spook

since when has Sir Kelvin decided what happens within GP picks?...... just because he said something once it really doesnt mean a whole great deal......

I agree with the sentiments but the reality is actually that we have just experienced one of the strongest world championships ...... for a flawed system they are actually making a good fist of it can't disagree but I think it could/should be a close thing between Hans and Kolodziej....... it can easily be argued that Hans has dropped out of the top 8 due to injury and that there is no denying that he is on the pace of the top 8...... quota is in his favour compared to Janusz...... previous chances and not realising his potential arent in his favour i'd love a return to the days of a world championship with integrity and deserving places based on results...... but times have changed More to the point IMG are a corporation who make the majority of their speedway money from Cardiff and feel that there is an relationship between amount of Brits at Cardiff and bums on seats......... personally I think they are wrong cant disagree with the nomination tbh.... Janusz has elevated himself to world class status this season and deserves it.......... more than a little suprised about the effect on 'quota' though.... it is out of character of IMG however isnt the usual process..... FIM nominations and then IMG take those into account and make final decisions? ... this news seems a little premature like Ed Kennett's 'nomination' was last year

without knowing the guy im not sure I can answer that as everyone is built differently and react in different ways to things.......... I personally was outraged last winter when he was offered the wildcard ... (and before that when Tai and Ed were rumoured).......... speedway history and common sense dictates that it was a reckless decision by IMG that was most likely putting at stake a young rider's career at a time when he had enough to deal with this year imho has shown that Tai is not consistent enough, does not have enough big race experience..... and has not yet developed enough track craft to float at this level.....he may or may not be reacting well to it within himself but the competition out there is cut throat and he has generally been off the pace both on track and in the table tbh in the circumstances he has done everything expected.... grief is a tricky thing when it involves parents and I take my hat off to the lad for getting through the season without doing a Reggie Perrin considering the magnification he has been under...................... but lets not lose sight of the facts .....49 points from 11 gp's (or 56 races) is an extremely poor return and is down there with the very worst in GP history similar poor seasons have ended up sinking the majority of the respective riders GP careers.......but Tai is just getting started and is so young that he could easily have 3 or 4 years out and still come back a youngster...... I think it is inevitable that Tai will be top 8 standard but only if he is allowed to grow at his own pace completely agree and while i'm not adverse to a bit of impartial commentary, the pressure that ends up being heaped on his shoulders, and the viewers expectation of him, is just too much.......... personally I think IMG and Sky should turn it down a bit.. one thing I never caught up with...... am I right in remembering that because Tai didnt qualify for the GB final that it will rule him out of being nominated for world championship qualifying this season?

quite right Iris it is a sad reflection of where we currently are.... however credit where credit is due and Bomber is not just 6th... not just 2 points off 4th.... but also with the exception of Gollob the strongest rider in the field in the final third of the season .... in fact only Greg and Nicki P got anywhere near to matching him (as SCB has pointed out) so should we recognise the chances that he has been given? yes of course... just like we did with Scott and Rico...... should we bang on about it in every single post we make? ... quite honestly no because that would be obsessive, unrealistic, and bitter............ the reality is that he qualified for 2011 on his own merit..... was entertaining along the way (an argument for Kolodziej)...... and lets not forget that this coincided with the first year that Bomber was getting some dirt to suit a racer..... Bomber has been one of a group of racers who Olsen was gradually forcing out due to his personal obsession with slickness well done Bomber .... and on this form 2011 is an exciting prospect as long as he can maintain and build on this... and im in no doubt he can now that his machinery is 'up to scratch' ..... the tracks are fairer for racers.... and his mentality is now one of a gater and winner belt up subedei/ladyluck

