Anders

Jonasson had the following averages in 2006: Elitserien, VMS Elit: 4.60 (4.59 home/4.62 away) Allsvenskan, Lejonen: 8.64 (9.07 home/8.31 away) The stats I give are unofficial averages which I have assembled myself based on the official online result service so it may not be 100% correct. (typing errors, miscalculations etc.) Also, all averages that I have listed includes bonus points. The online results service on speedway.nu didn´t calculate bonus points in 2006 but I think it gives a better view on a rider´s season.

Third post in a row, well, here it goes. To investigate my statto "statement" a bit further, with the riders assumed to be riding for Kaparna (no official statement has yet been made), I can´t build a team which gets them over 35.00... 1. Rafal Szombierski 7.14 2. Renat Gafurov 5.00 3. Piotr Paluch 5.11 4. Pawel Hlib 4.77 5. Rafal Dobrucki 5.34 6. Kim Jansson 4.73 7. Tomas Karlsson 2.00 (junior) (8. Mikael Berntsson 2.00 (junior)) Total: 34.09 Kauko Nieminen 3.57 David Kujawa 2.00 Exchanging Hlib and Jansson for Swiderski 5.41 and a new 5.00 rider will make it exactly 35.00 but leaving Jansson out of the team will never happen until hell freezes over. Options seems limited but they still have places to fill and the official squad will be presented on their website between Christmas and New Years Eve, we´ll just have to wait and see.

Will certainly agree with that statement. Though, his big "advantage" for Kaparna is his average of 7.14 which surely will help them to reach the minimum limit for team building of 35.00. Actually I can´t think of many riders out there with an average over 5.00 which could be helpful in that matter; Piotr Swiderski, Mark Lemon, James Wright, Edward Kennett and Danny Bird (if re-assessed) may be the only ones. BTW, what about Piotr Swiderski? Where is he going?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}> He has always scored well on certain tracks, especially at home in Vetlanda, but has lacked consistency away from home to make his mark on the top level. His Elitserien average from 2004 (5.43 home/1.85 away) or Allsvenskan average with Lejonen from 2005 (10.51 home/6.27 away) are good stats to prove it. In 2006 he had a troublesome average for team building purposes in VMS Elit and rode in only 2 meetings. Overall he rode far less than he should have IMO, 14 meetings in Allsvenskan and odd bookings in Denmark and Poland can´t be enough during a whole season. I think he still may have what it takes to improve and be a solid reserve in Elitserien, he has always had good machinery but needs to improve is overtaking skills and get some solid scores to further boost his confidence on away tracks.

Oh dear, who feels stupid now!? Thank you!

Excellent. The fixtures for Liga 1 can´t be far away I imagine, any news on that fixture list?

Forsberg is decent from the gate but his biggest advantage is his fighting instinct and ability to pass. I agree with Tarabanko on this one, I would also rate Forsberg higher at the moment. Well, yes, Simon Gustafsson isn´t far away from Lindgren and/or Eklöf, but still behind them IMO. Regarding Jonas Messing, I only saw him twice during the season; in his first meeting on Swedish tracks (Vetlanda 4TT back in April) and less than two heats in a Division 1 meeting at Nässjö late August in which he injured/dislocated his shoulder. He was an excellent prospect on 80cc but as I said, I have seen him too little on 500cc to pass judgement.

Loosing Lindbäck, Lindgren and Aldén all at once is definitely a huge loss. With the new rule which means every Elitserien team has do include a junior among the 1-7 in a line-up, riders such as Eklöf, Forsberg, Pettersson and Lindgren (from those who I have mentioned earlier) should benefit a lot from riding against top riders each week, but if that is enough to defend the Swedish silver medal from the U21 WTC remains to be seen. BTW, with the risk of going a bit off-topic, what will be the German team be like with Hefenbrock and Kroner being 22 years old next year? Wölbert, Dilger, Busch, Hertrich and Lischke? Have I forgotten anyone?

Andreas Messing, Thomas H Jonasson, Robin Törnqvist and Ricky Kling seems certain. Robert Pettersson had a slow start to last season, he didn´t ride enough meetings and IMO fell behind others juniors that rode frequently in the Swedish Elitserien but came back towards the end of 2006. Billy Forsberg had his breakthrough in the finals against VMS Elit and will be the steal of the 2007 season with a starting average of 2.00, an absolute bargain in the team building process and a must-be in the Swedish U21 squad. So in a squad of seven riders, it leaves just one place. Viktor Bergström, born 1986, is in his last year of U21 next season and may be good enough for a top 7 place but it seems as tough competition comes from Linus Eklöf and Fredrik Lindgren´s younger brother Ludvig Lindgren, who both are at least three years younger than Viktor. Eklöf and Lindgren may also get more chances than Bergström in Elitserien next season and they are the most likely candidates for a top 7 place in the Swedish U21 squad. And one final note, which will surely make Liverstam happy... I will also keep an eye out for Kim Nilsson, a talanted rider who is the son of Tommy Nilsson and have just had one year of speedway since changing from motocross. Reasonably good gater and with a tidy style and good control on the bike from what I have seen. He needs seasoning in Allsvenskan (Premier League) but could very well challenge for a top 10 spot in the Swedish Individual Junior Championship next season.

