
ladyluck
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Everything posted by ladyluck
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Credit to Jonasson for really making the best of this opportunity. It's in sharp contrast to the apathy that seems to characterise the "top two" Swedes Jonsson and Lindgren. By the way, if Hancock keeps this form up he'll soon be in the top eight.
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Already started - 4:00pm BST. And Ward doing very well so far.
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I think he's better than Kus, but that's not saying a whole lot. The truth is that Sweden just isn't producing the talent that it once did and banging in Antonio Lindback was getting a little tired. That said, Lindback has a whole lot more to offer than Thomas H Jonasson.
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Leaving aside matters of red buttons and gorgeous Polish presenters (she is stunning, by the way) and turning attention to the GP itself, this is the first time in many a season that the world championship is still alive after the SWC break. You probably have to go way back to 2003 since the last time as since then it has been more or less done and dusted since then. This series looks like going down to the wire and with said wire being the Polonia Stadium, Bydgoszcz, it could play right into the hands of a certain Tomasz Gollob. Gollob emerged from Cardiff in good shape, although it could've been so much better but for that engine failure in the semi-final. He won in Malilla last season and a good performance this time around is probably important in terms of confidence building. None of the remaining tracks should hold any fears for Gollob. I guess he'll be favourite for the crown. The only thing he really has to fear is fear itself. Jaroslaw Hampel currently leads the championship, but his lead should really be a whole lot bigger than the two points it is. Hampel should really have won the GPs in Leszno, Gothenburg and Cardiff to go with his triumph in Copenhagen, but he didn't and that could prove costly. That said, he's in a good position and another solid GP at Malilla will keep him ticking over. Jason Crump needs a big one in Malilla to force his way into the title race. At the minute he is on the fringes with quite a few points to make up on the Poles. He really needs to start exerting some pressure to see if they will crack. The problem is that Crump has never been convincing when defending a world title. Of the rest, big performances are needed from Andreas Jonsson, who has slipped up badly in the last couple of GPs and needs to take advantage of home track knowledge to show that he has more than just a lot of talent and ability. It's just not enough. Jonsson is out of the top eight and is just drifting around. He's drifted for years. Fredrik Lindgren also needs a "big one". Apart from the odd GP here and there, Lindgren has been rather a pathetic performer on the very highest stage. All three Danes are also in need of good performances and the same can be said for the British contingent.
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Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Why the Danes especially? Okay, they were able to replace one Pedersen with another, but beyond that what have they got? Hougaard is hardly a strong replacement, is he? And nor is Madsen. The Poles, on the other hand, can bring in such quality riders as Walasek, Ulamek (both of whom finished ahead of the British duo in last season's world championship), Kasprzak, Balinski and even Protasiewicz. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Are they open to all? If they are, how often are Ben Barker, Lewis Bridger and Edward Kennett there putting in the practice laps? Everyone has heard the stories of Tomasz Gollob riding countless laps around the Bydgoszcz track as a young rider. As has been said before, Polish clubs encourage all their riders to put in the practice laps. Didn't Wroclaw allow Crump a lot of practice time ahead of the Leszno GP? The curious thing is that often British fans look down upon the Polish practice time. And it's not just the fans. I remember Rosco going off on one when Gorzow insisted that Przemyslaw Pawicki attend a practice session earlier in the season. "It was in preparation for an away meeting, what's the point?" was the general cry from Brandon. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
You've got to want to practice. As Mateusz points out, the Polish clubs don't just allow their Poles to practice. I recall the 2005 SWC, when the final was in Wroclaw. During the race-off Neil Middleditch was asked aabout the official practice and as I remember it he stated that Nicholls would not be there as he had ridden at Wroclaw a few weeks earlier. Needless to say, all the Polish team were there for the practice session. I'd say the answer to your question is professionalism. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
As Holta has settled in Poland, with a Polish partner, one would imagine that any children will be of mixed heritage and proud of their father's FIM Gold Medals. Rather nice that the rain delay enabled the Poles to win the SWC on the anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Rising in 1944. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Taking the four SWC meetings as a whole, I can only recall the "Joker" gaining the full six points once and that was Fredrik Lindgren for Sweden at King's Lynn. The Danes gained four points at Gorzow, while neither the Russians or Czechs gained anything. The Finns got four points at King's Lynn. At the race-off both the Australians and Russians emerged pointless from the "Joker", while in the final Sweden got four points and Great Britain nothing. Picking the right moment and the right rider is difficult. Maybe that's why Marek Cieslak decided not to take those three golden opportunities to deploy the "Joker"? -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
None of the Polish team race in Britain, so if anything they all have less competitive track time than most of the other riders featured in the final. There are only about twenty league meetings per rider in Poland and a similar amount in Sweden. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Big fish; little pond, I fear. -
Why ask juniors, with much less experience, to race in potentially dangerous conditions? Furthermore, by the end of the meeting the track was very slick and much less passing. If the wet track had been "bedded in" before the serious action started, we'd have brought that final "slick phase" forward by six heats.
