Sprog1

But they are not British. The point which you are trying hard not to face up to is that Kennett and Woffinden are being picked purely and simply because they are British, not necessarily because of acheivment. Of the three you mentioned Emil justified his selection because he was twice world u/21 Champion. AJ was world u/21 Champion and had scored 7 points in the Swedish GP before being given a permanent Wildcard. Nicki had beaten some of the worlds best to finish 4th in the Danish GP so there was good reason to put him in the GP's on a permanent basis. With all due respect to Ed Kennett he has not proved himself up to the job in the British GP when he had a wildcard and Tai has not even managed to get wildcard in the British GP. The other question that you keep avoiding is what is the point of qualifying rounds if people who don't come anywhere near qualifying suddenly get leapfrogged into the GP's ahead of those that did much better on the track ?

That is exactly the point. Who is to decide which rider has the potential to improve an which one doesn't? The whole thing is done behind closed doors and no reasons are given. It is not even as if they thought Kennett and Woofinden were necessarily the best candidates, it is purely because they are British. If Woofinden had elected to ride on an Australian licence the chances are that he wouldn't have the nomination and it would probably go to someone like Ben Barker. It is all about politics not ability and that is the problem. The people that nominated Kennett and Woofinden for wildcards are the same ones that nominated Nichols Harris and Richardson so their abilty to spot potential world champions is doubtful to say the least. As for saying that at the moment it is between 3 or 4 riders there never was a time in speedway history that there were more than 3 or 4 riders in with a serious chance and you won't change that. There is not a single area of sport or life in general where you improve the standard by levelling down. You always have to level up. In other words you can't turn failures into a success by giving them an easy ride. Let them do it the hard way and it will benefit them in the long run. If Kennett and Woofinden are made to work for i.e through the qualification rounds it will make them more determined (hungry) when they get there. The career of Ivan Mauger is a classic example. He was a dreadful failure at Woofindens age, but he had to go away and learn how to deal with it. It was only by learning to deal with failure that he honed his skills, developed his legendary professionalism and eventually achieived 6 world titles. Raw talent is not enough in speedway.

I think you are missing the point slightly. The issue is who decides which riders should be given the wildcard and what is the criteria for their decision. The thing that is wrong about all this is that Woofinden and Kennett are in simply because they are British riders and the organisers want a couple of Brits in. While these decisions are taken behind closed doors decent riders from other lesser speedway nations will have less chance. Someone like Zagar who is a rider of proven ability and reaching the peak of his ability at the age of 26 is denied a chance because he comes from a nation deemed by the powers that be to be of less speedway significance than GB, despite the fact that he has been an altogether more successful rider than either Woofinden of Kennett this year. The point that we keep coming back to is this:What is the point of having qualifying rounds if at the end of it riders are going to be put in because their face fits, even though they were not good enough to qualify ? Why not be honest and just carve it up behind closed doors to start with, and not bother with the charade of qualifying rounds ? How are we genuinely going to find the worlds best if its all decided on who you know rather than the points you score in qualifying ?

Totally agree, except the circus won't be making money much longer if this nonsense carries on.

That is a very good point Silver Bee. People come on the forum deriding Zetterstrom who actually blew Holder away twice in the GP Challenge and had some very tough first bends but Kennett who as you say was easliy moved out of the way by Sheilds (who is very good but not World Class) is being hailed as a long overdue development for the GP's. On any assessment Kennett has not proved himself to be the quality of Zetterstrom at this level, and I speak as a fn of Eddie. It's all very well for people to knock the likes of Harris, Nicholls and Richardson but if you compare their performances throughout this year in the English, Polish and Swedish leagues, and look at the way the British Championship was dominated by Richardson (top scorer in the heats) and Harris (eventual winner) it is clear that those three have been the top three Brits. The fact that they have performed poorly overall in their spells in the GP does not mean they are poor riders, it just shows how tough the GP's really are. Its not just the brits, many class riders have found the GP,s a ifferent ball game. But Kennett and Woofy have British passports so no doubt the dewey-eyed patriotism that replaces common sense in the british psyche will prevail

With all due respect to the riders concerned it makes a complete mockery of the qualifying rounds. Of the four riders concerned one couldn't even be bothered to do the qualifyers, one made the GP Challenge but fell short on the night and the other two were nowhere near good enough to qualify, couldn't even make the GP Challenge. The message to Zagar and every half-decent foreign rider is now very clear:- Don't even bother with the qualifiers lads, just get yourself an English licence and take the easy route in.

Don't think anyones mentioned Tich Read, Sprouts Elder or Sqibb Burton.

Is it just me or are the GP's becoming mind bogglingly dull this season? Anyone agree ? Last night the first 11 races were won from the inside gate and probably over half of all the races won from the inside. There was very little serious overtaking plus the usual problem of races being spoilt by ruts. I think Matej Zagar's comments were telling when he said that the track was not like it usually is-so someone has obviously messed aroung with the track and on last nights showing they didn't do a very good job. Its difficult to point the finger of blame without knowing all the facts but it does seem that Ole Olsen has a lot to answer for. He has overall responsibilty. In the studio last night they were saying that they were unable to get to question him, which is pretty much par with his aloof and self-centred attitude as a rider. Its bad enough for regular fans who understand speedway but how on earth will anything like lasts nights fiasco maintain the interest of the casual viewer ? It could never be described as a good advert for speedway and yet Olsen &Co seem to do very little about it. What does everyone think ? Are the GP's good television, or if not what should be done ?

Ok mate you can take your tongue out of your cheek now !

There isn't one. Forum rules are to attack the post and not the post so lets just say out of all the responses that could have been posted that post is the most dumb, negative, pointless, wet-banket post that I can imagine.

Kauko Nieminen is the new Finnish Champion. Not the most prestigious title in speedway perhaps but a confidence boost for one of the nicest guys in speedway. Well done Kakke !

Interesting comment. Ed guested several times for Lakeside when Adam Shields was injured at the end of last season and I thought he did very well. However its one thing to come in as guest when you have nothing to lose and something else to carry a responsible role in yout home club week in, week out so the various comments do suggest he is a bit inconsistent. Ed's got a long career in front of him and plenty of time to learn, but at the moment he has still has to show he can deliver at international level so for this year at least, I agree with those who say don't take him to Poland. His chance will come again.

............or the weight limit .

Rico definately in. He has for a long time been the best British performer in the Polish league and his experience is vital. Lewis and Danny can't be left out after the way they performed on Monday. Bomber of course has to be in. That leaves a choice between Scott, Tai and Eddie for the last place, and not really much to choose between them. I would pick Scott for two reasons. First, Scott at or near his best will be better than Ed or Tai at their best, so its worth the chance. Second Ed and Tai have, between them some GP and SWC experience but on Monday they were still overshadowed by Danny and Lewis. You his to get things right first time at this level so if Eddie and Tai were not very effective on Monday there is no reason to believe they will be any better in Poland but if Scotts form is a bit off he still has bags more experience to get him through. If its not Scott it will have to be Tai. Eddie has to go back to the drawing board for now.