NeilWatson

Jesper B Jensen, 11th July 2007

For full details of the current procedures see Chapter 8 (page 80 onward) of the 2020 Speedway Regulations.

A reasonable question, which could also be asked of the official random testing and of any other organisation using such kits. I believe the deterrent factor of knowing you will be tested at every single meeting, with all your peers, would be significant.

Multi-drug saliva test kits are available for around £4 each, purchased in bulk much less no doubt; so 14 tests would cost less than £50. Why not test every rider at every meeting?

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules/coronavirus-covid-19-travellers-exempt-from-uk-border-rules#international-elite-sportspersons

Under the old system there wouldn’t be a tie for 5th place, the two riders would be ranked in some way, by GP starting number IIRC

Seems good value for a speedway family - six people can watch, in comfort, with clean toilets and no travel.

From The Times today, including comment on sports stadia: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/coronavirus-theatres-reopen-with-seat-out-to-help-out-kflrf0jjb

That’s exactly what happens at the track, using the Kandysoft custom spreadsheet. The broadcaster produces the graphics using their own workings of the results, which is where any discrepancy arises.

I would say the staging Promoter and Club and the meeting sponsor care very much. To use an F1 analogy the winner of each individual F1 GP celebrate the race win, despite it also counting for points towards the World Championship.

But each GP is an individual (in both senses) meeting - albeit with the scores also counting towards the World Championship.

In a way it's no different to most individual meetings in the UK - the leader after 20 races still has to negotiate a grand final to be the winner.

No 4th in the final gains 14 GP points, semi-final riders gain 12,11, 10 0r 9

No 3rd in the semi-finals gains 12 or 11 GP points, 4th 10 or 9 GP points, determined by the rider's placing after Ht 20.

Gives plenty of options for 'team' riding.....

https://www.speedwaygp.com/news/article/8477/british-final-plans-given-green

BRITISH Speedway bosses can now confirm there will be no National Development League this season – but that doesn’t mean the end of hopes of team racing. A number of clubs have made contact with league co-ordinator Jason Pipe to say they would like to stage competitive meetings at grassroots level. More are expected to follow. With the additional local lockdowns put in place to continue to combat Covid-19, the decision was made to scrap plans for a full league programme in the weeks ahead. Said Pipe: “This decision wasn’t made lightly, but one we felt had to be made in the end. “I feel this is the right decision to make. I wouldn’t like to see clubs commit to a ‘league’ campaign and then not be able to fulfil all these meetings.” Meanwhile Chairman Godfrey added: “In the end this is the logical and most sensible policy to take. “We’ve seen how quickly things are changing once again and this way we don’t have clubs tied down to a full league programme. “The opportunity is there for open meetings and challenge matches and there are a number of clubs who have already expressed a strong interest in staging meetings between now and the end of October. “I remain confident there will be some form of NDL standard racing this year, but not in a league format.”

Art 9.1 of the GP Regulations: At the conclusion of each meeting, a Final Meeting Classification will be produced, showing the SGP points achieved by each participating Rider. After Heat 20, there will be an Intermediate Classification showing the 1st to 18th place according to the total Race points each Rider has scored during the Main Event. Positions 1st to 4th in the Final Meeting Classification will be according to the result of the Final (Heat 23). Positions 5th to 8th in the Final Meeting Classification will be according to the results from the Semi Finals (Heat 21 & 22). The 2 Riders who finish 3rd in each of the Semi Finals will be 5th and 6th in the Final Meeting Classification, with the higher ranked rider from Intermediate Classification 5th and the lower ranked rider 6th. This rule will apply if both riders complete, or fail to complete the Semi Final. If only one of these riders fail to complete the Semi Final for any reason, he will be placed 6th in the final meeting classification. The 2 Riders who finish 4th in each of the Semi Finals will be 7th and 8th in the Final Meeting Classification, with the higher ranked rider from Intermediate Classification 7th and the lower ranked rider 8th. This rule will apply if both riders complete, or fail to complete the Semi Final. If only one of these riders fail to complete the Semi Final for any reason, he will be placed 8th in the final meeting classification. Positions 9th to 18th will be according to the Intermediate Classification after 20 heats. Race points scored during the Main Event (Heats 1-20 will be awarded on the following basis: • For first place – 3 points • For second place – 2 points • For third place – 1 point • For fourth place – 0 points • Riders score no points for M-R-F-T-d-N. In the case of a dead heat, combined points for the places must be shared equally between the Riders concerned. The Final meeting classification will determine SGP points in the Overall Championship Classification. 1st 20pts 2nd 18pts 3rd 16pts 4th 14pts 5th 12pts 6th 11pts 7th 10pts 8th 9pts 9th 8pts 10th 7pts 11th 6pts 12th 5pts 13th 4pts 14th 3pts 15th 2pts 16th 1pt 17th 0pt 18th 0pt

Your understanding is way off.... Spot on Phillip

I don’t believe Kev was or is upset, but I can assure you he wasn’t an investor in the Panthers under Ged Rathbone.

The original question is quoted above, and asks, in terms, if a reserve can replace the other reserve in a heat. I quoted the section of Rule 3.6 which appears to confirm that they can. That would of course be dependent on the replacing reserve not having already taken 5 rides. The complete Rule 3.6 reads: 3.6 Track Reserve Riders In each SGP Meeting, 2 Track Reserve Riders will be nominated by the FMNR to take part. Proposals must be made in writing to the FIM not later than 1 month prior to the meeting. The SGP Commission will make the final approval and nominations. After nomination, the official FIM SGP Entry Form for Wild Card & Track Reserve Riders must be duly completed and signed by the Rider and his FMN. The FMN is responsible for completing and submitting the entry form to the FIM/CCP Administration at least 2 weeks before the meeting for which the Rider has been nominated. Furthermore, the Rider commits himself by his signature to be fully aware of all the FIM rules; to accept them all and to compete in the FIM SGP Meeting for which he has been nominated. The 2 Track Reserve Riders will replace, in rotation during Heats 1 to 20, any riders disqualified under Art. 8.3, (2 minutes time allowance) or Art. 8.4 (Unsatisfactory start). Additionally they shall replace, in rotation, any riders injured after the start of Heat 1 who are unable to take their places in a race. If a rider gets injured before the start of heat 1 then the first Track Reserve Rider will take all of the injured riders programmed rides. A Track Reserve Rider cannot ride in more heats than a scheduled Rider. Track Reserve Riders are not permitted to take part in Heats 21, 22 or 23 unless they have qualified to do so according to their total race points scored at the completion of Heat 20.

The answer would appear to be yes, the FIM rules state: The 2 Track Reserve Riders will replace, in rotation during Heats 1 to 20, any riders disqualified under Art. 8.3, (2 minutes time allowance) or Art. 8.4 (Unsatisfactory start). There is a brief guide to the GP rules here, the detailed rules can be found here - use the filters 'speedway' & 'codes and regulations'

The era is irrelevant, as is the fact it's a speedway programme to an extent - it's simply a logic puzzle, and very entertaining!

I think I have a solution, sent by PM to R&R to avoid spoilers!

Fair enough, thanks for pointing that out.