PHILIPRISING

SPEEDWAY riders like other sportsmen are subject to random drug tests at any given moment even at home or away from a speedway track. I believe Woffinden has taken and passed at least three this year.

BSI in the shape of Chris Louis did conduct an interview with Darcy Ward during the interval on Sunday but by the sounds of it Eurosport didn't use it... but do agree, I cannot see why there is no mention of his disqualification and the reason for it on the SGP website. And just to clarify, he hasn't been suspended as of now and still holds his licence so can continue to ride until the FIM Medical Commission reach a verdict, which presumably will be sooner rather than later (as in before Gorzow)...

IN what seems like a million years ago when I was a soccer scribe I spent a great deal of time watching George Best's career go down the tubes ... I was angry that I was being denied the chance to enjoy and write about a football genius. Best actually spent some of his last, sad days sitting on his own in a Surbiton pub near our office. I feel much the same about Ward now. I don't pretend to be close to him, generations apart, but I sat behind him on the flight back from Riga this morning and couldn't help but feel sorry for the lad. He has been foolish and stupid (again) but there should be no rejoicing in his downfall. We are all the losers, as we were with Best.

CORRECT SEEN Darcy back here in Riga and he is distraught. Doesn't change anything but he certainly isn't taking it lightly. Any ban will ensure he misses a top eight place in the SGP this year and rule him out of a wild card place in 2015. He might also miss the Aussie qualifiers for the 2015 GP Challenge which means that unless a wild card pick is forthcoming at the end of the 2015 campaign the SGP in 2016 will also be out of the question.

AS posted elsewhere, FIM Jury at Daugavpils fined Ward 3,000 euros and will now submit a report to the FIM Medical Commission who will determine what further action to take. BUT could end his career and that would certainly count as a bad day...

JUST got back to hotel in Riga (11pm local time) and haven't the time or energy to trawl through the previous 15 pages tonight. Darcy Ward had a hearing with the FIM Jury at Daugavpils and was fined the maximum 3,000 euros for failing an alcohol test. A report will now be sent to the Medical Commission at the FIM and he must await the outcome of that.

BUT BSI are not responsible for every aspect of a Grand Prix. They are the commercial rights holders but the FIM still have a role to play ... they licence the track, issue safety certificates, appoint officials, and much more. FIM officials actually make the decisions about the tracks and it was they who determined that on this occasion it was potentially dangerous and therefore unfit. It is a joint operation but I would agree that there are some grey areas which need closer examination. Obviously BSI have greater control over the events they promote themselves than others. But on this occasion the onus would have been on the local promotion to present a track and stadium fit for purpose and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the FIM as quite clearly laid down in a comprehensive manual first put together by Olsen when the SGP came into being. THAT'S my lot for tonight ... leaving Riga for Daugavpils at 7am in the morning along with Kelvin Tatum, Nigel Pearson and Chris Louis. Won't get a word in edgeways!

NOT sure that you can blame BSI if the Riga promoters don't make any money... they were responsible for the installation of the track and moving the Latvian GP to Riga in the first place and refused any assistance from Ole Olsen when it was first being laid. The Riga promoters had a vision of establishing a speedway base in their capital city and had sought and received government backing to start the project of bringing the stadium up to scratch and that dream has now been well and truly shattered. Obviously they got some things badly wrong but the fact remains that had the weather not turned sour this week the meeting would have gone ahead. Bill Buckley entered into a three-year deal with his eyes wide open and might even have balanced the books had he done a few things differently.

NOT passing the buck as far as refunds are concerned ... the fact is that BSI are not the promoters and therefore not responsible in a practical sense for refunds. I sympathise and agree with many of the comments on here but BSI haven't exactly come out scot free ... they will incur considerable costs in decamping the whole operation including TV crews and trucks, equipment, staff, etc from Riga to Daugavpils, additional accommodation and new flight arrangements. I'm sure they will have some questions of their own regarding the track which has been given a licence by the FIM.

AS BSI are not the promoters in this case I would presume that any refunds come from the Latvian organisers...

IT was yesterday about the time they decided to dig out the inside line round bends one and two, which they did, turned the material over and re-laid it through the night. Sadly their efforts were only partial successful and this morning it was felt that the track still needed several hours of dry weather to allow it to bed in. That was never going to happen (and didn't) and the riders told Tony Olsson (FIM) and Paul Bellamy (BSI) that in view of the impending weather there was no chance that the track would be rideable either today or even tomorrow. By early afternoon the track was under water after a deluge and there has been more rain since. People with much more knowledge of these things than me suggest that if the weather had been dry all week the track, much of which was solid, would have been okay but it was not to be.

