SPEEDY69

Seeded places were originally there to allow a rider who had been injured and missed GPs to remian in the series next year. It has now progressed to seeding places according to Nationality. This is nothing new - in the old World Finals qualification places were awarded to different groups of countries and it was impossible to have a field of 16 Brits for example, even if they were the best riders in the world. Last year Poland need another rider and their reps, along with BSI picked Pepe. Britain needed two, Nicholls was 9th and British champion and Richardson was next best, especially remembering his World Cup performance. The Danes needed another rider and as Iversen finished AHEAD of Andersen in the Danish Championship, he was picked and he could rightly feel aggrieved if he wasn't. Therefore FALCACE it has little to do with enemies in high places but more with quotas and consistency. No World Championship has ever featured the best 16 riders in the world and the organisers always have business reasons for decisions. Even the top eight in the series could be filled with less strong riders - it only takes one good round to give the points total a huge lift and they could be mediocre in the other rounds but stilll get through to next year The only fair way to decide the field is a qualification system for all places and I accept this is difficult to organise fairly but at least everyone would have a chance - even if some riders chances were bigger than others!

He was left out because he didn't qualify after a poor year in the GPs (despite being helped by some acting at Cardiff) and finished 13th or 12th, can't remember. He was beaten in the Danish Championship by Nicki Pedersen and Iversen and therefore he had to be lower in the pecking order for a seeded place than Iversen. His league form last was also good, but was poor in the GPs. Qualification was open to him and he didn't make it, so whatever anyone thinks about the relative merits of any of the riders it's for others to decide. Personally, I think all the places should be based on qualification, with no seeded or permanent wild card entries.

People will never agree on who are the best 16 riders in the world - is that for that year or previous years, or in Championship events, or leagues? In my view Iversen was selected ahead of Andersen because he beat Andersen fair and square in the Danish Final. No one can deny that Richardson had a great World Cup, and reached one GP final. The only fair system for the riders is qualification rounds but that would be too unpredictable for the GP organisers e.g. If it wasn't held in Poland then Gollob might not get in, or Rickardsson may suffer a couple of EF's & be eliminated. Still, this was how the old World Champs used to be. I was also quite surprised that Lindback got a place (but that's just based on his very poor performances at Ipswich and some of the GPs this year). We can debate all we like but the GP series is a commercial venture and they have the power to decide some of the competitors for whatever reasons.

Do you ever post anything that doesn't include offensive cheap swipes at the british Champion?

Just what is it you've got against Richardson & Nicholls?? Nicholls is the British Champion and captains the National side. Are you saying we shouldn't have a representative in the GP series? I don't consider being in 9th/10th place to be serial failure. We should be supporting the British riders rather than taking every oportunity to slag them off.