waiheke1

really? when do u think tactical rides were introduced? and when did sky start covering speedway ? I think you may find a bit of a gap between the two

absolutely. when i started going i think these races at Hyde rd were referred to as "bubble and bounce". entertaining though no doubt nerve wracking for friends and family of the riders as they often looked at least a tad out of control. Wobblers in this context is definitely an affectionate term.

Afternoon meeting again do u know?

i know you have strong views on this, but in essence they are qualifying on the basis of their performances over a whole season (its just that the qualifying criteria are somewhat vague). but its a system which undoubtedly ensures a higher standard of field than knock out qualification - in both the last two seasons we have had a wild card battling for the title and the wild card picks consistently out perform those who qualify via the qualifying meetings.

To clarify, i assumed the only movement to current top 8 is holder being replaced by ward. barring injuries, the only way i can service this changing is a surge in form by gollob and zagar or hancock having a major drop in form. Can't see kk being motivated enough now his place next year is secure. Of course, if gollob did make top 8, then i think the wild card picks would be more straight forward, with whoever dropped out of the 8 getting the final pick. though there may be a reluctance to give a fourth spot to a pole and therefore there still be a spot up for grabs. And of course if kk did make top 8, then bomber would be in the series next year anyway.

So after the GP Challenge, and with the top 8 looking reasonably settled (barring injuries or a late surge by Gollob), I reckon the wildcards are looking like this: Holder 2. A Pole. I think Gollob has to be the first option here, he's still one of the top dozen riders in the world, capable of winning any GP on his day, World Cahmp only three seasons ago, and having been a top 8 finisher for the last countless seasons. Yes, he's looked dis-interested at times, but I think once you've been World Champ, it must be hard to motivate yourself to really scrap it out for 8th place. If not Gollob, then one of the young Poles will get the spot, my choice would be Dudek (best of the yonug Poles in both Poland and Sweden this seasons) or Janowski (strong SC perfomances and previously under 21 world champion). 3. A swede (probably Freddie, but possibly AJ, THJ or Lindback). You can make arguments for each of these, to me Freddie is the choice having been the top Swede in the GPs for the last two seasons, and top Sweded in the Swedish aveerages. AJ would be my second pick, Swedish Cahmpion again, top Swede in Poland, and of course runner-up a couple of seasons back, even though that is now looking very much like a "one off." After the seaon he's had this year, Lindback would really only get back in for commercial reasosn one would think. THJ is a possibility, but I'm not convinced he will actually progress much beyond the level AJ and Freddie are out now. 4. The final place is the question mark. On merit, you;'d surely have to give it to G Laguta, ho for the past to seasons has been the best rider outside of the GPs. However, his withdrwal from the SWC, failure to compete in the qualifiers, and hiostory of having been ignored for WC picks, suggests that he may well miss out again. The same would probably also then apply to Artem, who seems a much better rider than he was in his GP series a couple of seasons back. If not a Russian, then one of the young Poles would be my pick. But it's hard to see BSI giving two WC slots to the same country, especially when that would take them to four places. MJJ would be my next pick, freed from the shackles of his stalker I hoped he'd qualify from the Challenge, as it is he may well miss out due to the fact that there are three Danes in the series allready. A second Swede could be an option, as both Freddie and AJ would rank in the top 20 riders in the world, but as above I can't see one bnation getting to picks. Troy Batchelor would be my next pick, another ho would probably rank in the top 20 in the world, good seasons in domestic leagues, not far outside the qualifying spots in the Challenge and a decent SWC. But again, I can't see one country getting two wild card picks. Vaculik could be an option, based more on potential and his 2012 GP efforts than this year, where asrguably the pressure of being a full time GP rider, and the increased quality fo field this year, have seen him finish ahead of Lindback and an injury affected AJ. So, he's a possibility, but no real compelling argument s in his favour. The Latvian's were the surprise packets of the SWC, but no individual has really stood out enough for a pick. So, that really leaves one likely candidate, a rider who narrowly missed out in GP qualifying, has famously won a GP previously, performed creditably enough in the SWC, and who comes from a proud speedway nation which has the biggest attendance of any of the GPs, and which has only one rider already in the series....

Gutting, for both Emil and the Championship as a whole. Rather than going down to the final meeting, if Emil is ruled out then Tai really just needs to stay injury free and should have the title in the bag heading into the last meeting. If this is the case, then Tai will certainly fully deserve to be world champ, having started the series as a 200-1 rank outsider, and then overcoming a broken collarbone. But,rightly or wrongly, there will always be the "what if EMil hadn't been injured" associated with the victory. It is a real shame though that this season's GP has been so affected by injuries - possibly the worst ever in the history of the GP terms of leading candidates having their campaigns affected? Both Ward and Holder had their title hopes dashed by injury. Tai and Nicki were both hampered by serious injuries that could have ended their title chances, instead managing to keep riding through the pain barrier to keep their hopes alive. And now Emil looks like having his season finished by injury. In fact, the only one of the title contenders not hit bu injury has been Hampel, who of course had his title hopes last year dashed by a serious injury.

who got injured? link?