PHOTO taken yesterday? Very wet and gloomy in Riga now (18.00) and no way the meeting would have gone ahead this evening.

TRACK was the responsibility off the local promotion and subject to inspection by the FIM. They actually declined the offer of having Ole Olsen lend a hand .. Given the rain that was forecast, and has now materialised, it was deemed impossible to ensure that the track would be fit by tomorrow. Daugavpils the safer bet.

ABSOLUTELY smashing it down now ... track flooded SOME of the riders are actually happy not to face a race against time back to Poland...

PUTTING my hands up to be shot at but... heavy rain here now (13.20 local time). Huge logistical hurdles being overcome to move the whole operation to Daugavpils. Five hours to de-rig TV stuff, then four hour drive... riders loading up and heading off ... frantic efforts to find accommodation and change flights ... chaos. But it was the right and only decision ninth end. Riders felt that the track was not fit for racing and that wouldn't change even if the weather was kind, which it isn't. Feel very sorry for Vladimir Ribniks the local promoter who has made such a huge effort to put Riga on the speedway map. Obviously there will be an inquest and maybe things could have been done better with the benefit of hindsight. But rider safety is paramount and that was the deciding factor.

YES ... 7am local time here and about to head off to the stadium. Dry night... fingers crossed

BUT the fact remains that Torun cannot schedule a Sunday event

MAYBE not for you but certainly for thousands of others ... as we saw at Cardiff this year.

BEEN back to the stadium this evening and they will have guys working throughout the night in case it rains again so that they can clear any surface water. Of course, at this stage there can be no absolute guarantees and I can think of many tracks in Britain that would already have called the meeting off. It has the potential to be a terrific speedway stadium alongside a Nuremberg Ring type road racing circuit and an indoor go-kart track. They have plans for proper training schools to help nurture new speedway talent in Latvia and to raise the profile of the sport here. Much of what they are doing puts us (the UK) in the shade. They have genuinely been unlucky with the weather and some problems with drainage which couldn't cope with the volume of water at one stage. But they haven't just sat back and done nothing. They have some high profile government officials due to attend tomorrow (including the Transport Minister). It is very easy to criticise from afar but they have come a very long way in a short space of time and all they need now is for the weather to be favourable although the latest forecasts are not encouraging.

NOTHING wrong with the stadium as such, the grandstands are excellent, as is viewing in general, the floodlights were always going to be temporary. I wouldn't say that the bends are square and the track isn't narrow (meets FIM standards) although the straights are long. Wouldn't argue that ultimately it is the track itself which matters most and by all accounts they have had bucket loads of rain here this week, overnight and again this afternoon. Not sure the local promotion, who are working very hard to establish speedway back in Riga, which is after all a major city and a great place to visit, deserve stick for matters which ultimately are out of their control. Even the millions spent on the home of Lancashire cricket couldn't prevent a stoppage of play when the sun was actually shining in Manchester last week. Of course it resembled a building site last week because it was. Even today they were still putting in temporary stands along the back straight, photographers' platforms and so on.

SUNDAY as far as Torun are concerned is reserved as possible rain-off date ...

6pm here now and it has stopped raining. Track looks much better than it did a few hours ago but still the weather tomorrow will be critical.

HEAVY rain as the draw took place at 4pm local time.

AFTER heavy rain throughout the week and overnight, an early decision was taken by the Jury to cancel practice today and run a curtailed version at 12 noon on Saturday. The inside line around bends one and two was very soft and it was decided to dig out to about one metre, relay with dry material and then pack it down. The weather forecasts aren't too clever right now. Been told that 4,000 tickets have been sold for a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. Obviously a huge amount of work has been carried out here and the main grandstands (eight sections) are all fitted with new seats. Along the back straight temporary stands are still being built as I write! We are going to be in the lap of the gods. Too much rain and the track will be severely compromised.

AFTER the delights of Daugavpils (!) and a hotel where you had to order a breakfast omelette a week in advance, Riga and especially the huge Radisson Latvija hotel is a delight. Shame about the weather, though ... rain forecast throughout the afternoon and for much of tomorrow.