spook

i'd love to see some kind of 'feeder' competition or '2nd tier' but I guess it would be impractical unless the desire of the riders meant that they were prepared to break even or run at a loss for the chance to get in.............. it would certainly change a few attitudes towards the 'world championship' though and mean that the cream really would rise to the top with classy guys discarded suddenly breaking back in

Tomasz as my captain please

no I liked that format as well.... even if it was painful to watch Jason Lyons, Bo Brhel and later on Loramski get sucked into their vicious circle of fortnightly financial losses, low confidence and pants machinery there is also something to say about the format we have now though and the fact that all riders get 5 opportunities a meeting as it was frustrating to watch someone eliminated after only two rides

great post Pandorum but the thing that bothers me here is that people are getting carried away............. we have seen Emil saunter into the GP pits and rip everything up.... so therefore anyone can right? ... wrong of course ............ the level of support behind Emil in his maiden season is frightening.... from the carefully arranged team around him to the level of equipment (HOW fast are those bikes?!) ....... to the obscene obscene amount of cash behind him (just who is in his pits again and needs paying throughout the season?) Chris Holder should have been in this year's series based on him being an exciting talent but IMO he did the most sensible thing and in effect 'saved up'.......... maybe if enough people were queueing up last season to back him and make promises he would have been in this year but even then it wouldnt have guaranteed him the year he would have wanted I agree with the majority of posters that we should be looking towards Tai being in the GP series but do we want him to be successful in it? and for a number of years? I am not doubting Tai's will, confidence, or talent but that alone will not ensure that his first GP season will go well enough for him to stay in it............. with the GP field looking the strongest it ever has been... statistically there is a chance that he could become a whipping boy and there is absolutely no point in that..... over the years we have seen some riders confidences destroyed on the world stage and Tai is the kind of talent that needs protecting until the right time so we know what IMG would prefer but i'm not sure they would be holding the riders' best career interests at heart..............IF GB are to have two permanent WC's then does it really make sense for Tai to have one this year? Or would it make sense that Rico is rewarded for a good season and takes a turn instead?

I think Ole's announcement this season is no coincidence considering the appalling level of racing at times this season...... and for no visible reason! The power structure is an interesting one and I look forward to the day when things are revealed 'John Berry style' ..... but ultimately it makes no sense for a company like IMG to have a product (and they do have to see it as a product dont they?) where the very things that attracted fans in the first place have slowly been removed.. I really wouldnt be suprised if they were responsible for speeding up Ole's departure I still find it amusing that no one can just come out and say what the issue is.... why the tracks are being kept slick...... maybe it is the advertising?? maybe it is to stop rain offs? maybe it is to satisfy one egocentric's vision of what speedway should be?................ ultimately though there are very easy ways to keep the advertising clear of spray.... and there is equipment, knowledge and science which may cost some pennies in the short term but would potentially stop rain offs and more importantly massively increase the chances of decent racing when there is no rain (=fans=crowd+tv=money)........ I dont buy that Ole is simply a messenger....... I am sure that relations between Ole and IMG are good ...and it has been said that he is in his GP role first and foremost at IMG's request............. but once he is in that role he is able to influence a huge amount of varying individual factors and was possibly allowed to have too large a stick to wield.......the same stick that we clearly saw wielded before BSI trotted along.......... lets also not forget that Vojens has always had a reputation for being slick throughout its lifespan which is a fairly significant factor to consider I just hope that in 2011 i'm not here eating my words because the GP tracks have been liberated and exuberance has ended up causing too many debacles like the German and Swedish disasters in recent years ........ Ole imo has harmed world championship speedway in some ways but he has also been consistent and professional in other ways and they cannot allow themselves to swap one for the other once he has moved on

tbh I think a bit of a dead horse is being flogged here................ believe me I would love to have a full blown qualification system like we used to have but it isnt going to happen.............. I would also like IMG/BSI to take a less visible role..... ie trust that the British fans (the same ones who are happy to see journeymen foreigners at their club week in week out) will turn up to see 15 foreigners and 1 'plucky brit'... but it isnt going to happen maybe the problem is that we should never have stopped being vocal about it and you have the right idea Humphrey? When all is said and done though ultimately it is IMG who hold the rights.... IMG who have the power... and IMG who will decide what blocks go into what holes... even if they are the wrong shape.................... it is sad when money is prioritised above the integrity of a competition steeped in history but such is modern life, TV and the such like.... I still think that there is still a whole deal right with the GP series ...... but the priority for me is the removal of our Danish friend......... the day they get rid of Ole is the day that mediocrity is replaced by the triumphant and the disastrous....... when that day arrives it will signal the start of a bumpy ride while people learn but at least we will get what some of us call speedway back

ouch! its a wonder he scored any points at all........... as a fan I wouldnt be unhappy if Tomasz got the win in the end but I hope the arm improves and JC does enough in the end as he deserves it

