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While driving the other day I was thinking about the GPs and how much speedway is a psychology game,a good head on your shoulders is as important as a good head on the engine and it got me thinking about gate picks etc, first we have the timed practice to pick a number, in reality you are just picking for 1 race as every number goes off all 4 gates, so you pick a number and it gives you gate 1 twice, then come the meeting despite the feeling in practice the races before you gate 1 runs 3 lasts so your mindset is I’ve made the wrong choice and with the small measures at play psychologically you’re already on the back foot, then on to the semi final and final gate picks, you get first pick and pick gate 1 in the semi and miss the start but scrape into final with a second, what do you pick in final ? You’re head is not sure and you’re 100% focus is divided 4 ways, on the other hand the last pick has no choice to make, his 100% focus is going to be on what he is left just like last night for zmarzlik, doesn’t get a choice and gets left the least favourable gate but 100% knows he has the right choice because he didn’t get one and on he goes to be the winner,as the difference in speedway from winning and losing is so small maybe there is something in this

Bjarne Pedersen on 22nd July 2005 when riding for Poole at Lakeside (then Arena Essex). He scored 22 +1 from seven outings, one as a golden double in which he finished second behind team mate Matej Ferjan.

Even his helmet was shocked he was out front

Hi mikebv. Can't agree with your final point that "major sponsors and many thousands of fans stay away" just because of the guest system. I think your point is highly exaggerated. Due to the many injuries sustained during a normal season I cannot see how the guest system can be discontinued. If your star man is missing, the majority of fans I'm sure would want him to be replaced like for like as opposed to a junior rider. The guest system has been around for donkey's years and I have personally never really minded it. I remember travelling down to Swindon many years ago to watch Halifax minus Kenny Carter who was out injured. When I heard that we'd got Shawn Moran as a guest I thought great, we still have a chance. I appreciate your comments re guests but I just can't see what other system would currently work. I just can't see a squad system working in this country.

Is that Francis gusts and reidar eide?

Just realised after watching some polish football for 20 mins that I’ve got the wrong channel on

Fabulous match, who'd have thought that would be the score ! Lambert, Emil and Patrick superb, and the guy whose name I can never pronounce weighed in with his fair share , and some fantastic passing moves. Thats what speedway should be like everyday 😀 The second leg will be tight despite a 12 point lead, am looking forward to it already.

Just watching the polish playoffs, noticed one of the mechanics had a Riga wrist band on from last night, I bet he hasn’t been to bed yet, it’s roughly a 10 hour drive from riga to Toruń and he got to clean and prep the bikes then before turning up at the track, it’s tough at the top but even tougher for the spannermen

What a season! Whatever happens from here on in, it's been up there with 2019! It started a bit shaky with nobody except for Richard Lawson being able to string 2 decent matches together. Personally, I would have gotten rid of either Masters or Becker mid-season, but that's why I'm a keyboard warrior, and Stewart Dickson is a team manager The turning point seemed to come after that appalling display at Ipswich in June Stewart Dickson has proved to be the best thing that has happened for Leicester Speedway and long may that continue. Up the Lions!

He couldn’t have been in front if he hit Zmarzlik arm and lifted it up .

Not many of us on this forum can get anything to rise, never mind about the star lol.

If you are that old it’s about time you grew up lol

I have had many insults over the years, but that one hurt. When the Labour Party effectively began the Green Belt in 1947 it was an attempt to make sure that the slums built by the Victorian factory owners would never be built again and tried to make sure that the workers would have worthwhile areas to live in. Anyone who listened to the proceedings of the Grenfell Tower enquiry and the new Government responses to the sort of repeats of the rip-off builders would realise that this government will not allow rip-off bojit and floggit developers and builders to repeat the minimum cost slums of the Victorians that destroyed the infrastructure of the country making big fortunes doing it. The new planning rules are going to be designed to try to move the new housing developments to be built where the locals want them and want them to be well designed to be worthwhile places to live - Local Plans are also to be strengthened. So I found a copy and studied the new labour Government 2024 version of the NPPF that is presently out for consultation. Guess what - even if the new modified 2024 document is accepted without any changes it will be too late to affect these two slum development proposals and the paragraphs I quoted from the Heritage section of the old Conservative document are not up for change anyway. Speedway has always been the epitome of working class sport and having a long lived heritage track within the local housing would be music to the ears of the 1945 Atlee Labour Government, so we should still fight this slum development and try reading the proper facts rather than rely on horrendously biassed dying newspapers.

You can, if it's about heat 5 being stopped before it started the ref wanted clarification on if Scott was out as a tac sub or r/r, not that Scott couldn't be out as a tac sub.

Bit of a slow burner initially but 13 and 15 were phenomenal. Thought Hodder looked good as well!

Oh come on , surely you're not seriously asking that question! If they go against their Polish clubs wishes they would lose much more than the comparative peanuts they would pick up here Doesn't matter whether you think that's fair or even legal not one of them will rock the boat and test that position

Strong rumours Poole as midweek

I have and it has been very enioyable. Artem is delivering a masterclass. I have told the girlfriend not to bother coming over.

I tend to agree with that, I thinks it’s 50/50 at the moment. The positive is that if he does ride in the uk it will be at Ipswich. I think it will come down to what works best for Emil & his family be that here or Sweden. He seems to want to ride more than just Poland & it appears Torún are happy with that but who knows. No matter what happens the guy has cemented his place as an Ipswich legend he is just class on & off the track.

Totally agree. Phil Morris does seem to have the best interests of the sport very much to heart and comes across as a very knowledgeable and likeable guy. In my opinion there are not many people out there at the moment who could turn the sport around but Phil Morris is defo one of the few who could. Give him a chance.

