Fullmax 79 Posted October 3, 2023 Previous years wildcard entries have always been criticised for being the same old selections year after year . The first time it's changed drastically (which is what everyone wanted) and everyone is complaining its the worst selection ever ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPNY 608 Posted October 3, 2023 A change of riders is good if its the correct riders.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SPEEDY69 1,260 Posted October 3, 2023 3 minutes ago, RPNY said: A change of riders is good if its the correct riders.. It is, Prague sorted, Teterow sorted, Riga sorted. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPNY 608 Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) We'll see hey. I'm not overly enthused about what lies ahead but we shall see hey. Hopefully its a good series. Edited October 3, 2023 by RPNY Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
severnsider 197 Posted October 3, 2023 15 minutes ago, JoeW436 said: Haven’t they both got Polish passports? Even the year Laguta won it he was competing under ‘MFR’ Yes they have Polish passports and have lived in Poland for a number of years (even before the invasion) They rode on MRF licenses back then but both now have Polish licenses as I understand Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
False dawn 2,298 Posted October 3, 2023 I'm told that there is nothing to stop Artem or Emil entering the qualifiers next year and joining the series in 2024 (which they certainly would). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CB252 1,376 Posted October 3, 2023 5 minutes ago, False dawn said: I'm told that there is nothing to stop Artem or Emil entering the qualifiers next year and joining the series in 2024 (which they certainly would). But how will they enter the qualifiers? Who will put them forward? Their federation is the PZM, but the Poles nominate their SGP and SEC qualifying berths based on the result of the Golden Helmet I believe, and there's no way in the world the PZM will let proud Russians enter a prestigious Polish qualifying event? So how do they get into the qualifiers? They can't just send a postcard in and ask the FIM to let them ride in a qualifier? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
False dawn 2,298 Posted October 3, 2023 Just now, CB252 said: But how will they enter the qualifiers? Who will put them forward? Their federation is the PZM, but the Poles nominate their SGP and SEC qualifying berths based on the result of the Golden Helmet I believe, and there's no way in the world the PZM will let proud Russians enter a prestigious Polish qualifying event? So how do they get into the qualifiers? They can't just send a postcard in and ask the FIM to let them ride in a qualifier? Fair comment. Ignore my rubbish comment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,366 Posted October 3, 2023 Pathetic selections Huckenbech and Lebedevs over Fricke and Janowski .sad no Emil or Artem. Smarzlik must be happy with that line up.Will cruise to Semi finals even easier next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,366 Posted October 3, 2023 2 hours ago, bigcatdiary said: It appears to me that the FIM want all of the riders to go through the WC qualifiers and to be fair if they did it would make for a better quality field and avoid this sort of scenario of riders in the series that haven’t really got a hope, Lebedevs, Huckenbeck and Kvech are well out of their depth at this level. The Gp qualifiers were very lopsided need to seed it better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CB252 1,376 Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, Grachan said: As long as they continue to block the Russians it's pretty much invalid as a World Championship as far as I'm concerned. I wonder if they should put in some sort of legal challenge against this, seeing as Russian competitors are able to tale part in other individual sports under a neutral flag. Look at tennis, for example. The recent US open had a Russian in the men's final and a Belarussian in the women's final. Even Wimbledon relented this year and allowed them back in after their points were removed from the World ranking the previous year.. I even remember a statement being made by the Russian federation a couple of years ago stating that they had banned Laguta from competing for Russia due to comments made about Putin. There is no valid reason to exclude them any more than there would have been to exclude Hancock and Loram because of the Iraq war. Tennis is a bad example where Poland is concerned though. A Russian player was immediately deported from the country when trying to enter a couple of months ago https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/12925684/vera-zvonareva-russian-player-is-barred-from-entering-poland-for-warsaw-open-tournament The only reason that they can't do the same to the speedway riders is because they have been living and working and benefitting from a way of life in Poland for many years. All whilst representing Russia on the world scene which is what makes them unpalatable to most Polish people. The ban on Russians isn't just a speedway thing. The FIM don't let them compete in other disciplines either. You know, the popular disciplines that people go and watch in large numbers. They can't just take a different line with speedway because 2 of the better riders happen to be Russian. Edited October 3, 2023 by CB252 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPNY 608 Posted October 3, 2023 7 minutes ago, CB252 said: Tennis is a bad example where Poland is concerned though. A Russian player was immediately deported from the country when trying to enter a couple of months ago https://www.skysports.com/tennis/news/12110/12925684/vera-zvonareva-russian-player-is-barred-from-entering-poland-for-warsaw-open-tournament The only reason that they can't do the same to the speedway riders is because they have been living and working and benefitting from a way of life in Poland for many years. All whilst representing Russia on the world scene which is what makes them unpalatable to most Polish people. Spot on. The PZM will never put them forward. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,990 Posted October 3, 2023 10 minutes ago, Fromafar said: The Gp qualifiers were very lopsided need to seed it better. Don't they just allocate spots to Federations, and they select the riders for the meetings ? I seem to remember Wölbert complaining about always being selected for long journeys, whereas other riders (Smolinski) seemed to always get selected for easier meetings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BluTiger 21,700 Posted October 3, 2023 1 hour ago, Grachan said: As long as they continue to block the Russians it's pretty much invalid as a World Championship as far as I'm concerned. I wonder if they should put in some sort of legal challenge against this, seeing as Russian competitors are able to tale part in other individual sports under a neutral flag. Look at tennis, for example. The recent US open had a Russian in the men's final and a Belarussian in the women's final. Even Wimbledon relented this year and allowed them back in after their points were removed from the World ranking the previous year.. I even remember a statement being made by the Russian federation a couple of years ago stating that they had banned Laguta from competing for Russia due to comments made about Putin. There is no valid reason to exclude them any more than there would have been to exclude Hancock and Loram because of the Iraq war. 100% CORRECT... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CB252 1,376 Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) 39 minutes ago, BluPanther said: 100% CORRECT... Not really. In this instance you're talking about a conflict in a country that shares a direct border with Poland, which is the country that the SGP relies on, almost exclusively, to keep it afloat. I would like to have seen the Iraq GP go ahead back in the day though. Edited October 3, 2023 by CB252 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
