April 26: European Fim Speedway Grand Prix (bydgoszcz, Poland)

[Bryn 413]

YOU'RE a tough man to please...

UT OH! Suggest you get hold of some top quality body armour and head guard Philip after referring to Mother T as a "tough man...!"

[pandorum 1,259]

 

They both know what the real issue is, indeed they even began to talk about it at the last GP before quickly silencing themselves and then trying to cover it up.

 

Eurosport commentators can hardly come out and say the problems are due to One Sport etc when they are partners with One Sport on another event!

 

Can't believe that the 'company' line of the weather was to blame for the low attendance filtered down to the Eurosport commentators. I thought the programme was over and was in another room but i heard that statement as i was returning. Gee so we take it that speedway supporters are wimps and cower indoors at the sight of rain?

 

I've had lots of praise for Scott Nicholls and Andy Jaye they've been great, i don't lay any blame on them but they really did end up acting as a biased mouthpiece. I gonna move to North Korea for a superior semblance of see no evil, hear no evil etc.

 

But it seems the other guys don't get the same amount of slack here.

Kel and Nige getting stick last night because they did not reveal the real reason the crowd was non existent.

 

I liked both commentary teams and they both did an excellent job.

Andy is the newcomer of course but he is getting better as he goes along.

Kel and Scott have a huge amount of speedway knowledge and are both interesting to listen to.

Same goes for Nigel Pearson as he too has a lot of speedway knowledge and enthusiasm from the point of view of being a long time fan same as many of us.

 

People saying how Scott and Andy were great because they did not shout and scream conveniently overlooking that Scott and Andy are not commentating on the racing so it would be rather strange if they were shouting and screaming when just chatting about the event during the breaks.

Nige and Kel do a great job and get excited the same way speedway fans do.

They do the same as Andy and Scott before the racing starts then go into shouty mode when the race is on which during good races adds to the excitement.

 

I feel sorry for all 4 of the lads regarding the spat between One Sport and BSI.

What are they supposed to do as the people having the arguments indirectly 'pay' them.

It's not up to them to highlight the arguments between these two factions.

Like the fans they are stuck in the middle but unlike the fans they can't rant and rave on a forum.

 

Who is to blame depends on who you dislike the most and agendas are thick and fast here but those guys don't deserve flak as how many here would publicly slag of those who directly or indirectly pay their wages.

Lot of big talkers here but I would imagine that figure is slightly west of zero.

 

Great GP all the same and congrats to a worthy winner and some great competitors for providing some fantastic entertainment.

Pity about the Brits but at least one of them will improve

Edited April 27, 2014 by pandorum

[bluejigger 54]

What a great and enjoyable meeting. Thank goodness we had best commentators in Pearson and Tatum on duty again. The jokers at the NZ Grand Prix were terrible. Not a single moan about the track at Bydgoszcz and congratulations to Krysztof for an excellent and determined win.

[Steve Shovlar 10,452]

Really BSI need to come out and say if you ride in the SEC your don't ride in the GP series.

 

Riders want to be world champ. They don't care so much for European Champion. Means nothing in the Scheme of things and proved by Emil now upset at making a bad call and missing out on the chance of becoming world champion this season. Never mind Emil you have the SEC to look forward to. LOL!

 

Now Woffinden. Absolutely terrible this season. A year ago this is exactly what I would have expected. But not now and he is giving up his crown without even a whimper. If he knows what the problem is he should have done something about it. By the look of things nearly every other rider in the series has stolen a march on him. Why is he riding last years bikes? No money in the pot? Looks like he is on a slug. No fight at all.

 

When interviewed last night I didn't think it was so much his back room staff, but perhaps an injury. Did he damage something when he crashed at Leicester? Does he need an operation?

 

One thing is for sure. He needs to be on the podium at the next GP or he can start to write this season off.

[Skidder1 7,664]

Loved the GP last night! Although I think there was probably more atmosphere in the front room with 5 adults and 2 kids screaming at the TV than there appeared to be at the track!!!?

 

Whether politics or a reduction in speedway interest from the Bydgoszcz public is to blame, the crowd was very disappointing for everyone!!

[Noodles 1,337]

NO one can disguise the attendance but it would be foolish to blame it simply on the problems created by the FIM between BSI and OneSport. Foremost the non-appearance of Tomasz Gollob, still the major drawcard in Poland let alone his home town, is a major factor. And let's not forget that the real reason Gollob isn't riding is because he lost his highly lucrative sponsorship with Monster. And that he wanted an appearance fee to be the wild card tonight.

 

Speedway in Bydgoszcz is not the crowd puller it once was with the local team no longer in the top flight and league attendances now well under 2,000 apparently. There is also a big basketball (popular in Bydgoszcz) on in the town.

