New SGP Format.

[IainB]

3 hours ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

I did remember a comment like that, so I skimmed back through it and nothing like that was said in any of Zmarzliks heats.

Do you mean heat 14 when Kurtz was chasing down Kvech for a lap? Kelvin said "I thought for a moment Kurtz was going to take the chance, but maybe now he's thinking why do it? 2 points will be better than none" ....

Chris then said during the replay, that Kurtz probably thought, I'm not going to hurt myself here, it's not worth it.

Not unreasonable in the circumstances, seeing that 2 points would keep him a point clear at the top of the leader board with a race to go, but ending up on his arse would relegate him to a LCQ position.

No different from a rider in the old style  world final not pushing for a win when 2 points would be enough to take the title.

During the meeting, Kelvin also said "you can't throw in the towel or cruise around in this format, because every point will earn you a better gate position"

Gate one was clearly dominant. Only two third places & one last, which was a retirement. 12 firsts & 8 second places, so clearly a huge advantage.

Having said that, you wouldn't bet against Zmarzlik in any gate! 

I don't get the comments saying that it's boring because he has no challengers. If it was Lambert or Bewley dominating in the same fashion, it would be a different story.

 

 

Yes, you're right, the question of is it worth it is probably a question a rider always asks himself when in close combat... I've never actually heard it said in commentary before though related to race format, so it's now an extra factor to not take a chance. 

Yes, Zmarzlik could and indeed did make it off the graveyard gate 3 twice. That was my point in this really that generally the "contenders" tend to make it off any gate when it's needed, I probably didn't articulate it that well though. 

And I'm sorry to say that I am one of those that is finding the GP series rather boring at the moment. There's nothing more I like better than watching a sportsman at the top of his game and Zmarzlik is certainly, head and shoulders, the best rider currently riding in the SGP series... but is he the best in the world is a question that's not really being answered... for me, just like when Tai won his championships with Emil not riding SGP.

 

Edited May 8 by IainB

[FAST GATER]

1 hour ago, IainB said:

but is he the best in the world is a question

BZ in general wins every race he needs to ,there are bound to be occasions when he gets beaten but  his main focus is the GP's that's quite obvious  .

[racers and royals]

23 minutes ago, FAST GATER said:

BZ in general wins every race he needs to ,there are bound to be occasions when he gets beaten but  his main focus is the GP's that's quite obvious  .

Sorry but i don’t think it’s obvious at all. Tuesday night in Sweden he was busting a gut and generally whether it’s Extraleague or Polish Championship he rides the same- always trying for 3 points.

[AFCB Wildcat]

On 5/8/2025 at 8:01 AM, IainB said:

Yes, you're right, the question of is it worth it is probably a question a rider always asks himself when in close combat... I've never actually heard it said in commentary before though related to race format, so it's now an extra factor to not take a chance. 

 

 

I'd say that risk v reward comes in to play whatever the format. Many times I've watched team speedway on TV, where a team are comfortably in front and sit on a 2nd & 3rd with the commentators saying "3-3's will do them all night long."

My point was that with this new GP format, it makes it more important to fight for every point than in last years format and the LCQ's are a lot harder to qualify from than the old semis.

I'll admit that 10th place qualification didn't sit right with me when it was first announced. Having seen how it works though, I prefer it to last years format.

 

 

 

 

[Yty]

On 4/25/2025 at 1:44 AM, ElmParkRG2 said:

Why bother with LQ1/2, semi finals, final? Just have 20 heats, the rider with the most points. That way the best rider on the night wins not someone who finishes with less points gained throughout the evening.  

ElmParkRG2 is on the money!!!  Keep current format and let it run its course until 2026, then, remove the Repechage (LCQ+1&2) and reform to the previous format!!

Yty

[Ghostwalker]

On 4/24/2025 at 5:44 PM, ElmParkRG2 said:

Why bother with LQ1/2, semi finals, final? Just have 20 heats, the rider with the most points. That way the best rider on the night wins not someone who finishes with less points gained throughout the evening.  

I definitely agree with you, but Discovery and tv companies wants a crowned winner, someone being the first across the finish line so that it becomes very visual. They simply want a knock out cup to decide a winner.

[Fromafar]

On 5/10/2025 at 12:26 PM, AFCB Wildcat said:

I'd say that risk v reward comes in to play whatever the format. Many times I've watched team speedway on TV, where a team are comfortably in front and sit on a 2nd & 3rd with the commentators saying "3-3's will do them all night long."

My point was that with this new GP format, it makes it more important to fight for every point than in last years format and the LCQ's are a lot harder to qualify from than the old semis.

I'll admit that 10th place qualification didn't sit right with me when it was first announced. Having seen how it works though, I prefer it to last years format.

 

 

 

 

 

On 6/19/2025 at 3:57 AM, Yty said:

ElmParkRG2 is on the money!!!  Keep current format and let it run its course until 2026, then, remove the Repechage (LCQ+1&2) and reform to the previous format!!

