PHILIPRISING

YOUR usual dig at me ... I come on here as a speedway fan just like anyone else. If I wish to write something in my now limited capacity as a journalist I will do so in SS ... which I have in the issue out this week. If building a speedway track was as easy as some seem to suggest then there would be no such thing as a bad one. But how many tracks, permanent or otherwise, are perfect day in, day out? That, for me, is probably the most frustrating thing about the sport. Darren Baldwin, the head groundsman for Tottenham Hotspur, and his family are huge speeds fans ... even travelled to New Zealand last month. Look at soccer pitches in old books or mags and compare them with today. Darren has often joked that if speedway tracks could be perfected as have soccer pitches then speedway would out-strip any motor sport in terms of popularity. That doesn't mean to say that things could not be better. NO it isn't ...

THAT will be the same Ole Olsen who built the track at Western Springs (praised by all the riders) last month ... not saying he always get's it right but he doesn't always get it wrong either.

NOT quite. I fully agree that it is what riders do on the track that puts bums on seats, which was my original point. Who is there to replace crowd-pullers like Rickardsson and Gollob for Sweden and Poland? I would actually pay money to watch a craftsman like Hancock at work but we beg to differ on that one. Each to his own. But he and markw40 have also made personal attacks on Darcy Ward. I truly believe that the Darcy of today is very different to the Darcy of a year or two back. I very much doubt that he is an angel 24 hours a day but having spent some time with him in the restaurant at the Tampere hotel over the weekend, found him much more articulate, well-balanced and sensible. Speak as you find...

CANNOT argue with any of that ... constructive comments

AND exactly how long have you spent in his company?

AND we certainly will do in SS this week ...

IN an ideal world BSI could take the Bydgoszcz track with them and lay it, like a carpet, at each venue. The stadiums wouldn't be big enough to contain all the people wanting to watch. Sadly, speedway track construction isn't an exact science ... WHEN has local incompetence been blamed or the organisers passing the buck as ever...

OF course they can and will learn from it but there can be no denying that it will be much harder to get people to return next year. I always make the analogue with a restaurant ... serve a poor meal and the customers will take a lot of convincing to return. But in just about every other respect, Tampere was a splendid place to hold a SGP

THE track was laid last November by the local promoters under the supervision of Ole Olsen. They didn't have a completely blank piece of paper given that the stadium has many other uses and the speedway track went down on the athletics circuit. But I certainly wouldn't deny that the overall shape was wrong... corners too narrow for such long straights. The actual surface was better for Friday practice (no surprise there) which took place after persistent rain (natural watering) until early afternoon. They brought in a huge beast of a water-tanker on Saturday and its sheer weight may have been counter-productive in packing down the surface and contributing to the ruts that appeared late on.

THERE is no way I would try to sugar coat the pill regarding the track at Tampere on Saturday and most, though not all, of the comments here are justified but let's not forget that NO ONE deliberately goes out of their way to produce a crap race-track. Incompetent maybe but not saboteurs.

JUST got back to hotel so haven't had time to read through all the comments here ... But, for the record, crowd was just over 12,000 which still left around 4,500 seats vacant. All the propaganda about a full-house came from the local promoters and not BSI who actually warned them about making such statements before race-day. The meeting was awful but, again, the track was the responsibility of the promoters. To their credit they recognise that the shape certainly wasn't conducive to racing and that next year they will take out and widen the corners. Time for a beer and a burger ... back later

SORRY haven't been there ... like Ullevi but with tighter corners. Long way from the start to first corner. Good piece with Kelvin Tatum on speedwaygp.com

CLEAR blue sky and getting warmer in Tampere ... expect some fast racing this evening but on a tight track passing might be at a premium. Big money going on Iversen and Hancock but Woffinden looks more confident than of late.

WAITING for official confirmation from the Jury meeting but that looks the case. KK couldn't even make it round the admittedly tight corners this afternoon. So many of the top boys curtailed practice... Pedersen, Bjerre, Lindgren and Hampel in addition to KK only took three of their six runs. "Wow, it's fast," was a typical comment from riders out today and Hancock added that it actually rides very different to how it looked when he walked the track earlier in the day.

