British Final And Semi Finals

[mc131 366]

so is barker now meeting reserve at cardiff? wel i for 1 sure hope he gets at least 1 ride coz he will guarantee a whole hearted dispaly! dont no how people can slag him off on here sayin no talent and so on hes come up from the national league and worked his way up through the leagues and nw 3rd in a british final in my eyes quite good for so called NO TALENT!

[T.N.T. 355]

So the comments on this thread lead you to the following views

 

 

So there are not 10 - 12 riders that are of the standard that could win the title (like the 70's/80's)

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

An increase of foreign riders in the PL means any PL riders are of a weaker standard to thos of years ago

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

The referee made some howlers

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

Chris Harris was unbeaten in all his races .. (he stayed on the bike)

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

Bomber and Nicholls were clearly head and shoulders above the rest

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

Well Done to King, Barker and Robson on some great performances

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

There was plenty of passing, good interviews and a good viewing for the sport

 

 

 

PS

 

The track was grippy and well maintained which led to good racing

 

 

 

 

Anyone reading this post will know straight away ....

 

 

 

The meeting was held at MONMORE GREEN , Wolverhampton !!!

[screm 8,067]

Fair post TNT,but how was the track ?.

[philfromcov 326]

Fair post TNT,but how was the track ?.

only one comment, despite peoples memories being vague.

 

yes ther were big crowds in the 70's, i was one of them, but to suggest 10-12 could win was wrong, normally lee, collins, jessup and one other1

 

at most 4 in with a chance although all competitors were in the top league and most were heat leaders.

[Badge 5,137]

Think the British Final is fast becoming a Mickey Mouse event!!! Wasn't impressed one bit with last nights meeting although Ben Barker produced some balls out racing!!! Respect to Bomber for beating what was put in front of him. Whilst I agree all tracks should be deep and not as slick as an iced penguin I dont think the meeting was that entertaining.

 

Take a look at the 1989, 1991 and 92 British Finals on Youtube....the British Final was the jewel of the British Speedway Calendar staged on a weekend at prime time for viewing on an easily accessible track. The difference in crowds levels is alarming to say the least. It was a highly polished, well presented affair then with the emphasis on entertainment. I seriously think World Championship qualification has to be brought back into it and the meeting has to go back to its roots a bit instead of just giving it a ridiculous Super Seven name!! The meeting might actually hold some credibility then and give some of the British lads the emphasis to be in it, raising there game and in turn developing further.

I have to disagree with you saying it is a Mickey Mouse event now, OK GB haven't the wealth of talent of some other Countries, but last night we had the best qualifiers in the meeting, and there was no doubting the passion of the riders wanting to win this event, do you honestly think Bomber would have carried on after those 2 horrendous spills if he didn't want to win

 

 

It might sound like ingratitude but I thought it sounded like someone who really can't be doing with it anymore. He just wanted to win this title - whether Micky Mouse or not - and nothing more. Maybe with his family matters covered in a national newspaper some weeks ago I wonder if he has more important things on his mind. So good luck to him.

Scott was devastated not to win the Final and become British Champion again, and had the mike thrust under his nose almost straight after the race, I'm sure today or tomorrow when he has got over the disappointment he will look forward to Cardiff, but his aim last night was solely to become British Champion again, so I agree with you on your post.

 

 

the british final these days is nothing like the finals i went to as a kid at west ham and coventry. those were raced in front of 20,000 crowds and were really hard meetings to win. we as a nation just don't have enough riders of that standard anymore. i thought last night's final made good viewing with plenty of incident on a grippy track. it kept my intrest going right to the end which takes some doing for these type of meetings!.

Don't we just love to look back!!! and everything was wonderful then , sadly those days have gone, and British riders are thin on the ground, but I enjoyed the meeting, apart from the shocking decisions by the ref re: Schrammy and Jordan that is, I thought everyone gave it a real go, and well chuffed with Danny's performace, bearing in mind he had an extra race too.

