Anders

It's a 42.00 maximum limit in Elitserien for riders 1-7. The starting averages for the riders in tonight's TV meeting are: Dackarna: Bjerre 5.75, Andersen 8.74, F Lindgren 7.84, Buczkowski 4.56, Jonsson 8.37, Zengota 4.52, L Lindgren 2.00 (=41.78) Elit Vetlanda: Richardson 7.49, Aldén 3.49, Crump 9.41, Pavlic 5.00, Hampel 7.87, Hougaard 2.85, Jonasson 5.07 (=41.15) As Jonasson has a lower rolling average than both Aldén and Pavlic, he rides at reserve tonight.

PREVIEW OF SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 16 Tuesday August 18th 2009 ROSPIGGARNA - VÄSTERVIK at Orionparken, Hallstavik Last placed Rospiggarna still have a chance in theory to reach the Play Off, but one might assume that the team have actually given up as there are too many "ifs and buts" for it to really happen. Whether that is the reason as to why Maciej Janowski is missing, I don't know, but he isn't in Wroclaw's line-up for Tuesdays Polish junior league meeting in Gdansk either. Chris Slabon is still being left out of the line-up, with McGowan/Messing being the reserve partnership once again. Västervik beat Vargarna to gain all three points available from last week's meeting, despite Grigorijs Laguta missing the meeting thanks to a Russian league fixture. He's back in action this week instead of Eric Andersson who filled in last Tuesday, but the place at reserve alongside Anton Rosén is taken by Tomasz Gapinski who has a lower rolling average than Laguta. All in all, Västervik must be considered to be at full strength for this one. Rospiggarna (home) (41) 1. Greg Hancock 2. Henrik Gustafsson 3. Janusz Kolodziej 4. Sebastian Ulamek 5. Ryan Sullivan 6. Jonas Messing 7. Travis McGowan ( 8. Robin Burestad ) Västervik (away) (55) 1. Bjarne Pedersen 2. Grigorijs Laguta 3. Chris Harris 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 5. Tomasz Gollob 6. Anton Rosén 7. Tomasz Gapinski ( 8. Pontus Aspgren ) *-*-* INDIANERNA - VARGARNA at Kumla Motorstadion The Indians were demolished in the derby clash at Piraterna last week, losing by 34-62. Magnus Zetterström was one of many riders that didn't ride well in that one, in fact he didn't score at all, so he's scratched for this meeting as Renat Gafurov takes a spot at second string. Otherwise there are no changes in the Indianerna line-up that team manager Daniel "Dalle" Andersson has nominated for this one. Just as Indianerna, Vargarna also rode in an away fixture last week, going down by 44-52 to Västervik despite leading 25-17 after seven heats. The Wolves have opted to keep the same riders for this one, in the same positions as then as well. Daniel King has made his comeback in Britain, riding a pairs meeting in Ipswich last Thursday, but have to wait to complete his first heat as a Vargarna rider. (King withdrew after an injury in his first heat away at Dackarna) Indianerna (home) (55) 1. Grzegorz Walasek 2. Renat Gafurov 3. Piotr Protasiewicz 4. Jesper B Monberg 5. Rune Holta 6. Simon Gustafsson 7. Leon Madsen ( 8. David Rohlén ) Vargarna (away) (41) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 2. Tai Woffinden 3. Scott Nicholls 4. Adam Skornicki 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 6. Joe Screen 7. Kim Nilsson ( 8. Jonas Andersson ) *-*-* DACKARNA - ELIT VETLANDA TV-Meeting by Canal+ at G&B Arena, Målilla Five GP riders will be on show on Tuesday, four of them riding for Dackarna as Fredrik Lindgren is back in the line-up, replacing Peter Karlsson who only produced three points in the loss at Lejonen. Nicolai Klindt also rode in that loss, but will be missing as Grzegorz Zengota is back from injury and takes a place at reserve. Niklas Larsson has also been making his comeback from injury, and slots in as the No 8 junior, instead of Tim Gudmunsson. Elit Vetlanda also makes some changes, from the line-up that beat Lejonen two weeks ago. Peter Ljung is replaced by Jurica Pavlic at second string, and the other second string position is being taken by Sebastian Aldén who has a higher rolling average than both Patrick Hougaard and Thomas H Jonasson, a new partnership at reserve. Aldén replaces Robin Aspegren who steps down from No 7 to No 8, replacing Anders Mellgren. Dackarna (home) (41) 1. Kenneth Bjerre 2. Hans Andersen 3. Fredrik Lindgren 4. Krzysztof Buczkowski 5. Andreas Jonsson 6. Grzegorz Zengota 7. Ludvig Lindgren ( 8. Niklas Larsson ) Elit Vetlanda (away) (55) 1. Lee Richardson 2. Sebastian Aldén 3. Jason Crump 4. Jurica Pavlic 5. Jaroslaw Hampel 6. Patrick Hougaard 7. Thomas H Jonasson ( 8. Robin Aspegren ) *-*-* Lejonen and Piraterna don't ride in this round. *-*-* All meetings can be followed live on www.speedway.nu from 19:00 local time. *-*-* Before someone asks the question, yes, all three of the meetings in round 7 ended with a 55-41 result. I actually had to check it myself, because I thought I had made a mistake...

