PHILIPRISING

A significant quote from Patryck Dudek: “On the Friday, we stayed in the hotel with the whole team and we all were talking all the time. The atmosphere was perfect this year in Leszno. Everything was good, very organised and we spent time with the boys. We got a good result – the gold medal.”

IT is well known that one of the reasons Woffinden won't race for Team GB is because he doesn't agree with the appointment of Alun Rossiter as manager. He is not alone. Alun talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. Now while I accept that riders shouldn't dictate who should or should not be manager I might think that the BSPA, when appointing the manager, would make sure they were aware of the feelings off the riders and especially their only world class performer. Tai wanted a more professional approach to the British team off the track and while some of his demands, including commercial ownership of the team, were never going to happen others could and should have been accommodated. Tai demanded his own level of professionalism not only from his team-mates, which he would have got, but from the management team as well and that simply wasn't forthcoming.

BECAUSE there is no infrastructure in place to help him (and others like Dan Bewley) with proper instruction by ex-riders who actually know what they are talking about. Of course, you can bring a horse to water but not make him drink and some (not saying Lambert) think they know it all once they have slid a bike. The BSPA don't care two hoots about the national team (please get rid of that Team GB tag) because most don't see any success in the SWC as likely to bring fans in through their own turnstiles. Until we make some investment in the future we will continue as we are, trending water. The whole set up of Team GB is wrong. I don't agree with the stand Tai Woffinden has taken but he did make some valuable points and if the BSPA and those at the event are not really taking things seriously how do they expect the riders to. People at Leszno on Saturday have told me how they could see in the eyes of Cook and Worrell how nervous and over-awed they were before the start. There is no shame in that. They have never experienced anything like it. And nor had those around them.

TOO much baggage sadly

THE Metro and the Evening Standard are, of course, freebies

AGREE with all of that and while it won't make them better riders ditching the Team GB tag would help. Believe me, that cuts no ice with the media.

NOT at the top level ... huge difference

I'M not on the inside ... sitting at home watching on BT. But I can assure you that machine examination is pretty strict and do you honestly think Poland would break the rules en masse. No need to ... they are better. VERY easy to be critical sitting at home Steve. Lambert will not have experienced anything like this and if you have been to a SWC Final in Poland you will know how intimidating it can be. Give him time.

DON'T be daft

HEAR, hear ... so much scrutiny goes on these days. But their bikes are set up for these tracks week in, week out

AGREE. BSI are alternating between two female interviewers. I think it was Amy on Tuesday and she is not a patch on Natalie for example.

NOT sure that is totally fair. You wouldn't really expect most of the USA or Czech team to pass riders from Australia and GB. Craig Cook passed a few but overall I agree with your sentiments. Sadly, the track at Saddlebow Road (as I remember it) is no longer the great racing circuit it once was, especially when events like the Commonwealth Final and test matches were held there. I remember Kelvin Tatum telling me how much he loved going there and that was common amongst all riders. I have no pretence to be a track expert but during my days as Assistant Race Director of the SGP and SWC to Ole Olsen and especially Tony Olson I learned a lot. I was actually RD at two and a half (just practice day) SGPs and ran SWC practice at KL when TO was delayed and on one occasion actually took the reins for the whole meeting when he wasn't there. During those events at KL I had many a discussion with Buster Chapman about the track and often had to allay the fears of the referee who feared it would not be ready (after morning practice) for the main show in the evening. On the occasion that I was RD I had to pull rank (no easy task) on Buster to allow the USA team their full practice allotment. We were running late and he told me that if the Yanks went out again there would be no meeting that night. For a moment I thought I had blown the meeting but Clerk of the Course Sean simply said give him a few minutes to calm down and it will be fine. Buster worked for hours on end (under a blazing sun) to completely relay the track. No one could fault his work ethic but there was a feeling that the material then (and maybe now) being used on the track was not really conducive to lots of passing.

ONLY BT viewers were able to see Perry, Nicholls, Quirk at KL ... they do not go out on the world feed. The same for Vastervik and the SGPs (and indeed Leszno) when only British viewers see Natalie and Scott in the BT studio. Steve Saint will as usual be the producer in Leszno using a Polish production team (guys who do the SGPs) - cameras, director, etc. There are no breaks in the world feed so while UK viewers are seeing N/S or commercials and other countries are taking a break Messrs Tatum and Pearson just keep rattling along, often for a three-hour stint.

THINK he would have ridden. Still lives relatively close to KL.

IVERSEN too

CAMERA positions are obviously dependent on where they can put them in any given stadium.

ALL the ingredients were there yesterday ... a perfect track, great weather and riders of a very similar standard. Even the young Russian was impressive. When speedway like that is served up it is scrumptious.

TV production in Sweden was handled by the same people who were at King's Lynn.

GOOD point but could depend on whether the Swedes actually want it and whether the public will provide sufficient support over two meetings.

IF any British promoters are watching (probably unlikely) they really should be taking notes about how to provide superb entertainment. Speedway of this calibre really is up there with any sport. SORRY but personally think the NSS is equally as good.

PROPER track ... proper speedway. It's not rocket science.

THOUGHT the same

HEY, everything is in the eye of the beholder. Never watched F1 in UHD so cannot comment. Not saying that I am not impressed by UHD, I am, just didn't think there was a significant difference with the actual racing. OF course they are but the peak figure is still significant.

CORRECT me if I am wrong but I believe they are average figures for the whole of the broadcast. There are, of course, peaks and troughs over a three hour programmes. KL on Saturday peaked at 90,000 I'm told.

THE big problem for British speedway is how to get armchair viewers on to the terraces. Many go to Cardiff but not anywhere else. And it is easy to understand why, not least because of the facilities that both Cardiff and the Principality Stadium have to offer compared with (no offence intended) Lakeside.