RPNY

Not a bad first heat for both the brit boys... I cant wait for the new GP season!

Ta Rob

Where is the best place to fly to if you are going to LESZNO? Wroclaw? Poznan? Sorry I know this has been disucced on here before..

Im not saying It's caused the downfall of our league at all.. I was just illustrating that if certain riders were made to choose between BEL & the GP's they would follow their world championship goal.. However that decision will never have to be made, instead they will be made to choose between which leagues they compete in. In fact riders such as Gollob, AJ, Hampel have contemplated a return to BEL because of of the GP's..

I like the one local one inform Wild Card idea.

But why would they do that?

Because that is the prime day for running speedway in Britain Well we need to adapt with the times dont we.. So they do it for love, do they? A friend of mine who is Ex GP rider told me earlier this season that Crumpy, Nikki they dont ride in BEL for the money, they do it to be the best. Look at AJ going back to Arena. He CERTAINLY doesnt need the money. Dont get me wrong they dont loose money doing it, but the money they make in BEL is peanuts in comparison to Poland & even Sweden. I wonder how many would prioritise the world championship though if they were told they have to choose between it or league racing. T Rik quit BEL basically because of GP commitments, so did Hancock, Billy did in days gone by, so did PK in the past.... Many have done it.. We have to face up to the fact that speedway isnt all about BEL Racing anymore.

and Tuesdays (for the Swedish Elite League) were settled upon because that was the one day when most Swedish riders didn't compete in the British leagues. That was a point I was making - and it's the main reason why Poland race on Sundays too. We have every other day of the week to choose from, yet we still complain that we miss 10/11 Saturdays a seaon because of GP's.. With regard to where the riders earn most of their money, well it's actually Poland.. but yes you are correct it's more in the BEL then it is in the GP's. But the top boys dont ride in the BEL for the money... & it's not BSI's fault that the GP riders sacrafice some BEL meetings because the world championship means more too them? I can tell you that there were plenty of riders who missed meetings when the World final was approaching.. Also not sure about you Sport on Sundays tradition in Catholic countries.. I'm gonna have to check on that

Does make me laugh that BSI are still being blamed for problems in the Elite league.. The Swedish & Polish promoters for years had to deal with the fact they had 1 NIGHT to hold their speedway meetings as the British league held all the cards & could stage meetings on any night they wanted.. Did they moan? No they realised what they were working with & got on with it. If the Elite league promoters got together & tried to help each other, then a lot of the problems would be resolved.. But I guess some will always blame the GP's for our leagues shortcommings. As for indivdual meetings in Britain being less than days gone by, make them finacially worth it like they were back then & you may see them reappearing.. Also dont completely (ock it up like the EL riders championship this year..

They didnt say they werent going back to Stockholm because of track prperation, they ADMITTED that that it just didnt work out - Which I thought was a shame as I went to the 2004 GP there and it was fantastic. JP stated in the Media that he couldnt understand why Stockholm didnt warm to the GP's. He didnt Bull5h1t as you say.. They also admitted the same with Hamar. BSI never also never claimed that the current format was "wonderful innovation" on their part.. Again they just said it was fairer & every rider would be chasing every point. Is it wrong to talk up your product? I believe that if you were to have a gripe a BSI, then do it about some of the riders they have seeded over the years. Some have been clearly with marketing in mind and not who are very best. That said other than that, I cant see how they have done much wrong.

I'd say that was the main reason, although there might be an argument that television and sponsors didn't like the possibility of their favourite riders going-out of a GP after just two rides. Again my friend you are saying what you think the situation MIGHT HAVE BEEN. The fact that the large majority of the riders stated they didnt like the system & BSI were actually quoted as saying that is why they were changing it means nothing to you. A while back, BSI were taking legal action to recover money owed by one of the sponsors of the Polish GP, which was indicated as being about GBP 91K. Not exactly chicken feed is it

I said it was a gamble to take it Aus.. At no point did I say it was a success, I was just saying they were trying something new.. If you think that BSI didnt incurr any costs taking the GP there, then you are mistaken... Errr.. like Malilla, Daugvapils and Lonigo? No I meant Cardiff, Copenhagen & Vetlins arena, Ullevi next year & other stadiums like Hamar/Stockholm in the past.. And before I get the Werent they a great success replies, I am just saying they were trying to take the GP's to quality stadiums. They changed the race format to make it cheaper to stage the GPs. 24 riders cost too much Oh really thats the sole reason it changed is it? It just so happens that it took them 5 seasons to work it out tho and change it back to 16 riders. The new Eskilstuna stadium was funded by the sale of the old stadium in the town centre, and was planned to be a purpose-built facility years before BSI came along. That maybe the reason why the stadium is where it is, but IMPROVEMENTS have been made because of the GP's being there. That's a fact. Except it undoubtedly won't be Fiat proper. It'll be a local dealership I'd imagine. Well that's reall concrete isn't it.. It'd be a local dealership YOU IMAGINE. Even though it was Fiat Vans that was show all the stadium, it was UNDOUBTEDLY a local dealership.. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to be the title sponsor of an event like cardiff? It is difficult to tell the size of online companies. They could be pretty small in reality. Have you seen how many sporting events Party Poker are involved with at the moment? They are not a small company.. But again you've had a guess that they MIGHT be.

