salty

Good point. I might be wrong but I reckon of the 16 qualifiers 9 have been in the GP series before and 4 of the others have had wild card appearances or are regulars in the WTC. Only Miedzinski, Jedrzejak and Nermark haven't made much of a mark on the world stage and none of them are exactly unknown quantities. Really would have hoped for some of the younger riders to have made more impact this year.

Well at least Richardson got through - well done to him! That makes 4 Danes, Swedes and Poles in the Final, 2 Slovenians (though 1 rides under the Hungarian banner) 1 Brit and 1 Aussie. Pity Emil didn't get a spin in Italy, he mght well have qualified.

I don't think Davey would have "let Poole down" if he hadn't ridden last night. It wasn't as if the team were depleted or anything and RR would have covered for him comfortably. Laudable thought it is that he decided to ride last night, if he has any designs on GP qualification in the future he needs to be a tad more selfish. But he got in by default (Theo's injury) and now the same luck has befallen Bjerre, who deserves credit for making the most out of his good fortune.

All 3 Brits fail to qualify from Motala , up to Richardson and Howe now to at least get one in the Final. Is it likely that the amount of places offered to GB in the qualifying for next year will be reduced if we continue to make no progress?

Fair play to Dugard for saying what many thought. The track was a disgrace, which makes 2 out of 5 that have been dangerous this GP season. Pity Pearson and Tatum didn't question the BSI fella (Bellamy?) about the poor state of the track when they interviewed him on Monday night. Seemed quite content to let him use it as a free commercial to bang on about how great everything was.

Denmark are 2/1 on to win the whole thing, would like to see one of the other countries upset them but realistically at Vojens the only ones who I can see doing it are the Aussies. Personally I would have given Ed and Tai a go at Brandon, Ed did well there last year in the same meeting and such is the potential of Tai I reckon he would have been worth a spin.

Was this the same ref who excluded Crumpy 3 times a couple of years ago? If those incidents had taken place in League Speedway I am sure they would have been all 4 back, can't imagine any ref anywhere else who would have excluded Leigh or Bjarne. Nicki plays a very clever game with his swoops from gate 4, he knows that if he doesn't make it he can always collect a bump and slide into the relative comfort of the air fence. The very least he gets an all 4 back, tonight he got the bonus of the innocent parties being excluded. When you consider the exclusion for Crumpy when he barely touched Nicki in an earlier round whether there are darker forces at work? Maybe the refs don't want to upset Olsen? Be interesting to see the Speedway Star's spin on the events.

Don't think you can ban people from the qualifiers, surely they should be open for all? If Ferjan and Pepe were truly the dregs then they wouldn't be able to qualify would they? I take your point that they wouldn't add much to the series, but if they qualify legitimately then they deserve to have a go. Sulli was a worthwhile Gp rider not so long ago, would be interesting to see if he can get back in. 3 Aussies in the Semi's, if 1 were to qualify then Noddy wouldn't be getting a sniff for 2009. I would love to see another Brit qualifying by right, but a strong performance by Kennett next Saturday (what price him being the first Brit to win a GP race this season?) if he can back it up in the WTC and the qualifiers could see him getting a shot next year.

Surprised and a tad disappointed to see Holder bow out. With Saifatdinov only making it as reserve as well it seems some of the old guard will be strongly in the running for qualification. Strong WTC's and Under 21 campaigns from Holder and Emil may see them having a chance of a nomination to GP 2009, but there are a lot of other factors at play (unfortunately). It might well be that the GP organisers would see Emil's inclusion as a massive boost given the money floating about in Russia, whilst Noddy unfortunately doesn't have the same pull. I guess a lot will depend on the make up of the top 8 this year and the 3 qualifiers.

Don't know if I just have a blind spot, but I have been unable to find a report on last weekend's semi in this weeks Speedway Star. If the premier news mag of the sport in Britain can't report such a meeting it says something about how important the Under 21's are in the scheme of things.

Personally don't think you need to defend Simon. There has been only one posting I would consider negative, I questioned why other riders like Tully were not used, but guessed they were unavailable for whatever reason. Hats off to Simon for taking on the booking, it is surely a joke that riders who do step up for meetings like this face such a financial loss. Although I understand there are confidentiality issues, I'm sure a lot of supporters would be interested to know what support the riders actually receive from the authorities for these meetings.

