chunky

Good point; I hadn't thought about that! Of course, that applied to the old World Final system also... Steve

Nope... What waiheke1 said! Again, I did the maths... Steve

As far as the overall points system, I agree 100%, and I really don't get how so many seem to think that the old system was "far superior"... Steve

My whole point; the overall system is a lot fairer, and minimises the luck aspect. I just feel it is a strange way to determine the winner of an individual GP when you can achieve that by winning just one race! As I have stated before, it would be possible for a rider to win every single GP - and not even finish in the Top 8 at the end of the season! No, it will never happen, but yes, I have done the maths. I see no reason to not adopt the standard 20-heat format, and forget about the semis and finals... if you really want to keep the interest to the very last heat, you could just change the order of heats 17-20 to ensure that the leader (or at least one of the joint leaders) after heat 16 came out in the last race. Steve

I don't agree with the system for determining the winner of an individual GP, but it comes down to the modern desire to have playoffs and finals for everything "in order to maintain interest". However, the overall system for determining the World Champion is far superior to - and much fairer than - the old system. I'm just pleased that winning a GP doesn't count toward the overall championship. Steve

We've said it before, but the top riders from a particular era would have been top riders in ANY era. That approach to sport/life would apply to virtually every true great in any sport. The key to it is not wanting to be better than everybody else, but to be the best that you can be. It doesn't matter if you are already the best - you can be better... Of course, not everybody can/does become THE best (you can't control how good others become), but the important thing is that the desire is there. Particularly these days, too many individuals (in all sports) are cocky and complacent, and think they are "it", and think they don't have to apply themselves. If you don't want to put in the effort, that's fine, but don't whine when somebody comes along and knocks you off your pedestal... Steve

Stop talking sense; anyone (on the BSF, anyway) will tell you how EVERYONE was world-class back then... Steve

Okay, just doing a little checking... The individual placings (race wins etc) are shown, but here is the breakdown of points for each round of races during the 20 qualifying heats. Yes, gate 4 was the worst, but other than heats 5-8, it was remarkably consistent (and not consistently bad either). This was the only really lopsided round of the evening (largely in favour of blue, and against yellow), and you can't really pinpoint the reason. Heats 5-8 were the only time that Gate 4 produced the fewest points. The inside two gates outscored the outside gates by 69 to 51. However, in two of the five rounds (1-4, and 17-20), Gates 3 and 4 outscored the inside two! There are so many factors involved here, but overall, I would say that gate-wise, this was probably one of the most balanced GP's I've seen. Heats 1-4 R - 3, B - 8, W - 7, Y - 6 Heats 5-8 R - 4, B - 11, W - 7, Y - 2 Heats 9-12 R - 9, B - 8. W - 3, Y - 4 Heats 13-16 R - 8, B - 8, W - 3, Y - 5 Heats 17-20 R - 5, B - 5, W - 8, Y - 6 Steve

I don't like Madsen OR Lindgren. However, due to the crap we've all had to deal with today, I AM DELIGHTED THEY BEAT DUDEK!!!

Born to British parents in Britain... Perhaps he should have told his parents, "Nah you go ahead and emigrate; I'll just stay here..."

He will get banned...

I think Falubaz is the most disgusting individual we've ever seen on the BSF...

What makes it even more disgusting when you consider Polish history...

Of course, it is all conjecture right now, but looking at the draw, I think Tai has actually come out of qualifying pretty well considering he was supposedly "penalised"! Going off four against Lambert, Smektala, and Lindback seems to be as good as it could get for him. As I said, it is all conjecture, but all things being equal, I would be quite happy the way things turned out if I was him... Steve

Aabsolutely! My first WTC final was in 1970, and I remember it from then... Edit: looking back at the records, I can't find any trace of a Victor Ludorum from before 1970! However, from then, it became an integral part of the event. Having said that, I can't find any results from the years you mention, but there was a Victor Ludorum at the 1981 Inter-Continental round. Unfortunately, my progs are in storage, but if anyone has copies of any WTC finals from 1980, 81, and post-83, perhaps they can check? Steve

I had a feeling that Anthony was still racing occasionally. Yeah, I got to know Jim from the ice racing. He was also the main force behind the old track (I went to that one) over on the west side. When they lost that, he managed to find this one. Good guy, Jim, and he does a lot for speedway in the area. Steve

Anthony and James both started out in British league racing before moving to the US. Ironically, both moved to the St. Louis area where I was based! I used to hang out with James regularly, but then he got into the family thing and I moved to Cincinnati... Of course Britain is responsible for its own demise, and I think it is just not attractive enough for Americans now. Of course, there isn't the quality of American speedway now, but that could be related to the lack of incentive both here in the US, and in Britain. Steve

Learning from Pedersen...

It took you until now to realise that?

Doesn't matter anyway; I'm watching it for the racing, not just the results. Apparently crumpet isn't interested in that aspect of speedway... Steve

Lebedevs on fire, eh?

Go back to the 1980's, and who would have ever thought that France would get a 5-1 over USA??? Steve

OMG! Cook edgy at the tapes...

I thought he was Frenish???

It didn't seem that long to me, but perhaps it was! Thing is, with none of them ready, that should definitely have been a re-run. Steve