Tai nicki zagar vaculik

Because as you yourself point out, thisd is not the same as previous years. In previous years the run offs were for the last qualifying spot. This year the tie was for the first reserve spot, which while it may end up being the last qualifying spot (due to NKI), is still not the same thing. Either way, I do agree that it bizarre that they wouldn't have a run off for the first reserve spot! I think what the zagar episode (as well as the absence of a run off for the reserve spot, which is likely to end final qualifying spot) is that the GP riders should be excluded form the GP qualifiers. As someone else has suggested above, I think they should go back to the regional qualifying methods. So, as the quarter finals I’d have an overseas final (brits, us, aus and nz), Nordic final (sdes, dane,s finns, Norwegians), and two “continental” semis. Follow this with an inter-continental final and a continental final, then a GP qualifying final, the winner only straight into the gps, places 2-9 into a GP Challnege, here they would meet places 9-14 from the gps, the under 21 champion (seeded), and national champion of the nation hosting the GP challenge. Top three in the GP challenge meeting to the next series, leaving three permanent wild card places available. Hosts of the respective stages to be guaranteed one rider, so the inner of the National Championship (or top placed not in the gp series) to be seeded to that stage, avoiding the possibility of riders being eliminated and then re-eentering the qualifiers.

Plus ermolenko Hamil land crump at least cradley not far behind with penhall gundersen pedersen hamill and hancock

If i had to compare knudsen to someone from that era it would be carter - both had their best result on debut in the 81 final, both were denied a world title by a controversial referring decision, both had careers blighted with injuries. top class rider no doubt, to my mind would be one of four danes in my top ten riders of the 80s.

With things still tight for top 8 finish and wildcat at a premium for next year, i think he would be foolish not to take the opportunity to seal his spot here and now - one crash in or preceding the remaining gps could end his top 8 hopes, and given the injury problems that have blighted this years series, that's not out of the question.

I think the surprise in 85 was his first out win ahead of the much more fancied knudsen . which would have been less of a surprise had it been known in advance what an advantage gate 1 would prove in the early heats. the big surprises that day for me were sudden Sam who made the rostrum and kai nieme , who could have done but for a poor last ride. and going the other way, the performances of lance king and thepre meeting favourite shown Moran.

of course both nki and zagar are likely to finish top 8 anyway, so still three other spots up for grabs. i think kk has to be a favourite, i can see him being joined by one of the danes (Hans?) and janowski . Ideally though id like to see mjj, pawlicki/janowski and batch through, though would be happy enough with kk or lebedev . Of course would like zagar to win it to guarantee his spot for next year

excellent post, but to be pedantic his mid table finish in 85 was about as expected given a favourable draw and presence of 5 continental riders. and in 88 he wasn't involved in the run off for the title. i think he is pretty well regarded on here at least - i ve seen people rate him ahead of nicki when talking about great danes . would u rank him above or below sudden Sam who also had injury problems a title and multiple rostrum spots? - personally id rank him fractionally higher.

The 1990 injury was a go karting accident, so nothing to do with his speedway ability. i always thought gundersen and knudsen equally naturally talented - and certainly tommys career was blighted with injury, Erik i don't recall having many at all until that tragic day at Odual.

I believe he was 200-1 with some bookmakers . i think if he wins it will be the greatest surprise not just in gp history but in the history of the speedway world champs . in fact maybe the greatest surprise medal winner? can't ever recall the rank outsider finishing on the podium. Either way it has been a superb season, even though emil is my favourite rider i have found myself wanting tai to take out the title - and for the first time this season i think he is favourite to do do.

Sorry hancock 150 more lebedevs 50 more jonsson 30 less many thanks

Hancock 200 more lebedevs 50 more Jonnson 30 less

Hancock 100k Emily 50k pedersen 15k lebedevs 10076

Ward hancock pedersen lebedev

not a valid comparison - the world cup is essentially a knock out tournament, albeit one which commences with a round robin phase. The speedy gp is more akin to a league competition. If u want extreme examples though, a team could theoretically win the world cup without scoring a single goal ( outside penalties) - doesn't that seem ridiculous? or tennis where a player could win a major but still drop down the rankings? every sport has anomalies. I think the current scoring system is perfect, and a vast improvement on yesteryear (which has included systems very much like what barrow boy has suggested).

What's the rule if someone finishes top 8 in gprs and top 3 here - does their spot go to 9th in gas or 4th from here? quite possible that nki plus zagar/kk could qualify via both methods.

very unlikely that scenario: could only happen if vaculik makes top 8, which is a very long shot at this stage. 3 out of 4 though is a reasonable shout, id say either ward or an extra pole will make top 8