ladyluck

His strop about the British semi-final, probably. In all seriousless, Woffinden has only six points more than the unfortunate Emil Sayfutdinov, who has only completed two GPs. Woffinden should never have been considered for this season and a wiser individual than Woffinden would've let it be known he wasn't interested in GPing this season. He should really be trying to achieve something tangible against the likes of Ward, Bogdanovs and Artem Laguta in the under-21s. This season could do lasting damage to his career.

I wouldn't wager too much money on that. Woffinden enjoys the powerful patronage of Sky and that could be enough to get him another go. Problem is, of course, it will probably do more harm than good. Did any of Nicholls' nominations do him any good? Have any of Harris' nominations done him any good?

It's got nothing to do with liking or disliking Chris Harris. It's to do with the integrity of the GP series and the world championship. It's to do with making British riders as hungry and determined as their continental rivals. It's to do with restoring pride to British speedway. Look at the sad comparison between Britain and Poland when it comes to nomnations: BRITAIN 2006 GPs: Nicholls and Richardson (both nominated) 2007 GPs: Nicholls and Harris (both nominated) 2008 GPs: Nicholls (qualified) and Harris (nominated) 2009 GPs: Nicholls and Harris (both nominated) 2010 GPs: Harris and Woffinden (both nominated) POLAND 2006 GPs: Gollob (qualified), Hampel (qualified) and Protasiewicz (nominated) 2007 GPs: Gollob, Hampel, Holta and Jagus (all qualified) 2008 GPs: Gollob (qualified), Holta (qualified) and Kasprzak (nominated) 2009 GPs: Gollob, Holta, Ulamek and Walasek (all qualified) 2010 GPs: Gollob, Holta and Hampel (all qualified) Kolodziej is a multi-Polish champion (2005 and 2010), was unlucky in the GP challenge final and made the final in his one GP appearance this season. The Polish authorities are pushing hard for Kolodziej to be nominated and there is an increasing groundswell against the underserved nominations handed out to British riders.

Nicki Pedersen has, I believe, been nominated before. I think he was a nominated rider in the season he first won the world championship. So, according to your post, the hopelessly weak British final ranks higher than the much tougher Polish final, since you include Chris Harris on the grounds of being British champion? If Harris does not make the top eight there is NO WAY he should even be considered for a FIFTH nomination. No one has ridden in more GPs without having qualified than Harris. I doubt anyone comes close. I meant Kolodziej has already been announced as the Bydgoszcz "wild card", with Pawlicki and Mroczka as the track reserves, so we'll find out in three weeks if he made the rostrum.

Already been announced, with Przemyslaw Pawlicki and Artur Mroczka taking the reserve positions.

If Harris doesn't make the top eight but is nominated on the "strength" of his British championship win then surely the same criteria (that is to say, national champion) should apply in Kolodziej's case. The Polish championship is certainly a stronger meeting and a lot harder to win that the British championship. In addition, with Kolodziej set to be nominated as "wild card" for Bydgoszcz, maybe once the world title is all wrapped up young Gollob will help Kolodziej to a GP win. There are few better "team riders" than Gollob, especially around his beloved Polonia circuit.

