PHILIPRISING

MIGHT be nearer than you think ...

LOVE watching and listening to Garrity, a breath of fresh air. But, sadly, cannot really see him progressing very far unless he makes some fundamental changes to his technique on a bike. Classic example of how, had he had proper tuition at an early stage, he would have been able to iron out the flaws before, as Ivan Mauger used to say, they became "bad habits."

THANK you

I THINK he has been practicing for some time. It what happens when he hits the first corner with three other riders that is playing on his mind.

CRAIG is an FIM referee and it was an FIM event

PERSONALLY think that Zmarzlik will be the next Polish World Champion and not too far down the line.

MANY do.

EXACTLY but we now know that the decision had been already been made.

AS I understand it Greg Hancock was never going to ride at Belle Vue and only did so in Sweden to ensure that the USA finished third and won't have to start the 2017 campaign on the bottom rung of the ladder. There is no obligation for the USA to choose Hancock of course but surely they should have been open and honest and admitted to their plan beforehand so at least speedway fans going to BV on Friday knew that Greg wouldn't be there come what may. Of course, it would have been even better had the USA left Greg out at Vastervik where he could have been in the pits helping and encouraging the young Americans. Okay, that would probably have meant them finishing fourth but at least the German quartet would have been more competitive in the Race-Off without affecting the result. It certainly left a sour taste in the mouth but not sure what the authorities can do. What the FIM can do, and made perfectly clear on Friday and Saturday that they will, is come done very hard on individual riders and teams who blatantly attempt to "fix" a race in order to use/avoid a Joker ride. Team managers were warned that heavy fines and licence suspensions would be imposed for such behaviour.

WHAT you fail to grasp is that who you disparagingly call the 'Shouty Brothers' were positioned outside the grandstand amongst the crowd and that along with two different voices continually coming through each ear from the TV producer and director makes their roles quite tough compared with those commentators cocooned in a nice box. However, their style and one which is both encouraged and enjoyed is to get excited about the product in front of them especially when each race lasts for about a minute. You can always turn the sound down if it offends you but rest assured they are highly rated not just amongst the speedway fraternity but also within the TV industry.

UNFORTUNATELY most but not quite all of what Humphrey says is true. Speedway, now more than ever, operates within its own little bubble. What is so sad, and I believe most on here will agree, when speedway is as good as it was at Belle Vue on Saturday, there is no better or entertaining form of motorsport on two wheels or four,

WHAT have I done to offend you?

FIREWORKS banned on noise grounds by local authorities but the light show was poor

HOPEFULLY 2017 date in a couple of weeks.

PRETTY much spot on ...

CANNOT agree about same riders both days. No Poles or Swedes on Friday. Much bigger crowd on Saturday. Track preparation on Friday was determined by the weather with the rain showers infringing much later into the afternoon than anticipated. On Saturday fresh dirt was brought in and the track was prepared as they wished. That, along with the higher quality of riders than Friday, produced such superb racing without the long gaps between riders. It also went to show it isn't about speed. Every race on Friday bettered the previous track record set before the Race-Off. On Saturday times were well over a second slower.

IT'S great for them to race on, the riders love it, but that doesn't means it's conducive to very close racing with plenty pf passing at this level. Certainly not much chance of Jason Doyle on current from getting passed by anyone.

SO what influence do you think BSI had on the track? I can tell you. Nothing. After all the fine rain yesterday the track staff (BV's) in conjunction with the FIM actually produced a race track that even the riders will tell you was TOO good. So smooth with lots of grip that with riders of that quality allows them to create the huge gaps between one another. A lot of work was done last night to rip up the track and hopefully this evening, after an untimely practice, conditions will be more conducive to the racing we all want to see.

NOTHING the FIM can do. USA say he wasn't selected.

PRACTICE has been cancelled but weather should clear for this evening

AS far as I know BSI have always been happy with a mid-season date and while the Principality might be available one October it might not the next. Would imagine that all those fans who mill around all day in Cardiff would prefer it to be warm (if one can even rely on that) rather than cold.

NEED a good sub-editor. Thanks ...

LOOKING through the respective line-ups for Friday and Saturday it is hard to see beyond Sweden as favourites to retain the SWC they surprisingly won last year. On current form Jonsson, Lindgren and Lindback match the top three of any other country and Ljung is enjoying a resurgence in form and appears to be as good as any other no number four. And, of course, they are already in the Final. Jonsson has three new engines from a new tuner, Lindgren's GTRs seem fast and Lindback is flying. Poland, also through, have a young side that will probably love the wide, open spaces at Belle Vue but will inexperience count and who knows which Kasprzak will turn up. Dropping Janowski may come back to haunt them. Russia, even if Gregori Laguta makes the race-off, have a weak link, Australia rely too heavily on Jason Doyle and to a lesser extent Chris Holder while Denmark appear vulnerable without Nicki Pedersen (even if he is not at his best) and a struggling Peter Kildemand. Hard to see Kenneth Bjerre doing well at BV. So Sweden it is... maybe

WHAT about Sweden

ONLY just realised that it will be 50 years to the day that England won soccer's World Cup at Wembley on Saturday. Should have remembered the date ... was lucky enough to be there. An omen perhaps ...