PHILIPRISING

NOT sure that was anything to do with the BSPA.

AMUSING moment at BV last night ... was chatting to hero Alan Wilkinson in the Peter Craven suite before the meeting, along with Dave Morton who had turned away and was looking out across the track. Along came Chris Morton, who said: "Have you seen Mort?" "I'm looking at him I replied somewhat incredulously." "No, Mort, my brother." Me: "He's about three feet away." Chris: "Mort (to his brother) have you got that ticket I gave you?" Dave: "Mort (to his brother), do you want it back?" Chris: "Yes please Mort." Dave: "Okay Mort." By now my head was spinning. As Mort (Chris) was walking away Mort (Dave) said: "Great, he's gives me a ticket then takes it away. Wilkie and I were laughing. What a star Wilkie remains. Still doesn't mince his wards. "Matej Zagar, I'd give him a kick up his **** He was a giant when he rode for Belle Vue and remains so today.

BEING arranged for early winter... THAT'S not for me to know but do know BSPA as a whole are seriously looking at ways to help riders cut costs and presumebly, as a result, their own

ONE thing I did find annoying last night was the 10 plus minutes gap between Heats 14 and 15. Okay, Wolves clinched the title after Heat 14 but surely Sky could have waited for one more race to do whatever they did ... didn't see as was in the grandstand. It was a bitterly cold night, with a very strong wind howling across the stadium and I'm sure most people there just wanted to get on with it. Incidentally, about a previous comment about Nigel Pearson and gloves ... he and KT were positioned at the centre of bends 3/4 with no protection from the wind and were, in their words, "bloody freezing."

NO

MARCEL Gerhard and his daughter, who runs the business, are hopeless at getting the message about the success of their product out to the public, as I and others have constantly been telling them and did so again in Torun. Wolves boss Chris van Straaten confirmed to me last night along with Freddie how little he had spent on his engines this year and how well they had been performing without any major servicing or super tuning. On a big, fast track at BV he was unbeatable. GTR needed a rider who could establish the engine's credentials and provide them with 'feed back' and perform at the highest level which Lindgren has and Chris Harris sadly couldn't on both counts. There are other junior riders who can contest that they have used the GTR for a whole season now without problems or significant costs. Of course, they won't grab any headlines like Freddie but they are still doing the laps. The problem for GTR now is whether, in the light of anticipated demand, they can actually produce sufficient engines to meet that demand. So, to answer SCB's point, yes you can have fast and reliable.

JUDGING by LIndgren's performance at BV tonight they don't need tuning. He says he has spent about 3,000 euros on five engines (general maintenance) this season and previously sometimes did only three meetings before a 1500 euro full service.

RIDERS being owed money is commonplace ... actually having their debt paid off, albeit it slowly is quite another and as I understand it that has been the case at Belle Due and elsewhere.

I WOULD go so far to add that Tai has sorely missed PA's influence at SGPs this year.

IF you knew what Lemo does behind the scenes, helping riders and especially Cook, you wouldn't say that. What he cannot do is ride the bikes for them. His fault that Zagar scored five or that Scotty failed dismally? I think not. Maybe with hindsight Cook should have had the tactical but Lemo explained that. BV are lucky to have him.

SKY regularly getting over 100,000 viewers for speedway which is pretty good in this day and age and just goes to show that many only watch on TV rather than attend meetings. The Sky money, both the season by season pay-out and the staging fees (£10,000 I believe) are vital to the EL tracks.

FEW snippets from Buster but it was supposed to be entertaining and it was.

THAT'S the one ... thanks. It's these bread and butter riders who GTR should be trying to attract. Might be a little more expensive to start with but apparently have proven their reliability over a season now while also, as Lindgren shows, being competitive.

THREE riders only three points adrift who could yet relegate Freddie to outside the top eight. One of whom is Iversen who seems to have got himself going, Zagar too.

MARCEL Gerhard said in Tortun that Lindgren has five engines and none have had a major service this year. Was also a junior (NL) rider in the TravelPlus fans forum on Saturday who said he has a GTR and hasn't had a service all season.

YES, part of their package. Nice morning conversation with Greg Hancock, Niels-Kristian Iversen, Buster Chapman, Kelvin Tatum and Nigel Pearson.

THEY were properly tested, and have to comply with strict regulations, some of which are copied from F1. There is actually no perfect solution to speedway crashes although, as previously stated, new air-fences, taller and wider, are now coming into play.

FIRST time on all my visits to Torun that I have watched from in the stands... boy do they carry some speed along the back straight. And, as Kelvin T explained, come off the throttle even for a split second and the bike actually picks up speed. With regard to the air-fence. Young Briggo's new air fence would have probably prevented Doyle going underneath it although, as he says, the bikes are going so fast now. But, as yet, tracks are loathed to re-invest although it looks as though the Polish ones will be forced to do so. Safety is, or should be, paramount. FACT, just been speaking to Mark Lemon at the hotel here in Torun.

JASON D has a dislocated shoulder, broken elbow and punctured lung. Not good.

ALL tickets now sold. Should be a cracker.

OVER 300 people at the TravelPlus fans forum in Torun this morning and when posed the question should Sayfutdinov get a wild card if offered and not go through the qualifying rounds it was a unanimous yes.

IT'S adaptable ... bit like averages

A TRUISM ... you can please some of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time

TAKE your word for it Tim ... just didn't look many on TV. British tracks would eat their hearts out for that many.

NICE town to visit