5pm in Britain if that's what you are asking. Two hours ahead here in Finland. Light rain and chilly so far today but the forecast is that it should clear around 15.00. Practice is at 17.00. Weather for tomorrow should be fine. Word is that all tickets will have gone today and that they are looking to squeeze a few more in! The tented pit lane is behind the home straight grandstand. Hotel just walking distance away. Excellent facilities for fans, riders and the media. Finnish TV showing the SGP live ... normally it goes out the following week. The track went down on top of the athletics circuit last November but will have to come out within five days. The material will be stored (no snide remarks please) ready for 2015.

HAD a chat with a few Bydgoszcz locals yesterday, including Ashley Holloway, about the poor crowd for the last SGP. Consensus was that several factors (including no Gollob, ticket prices, weather, general apathy towards speedway in the town, propaganda from various Polish media outlets and particularly sportfakty.pl, plus the basketball match which was, despite some cynicism here, a big deal in the town) conspired to keep people away.

HAD my first look at the stadium here in Tampere this afternoon and was very impressed. Track bit like Ullevi with long straights and tight corners. Promoters now confident of a sell-out 16,000 crowd. Great location, too, very central, alongside the river. Apparently there will be five live bands on Saturday, so plenty of pre-meeting entertainment. Weather forecast is excellent as well so all the omens are good...

HAD a chat (while losing to him at golf) with Kelvin Tatum yesterday who was in Landshut last weekend as a casual visitor and he was telling me and Briggo senior (my partner) that Darcy Ward is risking serious long term damage by not having a much-needed operation on his injured knee. The cruciate ligament is significantly damaged and the only remedy is an operation. Ligaments do not repair themselves. The same applies to Kaspzrak who sustained a similar injury during the Pairs meeting. Would be very surprised if any of the aforementioned injured riders do not start on Saturday but any further damage could seriously affect their future participation in the series, immediate or long term. Petteri: no doubt those of us visiting the stadium in Tampere for the first time will see it with somewhat fresher eyes than yours which have focused on it over 3000 times by your own reckoning! Having missed the opening two rounds this year, am really looking forward to this one and my first visit to Finland. Current medication determines that I must give alcohol a wide berth (a temporary condition hopefully) but at least my bank balance won't suffer a major catastrophy!

HAD a txt from Tony Briggs (younger son of Barry who is now part of the BSI team at SGP events) saying how dazzled he is by the stadium in Tampere. Tony is helping to install one of his air-fences in readiness for Friday's practice and added that advance ticket sales now over 9,000 so doesn't look as we will get a repeat of Bydgoszcz and a poorly populated stadium.

SAD to hear that ... one of speedway's most stylish and accomplished riders who never attained the recognition and accolades his talent undoubtedly deserved. Kelvin Tatum tells a nice story about how Simmo told him when he was just setting out on his career to follow him around Plough Lane and to learn how to ride the home of the Wimbledon Dons.

ONE man's meat is another man's poison...

THINK you may be the exception to the rule but, no matter, each to his own. Personally, I get a thrill just watching Greg ride in practice. The master of his art.The perfect example to put in front of any aspiring speedway rider and tell them "that's the way to do it." Charisma isn't about what you do on the track but off it and, again, my belief is that Greg has it in spades. In all my time of interviewing sportsmen (not just in speedway) Greg was by far the easiest... fire one question and let him get on with it for an hour or so! Would also agree that the best riders aren't always the most charismatic and, conversely, those with huge personalities and ability to inter-act with the fans aren't always the best riders. From my own time in the sport riders like John Davis and Bert Harkins were prime examples of the latter.

MY actual point was who will be the next Rickardsson, Gollob or Hancock, genuine crowd-pullers with great charisma as well as talent.. not sure any of the above fit that bill even if they do go on to become successful GP riders.

BUT who are they? That remains the 64,000 dollar question...

RIGHT now wouldn't say that Jonsson, Lindgren and Bjerre are lighting any fires even if they are not actually at the bottom of the pile. Does watching them ride send a chill down your spine? Speedway in general and the SGP in particular needs some of those up-and-coming youngsters we keep reading and hearing about to actually step up to the highest plate but it is tough to visualise any that have the charisma as well as the ability to occupy the void left by Rickardsson, Gollob and, before too long, Hancock. The Pawlicki brothers, for example, unquestionably have talent and it is good to see them prepared fro spread their wings in the UK but rattling up good scores in the Elite League here can be misleading. Only Australia, Denmark and Poland can lay claim to having a well-stocked well of talent but how many will actually fulfil all that potential? There is no easy answer but it is a problem that will undoubtedly get far worse before it gets better ... if it ever does.