spook

imho Bomber hadnt looked like that since his first season when on Brian Andersen machinery ............. his issue since then has obviously always been machinery and rubbish slick tracks magnifying his poor gating hopefully Bomber and his team have hit on the start of a streak

thx ghostwalker http://webbkameror.se/trafikkameror/trafik...ror_gbg_907.php doesnt strike me as a good omen when the roads are as reflective as the river!

maybe our friend who was producing torrents in previous years will continue?

thx for that Iris Nice spread of nationality qualified there

I'll keep Crumpy as my captain please

no kidding! There is nothing to knock about last night ...... we had a fest of passing.. and re passing... and re passing ...... we had a wider line in only the 4th heat (when was the last time that we had that?!) ...... but unlike the fare we have been used to in recent years the inside and mid lines did not disappear........ It was a shame that gates 1 and 2 dominated but in some ways it was fairer to what we have experienced in the past as it meant there weren't any grading shenanigans taking place........ and on a track like that gating was not as important as usual anyway hats off to a great start by Tony Olssen but there is a potential catch to this approach that definitely needs a plan B in reserve.... and that is that when it rained Ole never had to blade the track ........ Tony's problem is making sure that each track has the equipment and capable staff to get it bladed quickly and with the minimum of fuss

absolutely loving watching this....... its about time that the world championship got the track prep that it deserves now the sport has a product to be proud of!

hope i'm not too late......in betting terms the event hasnt started yet 1. Jason CRUMP £50,000 9. Fredrik LINDGREN £35,000 12. Chris HOLDER £35,000 6. Nicki PEDERSEN £45,000 13. Jaroslaw HAMPEL £25,000 and my captain is crumpy please cheers for running this again

based on recent years then within that top 16 they won't fair well at all.... this is possibly the strongest GP field that we have seen and it is asking a lot for them to overcome the odds............... that said though I think Tai made massive strides last season and will continue to do so this season...... the Aussie in him tells me not to underestimate him...... much is possible Bomber's fortunes are reliant on an improved bike setup, improved finances and improved mentality....... not to mention Tony Olsson sticking a few inches of extra dirt down

bingo! the source of a lot of domestic issues so what are they currently doing to solve that? The problem is not going to go away by itself its an interesting idea sprocketrocket and would go some way to making the sport more 'familiar' for those new fans ........... if it was a winner and it meant that 16-24 riders were lost from the league system then tbh its not as much a big issue as others are making out...... those riders would soon be replaced even if it meant going down to 6 man teams for a season The sport needs something to come along to gather interest and get a ball gathering pace and momentum..... not sure if this is the type of thing that would achive that or not.............. but it would certainly open the door for 'team Honda' 'team Yamaha' 'team Kawasaki' 'team Suzuki' etc .......... and that in my personal opinion should be a holy grail for those that run speedway

I also thought the knockout format was good ... but it did have some failings first of all it was proving to be a money pit for those at the bottom of the standings...... in fact it wasnt exactly great for those at the sweet sixteen phase....... and this is ultimately why they got rid of it....... there would need to be a cash injection before it came back the riders in the qualifiers were caught in a trap... a financial and ontrack one....... losing money meant speculating to accumulate (but against the odds) or tightening up.... most appeared to take the latter route and the difference in machinery had become very obvious The ontrack trap was having to work that much harder to be on an even keel with others........... and of course at a time in the meeting when the track is at its worst = gate positions deciding As much as I liked the system I thought that it was quite fitting that its last year was the year it helped to end Mark Loram's World Championship career...... as much as it may have helped him in 2000 it did him no favours later on and it is the current format that he would have thrived with imo

strange odds in general tbh........ Lindgren's odds are charitable..... and Holder's are daylight robbery considering the usual debut season put in by a rider................ Gollob got a sniff of the title in the final GP last season yet Mr Perennially underachieving Jonsson comes in lower more to the point... what are the odds of a proper bonafide well run machine inspection process being brought in this season?