 

 

Without bothering to read through about 10 pages, the ref made some major cock ups last night. Harris should of excluded for running into Bridger and falling - how on the earth was Schramm excluded when he didn't touch either Harris or Bridger, and laid the bike down to avoid Harris? Amazing.

 

How on the earth Frampton was excluded for Lanham turning in on him is unbelievable as well, it makes you wonder why Frampton was excluded for that and then Kennett wasn't chucked out for doing the exact same thing to Danny King later on.

 

Decent meeting in the end, shame Nicholls didn't win though.

 

 

I agree

 

 

Didn't think it was a bad meeting overall:- overtaking, crashes etc, but (and I know other people have raised the question) WTF was the ref on for excluding Schramm??? Harris screwed up and Schramm paid the price - ludicrous

And again

 

What a sad reflection on British Speedway - the line up last night was awful,the BSPA should have seeded both Woffinden & Richardson to the final - Congratulations to Bomber, Nicholls Barker, but really the Top 6 riders on the night had nothing to beat, most of the Premier League riders did not perform, not worth £20 admission or even the time wasted to watch it on TV.

 

The track preparation was great though, consistent with grip, not like the slick surfaces we have become used to in the GPs,

Why should Tai and Lee been seeded in, they didn't qualify...end of. Thought we all moaned about the fact that the top guys used to get seeded in and how unfair it was

 

Does it really matter whether there were EL or Pl riders in the line-up. It was speedway, something we obviously all enjoy. I used to be an elite league snob, but now I just enjoy speedway racing. As far as I am concerned it was a good meeting, full of incidents and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't care that some of the riders were from different leagues, if Woffinden and Richardson had qualified they would have been there, but they didn't. How many months ago was it that everyone was insisting that riders should not be seeded through to the GP (ie Nicholls, well now you have got your qualification process and you are still not happy.

Yep my feelings too

[Coventry_Bee 467]

As there were 4 riders in the final wasn't there 4 people who could have won it?? If we are going on about how it used to be then Scott Nicholls would be British Champion.

 

Seriously though,

 

it wasnt that bad a meeting with good passing, few crashes and despite Barker taking Nicholls wide to let his best mate through it was a good meeting. Better than some of the crap we see on sky ??

Edited June 15, 2010 by Coventry_Bee

[tyke 275]

only one comment, despite peoples memories being vague.

 

yes ther were big crowds in the 70's, i was one of them, but to suggest 10-12 could win was wrong, normally lee, collins, jessup and one other1

 

at most 4 in with a chance although all competitors were in the top league and most were heat leaders.

Sorry Phil, cant agree with that. After Mauger won his last title in 73, There was only one guy won it twice Lee 77&78 until Carter did in 84 & 85

 

They were

Wilson, Boocock, Louis, Simmons, Leex2 , Collins, Jessup , Bastable , Grahame (Andy) , Morton then Carter x2

 

In the last nine year's apart from Scott and Bomber only Screen in 2004 has lifted the title

[Fourentee 988]

 

I understand that Nicholls was gutted at not winning the title but in his interview at the end he came across as though he does not care about Cardiff, if that is the case, then don't go mate

 

In what was I think his final interview of the night he said that in a few days he would be ready to enjoy Cardiff and go out with a positive attitude about it (he had also spoken last week about how much he wanted the wildcard).

But he really desired that sixth title (see 21CH and Badge above) and all that was in his mind at the time (minutes after the final) was the night's disappointment.

That doesn't come across to me as not caring. That comes across as caring a great deal.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Fourentee

[London Witch 57]

I personally think Tai and Lee should've been seeded in. A British Final minus two of the top British riders just isn't right to me and I can't help but think that we were cheated of more good racing between the top riders.

 

Enjoyed the meeting and was delighted with Scott and Danny getting to the final. Bomber was a worthy winner, how he got up from that crash and rode again was amazing. Not a fan of Barker at all, but full credit to him, he rode well and got his rewards for it. No real surprises, but was pleased to see Jason King have a good night and was disappointed with the decision made against Schrammy.