Thought it strange that Tully, Mear or even Auty weren't considered. Maybe it was a logistic/cost issue? Disappointing not to reach the Final.

Pretty harsh to say it was terrible. For Tully it was very much an experience gaining trip, Barker was obviously inconvenienced by 2 ef's. Both riders will benefit from the weekend and will come again.

Well Roo Boy rallied and qualified. Sadly, Bjerre missed out in a run-off for 7th and last qualifying spot to Wolbert.

Just read the blurb Tony and it looks pretty good to me, much as I enjoyed hearing about pre- war exploits I started watching in the late 60's so this new publication will be right up my street. Best of luck - hope it's a success and complements Backtrack.

Agree that Woffinden has loads and loads of potential, but I don't know how accurate it is to say that "we have produced" him. He was pretty much a stand out from when he first came over from Aussie. Hope he gets a WTC call up and is given every opportunity to widen his experience.

I assume Tai will be one of the meeting reserves? If the track is anything like Ullevi he'll likely get a few rides and if not will still be able to soak up the atmosphere. Will be interesting to see how Eddie does on the big day, I reckon he could be a bit of a surprise package.

Not the worst idea I've ever heard - and I'm sure Mr Holta would agree. It would keep interest going to the last GP as even someone rooted in 15th place could pull off a shock and qualify for next year. Better than this Super Prix nonsense.

The difference between Rune and Scott is that Rune has not had to rely on the generosity of the authorities to get a GP spot in the past but has got in by qualifying. As regards why it has took Rune so long to win one, I think that is a bit of a surprise. He has been one of the top performers in the Polish and Swedish leagues for years and has put in plenty of good rides in the GP's. Time after time he seemed to cock up at either the gate or by over riding in Semi's, but last season was a bit of a break through when he reached the podium a couple of times and rode his socks off to overcome a poor start to the series and finish in the top 8. Hope he can qualify by right again this year, because with the political rubbish that goes along with the nominations I fear a less worthy rider might get a spot at his expense. For example this ridiculous notion that the Brits must have 2 riders in the series.

Will be interesting to see if and what is reported in the Speedway Star about last nights track. The fiasco about the abandoned GP in Sweden was blamed on the locals and given the links between the Star and the Gp organisers it wouldn't surprise me if a similar scenario unfolds. There was mention in the match report from Leszno about how hard and dry the track was, but no editorial comment. In fact Leigh Adams commented how many racing lines there were. With 2 more temporary tracks coming up I hope we never see a repeat of that disgraceful surface last night.

Can't believe people are questioning Rune's machinary. He was quick all night (and has been a top rider for several years) and in the Final he took advantage round the outside whilst the other 3 kept to the wet inside. Don't remember anybody questioning Harris bikes after Cardiff last year.

Hans Andersen made some comments about the GP series a couple of years back (can't remember exactly what) but unfortunately for him he failed to qualify in the top 8. Consequently his punishment was a year in the wilderness as riders who had finished behind him in the rankings got nominations instead.

As it is the "Scandanavian" GP then surely anybody from the Scandanavian countries can be the wild card. Seem to remember Kylmakorpi getting a wild card slot once. Think the idea of giving the top rider in the British Final (besides Scotty and Bomber) is good. The point of this thread I see as more along the lines of - if no Brit finishes in the top 8 at the end of this season surely we cannot expect to get another 2 nominations for 2009.

I've watched the Gollob/Jonsson incident several times and am convinced that Gollob was just turning left into the corner on the normal racing line. Hope that all the injured riders are Ok after the meeting. Was miffed about how slick it was early on, but I guess given the ruts and pot holes it was a relief there wasn't loads of dirt. Absolutely delighted to see Holta win his first GP (regardless of any silly rules changes surely the winner of the Final is the winner of the GP?). Thought he deserved it for a pressure win in Heat 20, a great last lap dive around Adams in the Semi and that marvellous burst off turn 2 in the Final. Not to mention the way he avoided Puk earlier on in the meeting. Hope he can kick on and get in the top 8 because the sad fact is if he finishes 9th the ridiculous politics in this sport mean he might not get a nomination whilst riders below him in the standings will.

That Gorican round looks a bit tasty. How many qualify for the next round?