spook

thx do we know what time it starts?

I was thinking the same.... considering he had just made a motocross jump you would have thought he would have realised what had happened and wouldnt be up for more unecessarily the same Ole who for sure used to excel in wet conditions..... but that was only because he always served up a track in case rain happened..... stuff the fact that it killed the racing on the 90% dry nights! It is understandable that Gothenburg should be considered but I agree ...... if a track is just not getting the fans and it looks less than good on TV then if there are other options they should be explored................ attendances like last night and Elite League Pairs do no good for speedway when televised

that is good news that its not a break

devastated about crumpy ..... best of luck to him and I hope that he comes back with all guns blazing like someone else posted the authorities were damned whatever they did...... but for me the three major factors should be 1) safety, 2) the nature of the track.... & 3) economics of restaging I think Laguta's first ride gave an indication of just how close they were riding to the wind on the safety issue IMHO the shape of the Gothenburg track was not going to give us any kind of positive racing in these weather conditions and re: the economics ... I have no idea of what it would cost for the GP to be held on the Sunday..... but FIM, IMG, the riders, travelling fans, TV viewers, Polish clubs etc etc know that Sunday is always a possibility............................ if it has come down to a likelyhood that the rain will continue well into tomorrow then I guess we go into costing figures that only IMG and the riders know...... but that should also be compared to the cost to the reputation of the series of serving up racing like tonight's

could make this round's scores interesting if they award the meeting

lets see if I can lose more points #1 Tomasz Gollob 13 #5 Greg Hancock 9 #16 Wild Card 3 #11 Fredrik Lindgren 8

looks like it could have been a good meeting well done US and Germany

so all depends on if your glass is half full or half empty then

ah that explains that one.....I missed out on the MX last season sounds good for GB as he is only going to get better

good choice! Wembley Tokyo Montreal Paris

what a talent he is too.... his Dad has a very strong Scottish accent but Dean's is very odd and is part Scottish, Canadian and Californian as far as I can tell...... not sure if he has declared nationality yet in terms of things like motocross des nations I can see Dean and Ken Roczen being two of the main men in the years to come

tbh its more a case of how many overseas riders are there? ..... and at most its only ever a handful in any given season It is also quite telling that the broadcasters/organisers rarely mention their nationality and give their current US town as their address rather than where they are from...... Chad Reed (Aussie) who is one of the most successful riders in its history is also one of the most disliked .....and not for much reason as far as I can see! It is a shame that the IMG and Penhall/Morans/Sigalos/etc eras couldnt coincide

I was all ready to post my selections earlier but I thought i'd better not as you guys will just copy me

fantastic it is too! big finale to possibly the best season ever this Saturday If IMG can capture what the American public want in speedway then I am in no doubt that the SGP show would match up well to Supercross

I think the qualifiers are necessary as well for variety although I dont think they usually provide us with the best 16 like Iris says... I think the top 16 is and always will be an impossible dream but there is the opportunity with the WC on the night to make things a bit more spicy this seems the most sensible to me although I do think that a maximum quota amount should also be a factor

imho its not disimilar to the world championship format discussion ..... what we would like to be the case is not always what is practical, good, or likely to happen ideally on paper I would like to see the top 16 riders.... if riders from a particular nation dont make it then they know where the bar is that they have to work towards........................ but commercial interests dont always fit in with this and it is easy to see in the case of IMG and the SGP, that it doesnt in some cases we have had the two strongest lineups ever with a policy of quota .....so they must be doing a lot of things right

I swear you just come on here to troll

I think you see what you want to see Ladyluck lol what I actually said about Cardiff in reply to the previous posters was So no I havent compromised anything...... the WC in Italy was literally half a lap behind..... this quite obviously cant be defended and quite obviously didnt go down well with IMG and is probably why they have changed policy These coals have already been raked over in this section and as much as you dislike things British it is not going to change one iota that IMG have already conceded their unspoken policy of more than one Brit permanently in the competition and 3+ at Cardiff... and are unlikely to concede much further in the short term............. the bottom line is that Cardiff is their flagship and they will do everything in their power to make sure that it is successful..... until the day that they believe it will happen with Joe Bloggs from Australia/Poland/etc and we don't have riders capable of reasonably staying on the pace i'd imagine the Cardiff WC's will remain British re: Darcy/Poland I suggest you take up your point/argument with Philip then...... although it isnt difficult to work out why Poland is a possibility when they already have 4 in the competition... and this very subject goes full circle back to gearhead's opening post re: Matej WC...... I guess we will learn a lot more this year of what the future intentions are with WC's ...... I should imagine the tracks will continue to nominate in the same way.... doesnt mean it will happen though

yes I think I would include the Czechs in that category...... Even if it meant another 5 Pole GP Rafal would be a far better choice than Matej who already on paper looks like he will struggle to stay on the pace..... If that route is going to be taken though I would much prefer to see younger form riders like Ward & Pawlicki given some experience as I believe one issue in the SGP is the sheer experience of some which can lead to them being limpets ..... and Dobrucki isnt likely to change that in the long term when you say 'heading for the Prague wildcard' what leads you to believe that?

I guess the issue with the wildcards these days is the level of machinery and mental approach.......... look at 95% of the races and you can lay a blanket over the riders in the first few bends... to not only be ready for that but also succeed seems to take time in the competition........... machinery also seems to be a factor and while the top 15 use their 'gp bikes' what is the wildcard using? With danger of waking up our resident Darcy cheerleader ..... Ward is a perfect current example of why the wildcards are a better thing than 16 official riders........ now that they have changed policy and reverted back to something like it used to be where they can choose any rider from any country ....Darcy should be given his chance asap I believe it is countries like Italy and Croatia who are the reason for the rule change..... as it will now mean that riders wont be half a lap behind like in Italy last season........ and while I wouldnt disagree that Great Britain has become a 2nd rate speedway country... I think it is in need of a wildcard that will put bums on seats (probably needs to be British) I would be happy with a system where Darcy for instance was given a chance and depending on results stayed in for the next GP......... i'm not sure that there are ever that many riders out there unincluded who are possible top 8/12 standard

They should see how Alex Raby is fixed up for the season..... he would do a professional job for them

sadly local councils do

bah 23 points behind after one round..... now I know how Laguta must be feeling

such a shame to start of the GP season with a track like this.... especially when its Leszno

nice one TNT.... and I like the spread betting approach ok my 4 picks for this round are #16 Wild Card (Balinski) #3 Crump #2 Hampel #6 Harris