waiheke1

the more times i re-read that rule, the more i think Bwitcher is right. I don't think it is as clear cut as he says, but it is certainly the most reasonable interpretation.

surely the Poole doctor has signed a certificate by now saying that he was mentally unfit to ride? i'm surprised he wasn't spotted out on a golf course...

SCB's weighted averages would suggest Harris...

Yeah your right. I think the article I'm thinking of maybe cane from 90. Did nielsen do something in the ic final to give the impression he was happy not to win to get a good draw?

On a side note.. was the Collins brothers team riding in the 82 overseas final run off a greater or lesser breach of ethics than penhalls infamous tootling at the back against his compatriots?

Not sure it works as a parallel. Moran is listed as "disqualified" which is unambiguous. Very true, and if that was the intent then bwitcher is correct that Hancock should not be world Champ.

I think in that case fim would have taken quite a different interpretation. As that scenario is I think 1 of 2 scenarios the rule sims to address - riders picking and choosing meetings, and riders who are unable to take place due to say suspension or incarceration. Interestingly under that rule a rider who was unable to get a visa for a country would be ruled out of the series. Tbf that has been a risk for all speedway history, you could add compatriot or club mate to the list.Walking out of the meeting was far worse than letting holder by imo.

Tbf, if the intention was the rider be inelehible for the world championship the phrase "remainder of" becomes unnecessary.There could be no debate if the rule said "inelegible for the world chsmpionship" or "disqualified from the world championship." I know you think it is well and clearly worded,but if the interpretation you have is different to that which was intended (as indicated by fim decision) surely that indicates the rule is actually terribly worded?

I reckon it was mid 80s.

Let's not exaggerate things. The chances if a line rider walking out are slim, unless he has a top 8 spot locked in and no chance of a medal . Fwiw I think a rider should be amble to pull out without repercussion if the track is unsafe

Not sure Holder did anything wrong?!?

Would be good to see a feature in the star on proposals for the new season. Certainly I think pushing the use of converted averages as prepared by SCB would result in equitable and transparent team building.

What about a situition where you can drop a point to ensure a rival misses out on the semis. That would be gaining a tactical advantage.As it stands seems greg was excluded for unsportsmanlike behaviour, both scenarios (I. E. Inc the swc one) could be said to be unsportsmanlike. That said, it has happened so much it's odd greg got singled out for it (though I agree with the decision). All of which is I guess beside the point, the point is whether greg should be in elegible for rest of the series and whether that precludes him ftom being world champion. I was leaning towards iris' interpretation, but the first section mentions "remainder of series" which would indicate it could apply from a point part way through the series. Do the same rules apply to the sgp qualifiers? As there are countless examples there of riders pulling out.

But is the club solvent? Or will they just join a list of creditors?

Can't agree that a riders average should be dictated by where he will ride at the start of the season, when within a month that place on the team could change. It should be weighted based on where he rode in 16 - as kyle spent most of the season at reserve, he should get more of a reduction than say Ellis, who ride at 2nd string most of the season.

That was a very enjoyable meeting again. The racing on temporary tracks this season has been excellent - the best I can recall. Have they nailed the track prep, is it because the line up was strong and evenly matched, or other factors?

No as Freddie still would not finish top 8.Zagar or janowski would get promoted and not need a wildcard. I imagine bsi would give the wildcard to greg. Arguably no different to them giving one to emil.

Exactly this.I remember in 1984 the aces never rode their meeting with swindon, and the aces finished 2nd that year. The title went down to the wire, but ftom memory once the aces could not mathematically win the league they gave up trying to reschedule it.

While I agree in principle with this conclusion, it's not clear cut. If the intention was that a riders point should not count towards final standings, should this not have been explicitly stated. Or the term "disqualified" been used. I could imagine there could also be an argument that greg did not "refuse to take part" as he did ride in the meeting. Or produce a Dr's note saying that he was mentally unfit to ride in his last two heats, after the unprecedented (in a gp meeting)decision to deduct his points . As a side note, makes you wonder why the fim ref didn't take action against Doyle and aj in the swc. I remember greg also being on the receiving end of such behaviour, when sudden sam let him past on the last lap of an early 90s overseas final, which gave greg the point ye needed to qualify. Wonder if speedway star will examine this rule in depth and push for the authorities to enforce it?

On form this season I'd say the four would be emil laguta nicki and kk. But in terms of who deserves the spot, find it hard to see past the obvious 4 of zagar janowski nicki and emil. Assuming bsi don't make any strange wildcard choices, that's an excellent lin up.

If you are going to do that, then run an El with 8 teams and one round home and away. And allow teams to also run a pl team if they want more fixtures . Having only pl standard teams won't help develop riders like lambert, and will likely see a terminal decline in crowds

Updated rankings heading into the final GP in Melbourne. 1 Jason Doyle 9.59 2 Greg Hancock 9.54 3 Tai Woffinden 9.36 4 Bartosz Zmarzlik 8.98 5 Patryk Dudek 8.97 6 Grigoriy Laguta 8.94 7 Chris Holder 8.51 8 Niels-Kristian Iversen 8.25 9 Krzysztof Kasprzak 8.23 10 Piotr Pawlicki 8.22 11 Martin Smolinski 8.14 12 Emil Sajfutdinov 8.08 13 Nicki Pedersen 7.95 14 Antonio Lindbäck 7.82 15 Martin Vaculik 7.79 16 Andreas Jonsson 7.71 17 Fredrik Lindgren 7.68 18 Kenneth Bjerre 7.62 19 Artem Laguta 7.56 20 Piotr Protasiewicz 7.53 Smolinski the only real anomaly in there, though in fairness he performed solidly in the GP qualifiers and SWC, outperforming some much more accomplished name. Next best Brit was Edward Kennet in 23rd spot. GP riders just outside the top 20 include Zagar (24th) and Janoswki (26th). Harris the lowest ranked at 64th. Fricke the top ranked rider from the U21 series, in 29th spot.

Yep. And I would suggest 2 is the correct assessed average for an u23 brit who has not yet ridden a full season (>10 meetings in a season) in the EL.So the likes of Bewley, morley, Carr, patkinson-Blackburn. Especially if we revert to a conventional heat format, this seems reasonable and encourages teams to try young brits.

Surely it's best to get the top riders here of we can? And uk doesn't pay enough to get riders to give up other leagues. Essentially you are saying you font want any danes or gp quality riders racing on the uk. Is that really what you want? Riders like Lindgren, zagar, holder who have ridden here regularly for seasons would be precluded from racing here.If u want to stop "ringers" from riding only at the business end of the season, there are less drastic measures that can be taken, the simplest being that any redeclaration must syill be within the points limit and ensuring fsir and transpatent averages for all ridrrs. This allows struggling teams to strengthen, but top teams cannot swap an out of form hl for a better rider without weakening their side.

Scb, who he was responding to, is not in Melbourne. Meeting starts 7pm local time.