iris123

Fredericia no longer exists.I was talking to Stekkers or Erik Gundersen about that track only in the past year or so. Leningrad is another major venue that i guess has disappeared

Olsen takes the blame for a hell of a lot and as a powerful guy i guess it is only right in certain cases.Not sure even Ole can be blamed for the weather though And the location,ok he did choose it.But i wouldn't say it is "the middle of nowhere".You want to see some of the other tracks in Denmark.It is in a pretty good situation if you ask me.Near the motorway and a main train station.Plus there is an airport nearby and of course Vojens town itself.If you want a big city GP,there is Copenhagen.And imo the GPs are mainly for the locals and not for GP tourists.And as you see over the past few years,the locals turn out in large numbers for big meetings in Vojens.I congratulate Ole for first taking the GP to Copenhagen and dropping his own track.But he went out and got an investment package together and is turning the track into a super facility........ok,he should have known that it always rains in Vojens and built the track somewhere else

Nothing much to surprise anyone though.......plus they have left out the fact that BSI supply the start line girls outfits Maybe now people might realise though why there is no big queue of tracks/promoters fighting to hold these meetings and why they swap back and forth between a few countries/tracks

Got me thinking.....so i looked at his average in the Polish 2nd tier,to see what he was like on those un-Olefied tracks.Low and behold the "superstar" is behind those aspiring GP riders,Jablonski,Nermark,Ljung,Max and Slabon

Out of interest.....who won the blooming thing then?

Why do you say that?With the YGT it just seems to swap back and forth between Denmark and Poland.I guess no-one else wants it.And you can't just have it swap between Rybnik and Skaerbaek.....So Vojens is an obvious venue as it is a "proper" 80cc track.The SWC is another that now seems to swap between Poland and Denmark and again Vojens is the obvious venue in Denmark.So it is a lot down to the other countries to apply for these meetings.Again with the Grand Challenge,who else applies to host this?I can see it just moving from Poland,Denmark,Sweden and GB......Ok one or two of the other Danish tracks seem to be a bit peeved at Vojens getting these meetings,but the investment has been made on and off the track and it pulls the crowds in.The additional GP and the one in Poland do make the series look a little ridiculous.But why shouldn't Denmark get two when the crowds are good and Poland and Sweden also get more than one?Of course i am biased,but i am all for top meetings being held at Vojens.Don't leave out the fact that they alos applied but were turned down(wrongly imo)for a Final round of the World U21 series.If there was a track in western Europe that wanted a round i think they should have been given it.3 rounds,all in eastern Europe is a little biased

I can understand Slovenia and i guess the Italian GP is in a precarious position,but i thought Mr Rising stated on here that the Latvian GP was better attended this year and in a healthier position.Must have mis-read that one Then again,when i posted the report from the Danish press that Ole was leaving his post he said Ole had no intention and didn't know where the story came from

This is what they said last year as well though and i posted that they were going to try and get more delegates onto the FIM committee.I guess it failed.There are also some harsh words for the likes of Sweden,who want to participate in all the competitions,but let others(Russia in particular) take the financial strain of hosting the meetings.Not happy bunnies so it seems.......

Funny you mention the averages,because i wanted to ask how often the World Champ corresponded to the table topper in the league averages?

So to sumarize your posts, i take it you are saying Erik was better than Gollob.But Hans wasn't as good on his home track as Tomasz is on his home track?I can only conclude you also agree that Erik was the better of the 3 aforementioned riders

Well of course i only saw Hans at Oxford a couple of times.One of those was the England v Denmark meeting where he was reserve anyway But i thought he held the track record for about 15 or so years......so he must have been pretty good there if he wanted to be

But Gollob is very particular on what track he does the business really.If he takes a dislike to the conditions he looks uninteressted and pretty average.I wouldn't say Erik was like that.I don't think they are as similar as you try to make out.And to mention Gollob and Bydgoszcz....well ok if there was a GP at Oxford then Hans would be favourite every time......

Robert Barth was a wc at Prague one year.But that was when there were 2 or maybe more wildcards.But didn't Hans Andersen get a couple of wc's the year he was left out and then won a GP?

