PHILIPRISING

COPENHAGEN GP this year clashed with Denmark's opening fixture in Euro soccer championship. Torun figure from MattB about right. Gorzow was down but with four riders in GP next year should rise again.

I THINK you will find that the Danish trio you quote above all pay huge homage to the role Gundo played. Overstated? No, understated? Probably. Erik has been a massive influence and deserves credit for what he has achieved.

THE Danes get much better funding and government support than Brits do, especially for speedway. Would love to see Robert Lambert go to Denmark for a week with Erik Gundersen. This is a critical time in his development and would benefit hugely from having Gundo teach him the ropes.

BUT they do sponsor Ward ... so that makes five

HOPE the top line in the above post isn't attributable to me. Been called a twit many times but not a user of this social media phenomenon.

HE'S not the only one in the series who needs to "grow up" shall we say and I have already suggested that he (and others) shut down their Twitter accounts. But he's in, he's young, has talent and his GP career is now in his own hands, to succeed or screw up. Time will tell, much better than even such bastions of wisdom like you and I Andy.

SO you only went to see Chris Harris?

PREFER to wait and see ... at the end of the 2013 SGP season you will have a definitive answer. Personally, that's me, not speaking on behalf of SS, would much prefer to see him succeed than fail, as I would any rider, but many of here appear to want him to flounder. Don't see the sense in that but each to his own.

YES

DO you think this forum is representative of the speedway population as a whole?

JUST checked myself and it is May 18. Know that BSI were keen to avoid a clash.

STAND corrected but isn't it on May 18?

CALENDAR should be announced soon and Dutch Grasstrack's list of venues MAYBE not 100 per cent correct. Gothenburg looks set for May 4. European Song Contest, which the Swedes (why?) adore is in Gothenburg two weeks later. Stockholm will almost certainly be the pen-ultimate GP.

RIDERS in Sweden change clubs much more easily than in the UK... presumably the Bosman ruling is taken more seriously there.

AEE you talking about as a sponsor or an organiser?

WELL Humphrey, if you believe everything you read in the Polish media .... the arrangements between BSI/IMG and the staging tracks/clubs are private and rightly so but if you care to believe what they speculate then that is your business. I would, however, suggest that the more clubs/tracks/towns trying to get on the SGP calendar would ensure that the price stays higher rather than drops down. What I do know is that each case is dealt with on its merits. I would certainly concur with mickthemuppet's comment about Ullevi. And add that the weather is always a huge factor there, allied to it's recent history. Stockholm will be a tough sell but at least BSI/IMG will know that all their efforts to pull in a crowd will not be affected by the weather. Gothenburg as a city is fighting hard to retain some major sporting events now that Stockholm is the centre of attention but I would still be suprised if the SGP stayed there beyond 2013 and didn't return to Malilla where it has been very successful, especially for the club. But by then Ole Olsen's hopes and plans for Vojens may have come to fruition, the Ratina Stadium in Tampere may have come on board, Togliatti might have resolved their issues (mainly travel and accessibility) and so on...

WHY do you (Humphrey) assume that the asking price, which neither you nor I have any information on, has come down? It could just as easily be that those involved, including the local authorities in Tampere like those in many other towns or cities, see a value in having the SGP visit their location. There is currently no shortage of tracks, clubs, call them what you will, vying for the SGP.

HE was the kid on stand-by to replace Hancock at Torun ... looks oike he woukld have done a good job!

SADLY we are in a small pond. More like a puddle these days

I imagine their target audience is somewhat larger.

OF course he made a decision otherwise we would still be there now. He had three choices. Exclude Holder, Exclude Pedersen. Or put all four back. He made the DECISION to put all four back as he was entitled to do. You don't agree but cannot believe you can argue that he didn't make a decision. He never said it was first bend bunching. His opinion, to quote, was that it "50/50."

BUT the referee did make a decision, just not one that you agree with.

WHEN I know who they are will ask the questions ...

GOOD point. When Gollob won he was feted right across Poland, appeared on all the top TV chat shows, etc, and raised the profile of speedway considerably even in a country where it is already upscale. He transcended the boundaries of sport. Contrast that with Greg Hancock whose victory didn't even register on the Richter scale outside of the speedway community in a small pocket of Southern California. Probably a good chance that Chris Holder will get some recognition back home. Motorcycle racing is popular in Oz but doubt that it will be nationwide. Won't cause many waves here, though. Speedway would have to be an Olympic sport and GB to win gold for that to happen. Pinch me, I'm dreaming ...