Wee Eck

Surely it makes sense for British Speedway to follow international standards on crash helmets? If only they’d do the same with air barriers

The Premiership media launch is at Oxford on 23 March. Sounds similar to last year with plenty of riders - in race suits - attending and opportunities for interviews with everyone involved. From all accounts, last year’s launch was well run and received and hopefully this will also apply this year especially with the venue being closer for the southern-centric media.

I think one of the main problems is WBD are licence holders and not promoters whereas BSI knew how to promote. The pre-meeting entertainment in the BSI era was usually well worth watching but WBD have brought us……balloons. The racing at Cardiff has seldom been great - compare and contrast Cardiff with Wroclaw, Gorzow or Toruń - but the atmosphere made up for it. But not with 20,000. Melbourne found that at what was then called the Etihad with a really good race track but poor atmosphere resulting in the 5 year deal being cancelled after three. i’lll miss Cardiff. But only a little. Poor racetrack and extortionate hotel prices were always a disincentive. Every year I said never again only to be seduced back over the border. I’m happy the cycle has been broken.

I reckon Gladgoe would get a crowd of 2000 if GB involved. Nowhere in Poland would attract that sort of number if Poland not involved. Wrocław didn’t make 2000 in total for the three qualifiers. Nothing like it. Similarly, the NSS for the SoN had maybe a thousand in total for the qualifiers and maybe 1200 for the under 21 SoN final - when GB was involved.

The qualifiers have often been poorly attended - there were almost more people in the pits in Wrocław than the stands for the qualifiers. So it makes sense to stage the qualifiers each with a home team, so that would be GB and Denmark. But, for logistical reasons, not in the week of the final. GB should be either NSS (though there might be a GP there in 2026) or Glasgow

Was it not the third attempt to get it on and only ran because it was the last available date?

I seem to recall another Polish rider predicted to find Armadale not to his liking - Kasprzak riding for Belle Vue in the 2009 promotion/relegation match. How did that work out?

Is it a coincidence that for three years in a row, Craig has been “let go” by his previous teams? And, regardless of press releases, always for the same reason - unreliability? Was there not a suggestion that, when Leicester signed him earlier this year it was because they knew his top league average meant they’d be able to get decent guests when he went missing? How many meetings did he end up racing for Leicester?

Magnus Zetterstrom?

Dumped or jumped?

Is Palovara still on Glasgow’s retained list?

The press release advising of the re-signing of Tobias went out yesterday but was embargoed until 7pm tonight. I suspect either someone who saw it sent it on to Lewy or else Lewy received it directly. Either way, the protocol for press releases was breached and was allowed to fall into the irritating realm of “I know something you don’t know” I would expect that @Skidder was one of the recipients but, as an experience journalist, he had the class to observe the embargo

Did SKY and BT Sport not use the same production company for the broadcast? I seem to remember that Steve Saint was involved and a Northern Irish guy called Keith (?) did the graphics. Steve Saint now runs his own company called Saint Media

I think David would be surprised to hear that he’s in a wheelchair. Yes, he suffered long term and career ending injuries but he’s one of the most positive people around - and mobile. I spoke to him and his wife at the Pairs at Oxford and they were then going on to Cardiff for the GP. Speedway was a sport not a living for David and, despite what happened, he is really upbeat about his time racing and his life in general. He held down a job when riding and continues to work now. He has also been spannering for Edinburgh’s Lasse Fredricksen. As far as Armadale is concerned, he’s certainly not “left”

Some of this surprises me, some doesn’t. The absence of the Russians doesn’t. Rumours of a deal struck between them, PZM and FIM which allows them to ride in the Ekstraliga means they have agreed not to be in the GPs Two of the four - Doyle and Michelsen- are correct in my view for the reasons others have said. Likewise, Madsen’s exclusion due to his no show at the SON and his disagreement with the logistics company seems fair. The other 2? This should be the top 15 riders in the world and be unrelated to political considerations. Having two riders who failed in the GP series and failed in the GP challenge shoe horned in because of their nationality is just wrong. Whateve you think of Poland and Polish speedway, not including a third Pole could - and maybe should - come back and bite WBD/FIM on the arse. And justifying Kvech’s inclusion because he’s CZ champion but not even including the Polish champion as a substitute is just plain wrong. In my view.