JT

Oh I fully understand that, but BSI are very unlikely to admit it. Looking at the past, they've always concocted an excuse to put Harris in the series (usually harking back to his one GP win), but as the years pass, these excuses become more and more comical. The trouble for the promoters is, unless they come out and confess they're sticking a Brit in for Sky TV, they've got absolutely no other justification for putting Woffinden in the series instead of the far more deserving Jepsen Jensen. Woffinden top scored for Britain in the World Cup race off. So what? He was beaten by Jepsen Jensen when they met and outperformed by the Dane overall. Tai had no chance to prove himself due to an injury before the qualifiers. No excuse, he had the opportunity to qualify for the British Grand Prix and make a name for himself, but couldn't even win the British Championship on his home track. Tai has a higher average in the British Elite League. On neutral ground he is behind Jepsen Jensen in the far stronger and arguably more significant Swedish and Polish Elite Leagues. To cap it all off, he said at the start of the season he wanted to qualify by right and not with a wildcard. Harris' latest press whine perfectly summarises the sense of entitlement among our riders. In the latest of his pleas, Harris hints if there has to be a British rider, Woffinden's pledge and subsequent failure to qualify by right, is reason enough to give himself yet another chance. I hope the Speedway Star puts these points to the organisers and I hope next year one of our riders is good enough to qualify by right. JT.

OK Phil, I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but as you're in the privileged position of being able to ask the organisers directly, why they have nominated certain riders, could you do us one favour? It seems inevitable Tai Woffinden will get a pick next Wednesday and in light of the discussions on this thread, surely the most pertinent question is, why? Obviously at first BSI will feed you the press release, which will probably ramble on about his injury during the original qualifying meeting and his top scoring performance in the World Cup race off, but these 'achievements' pale in comparison to Jepsen Jensen's Grand Prix win, World Cup victory and likely World U21 Gold Medal. What I, and surely many others, want to ask BSI is; What has Tai Woffinden done in 2012 to warrant a Grand Prix place over Michael Jepsen Jensen? A simple question, but an important one. Maybe you could even ask Tai himself... Kind Regards, JT. PS. Apologies if this question (and a subsequent article on the British reliance on wildcards?) is in the pipeline already.

I appreciate your opinion and get where you're coming from, but when you compare Woffinden and Jepsen Jensen's international achievements in the past year, there IS quite a lot to choose between them; Grand Prix winner, World U21 Champion elect, World Cup gold medalist (beat Woffinden in the World Cup race off as well), Challenge qualifier (admittedly he was rubbish in the final, but at least he qualified) versus British No.3, top scorer for a woeful Great Britain in the race off and as far as I can tell, not a lot else... I understand the commercial considerations, but as I mentioned before, I can't see a lack of a sub-par British rider causing a mass exodous of British fans from the Millennium Stadium. JT.

Take a look at this thread for the discussion; http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=70982 PS. A few of us agree with you! JT.

BUT as I touched upon earlier, I very much doubt Chris Harris has inspired anyone this season, and at his current level, I can't see Woffinden inspiring anyone watching TV next year. Kids watch sport and want to be winners, the best, not the one scrapping for a few points a meeting. To put it another way, do you think children watched the Olympics 100m this year and wanted to be the next Dwayne Chambers, because he's British, or Usain Bolt, because he's a winner? I'm sorry but it goes both ways. Personally I'm not bothered, but on numerous occasions in this thread, anyone who dares question the British picks every season, are deemed to be 'bitching' or 'bagging on'. We're not, we just think it's absurd that a token Brit will almost certainly get a place ahead of a proven GP winner, World Cup Gold medalist and potential World U21 Champion. JT.

It's not 'bagging', it's stating the obvious. I would dearly love to see a competetive British rider in the GP's, but I, like many others, am frustrated at seeing average Brits, undeserving of a place on the world stage, fighting for the odd point. I'd far rather we have a season out, give our riders and controlling body a reality check, then hopefully see them buck up their ideas in the next 12 months and actually qualify. Look at Niels Kritstian Iversen's transformation in the past year, that could be Harris, Woffinden or even Nicholls if they reassessed their approach to the sport. No Vaculik? A rider who won his debut GP and has scored more points in 6 rounds, than Harris did in 12? If Woffinden gets a pick ahead of him, then BSI really are a bunch of comedians... JT.

