
HenryW
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Everything posted by HenryW
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Sayfutdinov Out Of Gp's
HenryW replied to Fozzie4388's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
It will be interesting to see if the FIM enforce that. Quite often, actually...It's just that it isn't anywhere near the amount that they are owed in Poland as they get promised far more over there Edited to fix the mess I made of quoting earlier -
Fim Bans Participation In European Championships
HenryW replied to PolskiZuzel's topic in International World of Speedway
Do you know whether they are actively petitioning the FIM to retract or suspend this ruling? -
Ward Can He Win The Title This Year.?
HenryW replied to stratton's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
It's a reasonable bet that he probably hasn't been doing too much physical training considering the way he laughed off the suggestion that he might follow Tai's lead last year I just hope that Emil races this year and Bomber doesn't disgrace himself yet again -
Was Penhall,s Retirement The Start Of The Decline In Speedway.?
HenryW replied to stratton's topic in Years Gone By
I realise that I am very late to respond to this, but I only just saw this thread again due to the recent replies.... I would be very interested to see it if someone could provide this high quality clip that proves that it was Bruce's fault...The way that I have always seen it was that after Kenny elbowed Bruce away down the home straight, Bruce cut back under Kenny around the 1st/2nd bend and Kenny then tried to lean on Bruce in the same way that Bruce had leant on him entering the straight before but Kenny was already too far behind to make that work. I always saw it that the brief "flick" of Bruce's back wheel was actually caused by Kenny leaning into Bruce's bike and causing an imbalance for him, rather than it being a deliberate move by Bruce to push him off. I'd be interested to see something that showed that it was a deliberate move from Bruce that was instigated before any contact.... Going back to the original question of this topic, I very recently watched a youtube video of BV v Halifax from 1982...I'm not sure whether it was before or after Bruce bailed on speedway but I am guessing that it was before, and considering the regular claims of Hyde Road being a great venue for racing, you really have to wonder about just how rose tinted those specs were back then.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SztbfCPHE6o#t=0 Watch that and tell me that it's better than anything shown on Sky last year...I might be biased but I am pretty sure that racing wise it is far worse than anything I saw on TV last season, and I surely can't blame the masses from walking away from that "entertainment" if that was the best that was on offer back then... -
From what I have been reading, I wonder whether BSI/IMG will start legal action against the FIM for this decision.... I can only assume that they will, given the fact that this decision has a massive bearing on the competitors willing to race in the series that they have paid the FIM for...If they just sit back and accept this ruling without a challenge one can only assume that they were somewhat complicit in the making of it and any suggestion otherwise is pure PR bull****.
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Sgp Riders' Numbers
HenryW replied to PHILIPRISING's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
I really am bemused as to how this has caused so much discussion. It seems to me that the numbers the riders wear are fairly irrelevant. If riders want something unique, surely it's reasonable to give them that option as it changes little for the fans... -
The wording isn't much different from tier 2 visas which they would normally use: "The Tier 2 (Sportsperson) category is for elite sportspeople and coaches who are internationally established at the highest level, and will make a significant contribution to the development of their sport. Your application will need to be endorsed by your sport's governing body." The BSPA probably aren't doing their job properly in approving only those who genuinely meet the required criteria...
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I'm not sure that you realise what you are providing links to. Those pages are the rules governing who qualifies for a visa, not a list of people who don't need a visa. Speedway riders from outside the EU receive the "Tier 2 Skilled Workers (sportsperson)" visas that you linked to above.
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Sgp Riders' Numbers
HenryW replied to PHILIPRISING's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Don't forget the fact that a few of the NASCAR boys do a bit of dirt track racing when they have spare time as well, where they may or may not use their Sprint Cup number...Tony Stewart is probably the most famous one that does this regularly (and famously bust his leg last year ruining his chance to win the NASCAR title again) You are quite right to bring up football as well. When leagues changed over to squad numbers there were a lot of moans from fans about losing the original meaning of the numbers, but that is now long forgotten and players are naturally known by their "own" numbers these days.... -
Really? I always thought Tony was a great racer, however he was also a great gater so didn't actually need to put that skill to the test as often as the likes of Collins, Loram and Ward.
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I agree with those comments. He was a credit to our sport on QOS. I disliked Jason early in his career due to his typically Aussie attitude to competition. However, I mellowed on him over his career, probably because he mellowed as well and it's certainly fair to say that latterly he was a fantastic ambassador for the sport. As you said, he was eloquent and knowledgeable about his own and other sports... As an aside, I also have some vague memory of Bruce Penhall appearing on Superstars or something like it... Was it being filmed in the Oxford area in 1982? Was Dave Lanning unable to directly name the event because it was a BBC show? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQu_QI745w0
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Pffft...If they want a bribe, they'll get it looking like this from me... http://www.scotbanks.org.uk/banknoteapp/CLYDE_50.html
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I am wondering why the mods are allowing such a deviation from the topic that this thread was set up for....Especially when gustix is involved in so many of these "off topic" comments...Or has he mellowed about such things in the last couple of weeks? I came to this thread to learn about the latest news for those that are having visa trouble. Instead I found myself reading a mass of posts discussing Scottish bank notes and large bank notes....Unbelievable
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Who Was The Best Rider In The World In 2013?