The penultimate Grand Prix of the 2010 season is just a week away and it could very easily be the meeting that sees the coronation of Poland's second world champion, leaving the final round in Gollob's home town of Bydgoszcz as a massive night of celebration. All it needs is for Tomasz Gollob to recover sufficiently from his "suspected food poisoning" and for Gollob to score six points more than nearest rival Jason Crump. Last year at Terenzano Gollob scored nineteen points more than the Australian. However, with linger memories of 1999, Gollob isn't counting his chickens just yet. There is a major difference between 1999 and 2010. That difference has a name: Tony Rickardsson. Rickardsson never conceded that all was lost in 1999, while, after Gollob's wondershow in Vojens, Crump has more or less given up. Crump is a great rider, that's certain, but Rickardsson was an exceptional rider. So, the title race could be decided, but it's unlikely that the all important final places in the top eight will be decided and that's where much of the interest will be on Saturday. The fight for top eight places is always fascinating and always goes to the final Grand Prix. The rider currently sitting in eighth place in the standings is "plucky Brit" Chris Harris (being in the top eight isn't so important, if you're a plucky Brit, as Harris proves time and again), but a poor showing in Vojens has allowed the chasing pack to make inroads on his lead. Harris put in a good shift at Terenzano last season, but so did his nearest rivals Hans Andersen (Andersen scored mega-points as runner-up to Tomasz Gollob) and Andreas Jonsson. Andersen and Jonsson can't really be sure of nominations given the probably make-up of the top eight and the result of the GP Challenge Final, so they ought to be going all out in Terenzano. That could give them the edge over the plucky Brit. I'd be very surprised to see Harris in the top eight when the curtain falls on the final GP. As for the rest, I would expect to see three-time champion Nicki Pedersen trying to build on his encouraging display in Vojens; Magnus Zetterstrom continuing to enjoy the experience of a GP season and Tai Woffinden trying to avoid embarrassing himself too much. The "wild card", you ask? Well, it's Mattia Carpanese, so there's no chance of him avoiding embarrassment, but he could easily dish out embarrassment to one or two of the GP regulars.

What the BSPA has failed to do is ensure a fair number of the best riders in the world are British. When was the last time Great Britain won the SWC? I'm guessing 1989 and only then because of the dreadful injuries suffered by Erik Gundersen. When was the last time a British rider was on the world championship rostrum? I'm guessing it was Mark Loram during his world championship year of 2000. When was the last time a British rider won the World Under-21s? I'm guessing we go back to Lee Richardson, whenever that was. He's in his thirties, so it wasn't exactly recent. When was the last time a British rider claimed a place in the top eight of the GPs? Way back in 2007, that's when. Until Britain gets a cadre of decent riders and the ACU and BSPA exert control over said riders, in the manner the PZM and GKSZ do in Poland, the Elite League will continue its descent into irrelevance.

Former Czestochowa star Grzegorz Walasek looks to have produced some heroics for Polonia as they bid to retain their Ekstraliga status.

That was two, maybe three, seasons ago. Holta was also on-board.

Daria Kabała-Malarz, is her full name, I believe. Anyway, turning from Polish stunners and back to speedway, after yesterdays encounter in Vojens the championship standings are as follows: 1. T Gollob (POL) 141 2. J Crump (AUS) 122 3. J Hampel (POL) 121 4. K Bjerre (DEN) 98 5. R Holta (POL) 88 6. C Holder (AUS) 83 7. G Hancock (US) 81 8. C Harris (GBR) 76 ----- ----- ----- ----- 9. H Andersen (DEN) 71 10=. A Jonsson (SWE) 70 10=. F Lindgren (SWE) 70 12. N Pedersen (DEN) 67 13. M Zetterstrom (SWE) 60 14. T Woffinden (GBR) 39 15. E Sayfutdinov (RUS) 33 All of the top seven have won GPs this season and that really ought to be enough to guarantee a place for next season, regardless of whether one of them slips out of the top eight or not, although I do think all seven will be in the top eight, which would just leave one place up for grabs. Can Harris hang on?

