PHILIPRISING

BREATH of fresh air. Good move and glad to see that Tony Steele still has a seat at the top table. Could make a good team.

YOU may have sponsored a GP but I doubt whether you picked up all the bills. Not one of your better posts Andy...

LIKE it or not, the locals (those most likely to pay to get in) see Bunyan as their champion and love him even he is likely to trail round at the back. Given the Kiwis attitude to their antipodean cousins across the water, how many people would Batchelor pull in? Commercial... of course. It was Buckley's decision and as the man signing the cheques then I guess his opinion carries most weight.

I BELIEVE that he is en route to the UK ...

MY understanding is that Ward has his new passport and UK visa and is on his way back here to get his SGP equipment ready for transportation to New Zealand from Amsterdam on March 6.

RANDOM drug tests are carried out periodically at SGP events. No one, other than the Jury President at the event, knows that the tests will take place. Three riders at each SGP are randomly chosen by the Jury to be tested for alcohol immediately after the Saturday riders' briefing.

I AM not sure what you mean by investigate. Personally, I think Neil was very silly and wrong to say what he did. He will have to live with that. Whether or not it affects his role as British team manager remains to be seen. I would much rather concentrate on what Matt Ford said but how he deals with someone who probably spends more time out of the UK than in it is the big question. Anyone who has been to Poland and Torun in particular knows how young speedway riders are feted and idolised with temptation in various guises around every corner. As I say, at the end of the day the only person who can resolve this is Darcy himself. But that isn't easy. I was a soccer scribe during the days when Gorge Best was at his peak. I saw him help win the European Cup for Manchester United at Wembley in 1968. But then I also saw him as a desolate and lonely figure sitting in a Surbiton pub, just a few hundred yards from our office, in his latter days. It was so, so sad.

WE can talk all day long about bans and punishment but if Ward is to save his career, and that appears to be a big if at present, as Matt Ford says he needs professional help. First and foremost, however, he needs to admit he has a major problem, especially with drink. Until Darcy faces that head on all the rest is immaterial. It is unlikely he has ever heard of Paul Gascoigne but making him aware of how other top sportsman have seen their careers shredded and ruined and then their lives destroyed might provide the wake-up call he so desperately needs. At his age kids think they are indestructible. There were other occasions last year when his behaviour, fuelled by alcohol, could have sent him over the edge. A ban might be applicable but it wont solve the problem. Can you imagine what he would do with all that spare time. Matt Ford has got it right but, as the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.

AT the risk of repeating myself ad infinitum, Sky do not provide coverage of the GPs other than Cardiff. I believe their weekly production costs for Elite League matches are in the region of £40,000 so would hazard a guess that they spent more money on domestic speedway than the GPs. Perhaps flagrag could confirm?

SKY are only involved in the production side at Cardiff otherwise they (like all other broadcasters) just take the pictures fed to their Isleworth studio. TV production is under the control of BSI/IMG themselves who appoint a host broadcaster to provide the local facilities.

THE tracks will be listed in alphabetical order ... thanks for your input

NEITHER is darts in all probability. I have stated on here previously that the reason Sky shifted the GPs to SS4 (other than Cardiff) was that the size of its audience (not necessarily the demographic) attracted better advertising revenue than anything else shown on that particular channel at that particular time.

THERE are probably few sports that are indispensable to Sky, soccer obviously being the major one. From conversations I have had a few things are clear: first and foremost is timing. Had the BSI contract with Sky not expired at the end of the 2012 season we would not be in this position. Those involved with speedway production at Sky are huge advocates of the GP product but the decision has been taken out of their hands. Budgets have been cut and the easy targets were contracts up for renewal, especially for sports that as you say aren't indispensable. The Sky viewing figures for the GPs are considered quite acceptable given that they occupy one of the most difficult slots on the schedule. Events that generally start at 6pm British time face a tough task attracting an audience especially in the summer months. And, of course, anything on Sky Sports on a Saturday evening will be up against some of the most popular family orientated programmes on terrestrial TV.

I AM still optimistic that the GPs will appear on British television even if not on the Sky Sports platform.

IF you had found the time to read many of the other threads on here you would know why Sky will probably not show the GPs this year ...

POPPYCOCK ... the track was terrific, as were many last year. Don't take my word for it ... ask any of the riders.

WILL pass on your suggestions... and if you do go ahead with your tattoo photo inclusion is guaranteed!

THE pre-season 128 page Speedway Star will be published the week ending March 23. For those who don't have a subscription or a regular order with a newsagent and don't want to risk missing out we are running a pre-order special offer. For just £3, including postage, the issue will be sent by mail on Wednesday, March 20. You can order by calling 020-83351113, online at speedwaystar.net or by sending a cheque to Speedway Star, 9 Coppergate Mews, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 5NE.

ISN'T that giving him a break ... to show that he has changed?

YOU are on a roll this morning. Nothing to do?

SORRY but wasn't Tai still on Jawas and, frankly, they were simply not good enough, as Kenneth Bjerre found to his cost. Give the boy a break, time will tell soon enough...

WILD card should be announced next week. The three names you mentioned are all in the frame but Bill Buckley's opinion will be crucial in the final reckoning. Don't think your summer weather (hope it lasts until third week in March!) will impact on track. Ole Olsen and his team will arrive early next month and start again from scratch using the materials that were taken up and stored after the 2012 event. Ole thinks he can make it even better which would be quite an achievement.

SEEMS that F1 didn't fare that well on Sky last year either http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2012/09/06/uk-f1-tv-figures-bbc-sky-2012/

SPOKE to Jason Crump after he rode there in a Russian league match last season and he was full of praise for the stadium and the organisation.

CORRECT ... two Aussies, one of whom was Steve Johnson, did the world feed from there while N&K were in the Isleworth studio.