It would certainly be a strange move for the selectors to give Darcy a WC over Holder...... Harris is showing what he is capable of now we have some tracks with dirt on and his machinery and gating have improved.... and it would be scandalous if they booted out a 3 time world champion in the form that he is currently showing in the GP's Darcy clearly is not ready yet.... just like we knew Tai wasnt at the end of last year.... but there is also the quota issue, of which the Aussies suffer more than most with.....when will IMG be happy with 3 Aussies?..... i'd suggest that it is when the Aussies start hosting GP's or when 3 Aussies force their hand by qualifying thats a good solution which not only guarantees the poles of a full quota in their GP's but also the series of a racer ... which the Olsen years gradually eroded the numbers of.......... however it does compromise IMG's usual quota practices with the Polish contingent possibly ending up with double the amount of riders than anyone else...... Hampel suffered for years because of quota.... unless personnel or attitudes have changed within IMG I don't see why Janusz is different it would be absolutely outrageous... we thought Tai's WC for 2010 was an over reaching wishful thinking naive move but at least they had the untested, untried and unknown on their side.... they do not have that in Tai's defence for 2011 I agree nationality shouldnt come into it... but only to a degree as even the old world championship had its own quota system of sorts ....even if it was a bit more relaxed about it however the reality is that we have been shown time and time again that it is the most influential dynamic when it comes to deciding permanent wildcards so it will probably continue being so a few rumours have been posted over the last week suggesting similar things...... the upshot of which would be some serious questions over: 1) the non inclusion of Jonsson who while he has not had a great year is not off the pace of the top 8 but more importantly has been one of the top riders in the series for a number of years and has not been given a 'chance' before.... is he capable of doing what Holta has been doing the last 2 years? 2) while Hans has been given chances before it is still the case that he has been injured for a number of GP's now and his top 8 status has suffered along the way 3) which 2nd Brit? What 2nd Brit is good enough? Scott? Rico? Tai? The series is stronger, faster and more professional than ever before....... so how would the previously embarrased Rico and Scotty match up? ....... and not only as HenryW has mentioned that Tai's best performance was a semi on 7 points but perhaps more importantly he has shown himself to be out of his depth with his track craft and knowledge of lines....... far too often he has stayed on the white line when the other 15 guys have worked out that the best lines are not there.... far too often it has been Tai who has not won his heat off the very dominant gate when he has had his turn on it.......... I am certain that he will eventually be good enough at this level but he hasnt been this season and he isnt showing any sign that he will be for next season either Ed was rumoured before the picks last year but has not had a good season... Lewis? Danny? Ben?........ the reality is that we just dont have enough options at the highest level at the moment no matter how much IMG would like us to have ....... imo it just causes the sport damage to continue with farcical situations like this... it would be far better to forget about 'the 2nd Brit' until there actually is one to merit consideration for a WC

I agree with everything said so far and maybe following this it might be a good idea for the powers that be to insert a clause to make sure it doesnt happen again

I think you are pretty much on the money there Whether people like it or not (and I personally don't) a quota system rules in the IMG offices..... and that combined with the amount of GP's a nation holds along with just how much a rider stands out determines the picks......... a couple of years ago it was possible for a couple of nations to have 4 riders but for every Russian (and future extra Aussie) who qualifies it makes it less of a viable scenario for IMG unless they are strongarmed into it due to qualification results Emil and Nicki are nailed on WC's for obvious reasons........ that leaves the Danes and the Swedes with only two riders each and the brits with one....... significantly there is no new Brit to try ....and despite sporadic improvement from Tai IMG are not going to be able to justify a 2011 selection for him..... its a similar story for the Danes and Swedes with no stand out guys.............. so I also reckon its going to be Andersen and Jonsson coming back .............. the major threat to that scenario is not Kolodziej imho but an inadvisable bringing back of Scott or Rico purely based on quota...... If it works out that way Janusz can count himself unlucky ..... but this is what Hampel went through for what ended up being a few years

it looks like it will all hang on the drainage setup .... the forecasts are for heavy rain right up to 6... but then clear from that point http://www.accuweather.com/en-gb/it/friuli-venezia-giulia/udine/hourly.aspx

ive just had a look at the breakdown of my bill and i'm paying £27.50 for sport + movies (with Virgin)...... I believe to take away the films it would probably only take away another few quid ............. but I have the 'XL (vip?) package' with Virgin so i'm not sure how much it would cost on other packages