Personally, I always thought Plech was at fault in the 1973 incident, which was available on "YouTube". Everyone bangs on about Plech missing out on a place in that run-off, but the Soviet rider, Grigory Chlynovski, also missed out on a place in the run-off in spite of taking the chequered flag ahead of Peter Collins. Anyway, Crump can no longer win the world championship. To be sure, Crump can still be crowned world champion this season, but it will be because Gollob has lost it rather than Crump winning it. Gollob obviously showed tremendous character last night. Crump took seven points out of Gollob's lead at Gorican, Gollob claimed them all back and another couple on top last night. The next two tracks hold no fears for the Pole, who won the only previous Terenzano GP last season and has been known to show the odd flash of form at Bydgoszcz. Last night was all about character. Those who showed it and those who didn't. Crump, while losing out to Gollob, continues to show great character in his pursuit of the Pole and once again made the final. Holder, under a bit of top eight pressure ahead of last night, put in a good shift and made his top eight position more secure. The same can be said for Bjerre. Nicki P put a torrid season and a couple of awful GPs behind him to remind everyone of his capabilities. Even Hans Andersen and Andreas Jonsson showed a little bit of fight and now have their sights set on a place in the top eight, although I think only one of them will claim a top eight place and possibly neither of them. On the flip side, we have the riders who showed little character, prime among them Chris Harris and Tai Woffinden. Harris undid all his fine work in Gorican and now has Jonsson and Andersen breathing down his neck. Nevermind Gollob, will Harris, who has never qualified for the GPs be the one to choke? Woffinden, on the other hand, has shown very little in the GPs, has added nothing to the GPs and has made the brass at BSI look like fools for nominating him.

She's almost there. Great performance from Gollob and congratulations to him on a second GP "full house" this season. He has been the outstanding rider of the season and would be a worthy world champion.

Emphatically answering his critics and those who question his temperament so far tonight. It'll be hard for some to swallow, but Gollob has been the outstanding rider in the world this season. Sadly Harris undoes all his fine work in Gorican. If he doesn't make the top eight this season he MUST pay the price. A silver medal in one GP is not enough.

I see on sportowefakty.pl that Swedish legend Ove Fundin has called for an end to the "nationality quota" system that seems to be employed by BSI and for Janusz Kolodziej to be given a nomination ahead of any random British rider.

I think they are upgrading the stadium as a whole. Zielona Gora have aspirations toward staging GPs.

Piotr Swiderski's points have been removed from the final score. It seems he left the pit area without permission and that is a "no, no" in Poland. The final score has been amended to 46-38.

Not necessarily. That also has Wozniak riding for Bydgoszcz and he was at Rye House. Since the meeting was postponed, it's hard to know whether Woffinden was in Poland or not. You'd have to think not.

It's all getting rather interesting as the GP circus heads to Ole Olsen's Vojens track for the ninth GP of a thoroughly entertaining season. Championship leader Tomasz Gollob extended his lead over second-placed Jaroslaw Hampel, but third-placed Jason Crump took quite a bite out of his deficit to put the Pole under increasing pressure. Gollob's last visit to Vojens was rather successful, as he put a dubious first race to exclusion to one side, won his next four rides and claimed the SWC for Poland in a last heat decider. He can handle pressure and routinely does so for club and country, yet memories of his collapse in 1999 still linger. Gollob really could do with a good GP to steady the ship. Another "iffy" performance and Crump will smell blood. Crump himself will be looking for another good showing and will be hoping to take another chunk out of Gollob's lead in the championship race. Hampel, in my opinion, is more or less out of the running now, although a good showing in Vojens would shake things up and place him back in the running. Down among the also-rans, chasing a place in the top eight, superb showings in Gorican saw Greg Hancock and Chris Harris into the top eight at the expense of Hans Andersen and Andreas Jonsson. After a good start to the GP season Jonsson has endured a nightmare and looks increasingly lost. He desperately needs to turn the corner and he has a reasonable record at Vojens (didn't he win the Vojens GP last season?), but I'm not sure he has the intestinal fortitude. Still, he could get a lucky break. Harris and Hancock will be looking to consolidate their positions in the top eight and maybe exert pressure on the guys immediately above them (Bjerre and Holder). Niels-Kristian Iversen is the "wild card". It should be an interesting night.

Not entirely sure that I'd conclude that the author is anti-GP per se from that article. It sounds more anti-BSI and their hype than anything. Not that there is anything wrong with that either. Given orion's more than reasonable point pertaining to the time change, perhaps a comparison of viewing figures for other GPs should be made. No other GP has a different start time and there is only a hour difference between the usual starting time and the British GP (traditionally a hour later and now a hour earlier) except for the occasional GP in Italy and maybe Latvia.

