GREDON 20 Posted October 9, 2003 Well not quite the wheel, but is interesting to see in this weeks Star, BSI are putting forward proposal, for GPs to have 16 riders and 20 heat formula, as the old World Final. Amazing they should be given any credit for this as it is what fans and possibly some riders have been asking for ever since Ole Olsen brought out the 'Its a Knockout' formula. Hopefully this new? idea is put into practice, and we can then watch each rider competing against each other at least once and off different gate positions, roll on 2005. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomhaines 68 Posted October 9, 2003 Well not quite the wheel, but is interesting to see in this weeks Star, BSI are putting forward proposal, for GPs to have 16 riders and 20 heat formula, as the old World Final. Amazing they should be given any credit for this as it is what fans and possibly some riders have been asking for ever since Ole Olsen brought out the 'Its a Knockout' formula.Hopefully this new? idea is put into practice, and we can then watch each rider competing against each other at least once and off different gate positions, roll on 2005. Great idea imo. Less Riders = less distruption to gb league More rides for each rider Only riders in it to win it The prize money shared between 16 instead of 24.... Less riders to transport to gps outside of normal speedway countries. Its a great idea and makes it much more difficult to win as there will be 15 riders all in it to be world champion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted October 10, 2003 Personally I don't think it's a good idea to revert to the old formula. The current system is much easier for people watching and every race has meaning. I actually think it could prove a costly mistake if they do this. The cut and thrust of the GP is what has made it such an attraction. It may be what some fans have been asking for but I don't think it's likely to be as attractive to the casual spectator. There is still going to be semi finals and a final, so in effect you will get 20 qualifying heats, some of the later ones of which have no relevence whatsoever, with just 3 meaningful races at the end. If they are going to do it, though, I agree that the first 2 should be seeded direct to the final. Thinking back to Leigh Admas Testimonial meeting, Jason Crump scored a 15 point maximum, then failed to qualify from his semi, which seemed a bit unfair to me. Anyway. Bad idea all round. I think the KO system is what makes the GP what it is - unique. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeff. 2 Posted October 10, 2003 Spot on Grachan. I loved the old World Finals but how many meaningless races were in a one off final. By heat 8 at least half the field could not win and by interval it was usually only 2, maybe 3 who still had a chance. Also the format was unforgiving, 1 fall or engine failure and your out of it. In a GP every rider in every race can still win the meeting which to me is why it works so well. This format is the future for world championships and I for one would not like to revert back to the one off final format. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frigbo 518 Posted October 10, 2003 Oh dear Speedway reverting back to the dark ages. There were far too many meaningless races in World Finals, also despite there being only 16 riders intended there will still only be 5 or 6 at most who are realistically in with a chance of winning the titile. The current format makes every race meaningful, although i do believe the starting position process needs looking at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Speedy swindon pete 509 Posted October 10, 2003 I'm with grachan and jeff The current format is totally unique to any other world final format. That is what makes SGP's so interesting Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fatface 2,554 Posted October 10, 2003 Personally I don't think it's a good idea to revert to the old formula. The current system is much easier for people watching and every race has meaning. I actually think it could prove a costly mistake if they do this. The cut and thrust of the GP is what has made it such an attraction. It may be what some fans have been asking for but I don't think it's likely to be as attractive to the casual spectator. There is still going to be semi finals and a final, so in effect you will get 20 qualifying heats, some of the later ones of which have no relevence whatsoever, with just 3 meaningful races at the end. If they are going to do it, though, I agree that the first 2 should be seeded direct to the final. Thinking back to Leigh Admas Testimonial meeting, Jason Crump scored a 15 point maximum, then failed to qualify from his semi, which seemed a bit unfair to me. Anyway. Bad idea all round. I think the KO system is what makes the GP what it is - unique. Agree totally. The current format makes the meeting build to a crescendo, now it will only really get going towards the end. The danger is that people will turn off their TV in droves and tune back in just to watch the final couple of races. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jackofdiamonds 53 Posted October 10, 2003 Sorry to be one who casts doubt on the previous posters. Should the GP go to 20 heats I for one would welcome it. Five races, one winner, 9 or 10 meetings, we would see the true champion Mr consistency rules. But would Sky go along? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomhaines 68 Posted October 10, 2003 Sorry to be one who casts doubt on the previous posters. Should the GP go to 20 heats I for one would welcome it. Five races, one winner, 9 or 10 meetings, we would see the true champion Mr consistency rules. But would Sky go along? It definatly works. If the points the rider scores in the meeting are those which go to their totals eg 15, 13. Then every point is vital and with only 15 riders in it all season they will all be going for the title as every point could be the difference between victory and loss. You'd need to change the first round of heats as you'd end up with the top 4 riders in heat 1 together. Prehaps when seeding the riders they go in an order like this. 1, 5, 9, 13? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grachan 7,362 Posted October 10, 2003 Don't know why, but I'm getting extrememely wound up by this topic. Most strange. I really think this is such a bad move. Maybe I'm just a negative kind of guy, but it seems to me a few Speedway purists will wallow in the glory of a return to the old system, the crowds will drop in the GPs due to the rather uneventful nature of them, Sky will pull out, even less people will go, War will be declared, the World will end. And a few guys will study their programmes, work out the finer details of the qualification, and barely notice the GP's return to Coventry and care even less about the carnage around them. God help us all! Or maybe I'm over reacting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frigbo 518 Posted October 10, 2003 I'm with you Grachan! By all means cut the number of riders to 16, there are too many no hopers in the GP's at the moment. Sort out a decent qualification system and a fairer gate selection process and Bob's ya knob. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest the blade Posted October 10, 2003 I'm with you Grachan! By all means cut the number of riders to 16, there are too many no hopers in the GP's at the moment. Sort out a decent qualification system and a fairer gate selection process and Bob's ya knob. How can you say that the likes of jason lyons are no hopers ? these are top el riders i think we should go back to the old days with a one off final and have less speedway on tv to bring the crowds back Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mark cox 1 Posted October 10, 2003 Less speedway on TV, then we'll have the crowds back???????????????????? What fresh hell is this????????????? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salty 2,202 Posted October 11, 2003 Is the 16 rider thing planned for next year?? If it is then I assume that this years top 10 will join with the 6 who qualified from Poole, which would mean no wild-cards and no seeded riders for 2004???? That means no Loram, no Lukas, no Max, but we do get Jesper B. Or are they thinking ahead to 2005? Seems like cost is the main incentive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frigbo 518 Posted October 11, 2003 Less speedway on TV, then we'll have the crowds back????????????????????What fresh hell is this????????????? Tongues and cheeks come to mind Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