Kenny Wennerstam won today's Gunnar Lundberg Cup youth meeting in Vetlanda. The meeting is only open for riders that are 14 years or younger in 2009, so could be considered a Swedish U14 Championship, though I guess the authorities can't formally call it a Swedish Championship meeting. Gunnar Lundberg Cup has previously been integrated in the Youth Championship Final (U16), but was held as a seperate meeting this season. The home rider lost a surprise point to Alexander Johansson in his third outing but beat two of his toughest rivals (Nilsson, Andersson) from the outside gates in his final two rides to win the meeting, forcing Joel Andersson to a mistake on the opening lap of heat 17 to complete a pass, for the win. Freddie Broms beat Björn Nilsson in the final round to clinch the silver medal, but Nilsson got the bronze since home rider Andreas Runesson wasn't able to force a run-off for the third place, as he finished third in his final outing. In the end, the top four predicted riders finished in the top four positions, so one might say there weren't any huge surprises, but a special mention must go Bysarna's 11 year old Joel Elofsson who rode very well to finish sixth. Final score: 1) (10) Kenny Wennerstam, Elit Vetlanda, 14p ( 3 3 2 3 3 ) 2) (9) Freddie Broms, Dackarna, 13p ( 2 3 2 3 3 ) 3) (16) Björn Nilsson, Gnistorna, 12p ( 3 2 3 2 2 ) 4) (8) Joel Andersson, Indianerna, 11p ( X 3 3 3 2 ) 5) (7) Johan Jensen, Dackarna, 10p ( 2 3 1 3 1 ) 6) (12) Joel Elofsson, Bysarna, 10p ( 1 1 3 2 3 ) 7) (6) Andreas Runesson, Elit Vetlanda, 10p ( 3 2 2 2 1 ) 8) (1) Kim Åsling, Indianerna, 8p ( 3 2 1 1 1 ) 9) (4) Alexander Johansson, Piraterna, 7p ( F 0 3 1 3 ) 10) (3) Joel Kling, Dackarna, 7p ( 2 2 1 0 2 ) 11) (15) Oskar Axelsson, Indianerna, 5p ( 2 1 2 0 0 ) 12) (2) Simon Eriksson, Rospiggarna, 3p ( 1 0 0 2 X ) 13) (11) Anton Bredin, Elit Vetlanda, 3p ( 0 X 0 1 2 ) 14) (14) Linus Stuxberg, Bysarna, 3p ( 1 1 0 0 1 ) 15) (5) Viktor Flood, Indianerna, 3p ( 1 0 1 1 0 ) 16) (13) Sean Greenfield, Gnistorna, 1p ( 0 1 0 0 0 ) Heat 1 [52.2]: Kim Åsling, Joel Kling, Simon Eriksson, Alexander Johansson (F) Heat 2 [52.0]: Andreas Runesson, Johan Jensen, Viktor Flood, Joel Andersson (X) Heat 3 [49.1]: Kenny Wennerstam, Freddie Broms, Joel Elofsson, Anton Bredin Heat 4 [50.8]: Björn Nilsson, Oskar Axelsson, Linus Stuxberg, Sean Greenfield Heat 5 [49.7]: Freddie Broms, Kim Åsling, Sean Greenfield, Viktor Flood Heat 6 [49.3]: Kenny Wennerstam, Andreas Runesson, Linus Stuxberg, Simon Eriksson Heat 7 [51.0]: Johan Jensen, Joel Kling, Oskar Axelsson, Anton Bredin (X) Heat 8 [50.2]: Joel Andersson, Björn Nilsson, Joel Elofsson, Alexander Johansson Heat 9 [51.4]: Björn Nilsson, Andreas Runesson, Kim Åsling, Anton Bredin Heat 10 [51.2]: Joel Elofsson, Oskar Axelsson, Viktor Flood, Simon Eriksson Heat 11 [50.0]: Joel Andersson, Freddie Broms, Joel Kling, Linus Stuxberg Heat 12 [50.1]: Alexander Johansson, Kenny Wennerstam, Johan Jensen, Sean Greenfield Heat 13 [51.5]: Johan Jensen, Joel Elofsson, Kim Åsling, Linus Stuxberg Heat 14 [50.6]: Joel Andersson, Simon Eriksson, Anton Bredin, Sean Greenfield Heat 15 [49.2]: Kenny Wennerstam, Björn Nilsson, Viktor Flood, Joel Kling Heat 16 [50.4]: Freddie Broms, Andreas Runesson, Alexander Johansson, Oskar Axelsson Heat 17 [50.7]: Kenny Wennerstam, Joel Andersson, Kim Åsling, Oskar Axelsson Heat 18 [51.0]: Freddie Broms, Björn Nilsson, Johan Jensen, Simon Eriksson (X) Heat 19 [52.3]: Joel Elofsson, Joel Kling, Andreas Runesson, Sean Greenfield Heat 20 [51.8]: Alexander Johansson, Anton Bredin, Linus Stuxberg, Viktor Flood Courtesy of the live updates on Elit Vetlanda's website.

Yes, I'll soon be 30 (next year), so the years are starting to take it's toll, believe me. However, I were at that final in Gislaved and I must confess that I thought that Valsarna had won overall when it was abandoned after 12 heats, until it was actually announced that Lejonen had won, and until I read the rule book myself. The situation is the same that's used as the example in the rule book, with the 2nd meeting being abandoned. Either no-one have thought about how to write the rule if the 1st meeting is abandoned, or SVEMO have a good point as to why all heats should be counted in the 2nd meeting (if the 1st had been abandoned). I do agree it's a strange inconsistency though...

Agree. Sure, in the end, SVEMO are responsible for the correct wording in the rule book, but this inconsistency in the rule book have obviously not been questioned before, presumably because no-one had thought of this kind of situation. Once it has happened, it's too late to question it and it must be dealt with accordingly, i.e. to propose a rule change for upcoming seasons. I wouldn't want to work within the SVEMO organisation, because they're doomed when they do something, and doomed when they don't do anything...

SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 15 Tuesday August 11th 2009 VÄSTERVIK - VARGARNA 52-44 (Aggregate: 97-95) at Sparbanken Arena, Västervik Attendence: 3133 Heat details: http://www.speedway.nu/2009/reportNY.asp?Elit.IH Västervik (home) 52 (97) 1. Tomasz Gapinski 0-1*-1*-1 = 3+2 (4) 2. Bjarne Pedersen 3-T/T-2-0-3-2* = 10+1 (6) 3. Chris Harris 0-2-3-1-2 = 8 (5) 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 2-1*-1-3-1* = 8+2 (5) 5. Tomasz Gollob 2-3-2-2*-3-3 = 15+1 (6) 6. Eric Andersson 2-1*-1-N-1 = 5+1 (4) 7. Anton Rosén 0-N-N-3 = 3 (2) 8. Vargarna (away) 44 (95) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 1*-0-2-2-3 = 8+1 (5) 2. Tai Woffinden 2-3-1*-R = 6+1 (4) 3. Scott Nicholls 3-0-1-0-0 = 4 (5) 4. Adam Skornicki 1-2*-3-R-Fx = 6+1 (5) 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 3-2-3-2-1 = 11 (5) 6. Joe Screen 1-3-0-2 = 6 (4) 7. Kim Nilsson 3-0-0-0 = 3 (4) 8. Jonas Andersson Changes: 5: Rosén > R/C > Andersson 9: Andersson > T/S > Pedersen 10: Rosén > T/S > Gollob 1 [56.0]: Pedersen, Woffinden, Miedzinski, Gapinski. 3-3, 3-3. 2 [56.6]: Nilsson, Andersson, Screen, Rosén. 2-4, 5-7. 3 [55.3]: Nicholls, Iversen, Skornicki, Harris. 2-4, 7-11. 4 [56.0]: Kasprzak, Gollob, Andersson, Nilsson. 3-3, 10-14. 5 [57.1]: Screen, Skornicki, Andersson, Pedersen ( T/T ). 1-5, 11-19. 6 [56.3]: Woffinden, Harris, Iversen, Miedzinski. 3-3, 14-22. 7 [56.8]: Skornicki, Pedersen, Gapinski, Nicholls. 3-3, 17-25. 8 [57.6]: Harris, Kasprzak, Iversen, Nilsson. 4-2, 21-27. 9 [56.3]: Gollob, Miedzinski, Woffinden, Pedersen. 3-3, 24-30. 10 [56.7]: Kasprzak, Gollob, Gapinski, Screen. 3-3, 27-33. 11 [57.6]: Rosén, Screen, Andersson, Nilsson. 4-2, 31-35. 12 [57.5]: Iversen, Gollob, Nicholls, Woffinden ( R ). 5-1, 36-36. 13 [57.6]: Pedersen, Miedzinski, Harris, Skornicki ( R ). 4-2, 40-38. 14 [57.6]: Gollob, Kasprzak, Gapinski, Nicholls. 4-2, 44-40. 15 [57.6]: Miedzinski, Harris, Iversen, Nicholls. 3-3, 47-43. 16 [58.1]: Gollob, Pedersen, Kasprzak, Skornicki ( Fx ). 5-1, 52-44. *-*-* PIRATERNA - INDIANERNA 62-34 (Aggregate: 109-83) at Lastpartner Arena, Motala Attendence: 3348 Heat details: http://www.speedway.nu/2009/reportNY.asp?Elit.FD Piraterna (home) 62 (109) 1. Rafal Dobrucki 1-1-1-3-2 = 8 (5) 2. Wieslaw Jagus R/R (3,1,3,1) 3. Jonas Davidsson 3-3-3-3-3-1* = 16+1 (6) 4. Damian Balinski 0-1-2*-0-1 = 4+1 (5) 5. Antonio Lindbäck 2-3-2*-3-1*-2 = 13+2 (6) 6. Linus Sundström 1-1*-N-3-3 = 8+1 (4) 7. Daniel Nermark 3-3-3-1-2*-1 = 13+1 (6) 8. Oliver Berntzon Indianerna (away) 34 (83) 1. Grzegorz Walasek 2-2-0-0-2-2 = 8 (6) 2. Magnus Zetterström 0-0-N-N-0 = 0 (3) 3. Piotr Protasiewicz 1*-0-0-2-0 = 3+1 (5) 4. Jesper B Monberg 2-2-2-1-0-0 = 7 (6) 5. Rune Holta 3-1-2-1*-3-3 = 13+1 (6) 6. Leon Madsen 0-0-N-1 = 1 (3) 7. Simon Gustafsson 2-0-N-0 = 2 (3) 8. Niklas Eriksson Changes: 1: Jagus > R/R > Davidsson 5: Jagus > R/R > Dobrucki 7: Jagus > R/R > Lindbäck 8: Gustafsson > T/S > Walasek 9: Sundström > R/C > Nermark, Zetterström > T/S > Monberg 10: Madsen > T/S > Protasiewicz 12: Zetterström > T/S > Holta 13: Jagus > R/R > Balinski 1 [57.9]: Davidsson (R/R), Walasek, Dobrucki, Zetterström. 4-2, 4-2. 2 [58.7]: Nermark, Gustafsson, Sundström, Madsen. 4-2, 8-4. 3 [58.2]: Davidsson, Monberg, Protasiewicz, Balinski. 3-3, 11-7. 4 [58.3]: Holta, Lindbäck, Sundström, Gustafsson. 3-3, 14-10. 