tocha

Justice finally done as one of the most exiting riders of modern times wins the title. Also, well done Bomber who now moves up 15 points ahead of the rider in ninth place. It is now a big ask for any of the persuing group, Andersen, Jonsson, Pedersen and Lindgren to overhaul him or even Holder for that matter. This could result in tricky situation with regard to wildcards. Kolodziej was assured of a pick if Lindgren finished in the top eight but, as this is unlikely to happen, he may now miss out unless the organisers are happy to have four Poles in the series. Then, what of Denmark - will they get two wildcards. If they do then they will be obliged to offer one to Jonsson as well. Sayfutdinov will be in, I am sure. Now, though they have the opportunity to seed a second Brit. It won't be Tai, who has been largely out of his depth and the pick came at the wrong time. Lee Richardson is the obviuos choice but he has just transferred to Lakeside, a Friday night track and a promotion who wish do not wish to stage meetings other than on Fridays.

They were both down for a long time. At one point there were three ambulances in attendance. Eventally James made his way to one of them, arm strapped whilst Marc was taken by stretcher to another. Word is broken leg but we await confirmation. One, or both were in extreme pain and could be heard as far as the main grandstand. Also, and this is puzzling, two police officers entered the stadium then climbed into each ambulance in turn and seemed to be conducting some sort of search. Anyone know why they were there? Anyway, best wishes to both James and Marc for a speedy recovery.

You have to wonder if SKY are losing interest in this competion. SKY sports 1 are showing rugby league play-offs followed by Big Fight special featuring a Nigerian boxer v a Russian. 2 have US open tennis - fair enough. 3, half hours worth of 40 over cricket then a selection of magazine programmes whilst 4 the third day's play of a golf tournamount in Illinois followed by Spanish league football.

I have to say this was one of the worst meetings I have ever been to. I arrived at 12.15 and, although I spent time before tapes up visiting different vendors whilst looking out for a couple of friends who wouldn't be able to arrive a bit later, I don't recall the track being watered. Of course, once the first race was under way clouds of dust emerged. And why the ridiculous delays between races, especially, early on. As I recall, after one hour, four heats had been completed. A very tedious afternoon which made yesterday's EL pairs meeting look slick and exciting! Congratulations to Denmark, who, have confirmed that their production line continues, Commiserations to Sweden, who, fell away after having got close mid-meeting, and well done Poland in adapting to such an alien circuit. As for GB, Lewis rode well but in only every other race and bit of a laughing stock that whenever he wins we all have to endure his overstated lap(s) of honour, Josh Autey, who doesn't gate but is a fighter which didn't work on the track he was presented with. Then there is Joe Haines, a rider who is usually quick if he makes the start but trails at the back if he doesn't. Of the Kyles, Newman worked hard despite being out of his depth whilst, the Hughes version, might have not bothered to turn up. Not for the first time does he arrive with bikes that don't work. I daresay Phil Morris will take some stick as team manager. Phil is an intelligent and articulate man who, as yet, has not acquired the skill of turning a sow's ear into a silk purse. Overall, if Tai had been fit we might have challenged for the Bronz medal but no more.

Kauko Nieminen is Finnish Champion. Are you arguing a case that he should be in the series next year as well?

I am not sure what you are saying Bryn. Do you mean that all next year's line-up should pre-qualify? Anyway, well done for standing in for Craig on Saturday. I think Peter Juul is Peter Juul Larsen though.

I have no qualms about Emil being in the series next year in fact I hope he is. The point of my post was to consider what sort of strings could be pulled to get Harris in. They cannot use the GP challenge route this time so the finishing order in the series might be manipulated. Mind you, as a last resort, they may try use the fact that Harris finished 6th on Saturday then argue that they couldn't put Zorro or Jonasson's names forward because there are already 3 Swedes in it!!

I wonder what criteria will be used to get Harris into the GPs next year. Last year the authorities selected the GP challenge route selecting both riders who finished in 4th (Lindgren) and 5th (Harris). However, unless he gets in to the top 8, they will have to opt for a different strategy this time. If we assume the current top eight are still there at the end of the series then add the GP qualifiers who will be the final four. To begin with I cannot see either Pedersen or Hancock being left out just as I do not envisage any of the current top eight being left out either should they fall out of the pack although it could be a tight decision between Jonsson and Zetterstrom. To achieve this it is my guess that they will select the next riders down from the final eight. Therefore, if Harris finishes no lower than 12th he should be in. Of course it will allow them to balance things up by giving the final spot to Kolodziej which is no more than he deserves. I have left Sayfutdinov out of the reckoning. If he had made a sucessful return and put decent performances for the rest of the season I imagine he would have been selected next year but Gollob has seen to that now. 1 gollob 2 hampel 3 crump 4 holta 5 bjerre 6 holder 7 andersen 8 jonsson 9 laguta 10 lindback 11 lindgren 12 pedersen 13 hancock 14 harris 15 kolodziej

