philcrumpisgod

No real threat of rain here in Newport today but unfortunately it's overcast and likely to stay that way which means I hope the man in the box has his finger on the two minute buzzer and we can get 15 heats in instead of struggling to 12 and calling it a day. Would have been no problem light wise with a clear blue sky but there you go. Hornets to win by a fair distance I would say.

If I'm being totally honest, I can't see anything other than a big win for the Hornets and progression through to the next round. Speedway being speedway though, the lads have to convert potential into points scored on the track. Looking forward to a good meeting and enthusiastic racing form both teams.

Thanks for the reply darlow wasp, I wasn't aware of that otherwise I wouldn't have related to it. Out of interest, who, if anybody, is filling that role at the moment? I believe Gareth Rogers was doing it last year with Shaun taking over for this season, so, anybody doing it now or is the commercial/sponsorship department adrift?

Oh I know that only too well Diesel, trouble is Newport has been a failing business for far too long yet it seems that the club still hasn't reached out to people who are on their doorstep never mind further flung. Apart from the Darlows deal (and well done to him for that at least), what has Shaun Honor achieved in terms of getting the commercial side of things going and increasing numbers through the gate? I don't see much evidence to be honest. I hope that Laurence's recent postings are indicative of a new approach at Newport Speedway and that it doesn't all end up as "here we go again". Right, positive attitude from here on in it is ps......is it too much to ask to move the Hornets/Plymouth match by a few hours and can we have the Wasps/Glasgow meeting on GP Saturday morning? You gotta give your customers what they want

So how is the club going to do that then Laurence when there are people in the close vicinity of the speedway who have no idea that it didn't all end at Somerton Park and younger ones who have no idea what it is anyway? Forget about the world (I know that was only tongue in cheek), how about concentrating on your neighbours

Well then why not ask? It's not as if it would be a request to move it during a week day when most people (including riders) would be at work.......it's a flippin' Sunday and only a matter of a few hours. After this evening's games it has worked out that it will be England v GERMANY on Sunday at 3.00pm. I imagine there will be a large number of people who will want to watch that and if they can't do both will give the Hornets a miss therefore losing Newport much needed revenue. I'd like to watch both but if I can't I know that I won't miss the Germany match....shame.

This now clashes with England's round of 16 knockout match against Germany/Ghana etc at 3.00pm and I'm sure that a lot of people would like to watch both, I certainly would. I wonder if there is the possibility of the start time being moved (speedway of course ) so that this can happen? Would that be good PR and show a bit of common sense or am I barking up the wrong tree?

I watched it live and sky plussed it at the same time, it just kept on going all through the meeting "pause" and right through to to the end so maybe some units are different. I'm no techie so can't give an explanation at all.

I don't suppose you can be too proud of your own effort either Blazeaway on what is supposed to be the forum for a family sport? Not clever and not necessary

Utterly, wonderfully, fantastically, superbly, marvellously, brilliantly....................perfect

Dave..........................the Aussie boy won it 4 yah!!!!!!!!!! Welsh National Anthem at the start and the Australian anthem at the end...........does it get any better for you????

With some friends, I went to the BLRC at Belle Vue (would it have been the day after Gary lost his life, Wolverhampton being on the Friday night and the BLRC on the Saturday?) and seem to remember Ole Olsen withdrawing from the meeting out of respect for Gary.

I don't know about how much the tickets have gone up as I like to view from different positions each year and consequently the prices are different. What I do think is a bit much though is advertising that there is a price freeze only to find out that this year no programme is included for early bookings. That to me is an extra 7(?) quid which I think is taking the p155!!

Let's give Mr S the benefit of the doubt here, it's no wonder he is a very sad, frustrated individual. After all Poole are no longer the best team in the land Tony was a shadow of his former self and now gone Antonio (I think he is great by the way) and Bjarne are nowhere Hans, another of his ex Poole "favourites" is the currently the 2nd best rider in the world and His beloved Jason is undoubtedly the best rider in the world and disappearing off into the distance with the title. Can't blame him for choking can we?

