Tactical Joker

What was also amazing was how quickly the tickets sold out in the first place. We’d have been there too if we had realised how quick you had to be off the mark. So watching it on TV was second best but what a meeting. Can only guess at the atmosphere with a Polish winner. Luckily the Polish anthem is quite a good tune.

Quite agree. Not a rider I knew a lot about previously, but he spoke very well after the last ever meeting at Lakeside last season. Keep it going

Was thinking a 5-1 in heat 14 would be helpful but didn’t really expect it with Kerr going so well. Lawson getting the better of Lambert R in heat 13 though was my highlight otherwise it would have been 39 - 39 at that stage. Only three last places out of 15 emphasises the team ethic the Witches have at the moment. Another great contribution from Heeps, despite his arm aching from carrying a heavy collection bucket for the benefit fund. Hope the collection went well.

Now back in Blighty after an excellent weekend. Yes it is all about being there seeing and hearing it live, you can be close to the action if you chose the right seats, although one of our party won't wear a white shirt next time . Will watch a recording later this week to see how TV compares but Warsaw and Prague are a must for the total package they offer. As for a Manchester and Cardiff GP, providing they are at opposite ends of the season it could be worth a go if the costs are not prohibitive. Easier to get to than the middle of a Swedish forest.

Well done to Phil Morris and everyone else involved in getting the meeting done in two hours or so with the weather threat, that fortunately never really materialised (and for allowing us more drinking time afterwards). Madsen has to be taken seriously as a potential champion although there's a long way to go, but congratulations to Kolodziej for grabbing the win.

Or just get the tube back. No queues there. A few decent heats watching it live but not a classic. A few drops of rain now felt but nothing really.......yet.

Another great evening in Warsaw. Atmosphere brilliant until the second semi final when it all went relatively quiet. What odds was Madsen?, should have invested a zloty or even two. Pleased to see Iversen up there after last year's injury, but we'll done Robert Lambert.

Yep that's the point. It's a deceptively long walk to the Stadium. You can see it but it never seems to get any closer. If it rains like last night we'll all get drenched.

After last nights SoN paid a first visit to Sheffield today. Thought the racing was fair enough, some good passes and some 4 lap processions but no worse than seen elsewhere. The programme did mention how much work was needed on the track. Not many speedway tracks where you can sit and have a Sunday carvery roast though.

And an incredible atmosphere when full of excited Poles Hopefully we’ll be sat with some calm Swedes again this year However much they ‘big’ Cardiff up, this event has overtaken it and is now the biggest and best indoor GP. Plus Warsaw is a very underrated city with plenty to explore.

You can’t fault her enthusiasm, but the pitch of her voice does unfortunately cut through you after a few heats. Yes the catering, and the general policy if not being able to take your own food in, which is rather strange. Is it simply to boost bar profits? What about those with specific dietary requirements. Ridiculous long queues for rather unappetising stuff when you finally get to the front. Glad we had a decent pint elsewhere beforehand. But lets be positive. For anyone who hasn’t been to Belle Vue make the effort. The racing is fast and entertaining.

Iversen just said ref held tapes for a long while, possibly too long so two of them possibly thought the gate had failed? Just a wild guess.

Nice evening here. Hope some of the racing is competative but not expecting a classic. Programme scorecard isn't great, riders names are in white on a black background. Forgot to bring my white ink pen for the changes. Still if that's the only moan......

An extra minute or two to fill in all the details prior to heats 14 and 15 wouldn’t go amiss, but apart from that 90 minutes for 15 heats seems about right, especially with a slightly chilly wind blowing tonight. Add 15 minutes for the parade at the start and it’s about the same length as a football match. Fortunately there have been no real incidents in the meetings so far to cause significant delay. Enjoyed all three meetings I’ve seen at Ipswich this season, let’s hope the entertainment continues and more come through the turnstiles. Tonight Jake Allen beating Jason Doyle has to be a highlight, a superb effort to get 16 points.

Agree 100%. It seems a bit of a kick in the teeth to all who follow the GPs round Europe to potentially be denied the opportunity of seeing the championship decided, unless you have unlimited time and money, nice as an Australian holiday is. Possibly about 5 European jaunts to be had there, Wroclaw is a very pretty town but apart from that nothing particularly new to be done.

Time for a live report. Tickets were available on the day but the place was pretty full for most of the meeting apart from some very low down seats. Dragged on a bit partly due to a nasty crash which ended Iversen's participation. Hope he is OK. And then with the reserves taking 2 on the trot in the latter stages the gaps between heats were longer. Of course what doesn't come across on TV was how cold it got. Nippy wind if you were on the back straight. Shame Hancock failed to finish in his first heat as he may have given Tai a run for his money. Racing wasn't great but the occasion was more important.

