PHILIPRISING

BLUE sky this morning and a good weather forecast. Track was in fantastic condition for yesterday's practice having had new shale on it a couple of weeks ago. Lindback, Lindgren and Bjarne Pedersen all skipped practice, Vaculik as usual only did half, but after a sunny day it was decidely chilly in the evening and will probably be so again tonight. Nightmare draw for Sayfutdinov so maybe not such a good bet after all. Conditions will probably suit Holder, the fastest man in the field, and on a track where different lines are always available that could be crucial. But don't rule out Hancock just yet ... he was very focused in practice and there is still no substitute for experience.

THEEE is going to be one, date probably confirmed in the next few days.

IVAN could make a great start going backwards.

VERY wet and cold here in Malilla yesterday but nice and sunny today with a stiff breeze. Forecast fine for tomorrow. Should be a cracker on what is normally a great race track. Difficult one to predict, too, although Sayfutdinov might be worth a bob or two.

WE are getting into dangerous territory here and into areas that personally I don't think is ideal for a forum such as this. But, for the record Niamh, I don't recall Ward being charged with rape in the first place.

SOME of the facts are getting muddied by personal opinions here. Ward couldn't for obvious reasons enter the Australian championship during the British winter which was his only route to the GP qualifiers. Whether or not he gets a wild card will have nothing to do with arrogance but ability. The reasons behind him declining a wild card last winter are well documented but I wouldn't argue that he needs to buck his ideas up off the track. It would do him (or Tai) no harm in looking at how Holder has "grown up" and see how much they have to loose career-wise. However, there is no doubt in my mind that Ward is a potential World Champion, let alone just a GP rider, and that being in the series might just bring him into line. Obviously there are posters on here still upset at the outcome of a certain court case but the fact is that a trial ran its course and a verdict handed down.

HAD a long chat with Greg Hancock about Janowski being offered a wild card at the end of last year. He felt he probably needed two more years but, of course, he might have changed his mind now. So much will depend on the Challenge...

SUCCINCT as ever ... see you have been posting across the board today. Come out of hibernation?

WE (Speedway Star) have just finished the Malilla programme and THJ is the wild card ...

LOOKS like it but yet to be finally ratified by FIM

SWC will be in July not June...

THERE are no IMG lanyards as such. The same lanyards (which have never included any IMG logo) are used for all passes including those for track staff, guests, media and officials. You cannot seriously believe that a company like IMG would risk sanctioning someone selling cheap tickets outside the stadium. Much more likely that someone (track staff for example) provided with complimentary tickets decided to try and make a quick buck.

I CAN assure you that the 2013 calendar is far from complete, both in terms of venues and dates. 8pm on Sky...

EVER the cynic

I UNDERSTAND that Sky will be showing a replay of Saturday's British GP tonight following the postponement of their scheduled fixture. Cardiff 2013 date will be announced at 8pm.

SADLY that doesn't apply to soccer ... and I say that as a football fan too.

WHATEVER the date, and we will know later, remember that BSI don't have a completely free choice. Stadium availability is key, as it is in Copenhagen, along with other events taking place in Cardiff which affects hotel availability.

VERY true but my actual point was why Sky didn't bother with the presentation. Like not reading the last page of a book... seems odd to me.

BIT of both really. British speedway really doesn't warrant any national newspaper coverage these days in my opinion. The lack of a British World Champion or British success in the SWC doesn't help either but national newspapers are now notoriously dis-interesrted in most motorsport, especially the two-wheeled variety. Ironically, there are now far more pages devoted to sport than there were 20 plus years ago when the likes of Dave Lanning, Peter Oakes and I afforded some space oif most days of the week. And, as mentioned earlier, the News of the World were brilliant when Havvy won despite have a full programme iof soccer that same day. Much of it now is down to the mentality of those in charge. Sports Editors used to have a wide-ranging interest in all sports and that influenced their decision making. I took over as speedway correspondent for the Daily Express when they were involved in the Spring Classic. The then SE, Ken Lawrence, liked and enjoyed speedway but more importantly he saw it as a genuine sport which was worthy of equal billing when the occasion demanded. But in those days the likes of Bruce Penhall were household names despite not being British. When John Davis won the Spring Classic Wimbledon I had to do a running report of 29 paragraphs followed at the end by a complete re-write. The report was on the back page of all editions of the Daily Express the following morning. Interest in speedway began to wane when Denmark kept winning everything. One night I called the Express Sports Desk before filling a report and was asked "who won?" I replied "Denmark" and was greeted with "not those bloody Danes again. When are England going to win something." Would it ever change? Don't honestly know but a British winner in front of 40,000 people at Cardiff would push a few buttons. But that ain't going to happen any time soon! SORRY but it seems like it!

LITTLE or no chance these days but once the football season starts, with cricket and the paralympics, forget it. Thirty years ago when Gary Havelock won his World title I was working for the News of the World and they afforded his win an inside page lead despite the football. Times have changed sadly.

Great post! Couldn't have put it better myself.

I UNDERSTAND that they sold out of Rico tee-shirts quite early in the day. All the GP riders signed numerous copies of the book dedicated to Lee and other items to help raise money for the fund set up in his name. There was also a box for Emma at the Millennium.

POSTED this elsewhere but might be more appropriate here ... sorry for the duplication: PASSING, in my opinion, isn't the b-all and end-all of great speedway. What is your barometer of good racing? A heat where one rider passes another and then pulls away to win by 50 yards? Or close, wheel-to-wheel action where riders constantly jostle for position? The latter in my view. Jason Crump told the VIP Methanol club audience before the meeting that tracks at Cardiff and Copenhagen are now the best they race in ALL year. And, he added, you can include Gothenburg this year. Why? Because the riders trust them, know that they can race flat out without fear of hitting a big rut and being thrown off course and into another rider. Incidentally, Jason's crash on Saturday had nothing to do with the track. Chris Holder, who rode brilliantly and was exciting to watch even while ahead, said afterwards that the track was "awesome." Fifteen of the best riders in the world strutting their stuff on a decent track inside a fantastic stadium still works for me. There were certainly far less Poles there this year, hardly surprising given that they were due to have only Gollob there and even his star is beginning to wane. At least Poland have Janowski, the two Pawlicki brothers, Dudek and Zmarzlik on the fringes.n From where I was standing the noise was still deafening but better performances from British riders would undoubtedly raise the decibel levels. With regards to pre-meeting entertainment: when John Postlethwaite first took the GP to the Millennium Stadium he felt it necessary to have something going on while people were arriving at their seats and waiting for the speedway to start. A little aperitif but not a full blown hors d'oeuvre. And at no extra charge. Over the years the philosophy has remained the same, although for a while some quite high profile performers were booked until the fees demanded grew out of proportion. But they are really just time fillers and perform a function while the fans are coming in. WE started about four minutes later but finished right on schedule. Grading doesn't take too long at the Millennium especially since the tractors started coming on and off from the fourth turn. Lot of people prefer to see the riders do a lap on their bikes rather than just walk off after being introduced. Sad that Sky didn't show the presentation. It seems to be the norm for them. Cannot imagine that happening at soccer or cricket.