[Trees 2,814]

The crowds everywhere are much lower than back then, not just for this meeting. Although it was a poor crowd for such a meeting. It doesn't get much more accessible than Monmore. Just a few miles off the M6 in the Midlands. There were fans there from such far flung places as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ipswich and Eastbourne (as well as many in between of course).

British Finals years ago didn't take place on a Monday night did they, might have been a few more fans in attendance had it been on Saturday night like it should be, or even Sunday afternoon!!

[Icicle 896]

Sky have shown PL and I'm sure they will again.

 

 

Umm When?? Sky said they were going to show MORE PL this season..so far only 1!!

[Sprog1 79]

Why should Tai and Lee been seeded in, they didn't qualify...end of. Thought we all moaned about the fact that the top guys used to get seeded in and how unfair it was

 

The trouble is we have this dichotomy in speedway where riders have to qualify for the national championship on merit but they can get seeded in to the GP's, having failed to qualify, just because they have a British passport.

If you are going to have a system of strict qualification for the British Final the same should apply to the GP's but if you are going to seed people into the GP's just because they have a British passport, even though they failed to qualify on merit then you might as well seed riders ito the British Final as well. Its daft to have one thing for the British Final and another thing for the GP's

[Badge 5,137]

The trouble is we have this dichotomy in speedway where riders have to qualify for the national championship on merit but they can get seeded in to the GP's, having failed to qualify, just because they have a British passport.

If you are going to have a system of strict qualification for the British Final the same should apply to the GP's but if you are going to seed people into the GP's just because they have a British passport, even though they failed to qualify on merit then you might as well seed riders ito the British Final as well. Its daft to have one thing for the British Final and another thing for the GP's

Well we can't dictate over the GP's but surely qualification is the fairest means, just take a rider in point, (whether you agree he should have been in the final or not) but Chris Schramm has NEVER been invited before this year to enter the qualification rounds (these are the one's for the lowly riders to ride in, as in years gone by we have had seeded riders straight through),when he was no worse than many of the other PL riders taking part, he wasn't included even when he was EL with us. Well I'm sorry but he had every right as a British rider to have a go, and this year they seemed to get it right, although I do agree that it was a bit unfair for Tai to have to ride in the Sheffield qualifier due to his GP commitments, but Lee Richardson got injured on the night, and so, like any other rider was unable to qualify.

 

I was actually chuffed to see how much it mean't to them all last night, so perhaps there is some pride in British speedway after all

 

Also, no-one has mentioned this, of course no rider could be accused of home track advantage last night either

[Ellesmere Gunner 0]

Correct me if I am wrong? I was at the meeting and was none too impressed with the track, given I was looking from terraces and not riding it!The second bend in particular seemed to be causing no end of problems but hey I am no Track Custodian it is just an observation! In fact I feel that from watching TV meetings this season with the odd exception track prep. has been poor.

[tigerblues 10]

I didn't think last night was a bad meeting, of course congratulations to Bomber who I felt was a deserved winner. Scotty deserved his wildcard and I look forward to seeing him back at Cardiff.. he can just relax and enjoy it this year with no pressure.. he was gutted not to be British Champion again, but I'm sure he'll be up for Cardiff

 

Ben Barker.. the effort and passion he puts into all his racing is just superb and it really shows on track.. one thing you absolutely can not accuse him of is not trying as you always get 100%. He just wants to race and do his best, what more do people want of him!? I think he did brilliantly last night, whatever people write on here about what he might get up to off track, his attitude to speedway is fantastic and I wish one or two were a bit more like him. Well done Ben

 

Also, the PL riders. To those who felt ripped off by the line-up.. you all knew the line-up beforehand and nobody forced you to go. Some of the comments about PL riders are just disrespectful IMO. Riders like Clewsy, Frampton, Tully to name a few all qualified so whatever you think, they deserved to be there, it's that simple.