i'm another who will be shouting for Zorro this season........ I like a good underdog story .....and the qualification process must be backed and protected

indeed... and debuts since 2002........? Zagar 2006 (7th) Hampel 2004 (8th) and since the start of the gp's .... Sullivan 1998 (7th) Brian Andersen 1997 (6th) Nilsen 1997 (8th) Peter Karlsson 1996 (6th) in all the riders who have entered the gp's very few have managed it since 1996, and especially in recent years..... like I said Bomber's whisker away from 8th was one of the best debut gp seasons ....and the issue has been since then

lets be fair now .... he missed out by a gnats whisker and it was his debut year ........ how many rookies in recent years have made the top 8? (in fact how many permanent wildcards have?!) I'm interested in what has gone wrong since aside from the periods of duff gating on slick tracks....... it seems to me that his machinery has not been the same since Brian Andersen

well this is the issue isnt it? Nobody knows because it hasnt been put to the test.... and it doesnt look like this generation of IMG management are willing to put it to the test. More and more as time goes by it appears to be about one or both of two things..... the Cardiff attendance or the finer details of the Sky contract re: the Bomber/Rico debate... I felt that they were the two who should be in .... maybe that was as inspiring a choice as offering it to someone like Peter Karlsson.... but Mr Karlsson is actually a very good example of what has gone wrong with the GP's................ only a part of speedway has ever been about 'box office'... and imo its certainly true that the day contrived and over reaching decisions were made in the name of 'box office' is the day that the sport loses a chunk of credibility.............. Peter Karlsson is still at the top of the game in multiple leagues and yet has been out of the GP's since what seems like forever............. so what is the issue? Is it that Black Country hurdy gurdying? is it that he is a speedway pensioner? or is it that he has some fetching steel frames on his face and a down to earth attitude?......... I think the group of guys who are now being passed over is becoming too large.... or rather the average difference between those in the competition and the new blood is too much......... is there really a tangible point where a rider has had his last chance?

wish I had a quid for everytime ive said the same over the last few years as well!

there have been some great races over the years between the old boys..... but the writing has been on the wall for a while...... the combination of Ole and the top boys has resulted in sterile and safe tracks and racing..... IMHO Emil has had a bigger effect on the GP's than we perhaps felt at first..... although his chasing back wheels is slightly deranged it has illustrated just how safe some have become in what is ultimately a slightly deranged sport........ it also illustrated the need for more grip on the tracks if it results in guys like him cutting through from the back All that said I cant blame the older guys and playing the %'s is the reason that Crump will be adding another couple of championships if his machinery can stay competitive tbh I thought it was quite a good comparison...... lets call Bomber's 'drop' out of Champions League qualifiers and into UEFA groups his GP Challenge final tbh I cant help feeling that too much is being made out of it...... arent we already used to this after last year? as others have said werent there only 3 options for 2 places anyway? I find the handout for the Brits as embarrassing as the next fan and I can cast rose tinted glasses back to the good ole days as much as the next fan ..... but time is a funny thing and what is this era's Brit were previously Eastern Europeans... then Aussies... and could be future Scandinavians

you could well be on the money MrW but it made me chuckle that you were the one who thought of it I dont see why that couldnt take pride of place amongst the relevant rulings........ I understand why the GP lineup is part qualification and part seeding but the carrot and stick approach will always make riders more hungry and in this case the competition would hold more integrity.............. I couldnt care less if a rider's name is Emil Darcy-Woffinden or Lee Nicholls-Harris... if they cant be bothered to enter the qualifiers and make sure of their place for the following year then they should be ruled out because the modern world is a ruthless and contrived place.......... we do know the reasons why we have two brits in ... we do know why Chris Harris has been the only rider to gain a permanent wildcard over someone who scored more than him (twice!)... apart from Hans who BSI were making a point to about toeing the party line a world championship without the best 16 riders in the world is hardly a new thing....in fact it has rarely happened in the past.. so why is it imperative now? Yes I agree in an ideal speedway world it would be the way but our sport is far from ideal currently. If it is because of Sky/IMG/Cardiff then it isnt difficult for us to recognise it... even if we dont agree and we feel IMG have sold a part of the competition's soul............................ but even then we have to recognise all those years of having at least 4 Eastern Europeans in the world final who clearly were only there because of that era's version of seeding I wonder if IMG/Sky have it wrong and that attendance/viewing figures would be unchanged if there were less/no Brits in the competition.... or I wonder if they are bang on the money and every promoter around the country should be taking note............. while there is a chance that they are right to be cautious I personally cant blame them for that. What I think many in this thread are missing is that we actually have one of the strongest lineups ever..... lets face it Tai, Bomber and Magnus are no mugs and yet we are all writing them off in no uncertain terms ... simply because the field is incredibly strong.... in fact I would describe them as better than the Verner's, Stancl's, Adorjan's, Kasper jr's etc of old

