Subedei

Zagar was in the draw (No 11), so I guess unless something untoward happens, he's riding.

And just what you'd expect from an old Mongol warrior like me. I have faith in TG and JC. They'll not let me down. I'm guessing JC will be about 2 and TG about 6 as far as odds go.

I suppose we shouldn't expect Lukas Dryml to turn up at any Oxford testimonials we have in the near future. Surely someone's due a 10 week testimonial?

The draw for the Italian GP is as follows: 1..A Jonsson (7) 2..T Gollob (6) 3..J Hampel (8) 4..N Pedersen (5) 5..L Richardson (11) 6..B Pedersen (10) 7..H Andersen (9) 8..T Chrzanowski (15) 9..L Adams (4) 10..G Hancock (3) 11..M Zagar (16) 12..R Sullivan (13) 13..S Nicholls (12) 14..T Rickardsson (2) 15..J Crump (1) 16..A Lindback..(14) So, a bit of a tough opening heat for Lindback. Details from: http://www.speedwayworld.tv

It's certainly okay by me. But I hope you included the "sportowefakty" link. It's a very good site although I can hardly understand a word of it.

The way I see it, Adams, Gollob and Rickardsson still have around 5 years of GP racing in their tanks. I think Gollob will ride on forever in Poland. I doubt he can imagine doing anything else. So, if we're waiting for the current stars to retire, we could have a long wait.

That's my kind of lady - easily pleased.

The GP qualification tournament was discontinued after last season. And you can see why. BSI don't want riders like Chrzanowski crashing their party. Too much left to chance. The chance that a rider like Chrzanowski qualifies that is. BSI don't want that.

Well, I haven't seen a better televised Elite League meeting than the GP last night, which begs the question of how good must the racing be in the Polish Ekstra Liga?

You mean around the outside of Nicki P in Ht 6? What a fantastic overtake that was. Definitely the highlight of the meeting. Looked like Nicki P thought about pushing him and then thought better of it.

I thought it was a good GP to be honest. And Gollob's overtake of Nicki P in Ht 6 was wonderful. The thing about Bydgoszcz is that, even when it's as slick as can be, Gollob knows he can still make it work. He probably also knows that he's the only one that can make it work.

And Joe Screen. I agree it is a nonsense. I'd say that Hampel will be okay. After all, he missed two GPs earlier in the season, otherwise he'd probably be safe and sound in the top 8.

LEIGH ADAMS TESTIMONIAL After 10 seasons with Leszno in the Polish Ekstra Liga, Leigh Adams gets a hugely deserved testimonial. And, as you'd imagine, the great, the good and Steve Johnston have turned out for one of the most consistent riders over the last decade or so. ------------------------------ Leigh Adams Testimonial - Leszno 1..L Adams..2,3,3,3,2 = 13 2..T Rickardsson..3,3,3,3,2 = 14 3..S Ulamek..0,0,2,3,3 = 8 4..M Kuciapa..1,2,2,1,1 = 7 5..R Okoniewski..2,1,2,2,2 = 9 6..J Screen..0,2,1,2,0 = 5 7..G Walasek..1,1,3,2,3 = 10 8..R Sawina..3,1,3,1,1 = 9 9..J Lyons..Ex/T,0,0,Ex/T,0 = 0 10..J Rempala..0,0,0,0 = 0 11..R Kosciecha..3,3,2,2,3 = 13 12..R Miskowiak..2,0,0,1,Ex/T = 3 13..S Johnston..2,2,1,0,2 = 7 14..A Skornicki..1,1,1,0,0 = 3 15..J Hampel..3,2,1,3,3 = 12 16..A Lindback..0,3,0,1,1 = 5 R1..L Jankowski..1,0,1 = 2 R2..M Jurga ..0 = 0 ------------------------------ Ht 1..Rickardsson, Adams, Kuciapa, Ulamek Ht 2..Sawina, Okoniewski, Walasek, Screen Ht 3..Kosciecha, Miskowiak, Jankowski [Lyons Ex/T], Rempala [Fall] Ht 4..Hampel, Johnston, Skornicki, Lindback Ht 5..Adams, Johnston, Okoniewski, Lyons Ht 6..Rickardsson, Screen, Skornicki, Rempala Ht 7..Kosciecha, Hampel, Walasek, Ulamek Ht 8..Lindback, Kuciapa, Sawina, Miskowiak Ht 9..Adams, Kosciecha, Screen, Lindback [E/F] Ht 10..Rickardsson, Okoniewski, Hampel, Miskowiak Ht 11..Sawina, Ulamek, Skornicki, Lyons Ht 12..Walasek, Kuciapa, Johnston, Rempala Ht 13..Adams, Walasek, Miskowiak, Skornicki Ht 14..Rickardsson, Kosciecha, Sawina, Johnston Ht 15..Ulamek, Okoniewski, Lindback, Rempala Ht 16..Hampel, Screen, Kuciapa, Burga [Lyons Ex/T] Ht 17..Hampel, Adams, Sawina, Jankowski Ht 18..Walasek, Rickardsson, Lindback, Lyons Ht 19..Ulamek, Johnston, Jankowski [Miskowiak Ex/T], Screen Ht 20..Kosciecha, Okoniewski, Kuciapa, Skornicki Semi-Final..Hampel, Sawina, Walasek, Kosciecha Final..Hampel, Rickardsson, Sawina, Adams ------------------------------ Notes: 1..Ht 3 and Lyons gets up to mischief at the tapes and is excluded and replaced by Jankowski. 2..Ht 16 and Lyons gets up to more mischief at the tapes and is excluded and replaced by Jurga. 3..Ht 17 and Jankowski replaces Rempala, I think. 4..Ht 19 and Miskowiak gets up to mischief at the tapes and is replaced by Jankowski. 5..The semi-final sees Sawina, Walasek, Hampel and Kosciecha racing to join Rickardsson and Adams in the final. 6..The final and it's Adams, Rickardsson, Hampel and Sawina. ------------------------------ All details from: http://www.sportowefakty.pl

Well, we'll never know unless they get the chance. And they aren't going to get a chance if we continue to reward the serial failure of Scott Nicholls. Richardson showed some promise last night, but Nicholls just can't do it. Always fluffs the first bends of the semis.