The debate on whether or not a one off final or GP series is the best way to decide a world Championship will be on going as it's all down to opinions... However I do struggle to understand why people on here are so anti BSI.. It's not like they bought the rights to the series and just simply carried on with the old system of 6 GP's in the usual venues... They've taken the series to fantastic stadiums, also, they staged a GP in Australia which was a big gamble.. But they did it trying to push the sport forward.. And they have listened to fans and riders. They have changed the race format, points soring all to try and make it more exciting/fairer, they really can't be accused of just resting on their laurels.. Even little things like the yellow race jacket for the series leader, it's a nice touch and shows they are consatntly thinking... Also because of the series, places like Eskilstuna have had permanent stadium improvemnets off of the back of staging GP rounds..Ive also read that The TV audience in the UK has doubled for SGP's since 2000. With regard to sponsorship, I think it's unfair to only mention Meridian Lifts & not mention Party Poker, Fiat, Dansk Metal etc They are fairly sizeable companies...

Kevin mate as much as you dont want to hear it, GP's will be here for many many years..

1)Nicki Pedersen 2)Leigh Adams 3)Jason Crump 4)Tomasz Gollob 5)Hans Andersen - All obvious 6)Greg Hancock - After 12 consistent years deserves another crack. 7)Chris Harris - Needs to cut out the 5 points attitude though 8)Scott Nicholls - Hopefully finishes in the top 8 .Needs a better team around him 9)Niels K Iversen - Will do well to finish top 10 10)Lukas Dryml - Will come last in all but Prague I feel. A wasted place IMO 11)Bjarne Pedersen - Is definately one of best 16 in world, but doubt will trouble top 6 12)Rune Holta - Deserves to be there for his performances in 2nd half of season. 13)Andreas Jonsson - Been unlucky this year, if he stays injury free could be a serious contender. 14)Freddie Lindgren - Will no doubt get the nod. Probably deserves it but maybe being Swedish is deciding factor. 15)Emil Saifutdinov - An unbelievable talent, held his own in the world cup. & would expose Russia to the GP more..

I used to love the old one off world finals. Also the British & Overseas finals were 2 of my favourite meetings of the year. However I think the GP is fairer, better run & gives the supportes most of the major nations a chance to see it live. Also most of the same name used to appear year on year like in the GPs.. And if my memroy serves me correctly not all the one off finals were great to watch were they, there were a fair few stinkers in there..

I think you'll find most of the new tracks started-up in the 1997-2000 period, before BSI got involved in the sport Redcar, Brum, Somerset, Scunny, Weymouth, Plymouth.. They were all way after 2000 mate.. I also disagree with you saying crowds are down in domestic leagues since BSI involvemenet.. Look at last night for eg.. once again I'll say that in no way are BSI fautless, but to say that their involvment has not benifited British Speedway at all is just not true IMO

But in a indirect way it has helped british league speedway as the profile of the sport has gone up, league speedway has been shown on TV since '99, Sky money has gone into Brish speedway, new tracks have oepned up all over the country.. It's just a shame the Elite league is run like a sh it show at the moment. Ok so JP & BSI havent directly handed over cash but they have had a positve effect in some ways.. I get the feeling you wont agree though...

I think you'll find it has a lot to do with paying competitive wages. The money availiable in the Polish, Russian & even Swedish leagues is much better than in the BEL. And if we dont try and match that then most of the better Riders will race in these leagues instead of in Britain. Look at the English soccer leagues.. Most of the best players now play over here because of money, up untill 10/15 years ago they were mostly in Italy/Spain cos thats where the money was. With Regards to the league bending over backwards, that is just life I'm afraid.. Rugby players miss club games in order to play for their country/ in world cups, Cricketers ditto, the football premier league has to have Saturdays with no fixtures because of internationals - I'm sure there are other sports I could name...Top level should take priority..

No-one is suggesting that the British leagues are a wonder of organisation, but that could be fixed regardless of the SGP. As to the statement that the skill level is far far above what was seen in days gone by, well I'm afraid that's utter nonsense. With the exception of a handful of riders, the standard of the lineup in current SGP is very much below those of World Finals in the past. Zagar, Pedersen and Lindback - give me a break. Well I believe rider for rider the series now is better now than any one off final in my memory... It is ironic that you mention 3 riders who have all had podium finishes in a GP.. I am in no way saying the series is fautless, but it does make me laugh when riders, promoters, ex riders etc all say how much the GP has changed speedway for the better, yet the "experts" on here still talk it down.. Some promoters moan about the GP - and for one reason only, they get p*ssed off that their riders go missing.. Well run the league better, get a set night or 2 for British league racing, use the Sky money & other sponsorship better to pay competitve wages & it might all be a little easier..

Well I like watching meetings in Stadiums such as The Millenium at Cardiff. Meetings which are slickly run, dont drag on and are most of the time very entertaining with a level of skill far far above what we used to see in days gone by.. The GP series brings about the best of the best & the reason why our sport is a lot more high profile these days. I dont think the Reading Fiasco proves that JP cant promote speedway, I think he was just too ambitious for a 2 bob league run by an old boys club.. Ok he obviously got some sums seriously wrong too!! But I still say at the end of last season, I bet he was happy with the way things had gone at Reading...

I think it's great the GP's are heading back there. Hopefully all the previous problems will have been ironed out..

Sold them a crock of what? So your saying neither the GP's or John P are any good for speedway? Give over.

He can't be that rich!??

Does he have anything to do with th GP series anymore at all?