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Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
So Harris blitzed his rides either side of his "Joker" appearance and yet fluffed the one that really mattered? Maybe he'd have fluffed the ride before had the pressure of the "Joker" been on him? We'll never know. However, it made sense to deploy it when Lyon did. The ride before was a programmed ride and had Harris, Britain's best performer, been on the "Joker" then he would've been ruled out of an additional ride. It makes sense to deploy the "Joker" as part of a tactical substitute move. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Wasn't it a means of helping out Czestochowa when the Poles had a "one foreign rider" rule? Having Holta as a Pole meant they could field another foreign rider. However, he's Polish enough for the FIM and that's all that really matters. Given his current form it would be the height of stupidity not to have him in the team. Speedway is a results business and Poland got the result. If Britain had the "Holta option" would they have failed to deploy it? Not if they wanted to be winners. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
In the recent Fifa World Cup you had two brothers playing for different countries. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
I don't think that is the case. Holta first rode for Poland in the SWC in 2005 when he was not in the GPs. Ever since returning to the GPs in 2007 he has been listed as Polish. However, I think he qualified as a Norwegian, having failed to progress through the Polish stage of the qualification process. So, he qualified as a Norwegian and was then listed as being Polish when the GPs started. Taking Holta out of the Polish equation just means the Poles calling up someone like a Kasprzak (wasn't he one of their better performers in the SWC last season?), a Walasek or an Ulamek, maybe even a Balinski or a Protasiewicz (just to appease henryw). -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Looking ahead, if the final is in Gorzow next season it will take a mammoth change in the speedway tide to have a halfway interesting SWC. Poland and Denmark first and second this season, but Poland destroyed Denmark in Gorzow. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Lyon didn't blow the "Joker"; Harris did. Why blame the manager? -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Have to say the Swedes were desperately disappointing, especially Fredrik Lindgren who just doesn't seem able to hack it at the highest levels. In mastering Monmore has he sacrificed more than he's gained? -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Can you really blame them? Last heat deciders in 2007, 2009 and now 2010, not forgetting that wonderful effort to beat Crump in Ht 25 of the race-off at Poole in 2004. When the Poles are in need, Gollob delivers. After Ht 24 today it was obvious Poland had it sewn up. Gollob versus Bjerre; no contest. Congratulations to the Poles on their fine win, although they did seem to try to throw it away with silly errors. And credit to Cieslak for showing faith in his team and not deploying a "joker" when he had a chance. I don't think that would've gone down too well if the Poles had missed out by less than three points. -
Swc Final, Vojens, 31/07/2010
ladyluck replied to Mateusz's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
If an Elite League meeting is abandoned after five heats do the teams start the re-staging at Ht 6 at the same scores from the abandoned meeting? -
Generally speaking, people see what they want to see. I thought the King's Lynn meeting was dreadfully dull for the first fifteen or so heats (the last ten heats were excellent), whereas others are going crazy about it. I thought the Gorzow meeting contained some fine action, although the result was a stroll in the shale for the Poles and it wasn't really much of a contest. Last night was much the same. It started off mildly interesting, but once Australia imploded, as they seem prone to do under Boyce (they had the SWC final at their mercy last season, but "lost it" during the rain delay, when they wanted a halt called), it was rather flat. Yes, it was close between the Danes and Swedes, but they were both going through anyway. However, there was some decent enough action throughout the whole meeting. Blaming the track conditions and so on may soothe the battered egos of the Australians, but a little bit of introspection might be more in order. The Australians blew it; end of story.
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I assume from the above that you have now watched it. I must confess, it didn't look like he was having too much fun, just desperately trying to finish a dismal evening on a high note. Holder knew that ultimately his awful third and fourth rides had sealed Australia's fate. However, you really have to look at the position of Boyce, who hasn't really been any better than the much-criticised Neil Street. In fact, he's done worse by consistently failing to get the best out of his riders, or the best out of the tactical options available. Boyce has had the available tools.
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Shame you missed his last ride, when he tried hardest and executed a superb pass to take the win. Shame he imploded in the two vital races; cocking up the start when riding on the "Joker" and then running into Lindgren in his next one.
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They do say that pride goes before a fall. I think Darcy Ward discovered that this evening. Whether he learns a lesson or not is a different matter entirely. I think questions have to be asked regarding Boyce's position. He should really have stopped all the nonsense on Monday, while tonight he appeared tactically inept. The Poles were streets ahead on Sunday, but they didn't seem to lark about.