5 [58.6]: Nermark, Monberg, Dobrucki (R/R), Madsen. 4-2, 18-12. 6 [57.8]: Davidsson, Walasek, Balinski, Zetterström. 4-2, 22-14. 7 [58.2]: Lindbäck (R/R), Monberg, Dobrucki, Protasiewicz. 4-2, 26-16. 8 [59.2]: Davidsson, Balinski, Holta, Walasek. 5-1, 31-17. 9 [59.0]: Nermark, Lindbäck, Monberg, Walasek. 5-1, 36-18. 10 [58.9]: Dobrucki, Holta, Nermark, Protasiewicz. 4-2, 40-20. 11 [59.1]: Sundström, Nermark, Madsen, Gustafsson. 5-1, 45-21. 12 [59.2]: Lindbäck, Protasiewicz, Holta, Balinski. 3-3, 48-24. 13 [59.4]: Davidsson, Walasek, Balinski (R/R), Monberg. 4-2, 52-26. 14 [59.3]: Holta, Dobrucki, Lindbäck, Protasiewicz. 3-3, 55-29. 15 [59.2]: Sundström, Walasek, Nermark, Zetterström. 4-2, 59-31. 16 [59.7]: Holta, Lindbäck, Davidsson, Monberg. 3-3, 62-34. *-*-* LEJONEN - DACKARNA 53-43 (Aggregated: 86-82) at Axelent Arena, Gislaved Attendence: 9891 Heat details: http://www.speedway.nu/2009/reportNY.asp?Elit.EA Lejonen (home) 53 (86) 1. Chris Holder 1*-2*-2-1-2* = 8+3 (5) 2. David Ruud 2-3-3-2-0 = 10 (5) 3. Dave Watt Fx-0-N-N = 0 (2) 4. Nicki Pedersen 3-2-3-2-3 = 13 (5) 5. Mikael Max 2-0-0-3-3 = 8 (5) 6. Piotr Swiderski 2-1*-2*-2*-2-3 = 12+3 (6) 7. Dennis Andersson X-N-0-2*-R = 2+1 (4) 8. Anton Göthberg Dackarna (away) 43 (82) 1. Kenneth Bjerre 3-3-3-3-3-2 = 17 (6) 2. Krzysztof Buczkowski 0-1-N-N = 1 (2) 3. Andreas Jonsson 2-1-1-3-2-1* = 10+1 (6) 4. Peter Karlsson 1*-1-0-1-0 = 3+1 (5) 5. Hans Andersen 3-1-1-1-0-1 = 7 (6) 6. Ludvig Lindgren 1-N-N-0 = 1 (2) 7. Nicolai Klindt 3-0-0-0-1 = 4 (5) 8. Tim Gudmunsson Changes: 5: Andersson > R/C > Swiderski, Lindgren > R/C > Klindt 8: Watt > R/C > Swiderski 9: Buczkowski > T/S > Jonsson 10: Lindgren > T/S > Bjerre 12: Buczkowski > T/S > Andersen 13: Watt > R/C > Andersson 1 [64.2]: Bjerre, Ruud, Holder, Buczkowski. 3-3, 3-3. 2 [65.4]: Klindt, Swiderski, Lindgren, Andersson ( X ). 2-4, 5-7. 3 [68.8]: Pedersen, Jonsson, Karlsson, Watt ( Fx ). 3-3, 8-10. 4 [65.2]: Andersen, Max, Swiderski, Klindt. 3-3, 11-13. 5 [65.1]: Ruud, Swiderski, Karlsson, Klindt. 5-1, 16-14. 6 [65.3]: Bjerre, Pedersen, Buczkowski, Watt. 2-4, 18-18. 7 [65.4]: Ruud, Holder, Jonsson, Karlsson. 5-1, 23-19. 8 [65.5]: Pedersen, Swiderski, Andersen, Klindt. 5-1, 28-20. 9 [66.0]: Bjerre, Swiderski, Jonsson, Max. 2-4, 30-24. 10 [66.5]: Bjerre, Holder, Andersen, Andersson. 2-4, 32-28. 11 [66.3]: Swiderski, Andersson, Klindt, Lindgren. 5-1, 37-29. 12 [65.5]: Jonsson, Pedersen, Andersen, Max. 2-4, 39-33. 13 [66.2]: Bjerre, Ruud, Karlsson, Andersson ( R ). 2-4, 41-37. 14 [66.1]: Max, Jonsson, Holder, Andersen. 4-2, 45-39. 15 [66.0]: Max, Holder, Andersen, Karlsson. 5-1, 50-40. 16 [66.1]: Pedersen, Bjerre, Jonsson, Ruud. 3-3, 53-43. *-*-* Elit Vetlanda and Rospiggarna don't ride this week. *-*-* CURRENT STANDING: 1. Elit Vetlanda, 11, 7-3-1, 4/4, 21p (+96) 2. Västervik, 11, 7-2-2, 3/4, 19p (+69) 3. Vargarna, 11, 6-1-4, 2/4, 15p (-18) 4. Lejonen, 12, 5-1-6, 3/5, 14p (-8) 5. Dackarna, 12, 5-2-5, 2/5, 14p (-22) 6. Indianerna, 12, 6-0-6, 1/5, 13p (+7) ------------------------------------------------ 7. Piraterna, 12, 3-0-9, 3/5, 9p (-6) 8. Rospiggarna, 11, 2-1-8, 0/4, 5p (-118) *-*-* NEXT ROUND - ROUND 16: Tuesday August 18th 2009 Indianerna - Vargarna (55-41) Rospiggarna - Västervik (41-55) Dackarna - Elit Vetlanda (41-55) Piraterna and Lejonen don't ride in round 16. *-*-* All information courtesy of www.speedway.nu.