Pleased that a genuine racer won tonight, well done to AJ. Jason not really on form tonight but a final place with Greg and Nicki not making it means he stretches his lead in the championship once more, as Leigh said, he probably baled going into the third bend blinded. Both the contentious incidents could be seen as 50/50. When Jason went through on Antonio I thought he would be out. I think Antonio showed a bit of his inexperience by straightening and baling out. If he had kept his line, Jason would have knocked him off with the speed he was carrying into the bend and Jason would have been out. I wouldn't have argued with that. Hans and Scotty was just a great piece of hard top level racing and the decision could have gone either way. Villain of the night....................step forward Mr Shovlar with his disgusting comments here and on the updates pages. I can see it now, the tattoo on his forehead becoming clearer. An acronym for The Wimborne Alien Twerp.

Great shorts . Bye the way, that Jason Crump is crap isn't he.

Fair play to the lad, not bad at all..............."TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM....................."

All depends on your understanding of the word "never". Ask PC, Mort, Simmo, Michael Lee, Gordon Kennet, Dave Jessup, Sir Kelvin etc if they have never won anything and see what sort of reply you get.

Congratulations to Denmark, the best overall team on the night with a good kickstart from Puk in the last round of heats. For the Swedes, a decent all round team showing with only AJ really showing their best form. GB did well considering the lack of talent in depth, Scotty leading from the front, but with a lack of quality in depth it's difficult to see how much better a different team manager could make things. For the Aussies, a lacklustre show from Leigh and Ryan was what probably caused them to miss out at the top although I think Jason was a bit reckless in his last ride. Although he is an out and out racer, he was well beaten by Hans by the time his dive up the inside caused him to fall and he knew it judging by him punching the ground. Holding 2nd place would at least have given him and his team mates a silver medal, something Travis would probably have treasured. So, Hans the "panto villain" secures the last heat win and rubber stamps Denmark as the world champions. Well done to them!

I think quite a few Newport fans will not forget Mr Kujawa in a hurry. No disrespect to the lad after all he puts life and limb at risk each time he goes on track but his "time" at Newport was an absolute farce. Would be interested to hear if he wanted to put his side of the story forward. From the fans side of the fence, well it was completely absurd.

Excellent

shazzybird, pcig would have sufficed! Do you think I've previously wound the king of the wind ups then?

I don't want to see this turn into a philcrumpisgod v steve shovlar post regarding the ups and downs of Jason and Tony, but now that Tony is about to disappear into the sunset, who are going to be the main protagonists over the coming years? Personally, I reckon that if Jason retains the hunger and desire he has shown this season he can go on at this level for another 5 or more years. Assuming that he remains injury free (big ask I know) he could win several more titles and approach or even emulate Ivan and Tony's record. His nearest challenger at the moment is Greg and I believe he is already 35 and still racing his heart out, surely that means that Jason could easily continue until 2010/2011. If he does, he will surely create records for most GP's ridden, most GP's won, most points won, most finals etc. Should this happen he would surely go down as the greatest GP rider in history. Of the new breed, I would like to see Antonio get himself right up there and, longer term, Lewis Bridger to establish himself on the GP circuit with a view to becoming World Champion in the not too distant future. What do you all think and who do you think is going to challenge seriously in the coming years?

Mr S, you are going to have to try and be a bit more original now, your constant criticism of the series leader is tiresome and does you no credit. Didn't Tony make a fool of himself (paraphrasing you) when he fell off by himself? You must have made too much use of that fast forward button because it seems like you missed the final where Crump beat Pedersen and Lindback into 3rd and 4th place, Antonio making a fool of himself (again paraphrasing you) by falling off all by himself when in last position. Where is your constructive critique of the world champion or have you given up on him like he seems to have given up on his fans? BTW, I really enjoy watching Antonio race. All action, doesn't seem to know when he is beaten and thrilling to see "his screw it on and hang on" style. I also love watching his interviews, he genuinely seems to be enjoying himself. Hans is not the fairy tale, Antonio Lindback is! I honestly hope he goes on to become world champion someday, it will give our sport a massive shot in the arm.