salty

If Pepe pulls out then I assume Vaculik gets the next call. However, as Darcy is a nomination I guess the choice goes back to BSI/IMG as to who offer a chance to (imo should be Holta). Pepe withdrew when, as first reserve, he should have been covering the injured Emil's spot in 2010. One wonders why he bothers doing the qualifiers if he is not fully committed to take part.

Come on Parsloes! The qualifying system is open for all ( albeit a Brit would have to qualify by having a good British Final the previous year). I admit that only having 3 riders able to qualify is too low and I'm not entirely happy with the nominations going to riders who have finished in 9th, 10th and 11th in the GP's. Personally I would prefer a return to the old style GP challenge where the bottom 7 in the GP's would race against 9 qualifiers. Unfortunately, I don't see the nominations method being done away with as it allows the organisers flexibility to tailor the field for whatever purposes (generally eonomic) that they see fit. Regarding the system suiting youngsters - in recent years Emil, Tai and now Darcy have all been given a free pass into the circus. That wouldn't have happened in the past. I think the biggest issue is that the expense of competing in the GP's is now so great that it is hard for newcomers to compete with the long established riders in terms of their support teams. Twas ever thus, Mauger had more money to throw at bikes than most, but I think the effect is magnified with the series being over 11 meetings.

You've been peddling this nonsense about Herbie "allowing" Harris past for years and I haven't a problem with that - it is after all your opinion. But what's with the "we all know" and "everyone in the sport"? As far as I recall I have yet to see anyone agreeing with your theory, both on this thread and the many others which you have expounded your views. Henry W makes three excellent points. Firstly, by reminding us of Darcy's failure to overcome the qualifying hurdles and secondly by giving two very valid reasons which explain why the older brigade still hold sway.

Tai. Harris for all but one year (last) when he did finish in the top 6. Nicholls - a number of seasons. All picked purely because they were British.

Possibly, but irrelevant. We don't have one-off Finals so it's pointless speculating. Ward will no doubt show flashes of brilliance next year, but I think he will find it hard to achieve the level of consistency to challenge for the rostrum. I would expect him to be more of an Emil than a Tai, but the GP is a tough arena. Holder has had 2 years in the GP's and has won a couple, but has still only finished 8th in the past two series.

I'll second that, bumped into him a couple of times at airports and hotels and he is an absolute gentleman. I've always thought his light weight has helped him generate so much speed rather than merely fast or (somewhat suspect) machinary.

Totally agree that Holta should be in front of Harris and Pedersen when it comes to nomination for next year. He's qualified in the top 8 for the past four years I think and finished 4th last year as well as heading the averages in Sweden. He's obviously been riding injured all year and if anyone deserves a pick it's him. He's certainly no gating tart either, I would imagine in the previous seasons he has done as much overtaking as anyone in the GP's.

Red button working for the GP on SS4 on Virgin. Just came up when the programme started.

But it's a point you've been banging on about for years and often bring it into threads where it is irrelevant. Last night's crash was bad enough and I am delighted it appears no serious injuries were forthcoming, but I can't see why you have to use that news to have another dig at people using "internet made up names".

If you read my post again I said "apart from this season..he's relied on a nomination". I don't think you could quibble with him getting a pick the year he lost in the run-off to Holta and Nicholls either. But to be brutal he would be getting picked for 2012 as being the best of a mediocre lot amongst the Brits. After the way he finished last year it's disappointing to see him struggle to qualify this year.

Bomber burst onto the GP scene (as you put it) on the back of a nomination and apart from this season has always relied on a nomination to keep his place. I would expect he will have to finish this season extremely strongly to get a pick for next year. If he continues at his current level it would be hard to justify giving him a go for another season. Like some other posters I'm not that sure that the GP series needs a Brit (other than possibly as a Cardiff wild-card). It certainly makes no difference to me if there is a Brit riding whether I watch a GP or not.

Harris still has a chance to get himself up the standings, but hard to see that happening after last night. If Bomber can't make a good case in the remaining rounds then I don't think there should be a Brit for next year. As it stands 9th-12th positions are held by Pedersen, Lindgren, Lindback and Bomber. Substitute Darcy for Lindback, who has already qualified, and you could see Bomber sneaking in. No other Brit should be considered in my opinion, none of them have done anything like enough to be included.

I think Holta will probably regret trying to ride through the pain this season. He's clearly nowhere fit enough to compete and would probably have been better off having the op on his wrists back in the spring. Unfortunately, he knows that he is unlikely to get any help from a nomination so he carried on, but it is painful watching him. As Mothersen says above, Holta was in a no win situation. Plenty of other riders in the same boat would have had the likely luxury of knowing they would be given a nomination.

Lindback, Zagar and Kylmakorpi would do for me, though it wouldn't surprise me to see at least one of the Poles make it.

Noted - no probs. Will be interesting to see how Ward goes. Did I see somewhere that he had ruled himself out of the GP's for next year?

What do you mean? You are the one pointing out the Polish fans reactions, I just pointed out that Brits would probably react the same.

To be honest the reaction would be similar if a non-Brit got the gig at Cardiff.

I suspect the money goes to promoters to bolster their losses. Without the shared events and the Sky deal the losses would be unsustainable for certain promotions I would have thought.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you are 100% genuine. Mark Cavendish cyclist - just won the green jersey in the Tour de France? I guess most cycling fans would ask the same about Chris Harris, but Cavendish's exploits did make the national news bulletins a couple of weeks ago.

I think the media coverage for Cardiff (such as it is) does tend to centre on the British interest. The features I have seen in the national press tend to focus on the British riders. But surely that can be covered by the wild card for the particular meeting. Regarding the British involvement in the series, for years it was implied that there had to be 2 Brits, so it was refreshing to see that change for the 2011 season. I personally don't like the nomination system as I feel it discriminates against certain riders at the expense of others. GB have benefited greatly in the past few years as it has been rare that a Brit has qualified by right. I accept that the nominations have allowed riders who have suffered from injury a chance for the following year, but I don't agree when they are used to bolster national "quotas" and for blatant commercial reasons. Wasn't it Pepe who reportedly got a pick a few years ago purely because of the influence of his sponsors? Currently few GP riders enter the qualifying process. One can understand they are wary of committing to extra meetings, but as only 8 of them can currently qualify as of right it means that many of them are then relying of a nomination. I would like a return to the old style GP challenge where the 7 non-qualifiers are maybe seeded through to meet 9 who have qualified.

It would amaze me. Eddie is nowhere near good enough for the GP's. BSI will be hoping Bomber ups his game in the last few Gp's to allow them to give him a chance. Holta deserves a bit of leeway as he has been severely restricted by his wrist injuries, but I think he's always known he has to finish top 8.

Certainly improved after a turgid start, with some good races. Loved Heat 20 between Gollob and Emil. Gollob looked underpowered tonight, which isn't the norm. Not sure what the regs are regarding Heat 14. Can't really blame the ref for not noticing the problem with the tapes from his side on view. If it's only going to come to light after a replay can the race be re-run? Zagar was good value as a wildcard.

Agree that East London is naff, but not sure West Ham would be appropriate. Wouldn't want to be associated with the shambles run by the Porn Bros.

Was interested to read in your earlier post about the interest in looking for a suitable Speedway venue in the "Olympic" area. It would be great if could come off, but I would worry that the change in demographics in East London over the past couple of decades might mean that Speedway is unlikely to prosper.

I agree with the comment about the starting gates. Surely there is a way that they can be more evenly distributed throughout the meeting. Teams getting blocks of inside or outside gates often distorts the scores.