cwf

Harris has great ability but his gating will let him down badly at this level. I fear that he may do a Puk this year and struggle to remain competitive. Knowing bomber tho it wont be for the want of trying - his best asset is his never say die attitude. I hope he has managed to put together a decent set of sponsors to give him the best chance possible. Hopefully he is still backed by Brian Andersen as that will do him a lot of good. It's a big ask to compete in three major leagues and the GP series aswell. Best of luck to him - i really hope he does himself justice this year!

So that's Pepe Protasiewicz and Sullivan who have decided that Russia is a better bet than the Elite League for 2007. With the kind of money rumoured to be on offer in Russia i wonder how many others are tempted. Sunday in Poland, Tuesday in Sweden and Thursday in Russia may just be a better bet than the endless travelling involved doing a season in Britain.

Seems as though Ryan Sullivan is off to try his luck in the Russian League next season. Does the Elite League have to be worried?

Are there any criteria as to which riders can sign for Polish div 1 sides or is it purely down to economics? Agree that a lot of these sides are really strong.

What are the dates of the Russian League season? If a load of top riders decided to ply their trade over there in a new League which other European League(s) would suffer most.? Personally, looking forward to the possibility of a Russian GP!

Thanks for that dzikos - sounds like interesting times ahead in Russia. Wonder which other riders will end up riding over there. I guess BSI will be keeping an eye on how things develop over there too. May see a Russian GP in the not too distant future.

In the current Speedway Star there is a mention of a re-juvenated, lucrative Russian League set for next season. Along with this it mentions that Pepe Protasiewicz is to ride in the Russian League rather than for Ipswich. Anyone know of any details of this League - ie who is funding it, how many teams it is likely to contain and any other top riders likely to be lured to ride there?

Surely it's a good thing for British Speedway that we can actually discuss the merits of Bomber and/or Steady being part of the GP circus. It was only 18 months ago that the future of British speedway was looking fairly bleak to say the least.

What date do the Polish teams have to be declared by?

One thing that does strike me from the GP series is the longevity of the careers of some of the elite GP performers. People have been writing off the likes of Hancock, Adams and Gollob for a good few seasons now and every year they continue to perform at the top level of the sport. All three are in their mid-late 30s now and seem to comfortably see off the GP challenges of the some of the so-called whizz kids. Andreas Jonsson has been around the GP circus for some time now and only this season stepped up to top level. Hans Andersen needed a wake up call to make that big leap forward and Lindback is a few seasons away from being a serial contender.

Pretty spot on review of the season. Great site by the way. Good to see so much support for the Heathens. Lets hope something can be sorted so the Midlands can be a hotbed of speedway again.

Yeah - a big well done to all involved in this project I hope it is a massive success when its up and running. Will definitely be paying a visit Is there a planned date for opening at all?

At least Harris attempted to qualify through the correct channels. I know he finished 5th, but in a proper qualifying system that may have been good enough to get him in.

Agree totally with you here. BSI are in control of the GPs and as such want to satisfy as many of their potential markets as possible. They would probably prefer to have more "nominated" riders each year so they could cast their commercial net even wider. As it stands to make the qualification/nomination system fairer, more emphasis should be placed on chosing riders who have committed themselves to the qualification process. If I were PK I would be mightily agrieved this year, having fought through to the final of the GP qualifier only to be usurped by riders who hadnt qualified via the top 8 or bothered to enter the qualifiers.

you never know - he may have worn his keyboard out!