Grand Central

No. it was fine for this year when extraordinary circumstances demanded a different approach. Hopefully next year the GP and domestic leagues can get back to something like normality. And then the following year under Discovery we'll be having GPs all over the world and everything will be very different !

We all know it's not going to work at all.

As far as I can see the FIM have pulled a blinder. They have sold the SGP for massive bucks to a second company/group that hasn't got the faintest idea about Speedway and it's limitations ... Just like they did with BSI twenty years ago. And they have done so on the same bogus premise of the bizarre idea that there is vast untapped market .... . All those countries who haven't shown a ounce of interest in the sport in almost 100 years of its existence are all going to be won over THIS TIME . Bonkers The truth is that they have not shown any interest in Speedway because ... THEY REALY ARE NOT INTERESTED. It is that simple. The FIM have actually sold the SGP at a massively inflated price, not based on what it actually IS but on a fictional 'what it might be' in a parallel universe. For the second time. Mr Viegas saw a bunch of mugs coming in and sold them a chocolate teapot for a King's ransom. Brilliant work that man.

Madsen £200 more

Errr .. Yes. Is that something we didn't know?

There have not been many - if any - rule changes brought in since Armando became head of the CCP that have NOT been crap.

No £12 would be too much for them all.

That seems quite revolutionary. Has it ever been tried ?

Yes excellent What a pity Craig Ackroyd cannot watch it.

Madsen £200 more

According to the FIM official attendance at 2000 Prague SGP was 12,000...

FRICKE £200 MORE

I find all this very strange. In my business i send and receive small packages daily from and to my suppliers and I always use first class post ... I genuinely cannot remember a parcel that has taken more than two days in either direction for a good number of YEARS. It is usually next day. Mine are usually small boxes around 10cm x 10 cm x 20cm and going by the standard first class rate for that size. What can be happening that is so different just because they are so obviously magazines ... And it is happening so widespread and so often ? Is this an industry wide problem that other mag publishers find happens to them ? How can my experience with Royal Mail be so incredibly different. And honestly covid hasn't affected it at all. Except the Post Office queue is now non existant.

Bit if a curate's egg for me. The programme would be twice as good if it were half the length missing out the non speedway nonsense and cutting down dramatically the screen time devoted to Kiki Dee. Both Kelvin's bits were excellent and a bit of a pity that they are diluted by the rest. Needs a bit of nimble 'finger-work' on YouTube keep skipping the other parts.

No not undeserving at all. Not really very overwhelming either. But very nice chap.

Cannot go to Prague. But happy just to FEEL like we are going nontheless.

Cry baby Doyle.

ZAGAR £200 more

How would the financials work out ... For BT to screen an extended advertorial of this type ?

THOMSEN £200 MORE

I get what you're saying but I just don't think it comes close to banking championship points in every race. For the riders. Or for the spectator.

True, but quite a few riders seem to be fairly clueless about gate choices anyway. Do they really go chasing points in the heats with the mental processes working on their ability to choose gates so much later. I think championship points are a better incentive, surely.

Because the points scored in the heats for those who do qualify for the semis are not counting towards the championship anymore. Getting through by a whisker or by a margin doesn't matter. Dropped points will seem to matter less ... Just get through. Qualify for the semis and you can then your final score is decided on just the next one or two races regardless of your score before, be it 7 or 15. It changes everythIng . As you will see in the meetings to come as the riders get clued up.

I don't think anyone HAS said it is UNFAIR. A poor change that detracts from the product. Yes. Don't worry, you'll be able to whine in 2021 when it's changed back.

But throughout the whole history of Speedway , particularly since WW2, only a handful of championship events, were specifically crafted to ensure that happened. Some happened by natural accident of course with run off where needed plus the Mickey Mouse events like Rider of the night finals where the money was split and the race was a sham to con the public. All the rest were just won by the team/rider scoring most points regardless of which heat the final winning score came in. Using any one person as if it were a peculiar aberration of the sport was your choice. BUT I am not an advocate of removing finals from GPs. .. far from it ... I love them. The GP scoring was perfect last year. And it is so definitely NOT this year. EVERY POINT COUNTS IN EVERY RACE was a massive plus point. Not just for PR but because it really followed through on to the track and to the racing, especially in that final block of races before the semis. And it has been tossed away... by tossers. I don't think it helps to talk about Gary Havelock as if he is part of the current problem. That is just diversionary. The names that should be tarred and feathered over this are Viegas, Castagna and Bellamy. The rest of the month is going to be dominated by this discussion at every GP when, if the action is as fantastic as last night, that is a travesty. And THEY are to blame. Let's stick to naming and shaming those people.