 

The poor crowd isn't necessarily a reflection on the SGP as a whole and but the series and Polish speedway desperately needs another Gollob. Polish fans are notoriously fickle and demand winners but no matter what the likes of Hampel and Kaspzrak achieve they will never have the charisma and entertainment value of Tomasz.

 

INCIDENTALLY, I hear that Emil Sayfurdinov is desperately disappointed not to be racing in the SGP and is regretting his (or others) decision not to compete this year.

Presumably they are not surprised or disappointed then as most of these factors were known beforehand yet they still decided to award a gp and the WC there.

 

If you believe that those are the reasons why then the WC will equally be badly attended as those factors will remain.

Edited April 27, 2014 by Noodles

[Humphrey Appleby 13,997]

NO one can disguise the attendance but it would be foolish to blame it simply Speedway in Bydgoszcz is not the crowd puller it once was with the local team no longer in the top flight and league attendances now well under 2,000 apparently. There is also a big basketball (popular in Bydgoszcz) on in the town.

etc etc....

I really hope you're being paid to write this stuff...

 

Why is Gollob not in the SGP in the first place? It has everything to do with the spat between BSI and OneSport no matter how much basketball is blamed.

 

Incidentally, I looked up the basketball fixtures and as far as I can see Bydgoszcz were not playing on Saturday - unless you're talking about the women's' team!

Really BSI need to come out and say if you ride in the SEC your don't ride in the GP series.

They already tried to do that, and obviously realised they'd get sued.

Riders earn most of their money from polish fans who pay lots of money to attend meetings but these riders ride on the Saturday before riding for a pittance and then don't turn up for their main employers on the Sunday for the Polish league.

The BSI take up Friday's and Saturday's and then give the polish clubs injured riders on the Sunday.

Boo hoo. Perhaps they'll now understand what it was like to be a British fan...

Edited April 27, 2014 by Humphrey Appleby

[westhamboy66 599]

Couldn't agree more Humphrey, trouble is no matter how many disasters, how many errors or poor judgements from BSI they won't be criticised to any realistic level by anyone from Speedway Star. Strange bedfellows but then again the Star and the BSPA have a similar relationship. Basketball that great Polish sport etc etc

It's not even One Sport, There's a hatred from Polish fans towards the GP series.

 

Riders earn most of their money from polish fans who pay lots of money to attend meetings but these riders ride on the Saturday before riding for a pittance and then don't turn up for their main employers on the Sunday for the Polish league.

 

The BSI take up Friday's and Saturday's and then give the polish clubs injured riders on the Sunday.

You may well be right but given what BSI have done to British Speedway then the Poles should consider themselves lucky

[Marcelle 162]

Last years crowd was excellent, last nights poor...the difference?.....Gollob....just a thought.

[Ghostwalker 1,864]

Really BSI need to come out and say if you ride in the SEC your don't ride in the GP series.

 

Nope, they intended to do that but it would violate European labour laws which grants free movement for EU citizens within the European union,

which means it is illegal and therefore they cannot make such decisions.

[hampshire3321 22]

Very pleased for KK - Top lad and well deserved win last night - He looked fantastic.

 

Was surprised at Tai spitting the dummy out on his interview last night - He didnt seem to think the issue was him and just about stopped before he finished saying it was the engines - PJR had the top 2 in the GP so they cant be all bad. I hope for him he finds his form, but i cant help but think the issue stems in his own head.

[5 FURROW 97]

Not that you're bitter, or anything.

 

Me I'm not bitter but she is every year still small things keep small minds amused

[GREDON 20]

Grand Prix Speedway is expensive to attend, especially compared with Polish League meetings. Perhaps the fans would rather watch the League, where the top stars ride, rather than travel to GPs containing an increasing number of lacklustre riders. I have been to Bydgoszcz GPs in the past that without a prior bought ticket you had no chance of getting into the stadium

[Cornishfisherman 10]

I think it is about time that the Polish public realised that Tomasz Gollob is not the rider that he was 10 or even 5 years ago and it would appear that they have taken sides in the silly spat that is going on. If the European Championships have one meeting half as good as the one we witnessed last evening I will be very surprised!

 

As for Mr Rising's comment about the basketball I think he got that one completely wrong ! Had he been watching the Canonlsation in Rome on the TV this morning he would have seen where all the Bydgoszcz fans were !! They had their banners to prove it, although I must say I didn't see the name Gollob on any of them!

[LagutaRacingFan 1,948]

Phillip Rising is talking nonsense, First he came out with the view that ticket sales were their usual self then the stadium was mainly empty and then he comes out with the Gollob factor.

 

If I want a BSI press release, I'll go on the official site so don't come here and patronize us with corporate jargon.

We are not fools.