SPEEDY69

I've looked and it seems they have 18 clubs and so do we, but of course Poland is geographically bigger and less dense. I get the tribal thing but I do still think the way people live makes a difference. When I went to Poland, it was really easy to get between places, the variety of sports doesn't seem as popular and you could have a great night in a bar for 5 pounds! Very difficult to compare. Foreign riders of course love it - who wouldn't given the 100k+ signing on fee and 1k to 1.5k paid per point in the extra league.

Fair points but I'm not sure we should look to Poland. When their leagues were pony back in the 60s & 70s they still had massive crowds. Their recent team structures etc. haven't attracted more fans but they do enjoy great backing from the state/councils and globalising has increased sponsorship income no doubt. Its just their fans never drifted away like in the UK and some of that is down to society and living standards. They have less teams as well don't they?

Nothing wrong with the track last night Panthers were passing inside and out.

That's called team riding. Not everyone can do it.

I agree with much of that but I think inconsistency is a factor too. Any rider on their day can ride a stormer. The British champion surprised a few this year because many thought Bewley would win on home soil. I never though Ulrich would ride as well as he did this year but it does show that it can happen. Great racing in both legs of the final but clearly it was the Panthers doing nearly all the passing last night.

It was mistakes from harris and Palm toft in 13 to not cover the outside line, I could see he was trying that for over a lap and would get by.

It takes two teams to make great racing and these two teams have done that in both legs. So pleased for the old boys!

Cook strikes again. As I said before, hero or zero.

Unless things have changed, when I've been to Belle Vue there's only one burger van there on the back straight. I think both tracks have the worst provision in that regard.

Great stories of courage against adversity but for me Kenny wins the prize because of the conditions that meeting and the backlash from other riders who wanted it called off.

I feel think this is Belle Vue's to lose. They have fast starters and have shown they like the Showground and all the pressure is on the Panthers. It is difficult to call.

That was such a fantastic performance in the British Final as he not only rode, he raced and passed others. He was such a skilled rider.

But the diagnosis is what I and others questioned. A quick look at the NHS website suggests that that is done at a Hospital, not trackside. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/concussion/

I take it you're not an Ipswich fan then, his scores were far from those of a top heat leader

Yeah, I read that, but neither of them are medical professionals and surely Peterborough would have explained that in their announcement if that was the case. It's a bit like when they say a rider has the flu when in fact all they have is a cold.

Apart from people saying 'concussion' I'm not sure we've had any medical confirmation that that is what he is suffering from. As is said before, it's not just being knocked out or having a bang on the head. As for Cook, if he misses the start he often just gave up when I saw him this year, so Panthers cannot count on anything there - it is all adding to the interest for this tie though and I can't wait to see it unfold.

Same with Cook to be honest, very inconsistent for the Witches, zero or hero.

I had a bang on the head and missed two rides under orders from the track doctor but then I did some cognitive tests and he let me do my last one. Concussion is very different from just a band on the head. I hope he gets the chance to ride if he wants to.

I thought the rules were that if anyone dropped out, for whatever reason, the next in line from the challenge takes their place? That was the case and therefore, by definition he qualified to be in the series the following year. I've said what I think about the field and my view that there will continue to be little media attention and therefore growth. I cannot change that so will continue to watch from afar and follow team speedway in the UK. The GPs have never really grabbed my attention like the World Finals previously and whilst I have been to Cardiff a few times I was never really that interested in who won.

No she didn't but the point was she is not in the top 15 in the world and maybe not even the top 50-75. Other posters want the speedway world title decided by limiting it to the top 15 in the world the previous year. So, with other sports someone can breakthrough and capture the imagination of both the public and media but this is not possible with speedway because it's based on last year and little change in competitors.

That may be so and therefore the obvious next step would be to widen the qualifying. Those sports with a closed-shop for competitors such as F1 for example, the competitors get in by virtue of the amount of sponsorship they bring with them, nothing to do with being the best and to me it makes it all the duller as I am enthused by things being unpredictable, at least to a degree. In speedway it's the federations who nominate the 'wild'cards so there's unlikely to be any of that.

He's not in the 'top 15' in the eyes of many on here it seems so shouldn't be in there. He's clearly showed he's not good enough

Agreed. Wildcards to me should be exactly that, not the same old faces. No other sport fills their events only with the 'considered by some' the best in the world from last year. As I said before Radecanu winning the US Open got huge media coverage, as did Joe Johnson in snooker back in the 80s or Boris Becker at Wimbledon, Jerzy S in 73, - anyone remember Eddie the Eagle . Sport should be unpredictable and trying to generate media interest from a story that the favourite won again is unlikely to be welcomed with enthusiasm.

I think you're right there, given the GP schedule.

Just like Vaculik then eh? You all would've said Smoli wasn't up to scratch then but he qualified - depends if they want to be fair or not