Wildcards 2010

[Snyper1010 24]

Defo Freddie Lindgren because he has made a couple of rostrums this season, Hans will get one on his reputation plus he was fighting it out until the last GP for a top 8 slot!!

 

Matej Zagar would be my next choice due to his good season and then on to the Brit debate for the final slot. Scott Nicholls will never get back in next season and Harris should also not, if he had put up more of an effort on Saturday and learnt to gate then maybe give him another chance!! It then moves on to for me either Tai or Richardson and in my opinion if we are going to go with the future then Tai should be in the series and with Holder and Emil will make the season one of the most exciting for a few seasons. Sure Tai will struggle in a few rounds and at other rounds he will make semi finals but that only sounds like Zorro to me!!

 

Come on Tai!!

 

Sound like Zorro or not. Zorro deserves to be there by qualifying.

[BelteshazzarBee 0]

I agree with Lindgren and Zagar but as for who the other two should go to I am not sure...............I think that Woffinden is too young and too hot headed to be able to cope with the GP series and much as I like Andersen I think a year out would do him good......................

 

Ok so for the other two then what about Lee Richardson (although I think that at the moment there are no British riders who are truly worthy of a place but I would rather see Lee in than no Brit at all) and Antonio Lindback.......................

 

RP

 

Those are pretty much my ideas too. Freddie is an almost cert, he has been pretty good this season in the Gps and has had a great year in the EL. Tai is not ready yet. Just like they did with Chris Holder, they will wait another season and see if he can reproduse in the EL and improve on the continent. Or qualify like Holder has done. Not sure wether Richardson wil do better than Harris and Nicholls but what says he wont. The only thing i have to say is Lindback would certainly be my choice aswell but with Jonsson, Zetterstrom and Freddie (?) already in would they stick in a 4th Swede?? Im not so sure.

 

I would have Lindgren, Zagar, Richardsson, Sullivan, Tai and Lindback in it next year if we could. If they dont want 4 swedes in, i would go for Lindgren and hope Lindback coninues his comeback next year with a return to the EL and gets in either by qualifying or through having great form in al the leagues.

 

 

 

I havent posted on here in a long time, it feels wierd being back here debating GP stuff.

 

Still got a cup final at rye, come on you rockets !!!!!!!!

[Parsloes 1928 nearly 495]

Sound like Zorro or not. Zorro deserves to be there by qualifying.

 

Then by following your 'argument', Hans doesn't deserve to be there - as he didn't qualify..!

There are two routes to qualify...: one for those in it, by finishing in the top eight; another via actual qualifying rounds...: for which those in it can also use as a route...

Hans chose - I believe - not to enter the latter, risking all (in ultimate vain...) on the former...

 

So can't see how you can pick and choose your logic here... If you say Tai didn't qualify then you have to say likewise about Hans...

[Snyper1010 24]

Then by following your 'argument', Hans doesn't deserve to be there - as he didn't qualify..!

There are two routes to qualify...: one for those in it, by finishing in the top eight; another via actual qualifying rounds...: for which those in it can also use as a route...

Hans chose - I believe - not to enter the latter, risking all (in ultimate vain...) on the former...

 

So can't see how you can pick and choose your logic here... If you say Tai didn't qualify then you have to say likewise about Hans...

 

No, the point i was trying to make was you cant compare Tai (who didnt qualify) to Zorro (who did) and say they will score roughly the same therefore Tai should be allowed in.

 

Whether Zorro finishes last in every GP or not he has the right to be there trying as he qualified for the right. Tai should not be given a W/C simply because he may score about the same as Zorro over the series.

 

I hope that explains what i meant with my comment.

[beercellar 7]

Until the SGP make only the top 4 qualify from the current series & the other 11 have to qualify we will get these threads for evermore

[/quote

 

totaley agree, and dont have harris, he likes his beers to much the night before the gps ( still drinking passed midnight in our villa at bydgoszcz), and takes 4 races to sober up. wants the fast life, but not realy interested in being a top rider, dont let him back in for god sake

 

[Daisy Duke 4]

Is Tai financially able to compete in the GPs? He is well sponsored, but the step up to GP level must surely cost a fortune.

 

I believe that Tai could compete on the world stage, but is he really ready for it yet? I'd hate to see the lad thrown in at the deep end only to end up being another Harris or Nicholls.

 

If it comes down to nationality who gets the w/c place, then so far we have:- 2 x Australian (JC/CH), 3 x Poles (TG/RH/JH), 1 x Russian (ES), 1 x American (GH), 2 x Swedes (AJ/MZ), 2 x Danes (NP/KB). I'm fairly sure that Freddie and Hans will get picks, making 3 Poles, Danes and Swedes.

 

Does anyone know when the wildcards will be announced?

[NathanB 4]

I think Andersen will get a slot next season as will One Brit which I think will be Chris Harris. Only one more Swede will get the nod and it will either be Lindgren/Lindback, though I think Lindgren should get the nod. The last spot is up for grabs with a selection of people in contention but I think it will be Zagar.

[Snyper1010 24]

I hope it is Zagar. Very much like Hans in the sense he is great on track but is also a good guy and character off it.

 

I cant see Lindback being picked ahead of Lindgren.

 

Hans wont be left out as even though he had one bad year he is one of the worlds best and is captain of one of the greatest speedway nations on the planet.

