PHILIPRISING

I KNOW of one rider who reckoned six points would earn him £10,000 ...

BUT Harris wasn't the first or only British rider to be asked to attend Poole initially as a meeting reserve, which is how he eventually got into the meeting. Had Craig Cook for example said yes he probably would have got in before Harris. It was only because Harris was prepared to go and take his chance should it arise that he is where he is today. BSI had no part in this. Why would they? I am sure they would rather have Zagar in the GP than Harris anyway so why, as you seem to be suggesting, would they push Zagar into withdrawing. And Zagar would have had no idea at the time of his withdrawal who would take his place. Other riders via their federations could have come in but for various reasons (as I'm told by the FIM) declined.

BUT I didn't say only ...

THE CCP Secretary at the FIM informed the respective federations when one of their riders was eligible to ride in the GP Challenge and it was then incumbent upon that federation to contact said rider. As and when the FIM were informed that said rider wasn't able or willing to compete the next federation in line was contacted and so on. This was done. There obviously comes a stage when a line in the sand has to be drawn to ensure that the meeting has a full compliment and then the host federation (in this case the ACU) is asked to nominate a rider or riders. YES ... many reasons but Cardiff alone is sufficient in my view.

YOU contradict yourself ... Andy Smith was only it because he was a Brit although he earned his qualification? I have stated here many times.... the GP Challenge is nothing to do with BSI. It was the FIM's various procedures that eventually saw Chris Harris ride at Poole and their rules which see him as first reserve.

I AM in the US at the moment and will tackle some of the questions raised later. However, what I can say now is that net income from a sale through the App Store for example will actually be slightly less than from a printed mag sent through the post. We heavily discount subs anyway, currently £2.12p per copy and then we pay first class postage leaving us with about 56 per cent of the original cover price. That is also the margin we receive from sales through supermarkets, newsagents, etc. The net income from overseas subs with higher postage charges is also around 56 per cent. Apple take 30 per cent of the cost of mags sold via iTunes, then the company handling the operation for us take 14 per cent of what's left leaving us with, again, around 55/56 per cent. The bottom line is the net income per magazine is pretty much the same no matter how it is sold. We looked at various means of producing an online magazine, bearing in mind that we do not have the time or staff availability to do it ourselves. The first criteria was that it had to be available on a Thursday morning. That means the pdfs need to be sent on a Tuesday afternoon, at the same time as the final files are sent to our printers. We talked with a few companies that could handle that but some charge a minimum of £3 per page, plus the costs of setting up an App and a annual licence fee. For a pre-paid yearly contract that amounts to over £11,000 on our current annual pagination. The best solution was us is what ExactEditions offer. It is all based around subscriptions. They take the final pdf and handle everything from there on a commission only basis. Their income is a percentage of subs sold. No subs sold they make no money and we have no financial downside other than the unavoidable payments to Apple. The lack of a facility to buy one-off copies is something we will examine in the near future but right now the route we have chosen is the one that suits us best.

BECAUSE the only way it is practical and, frankly, affordable for us at present is via a subscription based system which does not allow single purchases. THE cost for an online sub will be virtually the same as for the printed version in the UK. It will not be on the Yudu platform. We are going through a company called ExactEditions who will handle the whole process for us.

SINGLE copy isn't practical I'm afraid. Sorry. It may change but not in the immediate future. Subs copies will work out at around £2.15 per issue as against the cover price of £2.90.

BARRING any last minute hiccups, Speedway Star will be available as an online edition via your web browser or as an App through the App Store and on Android devices from the issue dated December 7th. Each new edition will be available on a Thursday morning, although this will vary around Christmas, affecting the issues dated December 28 and January 4. Subscription rates no matter where you are in the world will mirror the UK price for the printed copy, although there might be slight variation with those accessed via the App Store because of pricing arrangements with Apple. But for a someone in Australia or New Zealand taking the online edition as opposed to the printed one, which normally doesn't arrive there until a Monday or Tuesday, the annual saving will be around £50 ... a little less for those in the USA. Even those in Europe will enjoy a significant saving on the annual cost. For more information over the next few weeks, go to www.speedwaystar.net

Spoke to Nicola at BSI ... here is her reply Just called the booking number that is on the website and waited and got through to an operator. Went through the booking process and was fine...will try and do it again when I’ve spoken to Billetlugen

THE SWC yes but the GP, as yet, no ...

ONE necessity at that time of the year is a roof ...

IF you read my earlier reply you will have noted that the Millennium isn't available in October...

WHERE better than Torun especially as most of the major national stadiums (Cardiff, Copenhagen and Stockholm) have limited availability?

NO, not Barney Francis. The top two at Sky Sports have changed since then ...

SO good you posted it four times ... well said, four times SO good you posted it four times ... well said, four times

But if( and it is if) that is the deal the BSPA as a whole agreed with Terry then who do you blame? It is no good thinking it's a good deal when you have nothing and then try and move the goalposts at a later stage.

HE was working on behalf of the BSPA... don't recall speedway on TV (certainly not to the extent that Sky cover it) being a certainty at the time. Several people had tried and failed. Some people here allow their personal prejudices to colour their judgement. Cannot really blame Terry if his fellow promoters have failed to capitalise on the millions that he had brokered for the sport.

HE was (is) working on behalf of the BSPA ...

I IMAGINE that if the BSPA have charged Terry with getting a TV deal then it would be an exclusive arrangement. Wouldn't show the BSPA up in a good light if several promoters went around knocking on the same doors. THE deal still had to be done. You are not being very gracious...

WHICH begs the question: why didn't they? It was Terry, then Chairman or President (cannot remember which) of the BSPA who got off his backside and secured a TV deal when none looked likely. Credit where it is due...

I THINK you under-estimate the contribution of Terry Russell to British speedway. More often that not has put his money where his mouth is and is doing so again at Swindon. It was Terry who secured the original Sky deal and as such he continued to be the negotiator between the BSPA and Sky or others. Of course, he has taken a percentage but without him there probably wouldn't have been a Sky deal in the first place. I can still remember a case many moons ago when the BSPA objected to a sponsorship broker getting 10 per cent of a lucrative deal. Instead of 90 per cent of something they finished up with 100 per cent of nothing. I appreciate Terry has his critics, not least on here, but have said before that if I wanted someone to go into a contract deal for me then TR, shrewd East End boy that he is, would be top of my list. Plus, of course, it is to his own benefit to get the best deal possible.

DON'T think Laguta was asked (could be wrong) but his refusal to take part in the qualifying rounds ("If you want me, call me") allied to his SWC boycott stacked the cards against him. Would still have been my pick but there could be extenuating circumstances that we don't know about. Think Lindback would have had a good chance had he performed well in Torun and five points from his first two rides set him up before rearing and falling at the start of his third. That sunk his hopes but he needs to sort out a few things if he is to recapture the form he showed at the end of 2012. Will miss him in the pits.

WHILE I don't agree with the Lindgren decision (will be officially confirmed tomorrow) the views of a few Brits isn't necessarily widely held throughout the continent and especially Sweden...

PERSONALLY would have preferred Laguta to Lindgren and thought he was likely to get it but always felt his refusal to ride in the SWC would count against him at the FIM, who as much a part of the selection process as BSI.