DartfordHammer

Sergey Darkin was actually leading two races until his bike packed up on him twice. Who knows what might have happened if he had held on for those wins, or even second places? The Russians gave a lot of entertainment through their disregard for their own safety by flying round the outside of the bends, Vlasov in particular in his first heat. Well done Russia. As for the Germans, they were soundly beaten but in no way disgraced. I personally expected them to only pick up any points due to breakdowns or exclusions, but they scored 3 of their 5 in 4-man races. To be fair, they were in the toughest event of the two by a long way. The Russians would have struggled in that event as well. So well done Germany. Good luck to them both. They should all benefit greatly from the extra experience of riding against the top riders in the world.

Good to see Ryan Sullivan pick up towards the end and show us what he is capable of. He was a real disappointment at the start. Did he change bikes for the last 2 heats? If so, he should have done it a lot sooner, as the Aussies could have won the meeting with him in good form. But that's the way it goes. Should be good to see Adams, Sully and Crump in Poland, as I have reason to believe they go very well on Polish tracks (particularly Sullivan). Poland obviously go well round their own tracks, though I can see Kasprzak being replaced by Walasek. And the Danes seem to go well on the bigger tracks too. If I remember rightly, Bjarne Pedersen won a GP in Wroclaw last year. And obviously, I'm loathe to write off the Czechs. I'd love to see them in the thick of it, even if it isn't likely. Should all make for a great meeting.

Most definitely. By all accounts though, they really should make it. Especially with that team. If they fail to make at least the Final with those 5, then there's no hope for them.

How does that work? How can Poland be in the Final if you've predicted them not to win Event 2 or come first or second in the Race-Off? Personally, I think Sweden will go straight to the Final, Poland and Australia to the Race-Off, where Poland and Denmark will go through to the Final, with Poland eventually winning it. Edit: 2 minutes too late. My typing needs speeding up!

Well done Team GB. I wrote them off and handed it to the Danes, and I must say I'm very happy to be proved wrong. Well the Russians gave us some entertainment that's for sure.. to start with anyway. Darkin looked like he could have won two races, which would have been a bit of a shocker. Shame his bikes pack up all the time Gafurov looked comfortable against the big boys too. And Vlasov (he of the dodgy first name) looked great in his opening ride, really pressuring Lee all the way round. As the meeting wore on though, the Ruskis looked out of touch a bit as the other teams rallied round, which was a shame. They did provide a second battle for 3rd place until the last 5 heats though, more than Italy or Hungary did last year. So well done Russia. Oh, and can Pedersen not make a mistake or two without becoming controversial? All he did was make a couple of mistakes in that race against Rico, and everyone jumps on him about throwing the race. He doesn't seem like someone who would give up a race win to me. Especially to give Hans Andersen the joker, who wasn't too great before then. He's not perfect, he's entitled to the odd mistake. But yes, well done Team GB. Well done Screeny, a battling effort. Well done Scotty, a captain's performance. Well done Steady and Bomber, a superb performance, you should both be proud as punch about it (even if you both gave us the odd heart attack with your all-action riding). And of course, well done Rico, absolutely stunning, a truly brilliant performance. Well done lads.

I think it was Back In Black by AC/DC. I don't remember it too well, but I'm sure I heard that distinctive guitar riff somewhere in the programme.

Biased commentary? It was David Norris in there. Surely you have to expect it, seeing as he is very patriotic and was potentially riding for Team GB. And anyway, I liked the biased commentary. You think the Danish commentary, or the Czech commentary, or the Russian commentary wasn't biased? Every country would send out it's commentators to get the people back home involved and cheering on their home country. I for one was happy with Floppy and Pearson. At least it wasn't Millard.

He showed what he really is capable of. Way below 100% fit, but pulls himself together and gives it his all. Granted he got lucky with restarts a couple of times but he still had to win the re-run. Well done Lee, we're all unbelievably proud of you.

I personally think that we have got to win tonight, as I don't think that we'll make it through the race-off. I will be supporting Team GB all the way though (and Sergey Darkin, our only rider in the whole competition!). Sorry to be so pessimistic, but in the last couple of years I've witnessed so many defeats of clubs I support that I can't help but have a bleak outlook (Arena this year and Wimbledon FC in Milton Keynes.. the less said the better). Come on Team GB. Come on Bomber, Steady, Scotty, Rico/Floppy (whoever it ends up being) and Superjoe. It can be done. Albeit with a lot of difficulty.

Yawn. Like they haven't ridden against him already this season and been fine.

To be honest, I'm not so sure Loram would have been right for the job anyway. He's not been in good form this year with his injury and hasn't looked like really racing hard and winning races. Not that I can't blame him for that, but he's not his usual self. Maybe it's best for him to stand down anyway this year, albeit because of more injury problems. Here's hoping he's back to his former self soon.

Ah nice one garf. I've been looking all over for something like this. Cheers.

Roman didn't ride in the Russian championship semi-finals a couple of weeks ago either. From what I've heard, he has not had the most pleasant of times in Russia in recent times, including things I don't wish to repeat. So if that is the reason he isn't riding for his country, then it's understandable. Because let's be honest: he's an Elite League rider, he's surely got more experience against the top riders than any of the other Russians? You'd surely expect him to be there, his form hasn't been that bad at all. But there you go. Anyone know where I can find a link to a scorecard for the meetings?

No Egon Muller!?

Maybe, but I don't see anything wrong with using a former GP rider to see if they still cut it. I'm looking forward to seeing Pepe against the GP riders at Bydgoszcz.

If you take the view of someone only watching the tv and having no knowledge of speedway particularly, it looked as though Hancock rode a pink bike. Thankfully we all know it's silver.. well, we hope anyway.

Is Smudger eligible? As I hear he now has a Polish passport as he was due to ride in the Polish Championship qualifiers but can't due to club commitments. If so, he surely has to be in the squad of riders, not necessarily the top 5, as he's been in top form this year.

Wednesday is looking as though it could be back to the normal routine for the Aussies though; battering us Brits in sport. I don't think we have much of a chance at Poole to be honest. I hope I'm proved wrong but I can't see it happening.

True, but isn't Richardson on GM's?