Kolodziej has always been an exciting racer imo and is the kind of rider that would really compliment the series whispering will always take place when things look and feel out of place...... and imo more and more is starting to appear out of place as you say 'if only to reassure us'.... although I would suggest that any world championship worth its salts should be doing everything in its power to keep man and machine clean to remain a reputable competition..... especially one looking to aim high

he obviously felt that the odds were good that something was amiss.... why would he think that? I think its time that the authorities made sure that everything is transparent and mandatory...... all bikes impounded after a meeting (like F1 and MOTOGP) and nothing hushed up when it suits them.......... the sport has a bad rep going back many decades now and it is high time that it is improved............... I am certain that it would be costly and might take time but the authorities must make sure that they are on the cutting edge and that the field is level for all and for the record Ove is right

I tend to agree with tocha tbh ......... the signs are not good if the gp's are starting to be messed with for the sake of non descript golf and boxing contests....... putting it behind the red button will not force people over from Virgin and I am certain that they have bigger fish to fry than speedway fans! all that said though it is extremely annoying and does make me think twice about the mega bucks being paid for sport+films if i'm forced over to dubious means on the internet.... and whether sky like it or not that would have a knock on effect as some of the money I pay virgin gets paid to them hopefully it will be another good gp night and things will remain tight...... i'm hoping that Bomber can continue his impressive recent form.... and that crumpy can eat into that lead some more teeing up a spectacular climax to the season

well done to Harris and while its great to watch him like this it does very much highlight how his issues over time have been confidence and mechanically related........ I feel bad for him in the final as once again the idiot ref felt that he had to take centre stage by holding the start .... Herbie's superior experience came into effect and I doubt there are many who would begrudge him the win........... re: gate picks .... I raised an eyebrow at the gate picks for the semi's as they went against the previous raft of races.... but those choices were proven correct.............. so ask yourself what Bomber was supposed to choose other than gate 1.... gate 2? it seems to be a bit of a dumb choice to allow herbie on your inside doesn't it? ....... the bottom line is that Herbie gated well and Bomber didnt (regardless of opinion as to what the ref was playing at) The idiot ref also struck with the second semi ... and incidents like this should not be allowed to just float past without being dealt with...... if guy's like him are going to be left in charge and these things are going to happen then corrections should be allowed to take place after... where it is sensible for it to happen imho the track wasnt good enough and if you had the wrong sequence of gates you were well up against it... looks a nice arena though The fight to be in the top 8 continues and although Herbie and Bomber have profited today it is far from over ....... although if there is one big potential story to add to the last week of permanent pick wildcard speculation it is Nicki Pedersen's current position................ he has now come adrift and is battling with Zorro fairly off the pace of the fight for the top 8 (3 gp's remaining ...17 points behind)......................... more importantly though is his attitude.... he just doesnt seem to want to know and is starting to show on track sulking signs that we all know and recognise well...... If he continues in this way... and allows Zorro to overtake him in the standings I think he is going to be in grave danger of not being offered a wildcard for 2011... no matter how unthinkable that seems! Subedei can we expect you to start the 'Bomber for 4th campaign'?

in the early 80's Joe Owen was riding NL speedway .... the best anyone has it has to be said!... but still it was 2nd tier and yes there was a time when steve schofield was relied upon next....