Yty

The Sprint Race points are a bigger joke.Not really a fair way too decide Finalists, race times over a lap!!

[szkocjasid]

On 5/10/2025 at 12:26 PM, AFCB Wildcat said:

I'd say that risk v reward comes in to play whatever the format. Many times I've watched team speedway on TV, where a team are comfortably in front and sit on a 2nd & 3rd with the commentators saying "3-3's will do them all night long."

My point was that with this new GP format, it makes it more important to fight for every point than in last years format and the LCQ's are a lot harder to qualify from than the old semis.

I'll admit that 10th place qualification didn't sit right with me when it was first announced. Having seen how it works though, I prefer it to last years format.

My biggest issue is the points scoring, if a rider scores 12 points in the heats, why can't he keep those points?

If 5 riders tied on 6 points why does one deserve 4 more points than someone who scored the same as him?

Wether they have top 8 semi finals or top 10 LCQ's they could simply make the final scoring 20-18-17-16, everyone else gets the points scored during their 5 heats.

[AFCB Wildcat]

12 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

My biggest issue is the points scoring, if a rider scores 12 points in the heats, why can't he keep those points?

If 5 riders tied on 6 points why does one deserve 4 more points than someone who scored the same as him?

Wether they have top 8 semi finals or top 10 LCQ's they could simply make the final scoring 20-18-17-16, everyone else gets the points scored during their 5 heats.

I was about to post something very similar.

Having seen a few rounds now, it doesn't sit right with me that a rider scoring 6 points over his five rides can trump a rider who has scored 11 by finishing higher in an LCQ.

My preferred option would be 20-18-16 for top 3 and everyone else getting the points from their 5 heats. Why score extra points for finishing last in the final?

[szkocjasid]

16 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

My biggest issue is the points scoring, if a rider scores 12 points in the heats, why can't he keep those points?

If 5 riders tied on 6 points why does one deserve 4 more points than someone who scored the same as him?

Wether they have top 8 semi finals or top 10 LCQ's they could simply make the final scoring 20-18-17-16, everyone else gets the points scored during their 5 heats.

 

3 hours ago, AFCB Wildcat said:

I was about to post something very similar.

Having seen a few rounds now, it doesn't sit right with me that a rider scoring 6 points over his five rides can trump a rider who has scored 11 by finishing higher in an LCQ.

My preferred option would be 20-18-16 for top 3 and everyone else getting the points from their 5 heats. Why score extra points for finishing last in the final?

As a reward for winning the LCQ / finishing top scorer (or 2nd top).

As the FIM want to winner to score the most, they'd probably want the finalists to score more than non finalists too.

But there's no reason why 20-18-16 the heat results counting wouldn't work imo.

[r8gdp]

The whole points system now is crap imo.was far better when every point counted throughout the whole season after all  isn’t the idea of the gps is to find the most consistent rider throughout the whole season . Next year the idiots running the gps could well come up with a system that say s the top 4 riders at the end go into 1 race to determine who is the gp champion 😀

[AFCB Wildcat]

On 6/29/2025 at 4:25 PM, szkocjasid said:

 

As a reward for winning the LCQ / finishing top scorer (or 2nd top).

As the FIM want to winner to score the most, they'd probably want the finalists to score more than non finalists too.

But there's no reason why 20-18-16 the heat results counting wouldn't work imo.

My thinking is that by awarding 20, 18, 16 for the podium & points scored over 5 rides for the rest, is this.

In my opinion, the LCQ should be just that. A last chance to prove that you can beat the guys who finished in front of you in qualifying. That chance is the reward for winning the LCQ.

If you give 16 points for trailing in last in the final, there's the potential to enhance a 6  point total by a further 10 points for winning just one race in 7  when a 15 point max in qualifying can only be enhanced by 5 by winning the final. 

Going back to risk versus reward, I think that the the final would be much more competitive when there's potentially more points to gain by finishing 3rd, rather than one point difference to finishing last.

I think the problem that the FIM and others had, was when the guys who were holding the trophies & spraying champagne were outscored. I don't think many would have a problem with the last place rider getting only his qualifying score.

 

[szkocjasid]

On 6/30/2025 at 6:38 PM, AFCB Wildcat said:

My thinking is that by awarding 20, 18, 16 for the podium & points scored over 5 rides for the rest, is this.

In my opinion, the LCQ should be just that. A last chance to prove that you can beat the guys who finished in front of you in qualifying. That chance is the reward for winning the LCQ.

If you give 16 points for trailing in last in the final, there's the potential to enhance a 6  point total by a further 10 points for winning just one race in 7  when a 15 point max in qualifying can only be enhanced by 5 by winning the final. 

Going back to risk versus reward, I think that the the final would be much more competitive when there's potentially more points to gain by finishing 3rd, rather than one point difference to finishing last.

I think the problem that the FIM and others had, was when the guys who were holding the trophies & spraying champagne were outscored. I don't think many would have a problem with the last place rider getting only his qualifying score.

 

All very good points, would be happy with that. Far far better than the current system.