And if they continually miss out? Nicholls and Richardson weren't in the top 8 last year. It doesn't look as if they're going to be in the top 8 this year. Thus, they should be moved out and allow fresh riders in. That's my view. Or are we going to continually reward failure?

Not sure about Pepe for the GPs, but, like yourself, I have a feeling he might find himself at Wimborne Road for the Pirates next season.

And my selections for Lonigo are: Tomasz Gollob - 2000 credits Jason Crump - 3810 credits

I do not believe Nicholls should be safe, unless he hits the top 8. He got a charity inclusion for this year and he shouldn't be rewarded for serial failure. He hasn't looked like troubling a final this season. He's made and fluffed a few semis to be sure, but that's not good enough.

I disagree. I don't think there's any need to maintain two British riders in the circus. Most British fans aren't that bothered about the British riders. It's great if they win. But if they don't it's okay if TR wins, or Gollob, or Crump, or AJ, or Adams, because they're really the fans' favourite riders. I can't see much revenue difference from having just one British GP rider. I say Richardson might not be finished because he could gain at the expense of the hapless Nicholls. Richardson's SWC form was superb and his performance at Bydgoszcz last night far superior to anything Nicholls has achieved this season.

And, a little late this time, here is my assessment of the riders in last night's GP: Leigh Adams: A decent enough GP from Adams. Hans Andersen: Another pretty woeful GP from Andersen. Hasn’t much hope of qualifying automatically for next season. Jason Crump: Showed great dignity in handing his crown to Rickardsson and will be happy with his third place in the GP. Will be looking for a win at Lonigo to set him up for 2006. Remember, TR won at Krsko, finished third at Bydgoszcz and then won again at Hamar to end the 2004 GP series. Tomasz Chrzanowski: For the last GP at malilla I wrote: “Awful. He’ll not be around next season.” So, at the risk of repeating myself, I’ll say for this GP: “Awful. He’ll not be around next season.” Tomasz Gollob: Another tour de force from the great man at Bydgoszcz. Made a couple of his usual first bend mistakes in the qualifiers, but was disciplined in his semi and the final. And what an amazing balancing act he put on for his laps of honour as well. A hugely deserved victory and still, for my money, the best Pole around. Jaroslaw Hampel: A terrible night for the pretender to Gollob’s position as Polish No 1. He looked very slow. Never looked like making the semis. Greg Hancock: Hancock might have had better results in the GP series this year, but, for me, this was his best performance of the year. Andreas Jonsson: Looked like a challenger all night and then, a la Nicholls, fluffed it in the semis. Still, one of his better GP performances this season, along with Cardiff and Malilla. Antonio Lindback: Miss and miss. Terrible. Didn’t look at the races all evening and has dipped out of the all-important top 8. Scott Nicholls: Hit and miss. More miss than hit. Bjarne Pedersen: And his poor GP, good GP run finally comes to an end. This should’ve been a “good GP” round, but it wasn’t. A poor night for BP. Never looked like a challenger. Nicki Pedersen: The hand-held fan is starting to get annoying. Piotr Protasiewicz: A good, solid showing from Pepe the Pole. The second best “wild card” showing this season. Might’ve made the final, but didn’t. Lee Richardson: Started badly, finished second. He might not yet be finished with the GP circus. This result is far superior to anything Nicholls has managed this season. Tony Rickardsson: Won the world title after 2 heats and that probably affected his subsequent performance in the GP. Missed out on the semis, but I shouldn’t have thought he’d care too much. Ryan Sullivan: Another dismal display from Sullivan. Wasn’t at the races at all. Gifted a point by Lindback’s engine failure in Ht 1, picked up another against Chrzanowski and that was it. Can’t see him being around next season.

I don't know about that. A Pole did pretty well for most people tonight, myself included. Made up for the previous 7 GPs when I picked him and didn't get a bean.

And, with just the Lonigo round to go, the standings are as follows: 1..T Rickardsson..171 2..J Crump..134 3..N Pedersen..97 4..L Adams..91 5..G Hancock..82 6..B Pedersen..80 7..T Gollob..79 8..A Jonsson70 ------------------------------ 9..J Hampel..67 10..S Nicholls..66 11..A Lindback..66 12..H Andersen..56 13..L Richardson..49 14..R Sullivan..45 15..T Chrzanowski..22 So, it's very tight around that crucial 8th place in the standings. Should make Lonigo a little more interesting.

Congratulations to the mighty TR on his sixth world title. And a special mention to Jason Crump, who showed much grace and dignity tonight as he watched his title go to TR. I doff my hat, well I would if I was wearing one, to both. Both a credit to this sport and both hopefully with plenty left to give. And congratulations also to Tomasz Gollob on setting his own record tonight. The first rider to win a single GP four years on the bounce. And another rider with hopefully many years still in the tank.

Although crazysue had actual, real money on Richardson. So, the beers (coke in my case) are on crazysue on Monday.

I'd imagine it's prepared, as always, for however TG wants it. There was still some great racing tonight and Gollob's overtake of Nicki P was out of the top drawer.