Nobody has mentioned him and I'm no fan, but I'd be willing to bet Kenneth Bjerre would be first on the list if he was British. When you consider he's never needed a Wildcard in the past, has won a GP, has finished 8th, 7th, 7th, and until this year was deemed 'one for the future', it just goes to show how important a riders place of birth is when it comes to wild card picks.. JT.

Then again, at least he actually made the qualifier.... JT.

Aspire to what? Become the third best rider of a pretty mediocre bunch, then sit back and wait for a charity pick from the organisers? On the contrary, this 'money for nothing' type attitude is exactly the thing we should be discouraging. JT.

How patronising. It's not 'bitching' as you so eloquently put it, it's stating an opinion that many people seem to share. Let's be honest, Woffinden and Harris are mediocre riders who have had lucky breaks because they are British. Harris has had a few high moments, but by and large he has been no better than the Walasek's and Protasiewicz' of this world. Now BSI have exhausted every excuse to put him in the series, they are focusing their efforts on promoting the British No.3. A rider who speaks with an Australian accent, can't win the British Title on his home track and has already expressed a desire to avoid racing in the UK next season. In the warped minds of those in the upper echelons of speedway power, a Grand Prix season without Tai Woffinden will see British fans throw their Sky Boxes out the window, desert the Millennium Stadium and make Paul Bellamy's life a living hell.... JT.

Me three.... I think Hampel (injured for most of the season, former World No.2 and 3), Ward (unable to ride in the qualifiers, arguably even better than Holder) and Vaculik (finished ahead of Harris despite missing half the rounds) are certainties (or at least they should be). Jepsen Jensen (GP winner, World Cup Winner and likely World U21 Champion) should be the final rider, but this won't stop those in charge thinking up some comical excuse to include a mediocre British rider instead. Hopefully Harris' constant whinging hasn't paid off and he is told his charity is up after yet another dreadful season. However this opens the door for another also ran from our shores to get a call. Tai Woffinden shouldn't be anywhere near the series, but for commercial reasons he almost certainly will be. 2013 Grand Prix Series 1. Chris Holder 2. Nicki Pedersen 3. Greg Hancock 4. Tomasz Gollob 5. Emil Sayfutdinov 6. Antonio Lindback 7. Freddie Lindgren 8. Andreas Jonsson 9. Jarek Hampel 10. Martin Vaculik 11. Darcy Ward 12. Tai Woffinden 13. Krzysztof Kasprzak 14. Matej Zagar 15. Niels Kristian Iversen That's a very strong GP line up in my eyes.. JT.

What a cop out from the ref, appalling decision.

Surely if Woffinden was good enough, he'd be able to qualify by right next season? Then the long wait for a GP rider you hint at, won't actually be very long at all? If we think Woffinden is our best bet (and I agree he is) why not give him the British GP wildcard next season, instead of giving it to the British Champion. It may not be fair, but we're the only mugs who hand out wildcards this way and with no disrespect to Nicholls, I think we can cope without watching him score 6 or 7 next season. JT.

Valid point BUT the problem is greater than a token Brit embarrassing himself in the GP's every season. The most dangerous effect of a British wildcard every season is those running British Speedway see us having a rider in the series as evidence that everything is fine at international level. They all know it isn't, and that we're only there thanks to BSI charity, but simply having someone in the series means every winter they can have the same crappy conference, alter the rules a little and totally ignore the lack of world class talent in this country. IF BSI had the balls to give the wildcards out on merit, rather than nationality, the BSPA and co may be forced into change. Again, I won't hold my breath.. JT.

But you are touting Woffinden as a more worthy option than MJJ for a GP place. Unfortunately from a British perspective, Elite League average aside, Jepsen Jensen beats Woffinden in every single category, as many of us have demonstrated. This won't stop the Speedway Star and SKY taking a blind eye to the facts, and lauding the decision to give a Brit another wildcard, but most of us can see he'll only be in there because of his nationality. Here we have a rare opportunity to have arguably the best 14 riders in the world AND the likely World U21 Champion lining up for the GP's. I hope BSI don't throw this opportunity away. JT.