The joy of day meetings! Edit - also don't live near a stadium then if you don't like it. It is only for a couple of hours a week. Also I'd say parking around schools is worse imo to what she has described.

What a move by Emil when Lambert lifted

Speedway at its very best, what a meeting! Thought we was heading for a plane crash at the end of lap 1 on the finish straight!

How? Emil isn't injured, so why are Ipswich given a facility? Emil has destroyed all of the goodwill he has built up in Britain.

Very easy to just say "Sack Phil Morris" after just one miscalculation hasn't met with universal approval, but if this short sighted calamity did happen, then speedway would find it very difficult indeed to find a replacement with anything like the same enthusiasm, work-rate and drive than Phil has shown since taking on the job.

Maybe they should have chosen the four teams in April... That would have given them even more time to market the meetings... Imagine the crowd size with six months worth of promotion?!

I've also just checked on the Leicester City Council's what's on website for this week and we have the choice of: Leicester vs Yorkshire County Cricket tomorrow A Horse Racing meet on Tuesday Sidekick adults dance on Wednesday Or Over 55 Dance Workshop on Friday That's my week sorted... even though I'm not 55, maybe I could sneak in If I search for speedway it returns: "The Lions team consists of one Australian and six English riders and are captained by Scott Nicholls a seven-time British Individual Champion. The charismatic Nicholls, who is renowned for his highly colourful tailored shirts, is an analyst on the BT Sport channels during their live transmissions of the season long Speedway Grand Prix competition. Saturday’s are the Lions normal race night with a start-time of 7.30pm with occasional Sunday afternoon’s fixtures. Children sixteen and under are admitted free with a paying adult and meetings usually last up to two hours. There is car parking at the stadium and refreshments within the venue."

Yes it is time to end it, it was never time to start the ban but the FIM is as woke as they come and by god do they love their virtue signalling but laguta has said he isn’t interested in coming back in and wants to focus on polish racing and seemed more concerned about missing his family back in Russia

https://gorka-speedway.blogspot.com/2024/09/dewalt-fim-speedway-gp2-of-latvia-06.html

Labour wants to build more houses like every government before them, it never happens and they'll be out in 58 months anyway. There are many moving parts to this so it's important to keep the pressure on Peterborough City Council with basic objections. Those with the knowledge will attack with the more pointed, specific objections.

A World Championship series supposedly features the world’s best. At the moment this is not the case with speedway. The last year Artem and Emil competed they finished first and third. The world champion was banned from defending his title though no fault there his own. If they can’t compete as Russians why can’t we compete as non-affiliated?. fi

It seems totally wrong that even though a reserve fails to score he is awarded a higher place than someone who starts the GP ! I could understand it if the reserve scores points.

Hopefully Riss and Anders Rowe are in at Poole on Wednesday. Then this line up which fits at Home, would at least give us a fighting chance 1. Pickering (G) 2. Rowe (G) 3. Vuolas 4. Dan Thompson (G) 5. Batchelor 6. McGurk 7. Starke

They can't be split, so must've been GP ranking, number 17 is better than 18. This situation where 0,0 is better than 0,0 which is better than X is another example of why the current scoring system is the worst ever!

Zmarzlik absolute legend good meeting Made better by Jack Holder finishing last

I’m just back today and I was too late to make it. My season finished with Edinburgh at home a record I hope is not repeated.

Brilliant from Dudek!

But what is the alternative? I think in the Swedish match it was something like they were dropping Tom Brennan to bring somebody like Anders Thomsen back into the team from the "squad" knowing full well that he was unavailable to operate R/R instead of Brennan, and you think our setup is daft. The only way you will ever do away with guests is by having a squad of employee riders (say 10 or 12) contracted to only ride for your club and that ain't never going to happen

Another year where Zmarzlik has no competition and wins by a country mile. Viewing figures are down as nobody is interested in watching a concession. Time for the FIM to stop being woke and allow Emil and Artem into the GP series.

There's lies, damned lies and statistics, just for a bit of "fun" I've looked back at this seasons GP's when it comes to the "sudden death" semis and finals, pick the bones out of this: 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Gate 1 10 6 6 5 Gate 2 12 4 5 6 Gate 3 2 5 7 12 Gate 4 3 12 9 4 I think the clear message is don't pick gate 3!

I think you are spot on, the riders are the ones who know the state of the gates and have made starts off them all, and in terms of gate one I always think it's a risk as if you get pinned/ boxed in then it's almost race over on the first bend. As I've said you just have to get the first half a lap right whichever gate you select. I think that's a bigger issue than the helmet colour personally.

That's a fantastic looking team.

Jesus it's tedious I honestly cannot see how Michelson was excluded in heat 4, he was in front and lifted then got clattered. Other way around Michelson goes every time. Not sure I can stand Tatum and Louis fawning any longer, you'd think Zmarzlik was some underdog story As usual best 2 riders on the night miss out - although Lambert only has himself to blame...again!

As someone who sat there for years watching TRick win from gate 1 all night long, I think there is a clear advantage to it, especially when the cream rises to the top in the latter stages of a meeting. Some people don't like them but Tatum and Louis know what they're talking about regarding gate choices

I agree regarding gate choices,take tonight Bartosz never even got a pick in Semi or Final and won the meeting.

10.2.1 gives the correct answer ... six

A decent and polite young man at all times

In 62 years of watching speedway, I have NEVER seen anything quite like that!

Nikki P looks like he told Madsen take your time let’s go back to the pits slowly giving the pit lads more time using his experience

Irrespective of who should or should not be excluded, it was utterly classless from Zmarzlik to not at least check on Michelsen.