Subedei

And not forgetting Lopaczewski, who you'll be hoping is the best of them all young Mateusz.

I'm going to Prague, in 12 days time. Used to think the GP should be held in November while I'm in the Golden City. But, now, even if it was held while I'm in Prague, I wouldn't bother going. The GPs are now just a shamefully, shameless, sham.

Wroclaw is one of those huge German style sporting parks (it was constructed when Wroclaw (Breslau) was part of Germany). Thus, the entrance to the complex is a long way from the track.

Twice is TOO much. But, it's done. Just remember this next season when Nicholls has his begging bowl out again.

And how do you determine the riders who comprise the best 16 in the world? People keep saying this rider or that rider's one of the best 16 riders in the world, but where's the proof? And how do you break into this mystical best 16 riders in the world? But Scott Nicholls is British champion you cry. Yes, and Janusz Kolodziej is Polish champion, but he's not there. Ask anyone for the top 16 riders in the world and you'll get general agreement on perhaps 10-11 with the other 5-6 up for grabs.

And Hans Andersen finished a clear three places ahead of Scott Nicholls in the 2004 GP series. And, most importantly, Andersen's WON a GP, while Nicholls never has. If Richardson (and Nicholls) are included, then by any FAIR means Andersen has to be included. I can't see Iversen doing anything. In my view, he's the Chrzanowski of 2006. But we'll have to wait and see who's right and who's wrong.

There would be no "boohooing" if Andersen had been dealt with fairly. But manifestly he hasn't. I agree with you that he doesn't deserve to be in the circus, but he's not the only one. There are others already nominated with less reason to be in the GPs than Andersen. Andersen's won a GP, that's more than can be said for Messrs Nicholls and Richardson. He made more semis in 2005 than Nicholls and Richardson, he made more finals in 2005 than Nicholls and Richardson combined.

Did you know the Stadion Olimpijski was once officially known as the "Hermann Goring Sportfeld"?

And don't forget to join the Polonia Bydgoszcz forum young Steven. It has an English section, so you'll be able to give the Poles the benefit of your wit and wisdom.

Bang on. Almost bang on, but since Richardson managed a final and Nicholls didn't, you can argue about which was worse. Neither deserves to be there. Personally, I don't believe skin colour entered the equation. Lindback impressed early on and made finals. Personally, I don't believe being Polish helped Hampel. It's not as if the Poles don't have other options. Kasprzak and Kolodziej being prime examples. Hampel's there because he made finals, finished 2nd at Cardiff and missed 3 GPs through injury. He couldn't not be nominated. Again the Poles have other options, but PePe has powerful backing from a sponsor. Also, after a decent showing at Bydgoszcz, PePe might deserve a last chance. I'd have gone for Kolodziej, but PePe got the nod. You're probably not far wrong. Apart from which, maybe BSI feel the need for every season to have it's very own "Chrzanowski". Probably a whole host of reasons Zagar has been chosen and you've listed a few of them there. But he did finish 3rd in a GP this season. And that's a whole lot better than Nicholls.

Andersen must've known he was in trouble when the first 4 were announced.

Chrzanowski finished 15th, Richardson probably 13th ahead of Sullivan and Chrzanowski.

Tomasz and Jacek Gollob to Rzeszow? Jaroslaw Hampel to leave Wroclaw?

Of course, one of the top 8 from next season will not be around in 2007 anyway.

Coveniently forgetting that Gollob was third at Hamar in 2004 and has made the semis on his last two visits to Cardiff. Gollob's biggest problem in 2005 was simply poor machinery. And, on tip-top machinery, he looked awfully good at Eskilstuna and Wroclaw (both GP tracks) in the SWC. I'm expecting big things from him next season. And, anyway, he's top 8 and qualified automatically.

Not entirely convinced that Sandhu would want it. He doesn't like playing second fiddle and I can't see him handing the keys to Brandon to BSI for a couple of meetings. Sandhu would want some measure of control himself. And I can't see him shelling out cash to BSI for the meetings unless he's pretty sure he's going to get a decent return. Anyway, Team GB should be in the race-off at least. Poland and Sweden straight to the final and then between Australia, Denmark and Team GB for the final two places.

If you look at the GP Qualification tournament in 2003, you'll find that neither Scott Nicholls or Lee Richardson seem to have troubled entering, while other GP regulars Hans Andersen and Jaroslaw Hampel did. Now, if you're going to have a qualifying system then you have to do away with "BSI picks", or you'll find a few riders not troubling themselves in the knowledge that Uncle John will look after them.

Generally the race-off and the final have been held at the same venue. I'd imagine that will continue. The meetings will be raced wherever it suits BSI to race them. Thus, whoever fronts up with enough money will get the nod. That might leave Coventry out of the running. They have the money, but would they want it?

Twickenham currently holds around 75,000 and will increase to 82,000 when the South Stand is re-developed.

Principles sometimes require sacrifice.

You are correct, the FIM is BSI's streetwalker. But it's not as if I've suddenly changed my tune. I wrote the following in a thread in the International section:

But he hasn't actually "done" anything.

Well, let's see if I can manage something better this time. The FIM control the GP series and not BSI. BSI are the commercial rights holders and nothing more. However, the riders allocated permanent wild card entries to the circus for 2006 (specifically the failing Nicholls and Richardson) illustrates that BSI have trampled over the boundaries of what should be their territory. And the FIM has allowed it to happen. I don't happen to think Hans Andersen deserves to be in the series for 2006. But if he's excluded then Nicholls and Richardson should also be excluded. Probably about the same number of times Nicholls has. And Nicholls doesn't even have the excuse of being foreign.

And, if he's allocated the wild card for Copenhagen, hopefully he'll tell them where to go and how to get there.

Like it or not, Rune Holta has taken Polish citizenship. The other two ride on Polish licences. Did you know David Soul, famously "Hutch" in Starsky and Hutch, is now a fully fledged British citizen? It happens.