God no! The Motala track usually produce some exiting racing (probably the best in Sweden), but it surely didn't do that today. I left the streaming after heat 12 to watch some Family Guy, at least that was entertaining.

Yes, of course, that sounds like the most logical reason of all. Why didn't I think of that? Must have had too few team management opportunities this season, I'm getting rusty...

PREVIEW OF SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 15 Tuesday August 11th 2009 VÄSTERVIK - VARGARNA at Sparbanken Arena, Västervik 2nd placed Västervik and 3rd placed Vargarna meets in Västervik, with the home side missing Grigorijs Laguta due to a Russian league meeting with Wladywostok. Tomasz Gapinski steps up from reserve to cover for Laguta, with Eric Andersson taking the No 6 race-jacket. Vargarna used the R/R rule for Adam Shields last week at home, scoring 8 paid 10 in those heats. They have opted not to use the R/R rule this week, because of a "higher risk of failure", accoring to a comment on their own website. Tai Woffinden takes a place in the main body, with Joe Screen stepping in at reserve. Västervik (home) (45) 1. Tomasz Gapinski 2. Bjarne Pedersen 3. Chris Harris 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 5. Tomasz Gollob 6. Eric Andersson 7. Anton Rosén ( 8. Pontus Aspgren ) Vargarna (away) (51) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 2. Tai Woffinden 3. Scott Nicholls 4. Adam Skornicki 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 6. Joe Screen 7. Kim Nilsson ( 8. Jonas Andersson ) *-*-* PIRATERNA - INDIANERNA at Lastpartner Arena, Motala The Pirates probably faces their last chance to reach in Play Off, even in theory, as they host Indianerna in a derby clash, infront of the Canal+ cameras. Piraterna will use the R/R rule for the injured Wieslaw Jagus as Emil Sajfutdinov will be missing, and I have made the assumption that Emil Sajfutdinov will be missing thanks to the Wladywostok vs Balakovo meeting in Russian on that same day. Also, fan favourite Damian Balinski is back in the line-up replacing the out-of-form Robert Kosciecha, with Daniel Nermark dropping to reserve. Indianerna missed Jesper B Monberg when they rode their latest meeting in Elitserien, home against Västervik. The Dane is back in action and takes a spot at second string, replacing Renat Gafurov who rides for Wladywostok as well, just as Laguta. That move might have happened even if Gafurov had been available, so Indianerna should be considered to have their standard line-up for this one. Piraterna (home) (47) 1. Rafal Dobrucki 2. Wieslaw Jagus R/R 3. Jonas Davidsson 4. Damian Balinski 5. Antonio Lindbäck 6. Linus Sundström 7. Daniel Nermark ( 8. Oliver Berntzon ) Indianerna (away) (49) 1. Grzegorz Walasek 2. Magnus Zetterström 3. Piotr Protasiewicz 4. Jesper B Monberg 5. Rune Holta 6. Leon Madsen 7. Simon Gustafsson ( 8. Niklas Eriksson ) *-*-* LEJONEN - DACKARNA at Axelent Arena, Gislaved Two of the title candidates square off at Gislaved, infront of - what should be - a huge crowd as Lejonen have free admission for all, with local companies paying 1 Swedish krona for every person in attendence. Lejonen makes one change from the side that lost in Vetlanda last week, replacing Ricky Kling with Piotr Swiderski. Otherwise, Mikael Max gets the No 5 race-jacket in his home debut, while team manager Fröjd moves the Holder/Ruud partnership to No 1-2. For Dackarna, Fredrik Lindgren is scratched from this one due to an obvious lack of form lately, he's being replaced by Kenneth Bjerre. Also noticeable is that Krzysztof Buczkowski gets another chance after scoring only one point last week, and despite the fact that Grzegorz Zengota has made his comeback from injury. Andreas Jonsson comes back in the line-up after the management used the R/R facility to cover his injury in Västervik. Lejonen (home) (33) 1. Chris Holder 2. David Ruud 3. Dave Watt 4. Nicki Pedersen 5. Mikael Max 6. Piotr Swiderski 7. Dennis Andersson ( 8. Anton Göthberg ) Dackarna (away) (39) 1. Kenneth Bjerre 2. Krzysztof Buczkowski 3. Andreas Jonsson 4. Peter Karlsson 5. Hans Andersen 6. Ludvig Lindgren 7. Nicolai Klindt ( 8. Tim Gudmunsson ) *-*-* Elit Vetlanda and Rospiggarna don't ride this week. *-*-* All meetings can, weather permitting, be followed live on www.speedway.nu from 19:00 local time.

EXACTLY!

Even I am agreeing with that statement. The top 5 Swedes rode in the WTC team, well, at least the top 5 available riders (as PK had turned it down).

Having the best non-GP rider from the Swedish Championship as a Wild Card would have given that meeting some extra interest, but it's obvious the men in charge wouldn't want to risk an inclusion of an older rider such as PK, Max or Zorro. After THJ's withdrawal from the GP qualifier in Daugavpils, I'm sure he was out of the race for a Wild Card as well. No surprise it went to a "team" including Antonio Lindbäck and Tony Rickardsson. Lindbäck has the highest capacity of the non-GP riders in Sweden, but I don't think he should've had both Wild Cards in a season. BTW, I won't be going to Målilla for the Grand Prix. And yes, the harvest for sour grapes near my home is going very well, before someone else points it out.