tbh they were rough lists and nothing to put under the microscope... although I was expecting someone to do it David Norris didnt become the real deal at that level until it was virtually time to call it a day imho... his 'generation' reflected that.... I think the mentions of Andy Galvin and Andrew Silver outline how the rot had set in already...... of course Andrew didnt fulfil his potential and despite the entertaining style became a middle order average rider but the lack of options meant he was an option to fall back on for the national team....... was Andy Galvin realistically ever an option for anything other than good value in the 2nd tier? (despite his international cap) Dugard was a world finalist in 1989 so to some extent is one of those who cross the boundary.... but yes if we are obsessing about things then i'd have to agree with you that he would come later and maybe we should swap him with Marvyn it was a shame about Ali Stevens..... he helped plug the gap that Marvyn left behind at Rye, along with Andrew and we were fortunate to have seen 3 guys with huge potential pass through the club in a short space of time.......... The last I heard of Ali was that he was apparently working for a Porsche showroom in Herts I guess last season was a bit of a distraction as our younger guys were being pushed and there was hope in some quarters that it would have an effect..... with their disappointing reaction to that this season it just highlights even more the real trouble that we have............ by the time that Nicholls and Richardson retire (or go PL) will two of Kennett, Bridger, King and Barker have stepped up to the plate to replace them? or will it be a continuation of the 1 step forward 2 steps back we have been experiencing with each retirement?

interesting and controversial! I take it this was a protest by Walasek then as surely it couldnt be Kolodziej as he was on an even faster bike than Laguta! I do wonder about the testing procedure and how up to scratch it is...... technology can make or break a rider's career these days..... so if they are pushing the boundaries so hard to gain the extra speed........... what are the FIM/IMG doing to keep up with them? Are they still carrying out the same old checks? and are those good enough?

tbh this just shows the gradual decline for me though....... probably the last 4 generations: Nicholls, Harris, Richardson, Woffinden, Norris, Stead, Kennett, Loram, Havvy, Louis, Screen, Cox, Smith, Stonehewer Wigg, Tatum, Doncaster, Dugard, Cross, Thorp, Schofield Carter, Morton, Peter Collins, Les Collins, Lee, Jessup, Davis even though the standard has quite obviously plummeted from those early 80's days.... the difference is probably better illustrated with the riders that came further down in the pecking order......... the likes of the Grahame brothers, Steve Bastable, John Louis, Gordon Kennett could have formed a national B team that would give our current A team a run for their money.... let alone vs King, Bridger, Barker, Wright, Robson!..... and this is probably reflected through the Wigg and Loramski eras as well I'm sure these things go through cycles and we were due a quiet era or two anyway but the level of idiocy and negligence at promoter level has been quite beyond belief down the years........ ladydei is spot on to highlight the assessed averages as the promoters knew of the current issue 10/5/3 years ago ..... so if you are governing the british league system and you know the issue exists do you allow the acceleration of overseas signings at a rate never experienced before? I'm all for the influence of overseas riders and in particular I have admiration for the spirit of the Aussies..... but what kind of balanced governance do the bspa call this? What direction is this going in exactly?

quite right Havvy should be there as someone who won something... and Stoney as someone who did it against the odds zorro style re: Kelvin .... I don't think BFD has completely the wrong end of the stick Henry... I think he understood perfectly that the number was being used as a tool...... and imo Kelvin is correct to focus on that as one important stat because it reflects where the promoters heads are as much as anything else.......I'm not sure Kelvin was particularly looking to apportion blame on the Aussies though.... they are after all just taking opportunity and making a good fist of it..... being fair though it isnt the most important stat...... there are others more important such as numbers of brits in their own league system.... number of training tracks..... level of support and sponsorship...... number of governing rules brought in to encourage investment in grass roots..... in fact probably the biggest stat is number of promoters who give a damn considering they rule themselves............ exactly ...... I think we all expected Cross, Cox, Knight and co just to continue the work of generations before them but it didnt happen with the exception of a great night for Havvy........... I don't remember an issue with the amount of Brits in the leagues at that point though ... just a lessening of Brits making it to the very top.......... I am sure that if things had remained the same in the league system then that cycle would have been broken eventually one thought is that despite it being widely criticised the old British League once had a policy of 1 mandatory british novice per team...... maybe it was just coincidence but one of those novices was Mark Loram

it almost makes it look like the decline has only taken place during the last decade!...... I just had to check 99 as the alzheimers is kicking in these days..... Screen and Louis were hot property in those days ...along with Andy Smith honing his limpet impression .. numbers of swedish riders had become out of control though which probably had more to do with it I'd love to hear a get together of our last decent generation (Loram, Screen, Louis, Tatum) to see what they have to say about it all and what they think the differences are between now and then

