June01

Nicki Pedersen.

To be fair, all past exclusions for lack of dirt deflectors that I can recall have been after the race has been run, which is a bit bizarre considering all helmet colour mix ups I can remember have been pointed out before the race starts. Maybe the latter were more easily noticed by the team, not the ref, though.

I don't suppose anyone was at Brokstedt or can tell me definitively who won heat 7 please? Speedway.org and Smolinski's website say Smoli, but Brokstedt's website and the German forum say Hartel. Sorry, 14th June meeting.

Grudziadz without Laguta this weekend as it looks like the Russians have renegotiated the bans resulting from the SWC. http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/528954/artiom-laguta-bez-zgody-na-starty-w-polsce

Janowski 50 more Batchelor 50 less please.

I was a bit concerned from the title this was going to be a recruitment drive for a vigilante response to a certain pantomime villain.

I think it's worthy of note that the referee, who was at the track, and whose decision is final, deemed Nicki Pedersen the cause of the stoppage and excluded him from the re-run. He didn't exclude him for unfair riding, he didn't fine him for unsportsmanlike conduct, and as far as I'm aware there will be no further action on Nicki himself. Hancock is the one who was fined for bringing the sport into disrepute. The video that has gone viral, and the news that is travelling the world, is NOT "Pedersen knocks Hancock off his bike" or "Nicki pulls a dirty move on Greg", it's "Hancock tackles Pedersen" and "SGP icons in Motala melee." It is Hancock's reaction that is the talk of the internet, not the incident leading up to it. Even the official GP website was using the fight as a promotion point for Cardiff (although this has since been removed - not sure why as I personally don't see anything wrong with it.) BWitcher's point about those saying "one day he's going to cause a serious accident" is very valid. Nicki Pedersen has been riding for 20 odd years and has not once been the cause of a "serious" (and by that I mean life-changing) accident. Off topic, but I would be really interested if one of the stattos compiled a list of how many accidents in GP racing have led to anything more than bruises and who the referee deemed the cause for those. I think it might be quite an eye opener. Also, as a racing fan, I find it difficult reading that so many people who, when Nicki is the rider who goes down, call it karma, say he deserves all he gets, and claim the moral high ground. The irony in those statements is quite staggering, and more than a little disturbing.

I've seen Hancock pull worse moves on Nicki. The difference was Nicki dusted himself off, had a bit of a rant, then said it was just racing.

Interesting to see the official GP website using the incident to hype up Cardiff. Rights and wrongs aside, this kind of thing always gets people talking.

Nicki was excluded.

Hmm, midget wrestling.

£100 each for Protasiewicz and A Laguta to score more, please.

Well, they could always watch the SWC.

Presumably tomorrow's Ekstraliga will be cancelled, and as the Russians bans end at midnight tomorrow they will effectively get no punishment?

I know the saying goes there's no such thing as bad publicity, but...

It's not only the UK. Denmark and Germany use it as well.

No, but thanks anyway. Specifically I want to know who Bjarne replaced in heat 8, and looking at the results, from my understanding of the rules, Kudryashov was a tactical ride for Jorgensen in heat 13, and Andersen should then have replaced Kudryashov in heat 14, but I was after confirmation that my workings are correct.

Was anyone at the Holstebro meeting yesterday who wouldn't mind answering a few questions about three heats please?

Must be retired now, surely?

Thank you.

Could someone who was at this meeting confirm from a programme the heat 4 and 7 results please?

Ghostie, why was heat 15 at Motala not run please?

Did anything come out of the fans forum OTHER than they're not moving to Kent? Surely that can't have been the extent of the news from the meeting?

So what, exactly happened in Leszno today? Sportowefakty are saying heat 14 will go down in history, and fans are posting about riders trying to kill each other and terrible refereeing? What did Pawlicki do?

Aww, he's a little sweetie, I don't blame you. Your programme and the official race card are good enough for me. Thanks.