HenryW replied to Gavan's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Jarek does seem to be the under-estimated rider on this thread...possibly because he doesn't race over here. I also like to play around with stats and Jarek came out on top for 2013 the way that I used to rate riders (an adaptation of the Bradley-Terry model if anyone cares...happy to explain the details to anyone who does) I actually got a little lazy and haven't quite finished loading all of the 2013 results in, but have 1,289 meetings and 20,578 races from 2013 included, which took us up to the 11th of October. The top 5 were: Jarek Hampel (1974.199) Tai Woffinden (1815.454) Niels K Iversen (1792.304) Emil Sayfutdinov (1546.134) Chris Holder (1542.819) Head to head, Jarek beat Tai 14-10, Niels 14-13 and Chris 10-5. Emil actually had the upper hand on Jarek head to head, 8-9. Just for those interested in Darcy, he was 6th in the list and was beaten 16-11 when racing Jarek. -
Really? You decided to take the discussion there? Fair enough...As you did, let's be clear. Bulgaria or Romania, yes he would get in no problem. We have a reciprocal arrangement for free labour movement with both of those countries. Pakistan or India, no he would face exactly the same issue. Having said all this, I am pretty sure you knew it already and so I am slightly confused as to why you felt the need to make the statement that you did...
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Sgp Riders' Numbers
HenryW replied to PHILIPRISING's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
For decades riders raced in individual World Championship meetings with a number that defined what races they appeared in and what gate positions they received in these races. When the GP came along they decided that riders should retain the same number for the entire season rather than using the previous numbering format at each of the individual rounds. Presumably this was done to provide some consistency and avoid the confusion for viewers when a rider appears with one number in one meeting and a different one in the next. To me it makes perfect sense that you follow this to its logical conclusion where riders retain the same number between seasons. The system used until now in the GP series didn't really offer anything. The closest thing it did was that it sort of told you where the rider finished the year before but didn't really, so if another system provides any benefit at all then it makes sense to go with it. The new system where riders can select their own numbers aids recognition for the occasional viewer between seasons and allows riders to provide numbered merchandise that doesn't become totally redundant at the end of the season. -
Sgp Riders' Numbers
HenryW replied to PHILIPRISING's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
I'm not sure whether you are being sarcastic or serious...There is certainly a lot of sense in allowing riders to select their own number. Really? Surely it makes no difference if you are new, all the numbers are new. As someone who doesn't attend regularly it is surely far better... Consider Tomasz Gollob...Since 1999 he has been number 3, 2, 7, 3, 7, 6, 6, 7, 8, 4, 3, 2, 1, 5 and 4. Then consider Valentino Rossi. Since 1996 he has been number 46. Or maybe Jeff Gordon. Since 1993 he has been number 24. Which one of those do you think is more confusing for an occasional fan? -
An article linked earlier in the thread stated that Jason Doyle got a new visa last winter, hence my comment.
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Was Tai The Quickest World Champion?
HenryW replied to phillipsr's topic in Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup
Depends on how you want to define things. Tai started his career as a full time member of the GP series in 2010. He won the title in 2013. Nicki Pedersen started in 2001 and won it in 2003...That seems quicker to me, but you have already decided that it's important that it was Tai's 2nd season of competing, despite there being 2 years between his 2 seasons. -
Presumably the rider needs to get a club to provide the required contract offer before they can apply to renew their visa. I don't understand why Somerset wouldn't have just got Doyle a multi year visa last year rather than making him apply every year.
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You can only get a British passport if you are a British citizen and being born in Britain is not the only criteria required to become a British citizen. If you were born in the UK after 1st January 1983 you only qualify for British citizenship if either of your parents were British citizens or your parents were officially "settled" in the UK. Neither of these were true for Alex. He applied for a British passport a couple of years ago but was rejected.
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Yes, Alex was born in the UK but doesn't qualify for a British passport meaning that he requires a visa to compete here.
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I suspect that if someone wanted to challenge the restrictions on Poles at PL level it wouldn't stand up to much scrutiny. The door is open exactly the same amount for Australians as it is for the "Yanks, Argies and all sorts of other 'foreign' countries" when it comes to receiving work permits, and that seems pretty fair to me. I don't see why Australians should receive any preferential treatment.
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Obviously we know that the laws changes last year which caught out some riders, including Sam Masters and Mason Campton, so you would assume that lessons would have been learned and no-one would be caught out by failing to get the extension applied for this time around. However, it was mentioned during Sam Masters appeal process that both Alex Davies and Jason Doyle had received visas for 2013 despite being in exactly the same situation as Sam. I wonder if it's possible that they have now had their application for a visa extension refused because their current visas were incorrectly provided.
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Bt Minority Sports Person Of The Year
HenryW replied to A ORLOV's topic in Speedway News and Discussions
Who would ever have thought it...The BBC SPOTY which focuses on mainstream sports and is hosted by a TV channel available to all UK TV viewers provided a far higher response than a vote for minority sports on a channel available to a small minority of UK TV viewers. Interestingly, BT Sport has an audience share of 0.2% according to wikipedia, compared to BBC's 100% That would mean that by audience share, Tai polled 3x as many votes as the BBC winner Andy Murray....WOW!!! It's amazing what you can do when you play with statistics.