[keef 105]

Zagar

Lindgren

Andersen

Woffinden/Harris

[RPNY 608]

It pains me to say it but there is not a single Englishman worthy of a seeded place in next years GP. However out of all we have at the moment, it would seem Richardson would probably do the best out of them given his form in the leagues/world cup this year. Thats just my opinion...

I would love to see a return of the GP challenge with 8 qualifiers and the bottom 8 at the end of th current GP season fighting it out for the remaining GP places. Those meetings were immense.

[JT 167]

A couple of meetings apart, Harris has underperformed in the Grand Prix series for too long. He has never qualified in the top 8 and has never qualified for the series through the qualifying rounds, he couldn't even qualify on his home track. Give the place to someone else. If one of them has to be British then I'd go for Richardson, our best World Cup rider.

 

JT.

[Midland Red 2,383]

 

totaley agree, and dont have harris, he likes his beers to much the night before the gps ( still drinking passed midnight in our villa at bydgoszcz), and takes 4 races to sober up. wants the fast life, but not realy interested in being a top rider, dont let him back in for god sake

 

 

Thought this had been mentioned last year, and it was agreed that he doesn't sleep well, hence the late hours drinking only soft drinks?

[daveccm 0]

Zagar

Lindgren

Andersen

Woffinden/Harris

 

Re Woffinden. I think the old saying applies.

 

"Be careful what you wish for -you might get it."

 

Give him a place. He'll then find out if he's really any good or just a good young rider who will make a living out of speedway. Having seen him blame a more experienced rider one week then have a seasoned pro take the blame the next week for his bad judgement I think he should be set free to prove he's as good as he thinks he is.

 

I don't think he's quite the ticket yet but if he makes the grade - fine. And I don't mean do a Harris and win a GP. I just mean show he can hack it with the big guns. That's all.

[shoy 0]

Harris should also not, if he had put up more of an effort on Saturday and learnt to gate then maybe give him another chance!!

 

 

 

 

Effort ??? he rode three different bikes saturday ! one which wasent working and obivously you werent watching saturday and he flew off the start and won the heat yes maybe to much to late but come on be fair !! he the first one to admit it hasent been a great season !!

[spook 28]

I don't understand why people are so against having some new blood in the series for 2010. Lets face it, next years champion will be either Crump, Pedersen or Sajfudinov, with possibly Hancock and Gollob giving them a run for their money. You see, there lies the current problem. There are only 5 or 6 riders who have what it takes to win, so the other 9 or 10 are bit part players in the series, so just for a change, lets see if we can find the next contender for the title sooner rather than later. I'm bored with pretty much the same old faces year in, year out. Apart from one freak weekend, when has Harris ever justified his inclusion? There are 20 or 30 riders out there who can out perform at least half the field of this year. Too many under achievers this season who don't really warrant a place next year, yet we are so quick to want them back in, only to keep on moaning that the whole gp series is dull. Lets have one radical year where we try something different.

 

it is an interesting one sbramble and statistics over recent years do tell their story..... but the gp's were always going to get like this werent they? The very nature of the competition is about consistency, organisation, machinery and backing aside from erm.. skill lol thats why we currently have a rider in the gp's whos riding ability is some way lower than his peers IMHO .... he ticks all of the other boxes and hangs on for dear life on track

 

and isnt there an argument that it was always like this to a slightly lesser degree? any era is usually dominated by a few guys..... bridesmaids litter speedway history .... as do those like Andreas Jonsson who are outstanding riders but even out at 4th/5th................... in actual fact this year 6 of the 11 gp's were won by different riders.....and every rider made a semi final

 

If there is an issue and i'm not sure that there is... then i'm not sure the answer is to bring in loads of new faces..... imo that would create an even bigger gap between the guys you mention and their competition....... the Emil factor is just a mirage when you consider how many guys have had a turn at breaking into the top 6 over the last 5/6 years and how many have actually managed it.........................

 

if anything the issue is caused by the system itself.... the fact that we have 11 gp's evenly stretched over the season with no pressure of it being a 'qualification road' means that these guys can plan well ahead and over time scoop up and build on the best sponsors, mechanics, tuners, engine deals........................ when you look at it like this it really is no wonder that those seasoned campaigners float to the top every year....... they have a successful formula and it just gets stronger year on year

 

if this was seen as a huge issue in governing circles then the ideal way would be to do a 'mosley/ecclestone' and change the sanctioned bike setups..... this could have a levelling effect but it could also end up demonstrating the gap once more as the sponsorship and mechanical expertise kick in

 

I dont think it is panic stations though.... Leigh has gone this year.... what are the odds that one or both of Greg and Tomasz will go next year? Hans kept telling us he knew what his bad season was about but he continued to put in erratic performances.... if he had another bad season he could be on his way as well...... Holta doesnt sound so sure that he wants the GP's as much these days and he could also be on his way................ it seems to me that a steady stream of guys leaving has started and a steady stream of world class replacements are coming in

 

Give it a year and Pavlic, Woffinden and Ward could be ready

 

edit: and re: the bomber freak performance....... was it such a freak performance? Bomber has actually made one of the better debut attempts to break into the top 8 in recent years and this imo was partially down to Brian Andersen........ that year his bikes were great and all it was going to take was a couple of decent gates and the correct on track decisions ..... I suspect the 40k people cheering him might have made a slight difference as well

Edited October 21, 2009 by spook