Dave the Mic

Oh yes.

i'm not missing the point (Nicholls has already done that tonight )... but the point i'm trying to make is that there are 3 others that didn't see the red light... just what was Nicholls seeing? i have a powerful auto-focus flash that produces the short bursts of red light, and i know what he says he saw, but the other 3 kept going Yes Steve, because perhaps they didn't see it. The 2 riders in front had perhaps passed where the light came from & NP was shielded by being behind Scotty. The fact is YOU don't know what he saw, he did. And I think it is reasonable to assume that no speedway rider would stop racing in that situation just because it seemed like a good idea. You have ridden a speedway bike, obviously not at this level, but riders have it ingrained into their racing psyche that if a red light is shown, they stop. If you honestly believe that he saw nothing & in a similar situation you would have acted differently, then good for you, that makes you a better man than him.

If you honestly believe what you wrote JY2003 you are even sadder than I gave you credit for I really don't care how sad you think i am.... JY, if you honestly believe your original post, there is no place for you here. Speedway is not about bribes & cheating, unless you happen to be hans Andersen of course. I hope your comment was tongue in cheek, but if not, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Timing not your strong suit Sting, obviously.

!) Splatty, your point concerning referees being able to stop races where a rider is baulked but doesn't necessarily fall is spot on. Been saying it for years. 2) Steve, no mate, you have missed the point. Why would Scott stop for no reason? To deliberately loe a point. Of course, makes perfect sense. 3) Ref's decisions are one thing, cheating is another. Bates is certainly not the best referee in the game - far from it - but he cannot influence what riders do or don't do on track. A referee calls it how he sees it (right or wrong) most refs decisions even themselves out over the course of most meetings. What Andersen did, however, was blatant cheating. What else can you call it? Whether Scott would have caught PK or not isn't the point here. The point is, Andersen "team rode" with a rider from another team. If nothing else he was not making a bona fide attempt to race & factually that is against the rules. In the grand scheme of things, winnning the World Cup or not isn't going to end thirld world famine, but what Andersen did tonight was a disgrace & he should be ashamed of himself as a sportsman & a human being.

That's a quality post. And how you can call them bottlers? How many World Cup Finals have you ridden? Crawl back under your stone.

Sting, are you for real?

Because he saw a red light & the others didn't. Scott is a racer & wouldn't shut off & put his hand up for no reason. If you can't say anything sensible don't say anything.

What an absolute load of rubbish. He shut off, anyone who says different is as bad as he is.

Indeed, congratulations to Sweden.

Hands up who said the inclusion of Havvy was a poor decision. Have yourselves a very large slice of humble pie. Those of us brave enough to stand up & be counted in defence of one of our very few World Champions should be proud to be English tonight. As should Havvy. 9 points - which would have been 11 but for Nicki Pedersen's usual rush of blood - was as good as Joe scored on Monday (no criticism of Joe intended) & arguably in a tougher meeting. Not just that, but how he earned them! He raced for every single point & there was no-one prouder to wear that flag tonight & he showed what it means to represent your country. Anyone who says he let England down - exit stage left. Havvy, you rode a blinder.

Iggy, Mark would have won the title anyway. Shooting Star, it's not sour grapes, it's called cheating. End of story.

Yeah, no problem Iris. GB & Sweden Level going into heat 25. Andersen gated & let PK by so Sweden could win it. I don't care if I get a ban either. Andersen is a t0sser. He should be banned. I hope he made decent money out of it. And did he think everyone is blind? Who was he kidding in his interview? I hope he gets what's coming to him at every track in England. Well done to Middlo & the boys - you did us proud & deserved to win.

What a load of crap.

For me:- Tommy Jansson Kenny Carter Phil Crump Dave Jessup

Well, we'll see, won't we Peter!

I'm with you Norm

That's hardly fair. In Denmark the tracks are always prepared exactly how the Danes like them. In Poland the same is the case. Why should that not be the case in this country? It's because Olsen will have the track prepared how his Danish team like it. Olsen might be the "race director" (dictator), but first, he is a Dane & he does all he can to give them an advantage. Ergo, he has too much power.

Olsen has way too much influence.

And so they did! Norbold, with all your years experience of watching speedway, you should know that the only predictable thing about our beloved sport is that it's unpredictable! Personally I was very pleased to see the Poles through after Australia had the timely opportunity to use the joker in the last heat. It could have spoiled what had been a fantastic advert for speedway with a Mickey Mouse rule robbing a team of a deserved place in the final. Well done Poland. Now letS see the British boys stick it to all of 'em in the final. Come on TEAM GB!

The decision to include Havvy for the final has to be regarded as wise, I feel. Screenie, whilst having done a good job at Eastbourne (& was great to watch) hasn't shone at Poole of late & as Wimborne Road often suits those who gate, I don't think he would be the best choice. Havvy on the other hand rides the track as well as anyone, has ridden the track as a Poole rider recently & can get out of the traps. On the subject of racing for his country, Havvy is as passionate about wearing his country's colours as anyone in the sport & will be worth so much more than the points he scores on Saturday. He would race through a brick wall for us. Even though Scottie is skipper, Havvy is a leader & brings out the best in others. His record as captain of his teams in the past bears that out. I don't think he will let us down & if you want 100% commitment to the cause, he's your man. What Rob Peasley seems to forget, is that whilst Havvy is a former World Champion, that was 12 years ago. You can't really compare his form as a 23 year old to that of a 35 year old who has had to change the way he races due to having a broken back in 1996. With the riders at his disposal & the form at the moment, Middlo has his best five on track on Saturday. Let's get behind them instead of bleating.

Gary Gugliemi - Gary Williams. Supposedly because the Scots couldn't get their toungues around (leave it) the pronunciation of his real surname when he first came to the UK.

I think this could have been @ Haldon racecourse circa 1978/9. It's a racecourse in Haldon Forest, which is just south of Exeter on the A38 towards Plymouth. A longtrack was built there by Peter Oakes & I think there were 3 meetings there. There were all star line ups for the first 2, including Collins, Crump & Autrey among others & at one of the meetings Kenny Roberts & Dave Aldana came over with their flat track machines for a demo & there was a match race against PC too. I have the programmes from all the meets there somewhere if anybody wants any info.

falface, it's like an Excel document. Click on the years at the bottom of the page & the averages come up right before your eyes

Bet you wont be so happy when you see a daft muppet walking up your garden path in a black cloak with a scythe in his hand. I don't remember him on the muppets, was he Kermit's long lost brother or something