I guess it will be interesting to see what they do in the end......... there are a few question marks that when answered will be quite telling about the IMG agenda now and into the future

the issue IMG have ... as every year ....is that it is far better for their decisions to not be controversial and for there to be some kind of 'flow' to it all.......... ie unlike last year where for the first time we had a rider being given a WC who scored lower than a guy who was not being given a WC........... we know the reaction that it received on here and I should imagine it is the kind of thing that IMG like to avoid Bomber has made it easy for them to include him as he already has the 17 race jacket secured (supposing Lindgren as expected qualifies or is given a WC) .... and this allows them to ignore that he may be behind Adams, Walasek and Ulamek at the end................ however can they really do that with Holta considering that he is so much further ahead than Bomber and a part of the group running from 6-10 who are within 7 points of each other? I think the thing in Rune's favour this year is that if he was left out then he would need to be replaced by another Pole to suit this IMG quota system............in former years there have always been Poles queueing up to take their turn ....but with Jagus being another that IMG showed was not favoured... Kasprzak being a disaster last time..... Hampel getting back in... who does it leave? Ulamek and Walasek have not disgraced themselves but they dont perform as well as Rune (or at least as well as his bikes ) .............. IMO the only guy who could be considered is Miedzinski

sorry to be boring but 2010 will not be the best series ever for one simple reason...........Ole Olsen will still be in charge and the tracks will still be god awful we will all remember this season for reasons such as NickiP's fall from grace...... Emil's introduction..... Leigh's farewell etc ......but this year's GP series has to go down as one of the worst .... because of the lack of racing........... yes last night was good in a strange kind of way but looking back over the season nights like that have been few and far between Quite simply Ole is scared of rain and during his time in charge has chosen to keep the tracks bare to combat the rain instead of making sure the necessary machinery is there to combat it when it happens............. all we have ended up with is rain 1 time in 8 on average (ish) and 7 times in 8 dry with no shale down Superguest where is Freddie Lindgren in your list? The only guy in the top 10 who is possibly not safe is Rune Holta because the last time he was left out they could have easily included him and chose not to.... he is one of those riders that over time BSI/IMG have seen as expendable........personally I think the closeness between 6th and 10th and the 20 point gap between 10th and 11th should make the top 10 safe .................... if Rune does end up safe it leaves one question for IMG after they have given a WC to a Brit ....... who gets the last WC? another Brit? Zagar? Lindback?................... personally I think Zorro has messed up Lindback's chances (there are already 3 Swedes) and it is a straight decision between Zagar or a Brit............... we know it should be Zagar but imo it will end up being a Brit so as to protect the Cardiff attendance and Emil next season? I think Emil's future success and well being (and those other riders around him!!) will have a lot to do with the volume and frequency that he is chasing back wheels................. the guy is great to watch but he is leaving himself and others very little room for manouver and an error of judgement is becoming as little as an nth of a second now under the pressures that he is setting himself and those around him........................ watch the 2nd semi final last night on the last lap (I think) ... and how close he was to taking out himself and Jonsson ................... if we were to look at this in terms of odds then what are the odds that he can string a whole season together without injury while doing this? (and yes I realise he has in effect just done it ) ....................... I think JC has played this year's campaign like a stradivarius ... knowing when to give it some welly... and when to play it safe .......... and I think as long as he keeps doing this and has some of the best machinery in the field he will keep winning titles

its got to be said that the racing WAS good........... certainly not authentic or what we are used to ... but who is to say that what we are used to should be the standard? I do however remember the first set of races and how dire they were........... this happens a fair amount not only in the gp's but also in speedway in general I guess but Ole Olsen noticeably never waters a track before a meeting starts........... progressively year on year we seem to be getting slicker tracks with finer material and always bone dry........................... this is a complete world away from the tracks in Ole's riding days and I cant help thinking that slowly but surely he is helping to change speedway ...................... the question has to be asked though is it becoming something that is better or not?

yeah spot on Mr Leslie although my comment was tongue in cheek as I am certain that JC is not hamming this one up and not only must be in some considerable amount of pain but also must be genuinely concerned about Bydgozcsz Ecclestone and Mosely however I am happy to go on record as suggesting fix F1 year in year out with the championship nearly always going down to the last GP

LOL is that so?

the whole Ole and Nicki dislike each other thing is an old story and certainly one fit for WWE ......... in fact everything Nicki does in the pits seems to be fit for WWE ...... he seems to spend more time worrying about performing in front of the cameras than sorting out the real problem which is his slow machinery dont believe the hype edit: and water? is Ole ever seen in the same place as a water bowser?

ah the guy is simply awesome THAT is a god!

lol no races pulled back all year and then we get two in one GP about time!

hold the phone! ...a race was called back!

good race!

says who?

can we have a decent producer please? this has been a shambles tonight

nope I think this is exactly what Freddie Lindgren was going on about earlier in the season about Danish fake lifts................ the theory being that the rider makes the bike lift as if he has just caught some grip and cuts the nose off the rider who is possibly overtaking................... Nikki got it all wrong though didnt he?!... As Maccas said Tomasz knows how to ride a bike.... maybe Nicki should have learnt before including things like that in his repetoire still not sure?...... take a look at the footage again just before he inexplicably lifts... he is clearly eyeballing Gollob

he did! .... the nutcase looked over at gollob just before he did it lunatic... always has been and always will be

is that what Freddie Lindgren earlier this season called a 'Danish fake lift'?

there is no coincidence in all the current old boys supporting the tracks that Ole produces.............. they already have the tuners, the sponsors, the cashflow, and the experience.............. give them Ole's slick smooth tracks and they can keep it going for donkey's years Snapper is it not true that all of these riders visit most of the venues every year anyway?... and when they do they dont get to practice before and as far as the temp tracks go... we are talking theoretically about the world's best riders/advisors/mechanics here arent we? Yes as a 'fan' ( ) it is easy to see that it is not just a case of cocking a leg over a bike ........... but these are the same tracks as the year before and the same tracks in a lot of cases as the week/month before..... imo part of the issue of the competition is that it has become too sterile...... it is this kind of thing that we are talking about that can cause some of that

has Bernie Ecclestone secretly taken over GP speedway?