JT

Ah but a rider who before this year (2007 aside) was pretty woeful in the GP's. Next year will be a lot tougher, I think Harris is better than Laguta at the moment and in all honesty he may just beat Lindback but I think the other 12 riders are all better than him. Any one of next years riders with the possible exception of Laguta are capable of finishing on the rostrum at some point (Harris included). JT.

Great GP line up, finally after years of crap choices BSI get it right! Providing all riders stay injury free, this has to be the best GP line up ever. (We have to remember 2010 saw a lot of the world's best riders either retire - Leigh Adams - or have their seasons savaged by injuries - Sayfutdinov, Pedersen and Andersen, this year will be a lot tougher to qualify in the top 8, especially with Zetterstrom and Woffinden replaced by far better riders) I'll predict the riders will finish as follows: 15th - Artem Laguta 14th - Chris Harris 13th - Antonio Lindback 12th - Kenneth Bjerre 11th - Fredrik Lindgren 10th - Chris Holder 9th - Rune Holta 8th - Janusz Kolodziej 7th - Greg Hancock 6th - Andreas Jonsson 5th - Jarek Hampel 4th - Nicki Pedersen 3rd - Tomasz Gollob 2nd - Jason Crump World Champion - Emil Sayfutdinov Should be a thrilling year! JT.

Finally Harris looks like he will actually justify his place in the Grand Prix series, fair play to the guy, although let's face it his task has been made a lot easier by injuries to Sayfutdinov, Pedersen and even Hans Andersen. Andreas Jonsson has no excuse but he has been a brilliant entertainer in the GP's over the years and this time last year would surely have been guaranteed a nomination. This year I'm not so sure. Personally I'd give Jonsson another go over Andersen (Andersen has had a few chances now) alongside Pedersen, Sayfutdinov and Kolodziej who is young, hugely entertaining and actually world class (unlike Woffinden who has been out of his depth this season). HOWEVER as the series returns to a track all the riders know very well I wouldn't put it past one of Andersen, Pedersen and Jonsson having a stormer in Poland and getting in the top 8 at the expense of Harris or Holder who are two of the most unpredictable riders in the series. A Pedersen 20+ point performance to sneak into the top 8? JT.

If Harris doesn't finish in the top 8 now, in a season where two almost guaranteed top 8 riders have either missed most of the season through injury or ridden with injuries (Sayfutdinov and Pedersen) then he simply shouldn't be in the series. Sure he was brilliant yesterday but does the odd performance like that compensate for the plethora of sh*te that we witness from him in almost every other GP? JT.

Bloody hell the last thing Harris deserves is yet another wild card! The sad thing is in interviews he seems to think he warrants a place, nomination after nomination has made him delusional. Some riders are very good at league racing but can never transfer that to a full season of GP racing, Harris is one of them. He's already become a bit of a charity case after four consecutive nominations, another one would make him a laughing stock. There is no way Sayfutdinov won't get a nomination after his thrilling and hugely successful debut season. Hancock and Pedersen are two former world champions and have always been brilliant servants to the series. Unless they retire then BSI cannot seriously turn them down after giving the likes of Nicholls and Harris places year on year. I'd give the other place to Kolodziej after his successful wild card, World Cup and Challenge Final performances Regarding a Brit nomination, I don't think Nicholls cares anymore so he's out. Harris can't continue to dine off his fluke British GP win in 2007 unless he actually qualifies and Woffinden simply isn't ready yet. If we have to have one give it to Richardson, our best ever World Cup rider (in it's current format) and a good rider on the continent. Personally though I'd make the Brits qualify for once... JT.

Unless he qualifies, surely nobody seriously believes Harris DESERVES yet another wildcard? Even this season with Adams retiring, Sayfutdinov getting injured and the unfavoured Zetterstrom in the series (but a man who is there by merit) he is still only 12th. Add to that he has never ever qualfiied for the series. The excuse that he tries hard should have gone out of the window after his first season 9th place, since then he has never looked likely to qualify by merit during the series. Whatever you think of Tatum, he hit the nail on the head Monday night by saying Holta puts in the effort to qualify every season (whether in the series or a few times in the GP Challenge) knowing full well he would never ever get a wild card. Maybe British riders could benefit from this same attitude? JT.