Dry in the stadium at the moment if not in the pub beforehand. Looks like being a decent crowd, bit of a testimonial feel about it but could be entertaining given the line up.

Thought I’d get some meaningful insight on here, but instead have had to wade through a treacle of abuse to read anything sensible. Great night in Toruń, good atmosphere and the Poles we met were quite gracious considering what was at stake. Best heat one I’ve seen in a GP which set the tone for an exciting evening. Laguta and Smarzlik on 12 each after 4 rides made heat 19 tense. Laguta was brilliant and a shame he didn’t go through the card, but can’t deny Woffinden the glory after making life more difficult than it perhaps should have been. Pleased Lindgren got a medal, some may think he is border line but he worked hard to come back from a serious injury. Also pleased Sayfutdinov gets another go next year. Even Chris Holder won a heat to sign off with. So congratulations to Tai, to Smarzlik for making it interesting, and to all 8 who qualified for next year. Following the GPs around Europe where possible is great fun, and would encourage anyone to save up and try it. Here’s to next season.

That was worth staying up for. Chris Harris - simply a brilliant ride, and yes Gary May put a brave face on it, just about as unlucky as you can get. All the better for not keep swapping meetings. That would have been far less dramatic if it had to be shared with unimportant heats from Lynn.

It was indeed a bit of a marathon in the end but glad to say “I was there” to coin a phrase. Having cut my speedway teeth with Romford Bombers it was sad to see the last Essex team move on, hopefully just for now. Two air fence punctures slowed things more than usual, but hopefully the riders involved Zach Wajtknecht and Nick Morris are OK. Zach hit the fence more or less head on on bend 4 at some speed. The racing was good, a tight track that requires a lot of skill. Have to say how impressed I’ve been with Richard Lawson this week. Not a rider I’ve followed closely but his guesting at Ipswich the previous night kept the match close until the the latter stages, and he was excellent again last night fittingly winning the final heat. Cooky at this level is difficult to beat but Lawson matched him 2-2 head to head. Announcer hoping James Sarjeant wouldn’t demolish the tapes, even off a 15m handicap, amused me. And as always hope the benefit fund collection was well supported.

Well that wasn’t without controversy. Made up for the mostly processional racing, not that Woffinden will agree. Dudek sneeked under the radar there, well done to him. When the dust settles Woffinden is still 9 points ahead. True the momentum is with Zmarzlik, but Tai’s mental response to tonight’s events will help decide if he can keep that lead as much as his racing. Have to agree Hancock’s ride in the semi final to keep Zmarzlik behind him was pure experience and did Tai a huge favour.

Went to Krsko last year. Fortunately Ljubljana was an interesting place to stay as there was nothing in Krsko to get excited about. I like to combine the speedway with some normal tourism to make the most of any trip. Not wishing to hire a car this relies on public transport. So while Krsko was possible, Teterow looks too much hassle. If the speedway is likely to be uninteresting too I’ll settle for watching on the box, but would much prefer to be there. Looking forward to Torun, never been to speedway there, and with interest to next years venues. So hopefully the weather holds, but disappointed no Zagar. Just for a laugh let’s predict Zmarzlik, Hancock, Woffinden, but wouldn’t put any money on it.

Always better to be there live than watching on the box, although Natalie and Scott present the programme excellently. Maybe I’m easily pleased but again I thoroughly enjoyed that. Can’t quite grasp some of the negativity on here. Delighted for Martin Vaculik, who comes across as a decent chap and just a shame he had that injury earlier in the season. Like most, couldn’t see what Pedersen did wrong, just proper speedway. Thought Zmarzlik made a more questionable move to block Vaculik in the final. Woffinden on the podium without winning a race was unusual, as was Doyle missing out on 9 points.

That was more than enjoyable. Never thought the meeting would go ahead when the first TV pictures were shown, what a job the track staff did to get that on. Pedersen was inspired, fully deserved for how much he gives to the sport, whatever personal opinions he attracts.

It is indeed, just hope the bucket Danny King was carrying wasn’t too heavy and put his recovery back. As for the racing, very enjoyable. Richard Lawson put in a good shift (17+1 from 7 rides) thought he would go unbeaten at one point. Thought Adam Ellis was unlucky to be excluded when Scott Nichols ran him hard on bend 2 in heat 7, but Scotty (13+1 from 5 rides) was a joy to watch. Good solid team effort from the Ipswich boys.