Sorry I must have missed the season where Tai Woffinden 'dominated' the British Elite League... JT.

The importance of the British Elite League pails into insignificance compared to the Swedish Elitserien and Polish Ekstraliga (both neutral grounds). Out of interest, how do the riders compare there? Let me help you... Swedish Elitserien Michael Jepsen Jensen 7.71 Tai Woffinden 6.91 Polish Ekstraliga Michael Jepsen Jensen 7.82 Tai Woffinden 7.15 Sure MJJ was woeful in yesterday's Challenge, but giving his accomplishments this season AND the fact he's better than Woffinden in the world's toughest leagues, then he surely 'deserves' a place over Woffinden every day of the week. JT.

Because he's supposed to be offering his service to his country, NOT BSI. If every ex-GP rider had Harris' attitude, hardly anyone would bother with the World Cup at all. Instead most riders see representing their country as an honour, not a favour to the organisers for receiving a totally unjustified wildcard every year. JT.

Taking away commercial considerations, can anyone think of a single reason to justify having Woffinden in the series next year? Genuine question, because I can't. He's not British Champion (despite the final being held on his home track), he's had a wildcard before (and was woeful) and although he did quite well in World Cup race-off (he was average in Event 2), he was outperformed by MJJ. On the subject of 'commercial considerations', would anyone of us currently watching GP's, stop watching, because a token Brit wasn't included? What are the odds on Woffinden getting a place, the excuse being his 14 point haul (incl. a Joker) in the World Cup race off, and Monster announcing a sponsorship deal? JT.

Somehow BSI will find an excuse to put Woffinden in. MJJ is an enigma isn't he? Still his GP victory should be enough reason to give him a WC next year. Winning the World U21 title would strengthen his case. Vaculik can be excused with his recent illness and absolutely must be in the series next year. Hampel and Ward are no brainers. Happy with the three qualifiers, credit to all three for actually bothering to qualify. JT.

Surely you're not suggesting Woffinden was ahead of Vaculik in BSI's WC plans? Aside from nationality, and thus TV considerations, I can't think of a single reason why Woffinden should be in the series. Come the announcement, BSI will come up with some comical excuse, as they have done with Harris in the past, but we all know the reason for sticking a Brit in the series EVERY year and it's nothing to do with form or talent. Shame really. JT.

Oh no not a Dryml, anything but Ales Dryml...

SKY attempted to discuss the issue in the studio during the last GP. It wasn't brilliant, with Ermolenko and Louis both sidestepping any difficult questions, but it was a start. Speedway GP online has also started mentioning Harris' unprecedented number of wildcard picks whenever next year is mentioned next to his name. The Speedway Star (which I guess crosses over with a lot of the SGP online stories) seems to have given up on Harris and is now throwing it's weight behind Woffinden, without really explaining why he deserves one. It would be genuinely interesting if the Star published an article under the headline, "Does a British rider deserve a place in the GP series?". JT.

I think Woffinden's inclusion is inevitable. I don't think he deserves it and I'm sceptical over whether it will benefit him, but if BSI want a Brit, he's the only remotely justifiable option. If the following 15 line up at the start of 2013, I think we're in for a fantastic GP season. My 2013 GP Line Up 1. Chris Holder (Age at the start of 2013 season; 25) 2. Nicki Pedersen (35) 3. Greg Hancock (42) 4. Emil Sayfutdinov (23) 5. Tomasz Gollob (41) 6. Freddie Lindgren (27) 7. Antonio Lindback (27) 8. Andreas Jonsson (32) SGP Challenge Qualifiers 9. Martin Vaculik (22) 10. Niels Kristian Iversen (30) 11. Michael Jepsen Jensen (21) Wildcards 12. Jarek Hampel (30) 13. Darcy Ward (20) 14. Grigory Laguta (28) 15. Tai Woffinden (22) Average Age= 28 Surely the youngest average age ever? JT.

Totally agree. Even Harris himself says he doesn't want to dine off his Cardiff performance any longer. Now he has failed to qualify again, he should make a dignified exit. The longer these press releases go on for the more people start to forget his past achievements. That would be a shame. On a more positive note, he could do worse than have a chat to Niels Kristian Iversen in the close season about how to totally reboot your career. JT.