Really dissapointed, especially as half an hour after the start time it's dry in Newport! Most of all I'm dissapointed FOR the Mallets, they (and the management in general) obviously put a huge effort into this meeting, getting a disco, fireworks and the floodlights ready. Maybe having a floodlight switch on in September (weather permitting) would be more symbolic anyway, after all the lights would have been switched on when it was pretty light outside tonight! Good luck to the Wasps at Stoke tomorrow! JT.

Rajkowsi certainly strengthens The Tigers, can't imagine they were really sweating on the fitness of John Branney who is only marginally better than his brother at QM. Can't wait for this evening, c'mon the Wasps! JT

Wow they look brilliant, so much more atmospheric! In my opinion a proper speedway stadium needs to have floodlights, the racing looks far more exciting at night and the crowds always seem more lively. JT.

I've seen the Rolling Stones at the Millennium Stadium and even in the posh seats the accoustics were pretty terrible. Swap Mick Jagger for Miss Frank and you've really got no hope! philfromcov why not stand up? I bet you made yourself look a right twit sat down as 40,000+ stood up. It's funny that a lot of the British are the first to say foreigners should abide by the rules and traditions of the country when they visit or come to live in Britain, but ask the same British people to do the same when they go abroad (or even stay within the UK) and their ignorance is embarassing. I'm not a bleeding heart liberal by any stretch of the imagination but if a country gives you hospitality then the least you can do is stand up and respect their traditions (i.e their anthem). JT.

Farcical start to the meeting with the track resembling a lunar landscape and riders falling off left right and centre. Fair play to Weymouth who certainly adapted better to the conditions before Webster's crash. After a long delay while Webster went to hospital the meeting improved massively and there were some great races. Kyle Newman and Tom Young were brilliant value for money in the second half of the meeting as were Byron Bekker and Richard Andrews for the Wildcats. Heat 12 will go down as the best (and surely unintentional!) team riding I have ever seen by Tom Young JT. Scorers Newport 53 Todd Kurtz 3 3 3 1 2' - 12+1(5) Mark Jones 1 2'3 2' - 8+2(4) Tim Webster F X - 0(2) Tony Atkin 3 2 R 3 - 8(4) Kyle Newman X 3 3 3 3 - 12(5) Tom Young R F 3 F 3 - 6(5) James White-Williams X 1 2'3 2' - 8+2(5) Weymouth Wildcats 35 Byron Bekker 2 3 2 2 F - 9(5) R/R Terry Day Tom Brown 1'1' X X - 2+2(4) Gary Cottham 2 1 2 1 0 - 6(5) James Cockle 3 X F - 3(3) Richard Andrews 3 1 2 1'1 1 1 - 10+1(7) Luke Chessell 0 2'2'1 0 F - 5+2(6)

I see where you're coming from but the qualification meeting was for the top 3 NOT the top 5 and Harris even failed on his home track! Hell Piotr Protasiewicz almost qualified if you use those rules and he has been woeful in the past two GP's. A slight adjustment to my earlier nominations comment, if a rider does qualify by right after his wild card nomination (i.e in the top 8) then that gives him another chance to receive a wild card in the future. This would get around injuries to riders like Emil Sayfutdinov who would clearly have finished in the top 8 this season. I just don't think riders should recieve nominations after nominations when they are repeatedly fail. JT.

Harris failed to qualify for 2007 and recieved a wild card nomination, he then failed again for 2008, failed again for 2009 AND low and behold failed to qualify again for 2010! He should never have had a wild card for 2010 after years of failure, but this season must be his last opportunity to qualify. I used to like Harris but years of being gifted GP places and that fluke win in Cardiff seem to have gone to his head, a year out of the series may bring him back down to earth... In my opinion if we are to keep Season Wild Card nominations then a rider only ever deserves one in their career, it's up to them to make the most of that nomination, something Harris and Lindgren never have done. Incidently although Nicholls recieved a lot of stick during his GP career, at least he actually qualified to get in to the series in the first place (before he recieved all those wild wild cards) JT.

I thought Harris just bailed out after Andersen passed him...

As others have said he has every right to be in the series, more so than Chris Harris who has never qualified for the Grand Prix (before or during his time in the series). JT.