Linus is born on March 3rd 1989 and has just completed his second season in 500cc as a member of the Smederna/Team Bikab organisation in Eskilstuna. A member of the Swedish U16 International back in 80cc, took 2nd place in the Swedish U16 Championships back in 2004. Took some steps forward during the second half of 2005 and doubled-up with Bysarna and had a few good meetings from reserve in Allsvenskan League. He continued his development in 2006, making his debut in Smederna, riding in the Swedish U21 team, qualifying for the Nordic U19 Championship (finishing 8th) and made a fine performence in the Swedish U21 Championship in finishing on 8th place with 8 points. Stats: -2005 Bysarna (Allsvenskan), 4 meetings, 15 points in 13 heats, 4.62 incl bonus points Team Bikab (Division 1), 9 meetings, 69+6 points in 36 heats, 8.33 incl bonus points -2006 Smederna (Elitserien), 7 meetings, 6 points in 9 heats, 2.67 average* Team Bikab (Allsvenskan), 14 meetings, 68 points in 60 heats, 4.53 average* * Bonus points were not calculated in official stats for 2006 At first glance, it may seem strange that he averaged less in Allsvenskan in 2006 in comparison with 2005, but keep in mind that bonus points weren´t calculated for official stats in 2006 and that he rode in the main body of the team for most/all of 2006. Definitely a rider for the future who might get himself into the 5 rider Swedish U21 WTC team towards next fall.

Thanks!

Any news regarding the fixture list(s) for Ekstraliga, Liga 1 and Liga 2? I´m thinking of going on a vacation in Poland to take in a couple of meetings and have found a period in the overall view of the Polish calender on Sportowefakty which seems to suit just fine: Obviously my Polish isn´t what it should be, , but am I correct to assume it´s the Pairs Championship Qualifiers on 4/7, 6th round of Ekstraliga on 6/7 and rounds of Liga 1 and Liga 2 on 8/7? But what kind of meeting is "IPP" on 7/7? And have the venues for MPPK and/or the league programme been finalized? Can´t wait to start planning!

Yes, bad news indeed for Bydgoszcz but the Gdansk team looks quite interesting in Liga 1 with Bjarne Pedersen, Tomasz Chrzanowski and Krzysztof Jablonski among the top riders (at the moment). If they could add a decent junior, they should be fighting for promotion to Ekstraliga in 2008 even though the competition from Rybnik and Gorzow (among others) looks extremely stiff.

A wild guess, but Charlie Gjedde would surely fit the bill, Adam Shields would be another or will he stay in Liga 1?

Team Jonasson went down to Poland last weekend and talked to several clubs, Tarnow was one of them. Three clubs are still in the hunt for his signature, Leszno and Tarnow of Ekstraliga and Gorzow of Liga 1, but he hasn´t signed for anyone yet. Thomas will decide on his Polish future by the end of this month. This according to the local Vetlanda newspaper, Vetlanda-Posten, today.

Great that someone finally made a list of Swedish signings (I thought about it but couldn´t make myself do it) which is easy to view and with only confirmed signings. However, I´m almost certain that Tomas Karlsson hasn´t got an average over 2.00 and shouldn´t be included in the nine rider squad. However, as he is a Swedish junior next season he surely will ride in all meetings as it is mandatory to have a Swedish junior in each line-up (No. 1-7). Could anyone confirm?

Makes sense.

Not to forget the best Russian on show in Kumla - Lenar Nigmatzyanov!

The excellent Speedway FAQ website gives all the information you need in the jungle of Swedish averages: http://www.speedway-faq.org/swedish.html#teamfmtn I can´t explain it really, it´s too difficult to be honest.

Mateusz has provided the info from Poland so I´ll give the Swedish info: A Swedish team consist of 7 riders with an optional number 8 who doesn´t have any scheduled rides. Riders 6 & 7 must have lower averages than riders 1-5. Rider 8 must be a Swedish junior with the lowest average of the 8 riders in the line-up.

I´m glad you all enjoyed the online coverage, it seemed the natural thing to do it both in Swedish and English as there are so many International viewers (on the website) for a meeting like that. Heats over by the first bends? Really? I must have slept as Max went from 2nd to 4th in one heat for example. Sure it wasn´t the best of meeting at Vetlanda this year, but I think it was fairly entertaining (Gafurov - what a rider!) and to say it was all over by the first bend, well, I just don´t agree. Well, I´m locking off my office now and I´ll go grab a beer, or what else is left in the restaurant...

LIVE updates are available at: http://www.vmselit.nu/grandfinal/index.php...=23&module=news. Enjoy!

Yes, it is. 1800 Swedish time.

Yes, most likely. I have only one or two things to sort out, so watch this space for a link to the updates come Saturday afternoon (or the Grand Final website, www.vmselit.nu/grandfinal). Should be an interesting evening with many riders riding well in Vetlanda. For you Brits, "Bomber" Harris was excellent in Vetlanda two years ago in the VMS Elit vs Kaparna league meeting and Stead was equally good last week when he scored 9 in 6 for MasarnaAvesta, including two wins over Holta. Howe will have a tough time I imagine...time will tell...

Thomas is born on November 27th 1988. He rode in some Elitserien meetings last year but mostly in reserve and/or junior leagues, he did however make the Swedish U21 final as well finishing in 12th place. This year he has been doubling-down with Lejonen in Allsvenskan, getting valuable experience against tougher opposition as well as getting the confidence of scoring loads of points. For VMS Elit in Elitserien, he has been giving confidence by the team management and been coming along better as the season has progressed, scoring 8 paid 9 in four despite a fall last Tuesday. Thomas is very good from the gate for a rider of his age and he´ll get the speed with the experience for sure. Can ride most tracks but seems to fancy fast tracks, with no difference if they are smaller (like Motala, Avesta) or bigger (like Vetlanda, Eskilstuna).