Subedei

That takes me back to halcyon days in the "Corner" of St James' Park.

Was Rico terribly dejected after the performance of his hero?

Think they might have been there to sort out young Pedersen.

There are some races you wish would last a few more laps and others you wish were over after a couple. Swings and roundabouts I suppose.

Polish results from 1 May 2005: Czestochowa 47 - 43 Wroclaw Torun 46 - 44 Gdansk Tarnow 48 - 42 Bydgoszcz Leszno 61 - 29 Zielona Gora No Rickardsson for Tarnow today. An exclusion for dirty riding for young Pedersen at Leszno. ZKZ in crisis? Can they beat Bydgoszcz next weekend?

The riders draw for their position in each grand prix. I think the draw for the next grand prix was made last evening, after the event.

Or as a warning against paying too much attention to Sky Sports. They certainly had a different rider to Kasprzak listed as No 16.

During the main meeting - first 20 heats - per normal. No points awarded for the semi-finals and then points awarded in the final per last season - 25 for the win, etc. So, the scores for the 1st grand prix (taken from the Live Updates site) were as follows: 25 = TONY RICKARDSSON 20 = Leigh Adams 18 = Jason Crump 16 = Antonio Lindback 11 = Greg Hancock 10 = Jaroslaw Hampel 10 = Nicki Pedersen 8 = Andreas Jonsson Hancock, Hampel, Pedersen and Jonsson got not one single thing for making the semi-finals. Hampel went into the semi-final with 10 and came out of it with 10, in spite of finishing 3rd in the semi-final.

So Lindback reaches the final and yet finishes 7th? That hardly seems very fair on the young fellow. If you swap Adams and Rickardsson around in the final - Adams winning the final - Rickardsson would have scored 20 and Adams 14. Adams would have won the final and yet finished 3rd. I'm afraid that system doesn't work as far as I'm concerned. But I agree there are flaws in the system currently. Surely you should get something for making the semi-finals?

Agreed.

But if you have qualifiers everyone whines about it affecting the domestic leagues.

Think it was probably a BSI idea.

Not sure that is the answer. Not that I have a better idea. But this year Hans Andersen, Bjarne Pedersen, Ryan Sullivan, Scott Nicholls and Lee Richardson were gifted entry to the series by BSI and the FIM. If those rider finish outside the top 8 again (and I fancy most of them will), I think it will be difficult for BSI and the FIM to allow them another chance.

I only ever type here - very slowly.

Yes, you're right. I looked it up as well. I missed "and the life". But "resurection"? Who'd have thought the people at Gideons were so poor at spelling.

That's simply not true. The A34 comes out of Manchester.

I am the resurrection. He that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live - John 11:25.

If he keeps it up rabbit, I'll be eating words. No doubt about that. But let's wait and see how he gets on in the next couple of grands prix. Expectations will be much higher next time.

I am the resurrection. He that believeth in me, though he was dead, yet shall he live.

There are 2 Bs in Subbuteo.

Subzero was - of course - a charcter in the Arnie film "Running Man". And no, he wasn't under any pressure. No one really expected him to come 4th. He could just go out there and ride. If he did well, great. But if he didn't, no harm. As I said, lets see how he goes in the 2nd grand prix. Expectations - not least from himself - will be higher.

Lanzilla, what pressure? Did anyone expect him to do well? He was under no pressure tonight whatsoever. He rode fantastically well and deserved his place in the final. But he wasn't under pressure. On the basis of this performance the pressure will be on in the next grand prix.

Personally, I thought Richardson was pretty dreadful tonight. Got no where near a semi-final place.

The track was slick, but as Steve Shovlar never tires telling us, slick tracks can provide great racing. And there was some great racing there tonight. An assessment of the riders: Adams: Will be very pleased with 2nd place. He was as steady as ever and did very well to pass Hampel in the semi-final. Andersen: Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Chrzanowski: Did as well as could be reasonably expected. But this level of racing is clearly too high for him. Crump: Had an indifferent grand prix. If he and Nicki Pedersen are going to spend the whole series trying to knock seven colours out of each other, then neither is going to be crowned king. Gollob: Only marginally better than Hans Andersen. He looked well off the pace. Needs a rapid improvement or he can forget about the crown. Hampel: Did really well, but really should have taken a place in the final. Hancock: Had a good, solid grand prix. Jonsson: Did well later in the meeting and qualified for the semi-final. But he still looks to be a level below the top riders. Kasprzak: Did as well as could be expected. Certainly not disgraced. Lindback: A fantastic performance from the youngster. Will have learned an awful lot tonight. Nicholls: Pretty hopeless really. B Pedersen: Pretty hopeless really. Can't see him doing much in the series. N Pedersen: An eventful grand prix for Nicki Pedersen, as ever. Richardson: Pretty hopeless really. Rickardsson: Awesome. Sullivan: Pretty hopeless really.

No, sorry Steve. There was only one star of the show tonight and that was Rickardsson. I'll agree that Lindback was fantastic, but you've got to bow before Rickardsson. Tonight was his night and no one else's.