Correy excluded. Thus allowing Hancock & Hamill to ride 4 laps of wheelies for a 5-0. I remember being angry with the referee on the night, not for the fact that Cradley got a 5-0 (although that was bad enough) but simply for ruining what would have been a great race.

Although Billy has been quoted that he enjoyed his time at Wolves more than any other time in his career!

I agree 21CH. Anyone at Wolves 80th last year would have seen that Sam and Ronnie can still race at a good pace. Barry Briggs used to run such meetings some years ago, late 80's, early 90's I think. Golden Greats meetings. I didn't actually attend one so not sure how competitive they were.