HenryW

That's an interesting one. I didn't think PePe had even qualified for the Gold Helmet final. I wonder if others refused the SEC place or if they just ignored the Gold Helmet completely?

From what has been said elsewhere, Proctor has the correct paperwork to race in the Premiership, it's just the paperwork for the Championship that he is still waiting on. Also worth noting that Workington DID get a guest facility for Proctor for their meeting tonight against Edinburgh...presumably because he DOES have a visa, it's some extra piece of documentation that is still missing.

It did seem harsh that a clear 5-1 turned into a 3-3 due to a Torun rider falling on his own, but I'm not convinced they were robbed of a draw. If they had got the 5-1 in that race then Woffinden wouldn't have been eligible as a tac sub in heat 14, so it would have been Drabik, Milik or Lebedev partnering Fricke in that one and I'm not convinced that any of them would have been capable of winning that race.

The information that was released earlier came from the track doctor who had obviously dealt with Jason trackside. They didn't say that he had no injuries, just that he wasn't complaining of any particular pain but needed to be checked at hospital. The latest news is that they think he may have broken a thumb.

https://m.sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/747693/fatalny-poczatek-meczu-w-gorzowie-doylea-zabrala-karetka

Reoorts saying that he is not feeling any pain but they think he may have a concussion.

To be fair, Tony added 3 of his 6 World Titles after the millenium, which makes a substantial difference to the way he is viewed in the history of the sport.

Polish websites have reported that Holder cannot travel at the moment as his UK visa has expired and he is waiting to receive his new one. If he leaves the Country he has to restart the visa application process from Australia. They state that he now has all the necessary visas for Poland, but obviously doesn't want to get himself shut out of the UK, so won't be racing in Poland until his new UK visa is in hand.

Bellego - Poznan Lahti - Daugavpils Sedgmen - Krakow Porsing - Rzeszow Klindt - Ostrow Jonasson - Piła Of course, just because they are in a squad it doesn't mean they are actually guaranteed any meetings in Poland.

For me, that's one of the massive negatives of the pairs format compared to the SWC fours format. When I'm watching team speedway, I'm supporting a team. In the SWC I watch my team race in every heat. In the pairs they will appear 6 times in the 21 races. So I have 15 races where there isn't direct interest or someone for me to support.

Slovakia raced in the semi finals of European Pairs last year with Buri, Valkovic and Mihalik. Admittedly the meeting was in Slovakia and they might not be as keen to travel. Ukraine might be another interested. They usually compete in the Euro Pairs.

I think Slovenia still has a track and team (as much as they have teams there) in the capital Ljubljana...

I saw video many years ago of them racing regular speedway bikes around a speedway track whilst it was covered in snow...I think it was from Ukraine but could have been Russia.

Unless you are listing it cheap because it's in poor condition, I think you might be undervalueing the Chum Taylor book. Based on Amazon Marketplace prices and previous ebay sales, it's the most valuable of them all.

Oh dear...The SEC promoters having some financial troubles?

I know it's off topic, but I'm interested to understand what you mean by that...Feel free to PM me if you don't want to carry on the chat on this thread.

So Kildemand would be available on 7.10, his last UK average, as he wasn't a full GP rider in 2017 and isn't in for 2018?

Sorry if I've missed it but what is the criteria for being classed as a GP rider? Permanent in 2017? Permanent in 2018? Permanent ever? Raced any GP in 2017? Raced any GP ever? I've seen Kildemand being mentioned as a 9 and he wasn't a full member last year but has been in the past. If it's right he is a 9 what got him that 9? Does Smolinksi get a 9? Jepsen Jensen, A.Laguta, B.Pedersen, Ljung, Holta, Kołodziej, Hampel, Madsen, etc?

Amusingly, the UK isn't using one of its FIM priority allocated nights. We have priority on Monday and Thursday nights. Denmark are the ones with priority on Wednesday.

I totally agree with this. I never found the World Pairs very interesting when it was held in the past. The SWC has consistently been a highlight of the year. Oh well, another bit of the sport ruined.

Fricke confirmed at Wrocław it would seem.

That particular rule has been in place for a few years now.

Holder is a former World Champion who has only once before failed to qualify for the series and that was when he suffered serious injuries and missed most of the season. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that a former World Champion with a proven record of making the top 8 each year should be given one free pass after a poor year. I wouldn't have shed any tears if he had been left out, but I think it's reasonably easy to argue that with the system in place and the history of who has received selections, Holder would be a likely candidate regardless of who his primary sponsor is.

Nicki finished third in the series in both 2014 and 2015. Pretty harsh to say that's off of Championship pace.

Seems like they should have selected locals that were in form rather than just promoting the initially selected meeting reserves... that would still seem to fit with that ruling.