Chris Harris Cardiff Wild Card

[A ORLOV 8,628]

This is a joke of a decision and totally wrong, it is not as if including Chris Harris will increase the attendance. I feel for which ever rider who would have been included at Cardiff under the very fair old system. If Chris was that rider fair enough, but what if he comes 4th or 5th.

Edited April 30, 2013 by A ORLOV

[Coventry_Bee 467]

To have been a fly on the wall in a few riders households tonight? I bet a few phone calls and txts went out, what if they were not watching the meeting and got tweeted it by a fan? How long has Harris known or did he know?

 

It will get brushed over with some comment but I think there will be a few unhappy speedway riders out there tonight.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Coventry_Bee

[Grand Central 2,654]

Let's hope that come June 1st Chris can be relied upon to come up with just the right type of performance that will maximise any possible discomfort to BSI.

 

Now, which would that be?

a] Win the meeting or do well enough to scream in their face 'see, you should have seeded me again', or,

b] Do so badly that he embarasses both himself and those people that picked him, or,

c] Declare that he can live the lie no longer and own up to being Paul Bellamy's love child

 

answers on a postcard to Speedway Star.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Grand Central

[RPNY 608]

I don't think it's a particularly good idea to take away the carrot that was being dangled at the last few British finals. However, I do try & see both sides of every speedway argument & I honestly think this time round, they just want a Brit in there who's MOST LIKELY to score some points. If memory serves me correctly, even when Bomber wasn't doing well (ie most seasons) he generally scored ok and made the semis at Cardiff.

As I said, I still think the highest non GP rider at the BF should be the Cardiff WC, I'm just saying I understand BSI's thinking here...

[2ndbendbeerhut 1,781]

Have bsi taken away the WC from the British final as they don't want a sky meeting having an effect on their business? Or taken away from bspa due to the Euro champs pull out of British riders.

[Grand Central 2,654]

I don't think it's a particularly good idea to take away the carrot that was being dangled at the last few British finals. However, I do try & see both sides of every speedway argument & I honestly think this time round, they just want a Brit in there who's MOST LIKELY to score some points. If memory serves me correctly, even when Bomber wasn't doing well (ie most seasons) he generally scored ok and made the semis at Cardiff.

 

Well, he's scored six points in 2012, six points in 2011 and six points in 2010.

So, I'm not sure if that tallys with your memory, or not.

 

But hey, ho ... let's all look forward to another six points for the GB star.

Edited April 30, 2013 by Grand Central

[Pinny 2,536]

Pisstake

 

Another nail in the coffin for british speedway

[SCB 0]

Its BSI who pick the wildcards I consultation with the staging promoters. Who are the staging promoters? BSI. Maybe in the past they were happy to go along with it for Sky. I'd prefer Bomber gets it than Kennett, King or Nicholls tbh. We don't really have a 16-18 year old we could give the wild card to, maybe Worrall?

 

I don't get the hate aimed at Bomber, he is our second best rider after Tai.

Edited May 1, 2013 by SCB

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

Its BSI who pick the wildcards I consultation with the staging promoters. Who are the staging promoters? BSI. Maybe in the past they were happy to go along with it for Sky. I'd prefer Bomber gets it than Kennett, King or Nicholls tbh. We don't really have a 16-18 year old we could give the wild card to, maybe Worrall?

 

I don't get the hate aimed at Bomber, he is our second best rider after Tai.

 

SCB .. your view is probably most in tune with BSI.

 

2ndbendbeerhut ... cannot see how a Sky meeting can adversely affect their business. In fact, BSI are keen for Sky to continue showing speedway in this country, it all helps to spread the speedway gospel to a wider audience and potentially more Cardiff attendees. Also, BSI have nothing to do with the European Championship.

 

Wild cards are picked in other countries so I assume they felt it time to revert to that - the pick didn't always come from the British Final. One thing I do know categorically: Harris didn't know until it was verified by the FIM this week.

 

It would be lovely to have a young Brit to throw in as the Danes have done for the past couple of years but, in all honesty, do we have one? Maybe down the line riders like Cook and Worrall will warrant a go but not yet.

[JCookie 753]

The only understandable one is Cook.

[iris123 21,018]

Fact is Phil is this a positive or negative move for British speedway,regardless of what other countries do?I can't see anything positive here in giving Harris a chance at a GP.All i can see is a downgrading of the british Final and a demotivation of all the British riders who thought they were in with a fair chance of a wildcard.A decision that makes a few happy and a lot angry.Typical speedway

[Paulco 7,083]

Its BSI who pick the wildcards I consultation with the staging promoters. Who are the staging promoters? BSI. Maybe in the past they were happy to go along with it for Sky. I'd prefer Bomber gets it than Kennett, King or Nicholls tbh. We don't really have a 16-18 year old we could give the wild card to, maybe Worrall?

 

I don't get the hate aimed at Bomber, he is our second best rider after Tai.

It's not personal against Bomber as such . The British Final was on life support before the GP wildcard was introduced into the mix . That brought back the public interest into the meeting and gave the riders an extra aim . If Harris had won the event or finished runner up to Woffinden , then fine nobody would have had a problem with that . But just to hand the wildcard to him is very poor and unfair on the other 14 riders in the British Final . I just hope now someone like Danny King or Eddie Kennett wins the British Final to heap more embarrassment onto this decision .

[Pirate Nick 1,801]

I suspect BSI have picked Bomber purely on a marketing basis and nothing to with form. If it was picked right now on form then the best Brit after Woffinden would be Eddie Kennett.

[Grand Central 2,654]

The minor points being made in favour of this change to picking the WC could have been made any year.

But I don't remember that being the case.

 

I think there was just about unanimity in welcoming BSIs use of the British Final for the wildcard place.

So why is 2013 deemed different?

 

A small part of me does think it a little unfair for us to all pick on Chris Harris for eagerly accepting the place.

After all he could not possibly have the ability to say

'Thank you very much BSI. but I would prefer to earn the WC place at the British Final by racing against and beating my fellow countryman on an equal footing'.

That would be ridiculous

 

Why don't we have similar sympathy for, say, Danny King.

If he had won the BF last year he would have been in the GP.

This year he didn't even go to Edinburgh for the semi with that being a possibility.

But no one told him. Or anyone else.

Edited May 1, 2013 by Grand Central

[Gavan 5,050]

firstly this isnt Chris Harris fault so those abusing how he has done in the series and all that should lay off of him.

 

secondly it is hugely the wrong decision! i can see why they done it with him being a previous winner at Cardiff and being honest he would probably be more competitive than any other Brit apart obviously from Tai.

 

Nicholls and Harris are slowly in decline think that is obvious and riders like Kennett and King and possibly Cook and Auty have seen there chance taken away from then.

 

If i was Nicholls with 7 titles already i would just not bother riding and stick 2 fingers up to the authorities. He has won it 7 times so deserves, out of form or not, the chance to ride at Cardiff. Disgraceful