but now lets get into the real world Marcel whether we like them or not ... the facts are that BSI/IMG have consistently on an annual basis given the brits wildcards.... to the degree where they have embarrassed themselves on a couple of occasions now so we can assume that this mission of IMG's isnt just going to evaporate overnight??.... I think it is safe to say that no matter what we post or posture with there will be at least one Brit in the championship next season The good news though is that IMG are under more pressure than they have ever been under to weaken the Brit representation down to just one.....and I think it is going to happen.... can they really bring Tai back over Greg or Kolodziej (AJ, Hans or Nicki)? ...... there never has been any investment into Tai despite what others will have you believe..... just a very premature and naive wildcard that has been proven as such............... the only chance for two brits is if someone gets on the sherry and decides that Nicholls will come good this time (ie learn hows to gate, watches the lines that everyone else takes, has good machinery, and a professional setup and approach for the entire season) Its racing like tonight that reminds us that its a poor era for the British rider but we do still have one guy who belongs in the company...... and maybe the blessing and improvement for next season's championship is that its more obvious than ever that we do just literally have one

so the brits are doing us proud then

I'm hoping that IMG are more in tune this season than any other and realise that there is no way to justify two picks....... the level of competition is fierce and probably the highest the GP's has seen... its borderline to warrant one pick as it is!......... I see no point in pushing Tai back in so soon.... and the reality is that Scott and Rico had enough chances to gain top class teams and machinery around them and they ended up well adrift of the pack

i'm not sure that this applies to what people are asking though.............we have seen this in the case of Davey Watt coming in to replace Emil through Emil being unable to take his place In the case of Freddie making the top 8 i'm not so sure that the qualifying spot doesnt fall into the black hole of IMG/FIM freedom and manipulation............ someone suggested in a recent post that this very scenario did happen in recent years and that it resulted in a permanent wildcard pick rather than the next qualifier slotting in............. I hope for Kolodziej's sake that doesnt happen if that scenario happens

I wouldnt be so sure! with the current battle for the top 8 stretching to 12 riders..... and IMG's quota system needing to be considered (involving things like the amount of Poles making the top 8, and the amounts of the other 'major' nations)..... I dont think it will be so straight forward...especially including two russians now I think their 4 picks already involve 1) Emil 2) NickiP (unless he qualifies as of right) 3) a brit (unless Bomber qualifies) that then leaves a decision over Kolodziej, & Hancock, Hans and AJ if they havent made the top 8.......... I can see them doing this by quota and having the swedes, poles and danes all on 3 each .............. or maybe they will see it as a natural time for Greg to be replaced by someone younger in the end it really could be as simple as Zorro and Tai out.... Artem and Antonio in congrats to Artem, Antonio and Freddie ......they were all worth their placings with Artem in particular the stand out guy..... he seems very technically gifted and ready to mix it with the big guys...... bad bad luck for Kolodziej and I think it is going to be tight as to whether he is offered a spot or not good to see the brits didnt disgrace themselves in the end.... but I have lost count now of how many times the brits turn up to a meeting with the wrong setup ..... gp's, swc, qualifier it doesnt matter it seems as we have double our share of seemingly inferior prep

yes I believe as things stand and based on performances this season Chris Bomber Harris deserves a wilcard. It has been the same for all riders during previous years but imo Harris suffered more than most during the Olsen era due to his riding style (ie rubbish gating followed by dirt seeking board blasting). He is on the top 8 pace along with Hancock, Pedersen, Lindgren, Jonsson... his machines have been competitive this season .... and he has been spectacular at times.... if I was IMG I would be trying my best to make sure that these 5 riders make it in for next season as the competition also needs to be about the best riders in the world Bomber will most likely never win the world title just like he will most likely never gate well enough at this level...... but I would prefer the competition to have a certain level of racers in the field rather than the gating tart competition that Olsen was building hopefully the issue will never be tested and Bomber qualifies either tomorrow or he gets himself in the top 8