well in the grand scheme of things Tai and Bomber are not bad choices .....but do they both deserve to get a permanent wildcard? Once we have got over the fact that IMG are going to continue to protect 2 places for the brits then its all about if they chose the right ones or not. I cant help feeling that it should have been Bomber and Rico Bomber had one of the best debut seasons in recent years and then followed that up with a couple of seasons slightly off the top 8 pace............. but I understand why he is being given chances... he has had no dirt to use at all in 3 years and a Bomber with some dirt under him is a different prospect............. he has to deliver this season though and with the field as frighteningly strong as it is i'm not sure he is up to the task unless he has tip top machinery and a hungry attitude Tai is a season too early imo and I just hope that he has reserves of steely determination because I think he is going to need them......... I hope they both prove me wrong and go from strength to strength ........ and I hope Ed gets himself into a position to be considered for 2011 as of right

I may be wrong but I think the Zagar reference was about which 4 riders the FIM recommended to IMG ...... IMG agreed on 3 of them but not Matej do we know who the FIM have recommended for this year?

no motor sport world championship is contested by the best racers ....... most instead are made up of those with the best connections and whos face fits a competition involving the best 16 riders in the world is a great dream..... but its just a dream as no one can remain impartial ... as IMG are proving... suddenly 'box office' becomes an apparent key factor with guys like Lindback and Woffinden becoming must have's whether they are ready or not and whether there are other unfashionable riders who are better than them or not ...... then we have 'quota' as a factor regardless of if one of the 'major' speedway nations has the riders to really contend or not a closed shop competition is just as flawed as the old qualification system used to be and although I would prefer a bit more of a radical qualifying system ... things arent badly balanced at the moment............... if anything the biggest issue is probably for IMG to recognise that they need to find a way to level the playing field ..... and recognise that most high profile motor sports have very transparent and efficient systems for keeping things fair and cheat free ..... recognise it before something happens that would tarnish the competition anyway

thx Ballinger I didnt spend as much time on it as I should have done... missing my windows of opportunity but it was good to do reasonably well at something

by all means Blackbird It involves that strange thing of waiting until someone is ready...... rather than wishing him to survive based on the stir he has created on Sky .................maybe a minimum of an 8 point average in all of the big leagues is a good starting point? ....... enough time in the sport to gather enough sponsorship and the right crew for the highest level?........ Is 4 years in the sport before going head to head with Tomasz in Bydgoszcz enough? Nicki at Cardiff? i'm concerned with some of the decisions being made and the motives behind them if this is more than just a rumour.............. this smacks of a short term decision based on one or a few persons idea of what is good financially ........ but imo it is playing poker with the long term careers of two of our brightest hopes would you prefer a more well recognised speedway cliche to be trundled out Blackbird? ..............."Disappointment at the back for the young Brit"?

isnt the problem though that if he scores as much as Nicholls then he has had a disastrous campaign and has been looking at the back wheel of third place more times than is psychologically healthy? and if he scores as much as Bomber then he hasnt had as disastrous a season but on the strength of what people are saying then he doesnt deserve to stay in the competition I'm still failing to see the point of putting a rider in when it is either obviously too early..... or in Tai's case is likely to be too early... instead of waiting for them to grow naturally no one likes an unripe avocado... or erm something like that