It probably went to my head. (is that the expression?) SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 14 Tuesday August 4th 2009 VÄSTERVIK - DACKARNA 60-36 (Aggregate: 108-84) at Sparbanken Arena, Västervik Attendence: 4272 Heat details, courtesy of www.speedway.nu. Västervik (home) 60 (108) 1. Grigorijs Laguta 1-1-3-3-2* = 10+1 (5) 2. Bjarne Pedersen 3-3-3-2-3 = 14 (5) 3. Chris Harris 3-0-1-1* = 5+1 (4) 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 1-2-3-3-1 = 10 (5) 5. Tomasz Gollob 1*-3-R-2*-3 = 9+2 (5) 6. Tomasz Gapinski 3-2-2*-2*-0-3 = 12+2 (6) 7. Pontus Aspgren 0-N-N-0 = 0 (2) 8. Anton Rosén Dackarna (away) 36 (84) 1. Peter Karlsson 2-1-1-2-1*-3-2 = 12+1 (7) 2. Andreas Jonsson R/R (0,3,0,1*) 3. Fredrik Lindgren 2-0-0-2-0 = 4 (5) 4. Krzysztof Buczkowski 0-0-1-N-0 = 1 (4) 5. Hans Andersen 3-3-2-0-1*-1-N = 10+1 (6) 6. Ludvig Lindgren 1*-R-N-2-1 = 4+1 (4) 7. Nicolai Klindt 2-0-2-1*-0 = 5+1 (5) 8. Tim Gudmunsson 0 = 0 (1) *-*-* VARGARNA - PIRATERNA 49-46 (Aggregate: 80-110) at Norrköping's Motorstadion Attendence: 4686 Heat details, courtesy of www.speedway.nu. Vargarna (home) 49 (80) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 1-2-2-3-0-3 = 11 (6) 2. Adam Shields R/R (3,2,1*,2*) 3. Scott Nicholls 3-2-2-2*-3-0 = 12+1 (6) 4. Adam Skornicki 0-1*-3-1-2*-1 = 8+2 (6) 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 3-1*-1-0-1-0 = 6+1 (6) 6. Kim Nilsson 3-2*-0-2 = 7+1 (4) 7. Tai Woffinden 1-1*-2*-1* = 5+3 (4) 8. Jonas Andersson Piraterna (away) 46 (110) 1. Wieslaw Jagus 2-Fx-N-N = 2 (2) 2. Rafal Dobrucki 0-3-3-R-2*-3 = 11+1 (6) 3. Antonio Lindbäck 3-0-2*-3-3-2 = 13+1 (6) 4. Jonas Davidsson 1-3-3-1-1-1* = 10+1 (6) 5. Daniel Nermark Fx-0-1-2*-2* = 5+2 (5) 6. Robert Kosciecha Fx-R-N-N-3-Fx = 3 (4) 7. Linus Sundström 2-N-0-N-0 = 2 (3) 8. Jeremia Thelaus *-*-* ELIT VETLANDA - LEJONEN 50-46 (Aggregate: 98-94) at Vetlanda Motorstadion Attendence: 5352 Heat details, courtesy of www.speedway.nu. After swapping two 5-1's each in the opening seven heats, the meeting settled down and became a hard fought battle between the two finalists of the 2008 season. The home side had 11 heat wins to Lejonen's 5, but the meeting still went down to the wire. The Lions kept the meeting alive as David Ruud and Dave Watt passed Lee Richardson on either side coming out of bend four of the opening lap of heat 14, to keep the home lead to four points. Richardson took revenge on himself as he passed Ruud for a crucial heat victory in the first nominated heat, setting up Hampel/Crump to get only two points from the final heat for the win. Hampel gated in heat 16 but was passed hard (I'm keeping it cool not to get suspended from this forum) by Pedersen. The Dane's move didn't matter though as Hampel/Crump kept "Noddy" Holder in last place in that heat 16, to keep all points in Vetlanda. Elit Vetlanda (home) 50 (98) 1. Lee Richardson 2-2*-3-0-3 = 10+1 (5) 2. Peter Ljung 1*-0-3-0-0 = 4+1 (5) 3. Jaroslaw Hampel 3-1-3-3-1* = 11+1 (5) 4. Thomas H Jonasson 1-0-0-1 = 2 (4) 5. Jason Crump 3-2-3-3-2 = 13 (5) 6. Patrick Hougaard 3-2*-1-0-3 = 9+1 (5) 7. Robin Aspegren 1-N-0-0 = 1 (3) 8. Anders Mellgren Lejonen (away) 46 (94) 1. Nicki Pedersen 3-3-3-2-3 = 14 (5) 2. Mikael Max 0-2*-1-0 = 3+1 (4) 3. David Ruud 0-0-2-2-2 = 6 (5) 4. Chris Holder 2-3-1-1*-0 = 7+1 (5) 5. Dave Watt 1-2-2-1*-1* = 7+2 (5) 6. Dennis Andersson 2-2*-1*-2 = 7+2 (4) 7. Ricky Kling TT-0-1*-1* = 2+2 (4) 8. - For Elit Vetlanda, Richardson usually has one bad heat, today was no difference, but overall a solid double figure rider in this league. Ljung had one good heat in which he flew, but looked slow most of the night, probably a bit of both machinery problems and lack of confidence. Hampel was class. Thank God he moved out of the way in heat 16, 'cause that could've been ugly. Jonasson had a good first outing, but faded. Crump didn't have a chance against Pedersen, and had to fight harder for the points than usual. Not in a 100% form. Hougaard produced another excellent point scoring night for a 2.85 rider. Aspegren was unlucky to shed a chain while on a paid maximum in his first, didn't do much after that. For Lejonen, Pedersen was far the best and fastest rider on show tonight, didn't look at all in trouble on the track. Max produced three good heats, and had one of his better Vetlanda meetings for quite some time. Worth more than he got. Ruud's scoreline says the most, two bad and three good rides. Sometimes the stats actually tells the truth. Holder started very well, but faded. Watt had a surprising score, as he usually mixes heat wins with last places, but instead was solid but unspectactular tonight. Andersson has come on strong this season, though his seven points may be a bit inflated on the night. His paid maximum against Hougaard/Ljung in heat 5 shouldn't get un-noticed though. Kling improved as the meeting went along. *-*-* Indianerna and Rospiggarna didn't ride in this round. *-*-* CURRENT STANDING: 1. Elit Vetlanda, 11, 7-3-1, 4/4, 21p (+96) 2. Västervik, 10, 6-2-2, 2/3, 16p (+61) 3. Vargarna, 10, 6-1-3, 2/3, 15p (-10) 4. Dackarna, 11, 5-2-4, 2/4, 14p (-12) 5. Indianerna, 11, 6-0-5, 1/4, 13p (+35) 6. Lejonen, 11, 4-1-6, 2/4, 11p (-18) ------------------------------------------------ 7. Piraterna, 11, 2-0-9, 2/4, 6p (-34) 8. Rospiggarna, 11, 2-1-8, 0/4, 5p (-118) *-*-* NEXT ROUND - ROUND 15: Tuesday August 11th 2009 Lejonen - Dackarna (33-39) Piraterna - Indianerna (47-49) Västervik - Vargarna (45-51) *-*-* All information courtesy of www.speedway.nu.