I agree with you.At least that is my impression of Erik now after all those years.Not sure what his league averages were like,but my one trip to Cradley heath was for a Cradley v Oxford meeting just to see the two up against each other.Think Erik beat Hans in the Golden Helmet match races and then went on to have a fairly average meeting for Cradley,getting 6 or 7 points only...

Do you know they both withdrew or just assuming they did?

But the Russians want the date moved.......... They would rather have it on the first march weekend so they don't have to make two trips to the west to cut costs

So Hungary make way for Norway?I have seen on the net that apart from maybe not taking part in the GPs next year Holta say's he will not ride for Poland any more either because of the personal abuse or something.So it has to be hoped he rides for Norway,even if it is a bit of a farce that he swaps back and forth..pity Ferjan can't do the same with Slovenia But really any of the teams are just making up the numbers in the proper rounds,which is a pity for speedway that there is so little strength in depth now the States are on the decline.....

I saw all the Russian allocations earlier....1 Russian at the Fjelsted GP quali meeting.Doubt it will be Emil though

It is down to having a promoter willing to take the risk on and of course the availability of the track at the right time.Isn't there problems with the availability at the Showgrounds?Seem to remember them having no meetings for a while because the place was needed for other activities.And isn't there a bit of activity with the promoters there?I see a thread about Bratley leaving,so i don't know who is promoting there and if they fancy hosting such meetings.I imagine though that if there was a British or Swedish promoter at a suitable venue,then they would have been given the chance to host these meetings.I just know from the Ice Racing,that this is a current topic with the Russians.They complain that they have to take the financial brunt because the Swedes(in particular singled out)want to participate in the competitions,but don't want to hold any of the meetings

Do that thing with your neck that you always tell others to do I haven't seen Tai for one "being ripped to pieces".From what i have read,most think he is a super prospect but this is probably a year too early.No ripping to pieces at all.Even with Ed,i don't consider the critcism "being ripped to pieces",more being realistic at where he is at the moment in world speedway.The trouble with British speedway is the bar is set too low.It is enough to be a bit better than average to get into the GPs(and usually stay there for a few years).I think Richardson and Nicholls felt that for a number of years and it did them more harm than good imo.I like both riders.They have the talent to be better than they have shown.Maybe if they were from another country they would have had to try harder and as a result become better.The problem could happen all over again.Are there a couple of British riders that haven't been disregarded by the GPs hot on these two's tails?I don't see them.Bridger?Hmmmmm.So if they fail next year,who will replace them the year after?Tai could very well be the hot prospect a lot think.But i think a year without a Brit in the GPs would have sent out a much better message than giving two inexperienced riders a spot(if true of course.and i for one hope it isn't and GB have 1 place at the most).So read what is being said,not what you think is being said ala Parsloes

I read some guy is building a Las Vegas style complex in Ireland,complete with a 7,000 capacity Greyhound stadium!Maybe that might be a better bet than South Africa?Get speedway back up and running on the Emerald Isle

A site worth keeping an eye on.Posa in his own words Posa needs surgery,but hopes to ride again

Presumably Myself and a few others can be blamed for the parlous state of british speedway at the moment because i stated no current british rider desrves to be in the GPs on merit.And of course so far i have been proved..............right I have broad enough shoulders.Don't blame the riders,don't blame the promoters,don't blame the system,blame a few fans on this forum for saying it like it is The rest of the world shakes their head and cries,we should big the riders up,just like every world Cup people think the english football team stand a pretty good chance of winning the thing

I like them....especially the last two

Yes,people shouldn't go over the top about this.Maybe as a friend or family you take it all the wrong way.I am sure every last one of us will be willing Ed on if he gets this place......but as we are discussing the possibility or the good probability that he will be in the GPs at least let us state the obvious.......that he doesn't really deserve it on merit.He is only getting it because he is a brit and anyone better than him that is British(and there are a number)has already flunked it.And imo i don't believe Ed will progress much further than he already has,even if he manages to get a million quid in sponsorship.Sometimes there are riders who are more suited to the GPs than maybe their league performances show.Bjerre,because of his style and maybe personality is one of those.We will have to hope Ed belongs to that small group.I doubt it very much though.If he was Polish or Danish he would probably still be waiting to make his SWC debut,let alone find himself nominated for the GPs.Fact ....i think