PHILIPRISING

FIM TV will be at Lonigo but have no idea (am asking) where or when it will be shown...

SMOLINSKI and Harris got in via a lucky break in the GP Challenge but that doesn't mean they are better riders than Janowski or a host of others in my view

AGREE although I think we still need to see more top class performances away from Gorzow. Great attitude, family backing, has the full package.

WOULD like to think that he will go on to scale the heights. Seems a nice young lad with bags of talent. Poland is desperate need of a new hero. No one can replace Gollob, of course, with his charisma as well as sublime skill but Piotr could serf the pulses racing.

STILL more questions than answers and I fully agree that putting in two Italians is a joke. Will Zagar actually ride or pull out as he did last year given that he has almost cemented his SGP place for 2015 and could do so on Saturday... will Pawlicki be fit, Woodward is already out.

HOCKEY pitch in the middle

WAS not including a SGP in that scenario... why would they want one anywhere other than Cardiff? Sorry, let's not resurrect that old chestnut again. I would imagine that a SWC Final at the new BV in 2016 might well attract a crowd in excess of 10,000 and as you can see from the pictorials @speedwaystarmag there is plenty of scope to adjust the usual capacity accordingly and get in well over that number.

WILL be posting some pictorials on @speedwaystarmag shortly

MARIN Cilic, winner of the US Open tennis championship this week, last year tested positive for the stimulant Nikethamide contained in some glucose tablets bought by his mother. He denied any wrongdoing and was given a nine month ban, reduced to four, as the Court of Aribration for sport accepted its digestion was an accident. His semi final opponent Roger Federer said he believed Cilic was not guilty of being anything more than naive.

STILL no word on the wild card although I am told unofficially that it won't be an Italian... ... also that if the wild card fails to finishing in the top three he won't then be considered for a wild card in the 2015 series unless there are extenuating circumstances ... getting injured early on, missing out through an engine failure, something like that.

TO the best of my current knowledge that is still an option but what speedway event would draw a crowd in excess of 10,000? The new stadium has always been envisaged as a venue for the Speedway World Cup but even that would be unlikely to draw a crowd of that nature.

NO... training and mentoring the best young talent in the country requires more than track availability

LARRY Ross went to have a look at Plough Lane, his original stomping ground in the UK of course, where he was here recently and said it is now "a dump." Very sad.

SORRY, missed the bit about Gorican which overall is better because it has seating all the way round but let's not forget that it was built by the Pavlic family as a labour of love, no planning issues and at relatively little cost. My main point is that the actual grandstand facility at the new BV will have far more facilities than either Gorican or Vojens and will provide a first class viewing experience along with the opportunity to dine and watch. It will also be available throughout the week and not simply for the speedway. I'm going for a draw...

REF, that was harsh!

THERE are no toilets or refreshment facilities in the actual stand. No restaurant or bar either, which in Belle Vue's case will be open during the week. Not belittling Vojens, where I am heading again later this week, but there is no real comparison between the grandsrtand there and the one which will be built in Manchester.

HAVE you been to Vojens? There is a permanent grandstand on home straight (everything else is temporary) but it has no bar, restaurant or corporate facilities which is something BV will have.

DON'T think anyone said it would be the envy of the world... but I would venture that the grandstand will be superior to that at any other British stadium staging speedway (other than Cardiff of course), as others have said temporary grandstands can be erected as and when required, the track will have proper drainage from the off and its shape and size should provide for terrific racing. Can understand why some are still sceptical but not those who continually talk it down., Very few (any?) bright spots on the horizon for British speedway right now and those who have stuck diligently to the immense task in getting this through so many hoops and detours deserve some praise surely? If the facility is available for use throughout the week then the BSPA as a whole should avail themselves of it and underline its name tag. My understanding is that spades will go in the ground very shortly after planning permission is confirmed. The money is there, the builders are itching to get started...

SURELY Lindgren will make the top eight if neither Iversen or Ward compete again this year.

I doubt that anyone passing the test would test its validity even if they thought something might be wrong.

JUST woken from my afternoon nap

MJJ still not fully fit and his father has only just recovered from throat cancer and been able to travel with him to meetings again. No coincidence that his form has picked up and let's not forget that he won the last SGP held at Vojens in 2012.

I'LL try again ... four weeks ago the Poole versus Wolverhampton meeting was a very attractive fixture featuring the World Champion (Woffinden) and, by common consensus, one of the most exciting and entertaining riders in the sport (Ward) and two of the brightest kids on the block (the Pawlicki brothers). Now, through a variety of unfortunate circumstances, all four will be missing, The only answers available under the current regulations are guests and/or r/r which totally devalues the product. Until we find alternative ways of filling the gaps only the most ardent fans will put their hands in their pockets.

DON'T have five man races

JUST out of interest where are all these riders going to come from. The draft system has some merits but in many ways is a nonsense. No one has explained how their 2014 averages will be assessed next year and the differential in ability between many vastly distorts the scoreline in numerous meetings. Take Belle Vue last Monday. Their two fast track riders failed to score a point against the opposition while Coventry's duo racked up paid 21.