Four consecutive wild cards for Chris Harris has created an arrogant and utterly delusional rider with no credibility on the world stage. Even the year where he won the British Grand Prix he failed to reach the top 8, and year after year his inclusion looks more and more farcial. At least Nicholls, poor as he was at times, was able to qualify by right on at least one occasion. JT.

Have those behind the wildcard nominations gone a bit Dizzie Rascal? I thought the Kennett rumour was just that, a rumour started by the Polish media. Sadly it seems BSI have gone totally insane and given a rider with absolutely no pedigree on the world stage a place in the GP's. Bonkers! He should never have been considered, let alone nominated in 2010. JT.

What a load of rubbish! Andersen is a proven GP and World Cup winner and is young enough to make a serious fight for the World Title in the next few years. He's a top rider in all three leagues, exciting, at times controversial and widely recognised as one of the top 10, maybe even top 5 riders in the world. Kennett has done bugger all. He's never been an Elite League number 1 and is rubbish outside of Britain. He's been pathetic in the World Cup, mediocre to useless in his wild card showings and hasn't even won the British Championship. The issue here isn't giving young riders a shot, it's the rumour that they have given a full time slot to a rider who should never have been considered, simply because he's British and has a big sponsor. Does anyone outside of Britain recognise Kennett as a world class rider? JT.

Surely they wouldn't CHOOSE a rider as rubbish as Kennett for the GP's. It's not as if he's particularly exciting or popular either, unless you count being overtaken as exciting. It must be a joke, please let it be a joke! JT.

A couple of meetings apart, Harris has underperformed in the Grand Prix series for too long. He has never qualified in the top 8 and has never qualified for the series through the qualifying rounds, he couldn't even qualify on his home track. Give the place to someone else. If one of them has to be British then I'd go for Richardson, our best World Cup rider. JT.

But Nicholls qualified for the series in the first place and finished in the top 8 in 2003 and 2007. Not that he deserves a place this year but at least he has actually qualified in the past. Harris has relied on these wild cards from the very beginning and the odd GP apart often looks outclassed. JT.

Harris has never finished in the top 8, nor has he ever qualified for the Grand Prix Series through the qualifying rounds. He relied on a nomination for the 2007 series and in every season since. Does this record deserve yet another permanent wild card? His highest score since that Grand Prix win has been 10 (again at Cardiff) and his average in the 25 meetings since Cardiff ‘07 has been 5.64. Benfield Nomination 2007 – 9th 2008- 13th 2009– 14th By the way I really like Harris as a league rider, I just think he is too inconsistent for a full Grand Prix series. I'd be quite happy to see him as a Cardiff wild card, but he just doesn't deserve YET ANOTHER full series nomination. JT.

Read my post again. I said he can be a 'tosspot' on track, not a 'tosser' off it. Let's just say he can be quite partial to the blatant left turn on the straight or flick of his rear wheel if things don't go his way. Saying that at least he wears his heart on his sleeve, I half expected the dour duo of Protasiewicz and Walasek to qualify again... JT.

But then Harris didn't bother last year yet still got a place. I have to be honest Harris seems to get away with far more than Nicholls, a few meetings apart (one in particular he is still dining off) he has been pretty crap in the GP's, yet he seems to escape the kind of flak Scott receives. How many series has he actually qualified in the top 8? How many has Nicholls managed? I'm willing to bet that Nicholls has done far more in this respect, although I would be the first to admit he Mr Nicholls doesn't deserve a 2010 place. Regarding this meeting, gutted that Zetterstrom has qualified, a total tosspot at times in the mould of Lukas Dryml (ask SCB), but then this might add some entertainment to a dull GP series. JT.

It's very commendable of you to show support for British GP riders (someone has to!) but Harris is not the answer, his record of qualifying in the top 8 is worse than Nicholls. I hardly think you can blame the tracks either, surely the mark of a world class rider is one who can adapt to any conditions? Anyway our very own World Champion, widely regarded to be 'an overtaker' and not the best gater, was able to win a SGP World Title because of his consistency in 2000, step forward Mr Loram. Harris seems a simple, genuine kind of bloke but he isn't world class often enough and when it matters. In fact as I have posted elsewhere I still think he's dining off Cardiff 2007. If they feel it's neccessary to put British riders in the series for commercial reasons then Richardson is our best bet (but for the love of God not Edward Kennett!).