PHILIPRISING

REFEREE did ... ONLY rider on Golden Tyres ... bet their phone lines will be buzzing next week

FOR the first time that I can recall, Tomasz Gollob pulled out of practice this evening after just three of his six runs. No sign of any injury, just apathy. No doubt he will go out and blitz the field tomorrow... Nothing else out of the ordinary today but Emil Sayfutdinov, riding different lines to most, looked very good.

BECAUSE not everyone wants the hassle or uses the internet. Number of people travelling with TravelPlus to SGP events this year at an all time high. Lots of people obviously like to have travel, accommodation, tickets and add ons arranged for them.

PRESUME you mean Torun 2013 ... think you might struggle to get either tickets or a hotel room ... in Torun anyway.

ALONG with Auckland, Cardiff, Stockholm and Gorzow... and Tampere of course

HE was certainly born in East Germany but not sure that he actually "escaped." GUNTER left East Germany as a refugee five days before his 21st birthday in 1959, with no money and just the luggage he could carry.

WAS very anti Jurica Pavlik getting a wild card last year, especially after being eliminated in an earlier round. Nothing against Danny King, but same reasoning applies to him. Quite wrong in my view that a home rider in the Challenge can fluke a place in the SGP from just one meeting when everyone else has been through several rounds.

WOULD be very surprised if they haven't ...

WOULDN'T put money on that ...

PASSIONATE about speedway and President of the CCP at the FIM are two phrases that don't necessarily appear in the same sentence but Gunter was both. Lost a leg in a racing accident at Belle Vue many years ago, rose through the ranks at the FIM and until recently was still seen at many GPs. Great servant of the sport, didn't always get the backing in Geneva that he deserved. Terrific source of information over many years for the likes of Peter Oakes and myself. Condolences to his family, his daughter Kathrin and wife Astrid who is far from well herself.

BSI deny any talk of trying to ban riders and, of course, that is way outside their jurisdiction. As I have reported before, the real conflict may be between rival factions within the FIM.

THREE to go? Have I missed one?

LIKE it ...

THE demise of the old style World Final was brought about by the fact that outside of Great Britain (and its opposition wasn't strong) the major speedway nations within the FIM wanted to switch to a Grand Prix style championship like most other disciplines. The most influential figures at that time were Jos Vaessen (FIM President), Gunter Sorber (CCP President) and Ole Olsen and they were hell bent on going down that road but (and I attended CCP meetings at the Congresses in those days) they also had the support of countries like Poland, Sweden and Germany.

BUT not as they read it

IT was actually the FIM who ruled that when Jason Crump retired Andreas Jonsson should move up to eighth in the 2012 standings as far as qualification for 2013 was concerned.

WOULDN'T be surprised if you got your wish...

Of course Darcy has a lot to learn but he has been very good on and off the track at GPs this year and is much, much better in front of camera. What makes so many drawl, including other riders, over Ward is his natural talent and his instinctive ability to do things on a speedway bike that are beyond just about all of his contemporaries. And he rarely takes his right peg off the footrest which pleases old school riders like Kelvin. I'm told by people in the know (sorry, Andy) that he is phenomenal on a motorcross bike as well so we should be glad that he has kept on a speedway path.

THERE has certainly been talk of a GP in Riga and the football stadium there has been mentioned. Might learn more next week after visiting the delightful Daugavpils and the hugely enjoyable four hour drive from Riga...

DON'T think that's true although I am sure they wish it was...

WOULD be very surprised if Hancock quits and don't think anyone could dispute his right to a wild card ... twice a World Champion and an ever-preset in the series since its inception. Gollob's body language suggests that he is not 100 per cent interested anymore which is also in sharp contrast to Greg.

IT is possible, although a tad unlikely, that at the end of the season there will be no Holder or Ward in the top eight, just one Pole (Hampel) and no Swedes. Wild card picks could be at a premium...

THROW in Darcy Ward, a hopefully fit Chris Holder and some of the others youngsters coming through as well.

DIDN'T Tai have first pick and went for white? Admitted afterwards that his priority was clamping Emil on the first corner and he achieved that.

THE style of commentary provided by Kelvin and Nigel is exactly what is wanted by those who employ them, whether it be Sky, Eurosport or BSI. Sometimes the actual noise levels are determined by whether they are sitting in a proper insulated box in the stands or, as in EL matches, out in the open where it is very hard for them to make their own judgement with all the ambient noise going on around them. They also have directors and/or producers literally yelling in one ear with their own commentary coming through the other. Much can depend on who is handling the sound mixing in the TV truck but, as I say, their actual style for want of a better word is dictated by their pay masters. From what evidence is available far more people enjoy than disapprove.