PHILIPRISING

NEXT year practice will start at 6pm on the Friday preceding race day except in Auckland where (subject to confirmation) it will be at 3pm because of noise constraints. Wouldn't disagree that practice can be (is) boring but it is for the benefit of the riders and to a lesser degree track staff and TV companies and not the public. There were numerous examples last season when riders who didn't practice fared better than those that did but, trust me, any suggestions to curtail practice have been vigorously opposed by the riders. Efforts to introduce some form of timing to practice have and will continue to be looked at but how riders would be rewarded remains an open discussion. I appreciate what The Know is suggesting but it simply isn't practical for riders to travel to a GP and be eliminated before the event has even begun. That was the major bone of contention with the knock-out format used a few years ago. I can still remember Greg Hancock turning up for the opening round at Prague in 1998 as the defending World Champion and packing his bags after just two races. Competing in the GP is a huge commitment for riders and they need to know that they will at least have five races (and the appropriate TV time) in every round. It is on that basis that they try and sell themselves to sponsors. I am sure Meridian Lifts would much rather back a rider who was guaranteed exposure rather than be involved in a sort of Russian roulette system. There have even been thoughts of holding practice on a Saturday morning. That would be fine if speedway tracks were concrete rather than dirt and wouldn't suffer the inevitable damage that practice (equivalent to over two full meetings) incurs.

OVER 40 now booked to travel from UK ... you underestimate the interest being shown by people from the UK. Over 3000 tickets (including all those for the grandstand) for the event already sold, over half from Australia. Don't be so pessimistic.

HUMPHREY ... you are sounding like a little Englander. Just because the GP and motorcycle racing in general attracts little media interest in the UK doesn't mean it is the same elsewhere. There is huge coverage in Poland, of course, and a significant amount in countries like Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere. Don't understand what you mean by the missing 40,000 fans at Cardiff. A much higher proportion of fans who regularly attend league racing in the UK go to Cardiff than was the case at even Wembley and especially Bradford (Odsal) for World Finals during the 70s and 80s. If the overall weekly speedway attendance in the UK was the same now as it was during the early 1970s in particular I have little doubt that the British GP would be a sell out.

See http://speedwaygp.com/news/article/945/rob-armstrong-on-nz-sgp

I HAVE no intimate knowledge of the contract between the then BSI management and David Lander but there were a number of reasons why what turned out to be a one-off event wasn't viable. Certainly the unseasonably cold weather on the night and the fact that it was live on Australian TV (which won't be the case in NZ) were contributing factors. As were the size and cost of the venue. However, the reason why both BSI/IMG and Bill Buckley wanted a longer term contract for Auckland is that many of the costs (especially the purchase of and laying of the track) can be amortised. But, to go back to your previous assertion, BSI weren't happy that Lander lost money. Why would they be? Had he made money they would certainly have returned the following year, albeit at a smaller stadium nearer to the centre of Sydney. That was already in the pipeline.

AS far as NZ is concerned: each rider has four return tickets supplied by BSI/IMG, plus accommodation (three rooms) and all equipment will be air-freighted out and back

IF you could turn the clock back how often do you think a World Final would be held in Great Britain? Every five years, six, seven?

WAIT and see. And, for the record, Darcy Ward never said he didn't want to ride in the Grand Prix. On the contrary, but he did say that he felt it would perhaps be better to wait a year given that he had age on his side and had seen at first hand how much work off the track he needed to do beforehand. And, of course, there was the ultimatum from Torun. You will also have noted that many other riders have elected to change clubs in Poland rather than withdraw from the SGP.

I have said before and will do so again ... there is a paucity of young talent right now but give it a couple of years and there will be plenty of young riders with Grand Prix aspirations. Peter Ljung may not be a potential World Champion but fair play to the guy. Like Zetterstrom before him, he sees participation in the Grand Prix as a genuine achievement and something that in later years he will be able to look back at with pride. Hopefully the situation when Polish clubs can effectively blackmail riders into having to choose between racing for a particular team or the Grand Prix will soon be resolved, perhaps as early as Monday.