The sooner we accept that Britain is no longer an elite speedway nation the better. The reason is quite valid. There are too many other high profile sports in this country to compete against. Poland claims Speedway to be their no.1 sport. I suspect, in reality, it is on par, or just second to football. In all probability, it is the same situation in Denmark. Whatever, they are high profile sports in their respective countries. They don't have to compete against other major events. In other words, I don't see them involved in world class cricket, rugby, tennis, golf, or staging top league PL football or being the mainstay of formula one etc. Without doing any detailed research, I doubt that it ranks within the top 30 sports in the UK and is, to all intents and purposes and, despite the efforts of SKY SPORTS, a forgotten sport. I cannot help but notice that most young British riders entering the sport are only there through junior grasstrack, because their dads used to ride, or both. Because Speedway is marketed poorly, why would anyone think of becoming a rider if they do not know of its existence! (This does not excuse, of course, the continuous influx of Australians who succeed for no other reason than being Australian and who take to sport like ducks to water!).

Its not politics, its SKY

Well Fabio Capello is lol!

Even more similar is this crash at Rye House between Luke Bowen and Tomas Topinka. (Its from Anglia News so you have to watch the ad. first) http://www.itv.com/anglia/high-speed-crash-drama51719/

Even more similar is this crash at Rye House between Luke Bowen and Tomas Topinka. (Its from Anglia News so you have to watch the ad. first) http://www.itv.com/anglia/high-speed-crash-drama51719/

It is repeated Sunday 7am in its entirety. Therefore just record it then and settle down in the evening and view it as a 'live' event.

Thanks. Heat one looks like a good scrap for 3rd place!

Please note that Latvia are two hours ahead so the SKY transmission starts at 5pm not 6.

21 pages on Charlie Webster, but if i could have 21 nights with her I could then die and go to heaven or, whatever the almighty has in store. However, it is unlikely that I could last the distance!!

Heats 22 to 25 are on youtube. The links are on the 'SWC final' thread page 23.

Very grateful. Thanks ladyluck, wish you lots'a'luck. Now can England hold their luck at Lords tomorrow!

Saw the meeting up until heat 15, then had to go out so set the video for the remainder of the meeting allowing an extra hour to take account of any delays. Not enough, unfortunately so only got as far as heat 19. No repeats it appears. Any of the subsequent heats on youtube etc. does anyone know?

I hope that Tai has learnt from tonight. The first thing he will have observed is that you cannot afford to gate poorly then put in wimpish first bend. He has been able to get away with poor starts in the PL but at this level it is a different story. Perhaps he can learn something from Lewis in how to mix it with the 'bigboys'. Maybe the time he (Lewis) has spent in the EL has sharpened him up. Tai has bags of potential but he has to move to the next level. I believe he is a quick learner and has not, in the past, been slow to adapt. He, now, needs to seek advice in order to sharpen up his starts. There must be a formula, otherwise why are the Danish riders, in general, so fast out of the traps. Therefore , why can they do it and we can't? The last thing we need is another 'David Howe' situation. Bags of talent as a youngster but not fulfilled.

Before posters decide who did what to who, look at the entire incident frame by frame if you can. Then decide.

Before anyone judges either the Sayfutdinov/Nicholls fracas then the Chris Harris exclusion in the second semi-final I challenge you to study both in their entirety, if you have the recording that is, by watching them in slow motion frame by frame. Very revealing I think. Also, something I hadn't noticed before was how unevenly the tapes went up in that heat. I haven't studied any other starts in such detail but if this was the norm perhaps that was why the outer gates produced more wins.

I expect that Emil will get the fine paid for him but I doubt that Scott would. Also he would have to add that to the fine will receive in turning up late for the Swindon match last Thursday. £300 seems to be the going rate!

Regardlless of form I expect or fear, depending upon how he does over the next few weeks, that Nicholls will line up at Peterborough. He will be joined by Harris, Richardson and Woffinden with the final berth given to either King, Kenett or Bridger. Whoever rides they will have to at least finish ahead of Slovenia but with a Zagar inspired team this might not be quite as easy as it appears and I expect the fast starting Ferjan to be in the side despite the fact he was omitted from the qualifying round. To beat Australia and Poland is a big ask. Australia will have, probably, Crump, Adams, Sullivan, Holder and Schlein whilst Poland may be a mix of native Poles and licence holders, ie., Gollob Hampel, Holta, Saifutdinov and Ulamek. On a more general note, there was an article by Mark Loram in this weeks' Speedway Star outlining what we all know - no good riders coming through although he does cite Tai as looking better than recent predecessors. He then goes on to say that, although he has been linked with the GB set-up he has yet to hear anything official. However, from his personal point of view he planning a comeback.