PHILIPRISING

YOU'RE a tough man to please...

NOT really. BSI have various arrangements with different promotions. They co-promote the SGP in Malilla for example. I am sure the SWC at Bydgoszcz will attract a far bigger attendance and there will be many Polish fans who probably now wish that they went. The Bydgoszcz track lived up to its reputation and there was a succession of fantastic races that even Mr Gollob would have struggled to better.

IT'S a BSI promotion ...

WOULD have set a dangerous precedent although, as you say, might have made economic sense

NO one can disguise the attendance but it would be foolish to blame it simply on the problems created by the FIM between BSI and OneSport. Foremost the non-appearance of Tomasz Gollob, still the major drawcard in Poland let alone his home town, is a major factor. And let's not forget that the real reason Gollob isn't riding is because he lost his highly lucrative sponsorship with Monster. And that he wanted an appearance fee to be the wild card tonight. Speedway in Bydgoszcz is not the crowd puller it once was with the local team no longer in the top flight and league attendances now well under 2,000 apparently. There is also a big basketball (popular in Bydgoszcz) on in the town. The poor crowd isn't necessarily a reflection on the SGP as a whole and but the series and Polish speedway desperately needs another Gollob. Polish fans are notoriously fickle and demand winners but no matter what the likes of Hampel and Kaspzrak achieve they will never have the charisma and entertainment value of Tomasz. INCIDENTALLY, I hear that Emil Sayfurdinov is desperately disappointed not to be racing in the SGP and is regretting his (or others) decision not to compete this year.

WASN'T a big issue as far as I know. Would have been had he used it, won and then faced a protest but that wasn't the case.

SPOKE to Clerk of Course Tony Briggs who says he didn't use it in the meeting...

MY info (wasn't there this year) is that he did have the ignition system fitted prior to practice but after a Jury meeting took it off and didn't use it in the actual SGP. There would have been numerous protests had he done so.

2000 tickets sold so far which according to the local promoters is pretty much par. But with no Gollob or Sayfutdinov and neither Hampel or Kaspzrak being great draws even in Poland a full house appears a distant dream.

BERT also used to travel with his bike on a train... as did Ole Olsen when he first arrived from Denmark at Harwich and then by train to Newcastle and then immediately made the return journey back to Denmark. But it wasn't long before Diamonds promoter Mike Parker provided him with a van ... an old Morris Minor version formerly in service with the Post Office. What luxury!

ECHO that...

SPOKE to Torben Olsen at BSI today ... he has read the article and says it "is very balanced."

PROBABLY got the nod on the basis that he won the last SGP in Poland, albeit in Torun.

PRESUME you mean me ... haven't seen the article. Does anyone have a link? Or better still, an English translation of the relevant quotes. However, I do know from my own conversations with Armando during the latter stages of last year that he was very anti allowing riders to compete in both the SGP and SEC, as were those higher up the food chain at the FIM.

THAT'S not what I meant at all but I'm sorry if that's the way it came across.

IT'S more than just a speedway stadium and more than just a stand. The facility, including bars, restaurant, conference facilities, etc, will be open throughout the week and not just on speedway nights. All of which will add significantly to the revenue stream. £5 million seems very reasonable when you look at what is involved apart from the actual stand ... pits, car parking, drainage around the track, etc. Five million doesn't go far these days. TOO late for SS this week

SORRY if I came across as curt ... wasn't intended. Proud to have been a mate of Ivan's for donkey's years and witnessed all his speedway World Championship wins. Fortunately he has a large family including his wife Sarah, three children and numerous grandchildren around him but how tough must it be on them.

THINK we should respect the privacy of Ivan's family at this very difficult and sad time for them at their home in Queensland, Australia

THE FIM pay ... but they are on a tight budget. When Tony Steele was the ref in Sydney he only had a hotel allowance for TWO days! Bit better now but they would have paid (Fares, accommodation, meals, local transport, etc) for Armando Castagna, Tony Olsson, Jim Lawrence and Mike Posslethwaite (SGP secretary who went instead of Graham Brodie).

I'M not unsympathetic to Bill Buckley over his losses but he is certainly no fool and went into this with his eyes open. He knew it was a high risk gamble, and no one forced him into it, but it was something he wanted to do and no doubt the accountants at Bill Buckley Systems are working hard to mitigate his losses. No one can fault the effort everyone put into it, whether from BSI or BBS, but a lack of real support from the City of Auckland didn't help. Humphrey is right about air fares (think it was around £1,200 per ticket this time) and don't forget that EVERY rider bar Bunyan is provided with FIVE and three top class hotel rooms for the duration of their stay. Each rider also had a specially designed and manufactured metal container in which they each sent two bikes, spare engines and the rest of their equipment (tools, etc)... so the cost of freight was pretty substantial as well. It will all be back at the freight depot in Amsterdam by the time by the riders land at Heathrow tomorrow morning.

THE Olympic Stadium in Sydney, as it was known in 2002, was too big, too costly and too far out of town. It was also a bitterly cold night, unusual for that time of the year, and the GP was also shown live on TV. John Postlethwaite, then boss of BSI, had a spectacular fall out with the local organisers as well so it was no surprise that it turned out to be a one-off and never had a chance to build up the event. The Sydney press were also more apathetic than even those in Auckland. However, don't rule out a return to Oz next year...

SURELY the biggest shock win in the history of the SGP ... even more so than Martin Vaculik two years ago in Gorzow. PROBABLY true but, whatever you think, how gutted must he be to go halfway round the world and not score a point? Going to be a long flight home...

I THINK it is David Tapp and Jason Crump ...

IT was Ivan Mauger who tried to stage a SGP in Malaysia but his negotiations with the authorities there ultimately came to nought.

SORRY to hear that but to have them shrink wrapped would cost us thousands.