THERE also has to be a rain-off alternate the following day ...

WOULDN'T afford the Polish story much credence. SWC may be revamped a little and a pairs competition has been mentioned if a date in an already crowded calendar could be found.

DON'T be so sure ....

DON'T know for sure but that could open a legal can of worms unless they have officially entered and signed. Do know that the FIM have been exploring the legality of Poland's one GP rider per team regulation.

WILD cards are chosen after discussions between representatives of BSI and the FIM, including Tony Olsson, Ole Olsen and Roy Otto, Director of the CCP. I agree that at this particular moment it is a tough decision, not because they are spoilt for choice but exactly the opposite. Darcy Ward was the obvious candidate outside of those who competed this year but he was practically alone. Hopefully within the near future the number of suitable riders will increase as some young Poles, Danes, Swedes and, indeed, Aussies further their careers and, as stated earlier, perhaps Tai Woffinden will grow into the role. In the not too distant future we are likely to see Tomasz Gollob and Greg Hancock retire from the SGP scene and speedway as a whole and the SGP in particular desperately needs some of the young talent to step up to the plates we enter a new era.

IF memory serves me correct Meridian Lifts were the sponsors of the rain-affected meeting in Gothenburg and obviously, judging by Andy's comments, he wasn't satisfied but I doubt whether he can speak for all the other sponsors throughout the year. I do know companies like Nice and Doodson were very pleased with their involvement and in these tough economic times I would image BSI/IMG were satisfied overall.

YOU simply cannot compare speedway's status in the UK to that in Poland. Places like Leszno, Torun, Gorzow, Bydgoszcz and Zielona Gora are fanatical speedway cities. Their speedway clubs are much more akin to soccer clubs in places like Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. Mayors in Poland know the political capital to be gained by supporting speedway, whether it be with the construction of new stadiums or hosting a SGP round.

THE Mayor of Bydgoszcz was voted out of office largely, we are told, because the city lost its GP status. The new mayor of Daugavpils is desperate to get the GP back. The mayors of Torun and Gorzow are heavily involved. I think you misunderstand the prestige enjoyed by these Polish cities being associated with the GPs. There is massive political capital to be gained. The city of Gothenburg is now actively involved, anxious not to lose the GP like other sporting events in Sweden to Stockholm.

BUT times have changed and as I said, it's all in the eye of the beholder. There were many, many great meetings under the old system but most of those you have mentioned were qualifying rounds and not the World Final itself. In essence PC winning his first big title (European Championship) was like winning a round of the SGP. But I respect your view, we are not all the same which helps to make the world go round. But the fact is that the wold style championship had become unsustainable in the modern era. I stand to be corrected about the 1974 WF but I don't remember it being anywhere near as wet as 1977 when PC lost out to Ivan Mauger.

PLENTY of World Finals left me stone cold ... 1974 was a typical example. Michanek made five starts and that was that. But that doesn't make me right and you wrong or the other way round. It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

NO ... it doesn't work like that. Any money the FIM receive from speedway (not just from BSI/IMG but inscription and licence fees, etc) goes into their pot and is distributed, spent, etc at the discretion of the member countries through their own General Council and puts appointed officers. SVEMO, for example, have used money generated directly by the SGP to them (not via the FIM) to the benefit of speedway in Sweden. But they, like Denmark, have a club culture which is ultimately much more beneficial to the sport as a whole in their respective countries than the set-up (BSPA) in the UK.

BUT then you are not an aspiring young rider hoping to become World Champion. There are lots of examples of other sports where contestants place winning before financial gain. It's called something like ambition. The world will be a poorer place without it.

OF course the rewards are not enough. How can they be when prima donna footballers get £250,000 (tax free) a week to stay on the bench. But that sort of money isn't available in speedway. And, as argued previously, racing n the SGP isn't all about the money. Crump is one of many who believes that their careers have been considerably enhanced and enriched by racing at stadiums like the Millennium in Cardiff and competing in such a series and that memories will be worth much in later years.