Sorry, a bit of a writer's block and/or lack of motivation today, so I'll only bring you all the line-ups for tomorrow's round. PREVIEW OF SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 14 Tuesday August 4th 2009 VÄSTERVIK - DACKARNA at Sparbanken Arena, Västervik Västervik (home) 0 (48) 1. Grigorijs Laguta 2. Bjarne Pedersen 3. Chris Harris 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 5. Tomasz Gollob 6. Tomasz Gapinski 7. Pontus Aspgren 8. Anton Rosén Dackarna (away) 0 (48) 1. Peter Karlsson 2. Andreas Jonsson 3. Fredrik Lindgren 4. Krzysztof Buczkowski 5. Hans Andersen 6. Ludvig Lindgren 7. Nicolai Klindt 8. Tim Gudmunsson Andreas Jonsson will be missing, but I have no idea if they'll use R/R for him, or bring in Kenneth Bjerre as a replacement. *-*-* VARGARNA - PIRATERNA at Norrköping's Motorstadion Vargarna (home) 0 (31) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 2. Adam Shields 3. Scott Nicholls 4. Adam Skornicki 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 6. Kim Nilsson 7. Tai Woffinden 8. Jonas Andersson Piraterna (away) 0 (64) 1. Wieslaw Jagus 2. Rafal Dobrucki 3. Antonio Lindbäck 4. Jonas Davidsson 5. Daniel Nermark 6. Robert Kosciecha 7. Linus Sundström 8. Jeremia Thelaus *-*-* ELIT VETLANDA - LEJONEN at Vetlanda Motorstadion Elit Vetlanda (home) 0 (48) 1. Lee Richardson 2. Peter Ljung 3. Jaroslaw Hampel 4. Thomas H Jonasson 5. Jason Crump 6. Patrick Hougaard 7. Robin Aspegren 8. Anders Mellgren Lejonen (away) 0 (48) 1. Nicki Pedersen 2. Mikael Max 3. David Ruud 4. Chris Holder 5. Dave Watt 6. Dennis Andersson 7. Ricky Kling 8. - *-*-* Indianerna and Rospiggarna don't ride in this round. *-*-* All meetings can be followed on www.speedway.nu from 19:00 local time.

Yes, both. Güstrow on Friday, Stralsund on Saturday and Holsted on Sunday for the European U19 Team Final. Oh, that's an even worse kind of screw-up! It's necessary to change red/blue for white/yellow in a 3 team meeting, that's a given fact, but to change helmet colours between the teams for a 2 team meeting (or 4 team meeting), I can't see the point.

What? Oh, dear... I wonder if the different leagues are competing with each other of having the most stupid rule? Well, better get my mind set before the Bundesliga meeting on the 21st, which I'll be attending.

I got a phone call from Team Thorssell, currently in Vissenbjerg, with the result of the European Final result, as below: 1. Kenni Nissen, Denmark, 15p 2. Mikkel B Jensen, Denmark, 14p 3. Mikkel Michelsen, Denmark, 13p 4. Victor Palovaara, Sweden, 12p 5. Rasmus Jensen, Denmark, 10p 6. Sam Jensen, Denmark, 10p 7. Mikkel Salomonsen, Denmark, 8p 8. Jacob Thorssell, Sweden, 7p 9. Nikolaj B Jakobsen, Denmark, 6p 10. Mark Frimodt Pedersen, Denmark, 6p 11. Jonas Engdahl, Sweden, 5p 12. Kenny Wennerstam, Sweden, 5p 13. Fredrik Engman, Sweden, 4p 14. Jooa Partanen, Finland, 2p 15. Freddie Broms, Sweden, 1p 16. Mike Trzeniok, Poland, 0p R1. Jesper Schaff, Denmark, 2p (1 heat) R2. Emil Gröndal, Denmark The limit was obviously set with a maximum of 8 Danes among the No 1-16, with Sweden's Broms, Finland's Partanen and Poland's Trzeniok seeded to the final instead.

From what I can understand by looking at the Liga 1 standing (on Sportowefakty.pl), the double Walk Over still stands and both teams losing that meeting by a 0-40 score. Just as many others have written on this thread, it surely is strange that both riders and the referee can be at fault this time...

AFAIK, there will be an open meeting in Vojens earlier on the day, before the Denmark vs Sweden test match. Anyway, the Swedish team will be one rider short, so would need someone to fill the vacant spot.

Team managers Fredrik Staaf and Bosse Wirebrand made a lot of changes and eventually got the effect as Elit Vetlanda came from ten points down (22-32 after 9) to win in a last heat decider. The Jason Crump and Lee Richardson partnership scored two maximums in heats 14 & 16 to win it for the away team, and sending Piraterna further away from the Play Off picture. Awesome comeback! For Piraterna, Jagus was a bit better than the score suggested, but didn't have a stormer on his Piraterna debut, that's for sure. Davidsson was, with the exception of heat 16, always in the mix. A master of riding the inside line at the Motala track. Nermark scored points without being dirty, full credit to him. Dobrucki was solid, but unspectactular. Lindbäck had good speed all night, but not much gating ability, and it's hard to pass the Elit Vetlanda heat leaders. Sundström pulled a stunning first outing, but faded. Kosciecha wasn't as dominant as expected/feared from reserve position. For Elit Vetlanda, Hampel came from nowhere to finish with a paid twelve score. Pavlic didn't have a good day at all, didn't look comfortable and not close to beat an opponent. Richardson provided two match winning performences in heats 14 & 16. Usually goes well in Motala and didn't disappoint. Jonasson was unlucky with bike problems, deserve more but at least took a crucial point in heat 15. Crump wasn't stormingly dominant, but positioned himself well on the track and score points, and team rode Richardson twice for two maximums. What more can one expect? Aldén was OK, though I have seen him better at times this year. Gomolski only had one ride, in which he went from first to fourth! Aspegren only got one chance, but provided some much needed spark for the team with a paid win. Deserves more heats in the upcoming meetings. Man of the match: Jason Crump Most exciting rider: Most got involved

