FAST GATER

The consummate professional always takes defeat in respectful manner ,other riders should look and learn great match .

The roof if nothing else will make it hard to move the GP from Cardiff I would favour Odsal myself for number of reasons ,the location is against it practical /track issues could be resolved if the powers that be were to choose to do so .

IMO I think Kelv and Chris are doing an outstanding job they have already started to form a great partnership ( they are not Kelv and Nigel) which under the circumstances is a credit to them .I think Kelv is an excellent choice in that he is extremely articulate and a former rider who had a long and successful career ,Chris too has impessed me with his backup comments and different points of view .I think Scotty is a great addition for multitude of reasons not least as he is still riding and a has a lifetime of experience to backup his input ,i think from a commentary point of view the sport is in very good hands.

Sad news indeed he was one of those who morphed from rider to promoter almost seamlessly ,loved the sport and was well respected RIP

IMO the event was saved by Dan winning ,what charming and pleasant young man( imo being groomed to take over from Tai in the Monster setup) with huge future ahead of him barring injury . The GP will be at Cardiff next year for many practical reasons and contractual ones as well, I am sure that every effort will be made to ensure that the track stands up better .What it did highlight was that tracks have to be near perfect for modern bikes to be ridden on them ,the method of riding them means that almost every rider is on the edge as we observed on Saturday . I was not impressed with the GP like many others but after some reflection I am grateful no one was injured and it did prove the riders are giving a110 % at GP level ,we can ask no more of them. I do wonder if Tai time in the GP's is coming to an end he just seems to have lost that edge needed at this level ,he has made no secret that it is a paying job to him( one he enjoys )but i just feel he needs to really turn things around because as they say you make your own luck.

Ideed going quietly about his business not taking any risks eye on the bigger prize ,turning it on when needed just needs to keep making finals and he did beat the eventual winner convincingly.

IMO he will do one more season in the Champ league before calling it a day ,seems to have hit the deck a few times this season and that always focuses the mind when entering the autumn of your career .

To coin a phrase " you could not make this up "

Let's face it Doyle hasn't got much to beat in the PL ,IMO his best GP days are behind him but he can fill his retirement fund by racing in the PL for many years to come with this level of competition .

Think that era would have suited Doyle better always seems to push his luck can't remember the last GP where he didnt get a warning or excluded !

IMO if Bart had been off any other gate than three in the final he would have probably won he used his head as he had min of 14points and could afford for the others to take points off him ,that impressed me as in the past he would have gone over the top to win the race .

I don't mind the gardening myself I think it adds to the racing , also like to see the different routines riders have imo it would be boring to come straight out line up and go one race after another .I do believe it is a way of riders calming themselves as well ,as we have seen from the GP's this year the heart rates do go up some what .

I have always said s/way was a team sport ridden by individual's earning a living by piece work and I don't think it will ever change now sadly . That aside I think it needs someone to take control and inject enough money to get the riders attention something along the lines of Darts or Snooker with Hearne .Look at this LIV Golf a fraction of that money would launch British s/way to different level and customer base .

Sadly I just don't think the sport has any future as a full time ocupation for those that take part ,even in the boom years of the 70's most riders were part timers . I know it is said that riders need three bikes and paid pit crew these days but if there was a scaling back of such costs they may actually make more/same money .I remember talking in the 70's to a second string who after costs was making almost as much as the team's star rider.He had good reliable engines non of the flashy bike add on's .

I've always felt that he had an atittude ( when things don't go his way) that leaves a lot to be desired .

It's been gradually happening over the last couple of years IMO he should stick to league racing and make hay while the sun shines .

Possible the end of the road for him ,age and the extent of his injuries surely even he can't come back from this !

IMO over the GP Series the "cream will always float to the top" whatever the scoring system

No we think it was to do with the cam we bought it as a brand new complete bike out MCN ,most bikes came through Briggo then .

It was a special engine for some reason ( we never found out why ) broke many track records over 2/3yrs

We ran a 2 valve Piper Jawa with a crack in one of the crank cases repaired with Araldite for two seasons in the mid 70's !

Finished Ricko I am led to believe !

Great loss to the sport RIP Nigel

I think it was in 1975 saw Charlie Monk win an open meeting with the prize being a brand new Weslake Engine ,he beat the very best of the old Gulf League that night .Loved going there the shape and size similar to Crewe actually Paul O'neal ,Ian Cartwright and John Jackson rode for both teams a sometime or another .

In the Uk maybe but in Poland and the world stage I wonder if time and injury are catching up with him !