Subedei

I'd like to know what possible justification there can be for two "nominees" being placed above qualified riders: 9..Chris Harris..(GBR) 10..Andreas Jonsson..(SWE) 11..Bjarne Pedersen..(DEN) 12..Niels-Kristian Iversen..(DEN) 13..Lukas Dryml..(CZR) Since "rider order" is used in some instances to determine positions (the former British champion, for example, was allocated first pick in the race-off due to his race jacket number), qualified riders should always rank ahead of the nominees. Thus, the order should, in my view, be: 9..Niels-Kristian Iversen..(DEN) 10..Lukas Dryml..(CZR) 11..Bjarne Pedersen..(DEN) 12..Chris Harris..(GBR) 13..Andreas Jonsson..(SWE)

Kasprzak's second at Bydgoszcz knackered Hampel. But Hampel didn't deserve a nomination anyway - okay he missed three GPs, but there's no guarantee that he'd have qualified if he'd been able to ride in them. Hampel's drifted for the last two-to-three seasons and hopefully this will spur him on the way Andersen was when he was kicked out.

Interesting to look at the GP table under last year's scoring regime - according to my calculations the table for the permanent 15 would've looked as follows: 1..N Pedersen..(DEN)..210 2..L Adams..(AUS)..171 3..J Crump..(AUS)..141 4=..H Andersen..(DEN)..117 4=..T Gollob..(POL)..117 6..G Hancock..(USA)..113 7..A Jonsson..(SWE)..109 8..S Nicholls..(GBR)..101 9..C Harris..(GBR)..99 10..R Holta..(POL)..94 11..W Jagus..(POL)..83 12..B Pedersen..(DEN)..73 13..J Hampel..(POL)..69 14..M Zagar..(SLO)..54 15..A Lindback..(SWE)..31 So, it looks as if the old format for scoring would've meant no race-off in Germany for the final two places and possibly an easier time of it for those deciding the nominations, with Sweden's Andreas Jonsson comfortably in the top eight. And no doubt who the big loser from the new format was - Jonsson moves from tenth to seventh, courtesy of scoring 25 from his two wins as opposed to 16 and 20.

What's happening with Wroclaw - losing Andersen and Holder. Is there no money left in the coffers?

There's a lot of hype about the Russian league, not least from riders who seem to see it as "leverage" over the existing leagues, Bjarne Pedersen being the latest example supposedly. It remains to be seen whether they find the grass quite so green as they imagine in Russia.

I already said I had no specific argument with the nominations for the coming season. I'm just saying that going by previous seasons, Hampel and Zagar had good cases for a nomination. In fact, I'd say they had better cases than some who've been granted nominations in the past.

Certainly - Dryml deserves his place ahead of Kasprzak, Harris, Lindgren and Jonsson. But let's look at the nominations, none of which I have much of an argument with, except for what they reveal. Why did Hampel miss out, when a certain former British champion has had so many nominations over the years? Last year the argument here was that he missed out through missing the Prague GP. That, you all said, would be the consideration, but no consideration for the three GPs that Hampel missed. I don't happen to think Hampel warranted a nomination. Which is me being consistent, since I didn't think the former British champion deserved one this year. What will become of Harris if he misses out next year? Will he suffer the fate of Zagar, who actually qualified for this year and be kicked out? Or will everyone find some reason why he should be in. I think Zagar had a decent enough shout for a nomination this year. Not that I think he'd have done much with it, but still he was kicked out after one year of failure, when certain others have been allowed to fail for years and years.

And so should your some-time hero Chris Harris.

An early chance for Jaroslaw Hampel to prove his worth to IMG and the FIM, since he'll surely be the wild card.

Possibly, but Polish tracks seem to fall over themselves to host these events, so you've got to fancy one of them would've had a go. And another good chance of a Polish win is another incentive.

It's probably only going to Denmark because the only alternative was Poland, again.

From what I've heard, Pardubice in the Czech Republic would be an ideal venue for the race-off and final - few complain about the racing at Pardubice, although I don't suppose the golem Olsen has been let loose to prepare the track previously.

I prefer the SWC to the GPs - it's a super competition and the race-off and final at Leszno this season featured breathtaking racing.

Wouldn't sing Zagar, even if I knew the words. Sorry, young tommy, couldn't resist. But regarding Zagar, he's a little like Lindback (hopefully without the drink troubles) - damaged goods. I guess it's a question of whether he can do humble or not - lots of bridges for Zagar to build if he wants to rescue a career that's gone down the toilet this season.

I'd guess that no Swedish tracks are prepared to cough over the readies.

But if the whole Pardubice event includes the Junior Final, wouldn't the Polish league just take that Sunday off? After all, they took the Sunday off this year to accommodate the Junior Final.

If either Event 1 or Event 2 are held in the UK, Great Britain's team will be in that meeting. If Events 1 and 2 are held in Poland and Sweden, Great Britain's team might well be struggling to make the final.

Fair and very, very dull.

Didn't Mr Olsen miss the 2006 Bydgoszcz GP through illness?

Gollob has stated he will be back next season: Tomasz Gollob failed to win a Grand Prix medal this season, but was more than satisfied with his 4th place in the series. "I failed to start the German Grand Prix in the right way. I had some problems in my first two races and was unable to catch up with Jason Crump this time," said Gollob. However, Tomasz is happy with his season, his best in five years. "If we take into consideration that I had three very poor meetings - in Wroclaw, Cardiff and Prague - then this fourth place is a super result," claims Gollob. What are Tomasz's plans now? "I need some rest in a hot place, but after that I am coming back to my motors. There is no time to waste, I want to chase medals once again. See you next season!" finishes Poland's best rider. And Adams has indicated that he'll be back as well: Leigh Adams admits to being "hopeful" that he can continue in the Grand Prix series in 2008. The experienced Australia has just completed his best-ever season in the competition, finishing second to Nicki Pedersen and ahead of his compatriot Jason Crump. But he has so far refused to confirm that his career at the top level of the sport will continue, with rumours suggesting that he wanted to cut back on some of his commitments. However, Adams has now hinted that he will once again be part of the World Championship chase next year to go for a gold medal. He said: "I've got to be happy with the season I've just had and there is also a sense of relief now that it’s over. It is a long season and as you can probably imagine the GPs in particular are very tiring. "I'm certainly not complaining though, it's just nice to be looking forward to going home to Australia. Being world number 2 sits pretty well with me and it is my consistency that I'm most pleased with. "I made the majority of A Finals I was in a position to qualify for, and that tells me the future holds promise. I haven't committed to next year's series yet, but I'm hopeful that if a few more things fall into place I can take part." Both taken from: http://www.speedwayworld.tv

Must say that I though it was Harris that hit the rut, but he hit it in such a manner that it catipulted him ahead of Hancock - Jonsson is another rider who can often get a favourable run off a rut on the track.

Technically, a winter holiday for Europeans. Just a quick question about Sitera - wasn't there talk prior to this season of Sitera taking out a Polish licence to make it easier for him to feature in the Ekstraliga for Wroclaw? What happened with all that?

Traditionally, of course, the British nominations have been pre-announced by John Postlethwaite during the Elite League final, but this year the Elite League was finished before the GPs and John Postlethwaite seems to no longer want to appear after it all went breasts up for him at Reading.

Be surprising if it starts as late at 10th May, especially if the intention is to have 11 or more GPs - going to be a struggle to fit them all in, especially with the SWC break in July.

Sajfutdinov has in the time-honoured words of Kenny Carter, noooooo chance. Lindgren, Jonsson and Harris seem certain and then it's between Hampel and Kaspzrak for the final place.