I can't believe we (Elit Vetlanda) managed to stay close before the interval, because it's a long time ago I saw such poor gating from most of the team. Rospiggarna were on fire, and I'm happy that we escapted with a draw. Well done, Rospiggarna! For Rospiggarna, Hancock was class, though beaten my Crump twice when it really mattered. Gustafsson rode well, worth every point he got on the night. Kolodziej is always very good against Elit Vetlanda, so I wasn't surprised to see him score well. Janowski is an extraordinary talent who will be a valuable asset for them for many year to come. Sullivan looked quick all night, but was last when it counted the most. McGowan gave away a lot of points, as he gated well but made several mistakes on the track to lose his points. Messing was way back in his only one. Burestad at least battled for minor places on a couple of occasions, but shouldn't score against Hougaard/Aldén, and didn't. For Elit Vetlanda, Hampel was ice cold for most of the night, simply not good enough this time. Pavlic looked to have a storming evening as he pushed Hancock for two laps in his first outing, and even though he faded, he must be considered a solid performer. Richardson produced a sub-par performence. Jonasson didn't gate well, neither did the team as a whole, but he fought hard at the back. Crump wasn't untouchable by any means, but delivered the goods in heats 14 & 16. Aldén was OK, but not spectactular. Hougaard rode well on his first visit to the Hallstavik track, did a very good job in beating the opposition reserves. Surprised to see him out in heat 15 though. Man of the match: Jason Crump Most exciting rider: Maciej Janowski

As I will be on tour to Hallstavik on Tuesday night, followed by Motala on Wednesday night, feel free to post results from these meetings. I won't have computer access until Thursday. Regarding the Piraterna vs Elit Vetlanda meeting on Wednesday, Patrick Hougaard will miss that meeting as he rides in Britain, with Adrian Gomolski stepping in at reserve.

PREVIEW OF SWEDISH ELITSERIEN ROUND 13 Tuesday July 29th 2009 INDIANERNA - VÄSTERVIK at Kumla Motorstadion After leaving Indianerna for home-town team Ikaros Smederna in the off season, Magnus Zetterström now makes his comeback for the Indians. He should have replaced Renat Gafurov but the Russian gets another chance to stay in the line-up as he replaces Jesper B Monberg who hurt himself in Poland on Sunday. Västervik have all squad members available for this one, and has opted for the reserve partnership with a strong reserve alongside Anton Rosén instead of the more evenly matched Doolan/Forsberg duo, not a surprise as Forsberg isn't back in form just yet. Indianerna (home) (42) 1. Grzegorz Walasek 2. Magnus Zetterström 3. Piotr Protasiewicz 4. Jesper B Monberg Renat Gafurov 5. Rune Holta 6. Simon Gustafsson 7. Leon Madsen ( 8. David Rohlén ) Västervik (away) (54) 1. Bjarne Pedersen 2. Tomasz Gapinski 3. Grigorijs Laguta 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 5. Tomasz Gollob 6. Anton Rosén 7. Chris Harris ( 8. Pontus Aspgren ) *-*-* DACKARNA - VARGARNA at G&B Arena, Målilla After the surprising loss against Indianerna, without Piotr Protasiewicz, last week, Dackarna have opted to make some changes. Kenneth Bjerre makes his home debut, replacing Peter Karlsson, while Krzysztof Buczkowski makes his Dackarna debut after coming from Ikaros Smederna in the latest transfer period, replacing Nicolai Klindt. Vargarna also made changes in the transfer period, and both Krzysztof Kasprzak and Daniel King steps into the line-up, replacing the injured Adam Shields and Edward Kennett. Dackarna (home) (48) 1. Andreas Jonsson 2. Grzegorz Zengota 3. Fredrik Lindgren 4. Kenneth Bjerre 5. Hans Andersen 6. Ludvig Lindgren 7. Krzysztof Buczkowski ( 8. Tim Gudmunsson ) Vargarna (away) (48) 1. Adrian Miedzinski 2. Daniel King 3. Scott Nicholls 4. Adam Skornicki 5. Krzysztof Kasprzak 6. Kim Nilsson 7. Tai Woffinden ( 8. Jonas Andersson ) *-*-* ROSPIGGARNA - ELIT VETLANDA at Orionparken, Hallstavik Rospiggarna are falling further away from a top six spot, which would give them a place in the quarterfinals. Sebastian Ulamek is still out with an injury, and Chris Slabon is still scratched despite Travis McGowan's 1 point performence at Lejonen last week. While Rospiggarna rode last week, Elit Vetlanda saw their meeting in Motala being postponed due to rainfall, so the team still hasn't completed a meeting sine June 30th. Can we (Elit Vetlanda fans) PLEASE have a meeting to analyse this week!? Rospiggarna (home) (37) 1. Greg Hancock 2. Henrik Gustafsson 3. Janusz Kolodziej 4. Maciej Janowski 5. Ryan Sullivan 6. Travis McGowan 7. Jonas Messing ( 8. Robin Burestad ) Elit Vetlanda (away) (59) 1. Jaroslaw Hampel 2. Jurica Pavlic 3. Lee Richardson 4. Thomas H Jonasson 5. Jason Crump 6. Sebastian Aldén 7. Patrick Hougaard ( 8. Robin Aspegren ) *-*-* Piraterna and Lejonen don't ride in this round. *-*-* All meetings can be followed on www.speedway.nu from 19:00 local time.

There is a track in Malmö, the team (Gnistorna) rides in the 3rd tier Division 1 league. They have 5 home meetings left in Division 1: Wednesday July 29th, Gnistorna - Hultsfred's Gymnasium Wednesday August 5th, Gnistorna - Filbyterna Wednesday August 19th, Gnistorna - Eldarna Wednesday September 2nd, Gnistorna - Team Hagfors Wednesday September 16th, Gnistorna - Stjärnorna All meetings starts at 19:00 local time. The closest Elitserien tracks are Gislaved (home of Lejonen, 230 km), Vetlanda (home of Elit Vetlanda, 290 km) and Målilla (home of Dackarna, 320 km).

Three times. 2006 in Motala, 2007 in Kumla and 2009 in Målilla.