I wouldn't really classify that as being a "flaw". Nor would I describe, as a later contributor has, his 1983 victory down to a German "stitch-up" anymore than Penhall's 1982 victory was an American "stitch-up". Muller was a fabulously gifted rider, who invariably had excellent machinery and as far as I can tell was respected by the greatest riders of the age (Mauger, for example). For one season he concentrated solely on preparing for the world final at Norden, got himself a superfast machine (the first GM-powered world champion) and took advantage of the final being on a track in his native land. Which brings us neatly, to why Gollob, for all his natural ability, hasn't yet become world champion. Times have changed. Perhaps on a single day, on a track in his homeland, Gollob would have claimed a world title by now, just as Szczakiel did in 1973. We'll never know, of course. This season should see one of two riders finally lay a demon to rest. Gollob will be world champion, or Crump will finally defend a world championship. Why hasn't Crump managed that before?

Hardly Poland's first trick track. Bydgoszcz is a bit of a trick track, thus explaining the domination one man has around the Polonia circuit.

His lead was, technically, extended and not eroded in Croatia. Gollob led second-placed Hampel by five points going into the Gorican GP and led Hampel (still in second place) by seven points leaving Croatia.

The joker in the pack could yet be Darcy Ward. BSI set something of a precedent when they nominated Emil Sayfutdinov on the strength of two World Under-21 titles. If Ward overhauls Bogdanovs lead when the Under-21 series hits Pardubice and claims a second title, he'd have to come into the running. I don't think BSI would have any qualms about ditching the likes of Andersen (they've ditched him before) and Jonsson, but Nicki P is a different matter entirely. In spite of GP wins along the way, both Jonsson and Andersen have ultimately been disappointing. Ahead of the 2009 season people were tipping Andersen for the world title; he ended up seeking BSI's charity. However, both of those could transform their prospects with a GP win and Jonsson has won in Vojens before. Kolodziej is out of the running. Lindgren won't make the top eight and BSI won't give a nomination to a Pole with three already there. The two Russians, together with an American (Hancock won't let top eight slip now and has a 2010 GP win to his name) make things difficult for them to keep a Danish trio and a Swedish trio. Potentially I can see the 2011 line-up, in no particular order, being: T Gollob J Hampel R Holta J Crump C Holder D Ward K Bjerre N Pedersen F Lindgren A Lindback A Laguta E Sayfutdinov G Hancock C Harris T Woffinden If Ward doesn't win the World Under-21, then either Jonsson (most likely) or Andersen to replace him in the above line-up.

It's laughable if you're sensible, but if you're trying to second guess the brass at BSI it suddenly isn't so funny. Woffinden enjoys the patronage of Sky, who would be very disappointed if he was dropped after just a single season. Remember back to when Pearson first mooted Woffinden for the GPs? His sidekick Kelvin Tatum insisted that it would be unfair to only give him a single season. If BSI ditch Woffinden after a single season, having given him a stupid nomination in the first place, they could be in for a kicking from the Sky team. Harris did superbly well yesterday and scored very big. However, that single performance shouldn't blind us to his fairly abject displays overall. That was only his fourth appearance in a final in his four GP seasons. It's given him a fantastic chance to qualify for the top eight. If he fails to do so, would he really deserve a FIFTH nomination? I really don't think so. He dined on Cardiff 2007 for three subsequent seasons. Is he really going to be allowed to dine on a second place in Croatia for any number of subsequent seasons? If Harris makes the top eight, fine and dandy. I think there will be the usual two British riders, regardless of "better" riders missing out, as BSI will not want to drop Woffinden. If Harris fails to make the top eight, it could be just Woffinden for 2011. The rider most vulnerable is surely Hans Andersen, who needed a nomination for 2010, although Jonsson might also be getting a tad nervous.