crumpiefan

Of course he has a superb record, i'm just of the opinion that his success at his age points to the quality being lower at the very top than it was. No slight on him, Crump retired at 37, not sure how old Rickardsson was, the second Gollob won the title he wasn't the same, Pedersen at 39 is a fading force. Hancock at 46 is top of the world. Utterly amazing achievement. Doesn't alter my view on the competition however

Very true but even in the years after Rickardsson retired he was 'only' 4th twice,5th and 6th. Not all down to those 2 good as they were

His record is insane I agree, I don't think anyone would disagree. By no means is anything by default his longevity is ridiculous. But as you say yourself during those years Hancock was always one of the best 4,5,6 riders around, not even a regular top 3 man. He's had 6 or 7 seasons finishing 5th or 6th in those seasons. The fact that now he is consistently right at the top suggests the quality at the top isn't what it used to be.

The strength of the whole field is debatable - everyone will have their own opinion. When I 'got back' into speedway after years away from watching it (around 04/05) Hancock was a regular 5th/6th place overall man. If i remember rightly Leigh Adams was the man who was always one away from a medal back then. It does sound harsh I admit - the guy is amazing for 26 let alone 46. Perhaps its the case that the field as a whole has improved but the very top has declined I don't know, but he's more successful now than when the aforementioned three were at their peak. Three medals in over a decade compared to now where alongside Woffinden he is THE man to beat

I always felt Crumpy's weakness was when he missed the gate he tried to win the race in one lap, which could be classed as temperament i agree. Plus he never could relax in a GP, although on the very rare occasions he had nothing to race for Jason usually rode poorly, its as if he needed to be on edge to ride at his best. Hancock never looks stressed in contrast. No one is taking anything away from Hancock - i mean come on a 46 year old beating up 20-25 year olds? But it is a legitimate question to then ask what that means about the current riders, good as this series has been so far, because he certainly wasn't on top when Rickardsson, Crump, Pedersen etc were at their best. When 2 retire and the other declines big time (granted something Greg hasn't) then he kicks on.

I know its common business practice but its a rip off.The prices the hotels want are exhorbitant - even though I'm lucky in that I have a relative at South Wales Uni (free b & b!) I'd rather attend a GP abroad to be honest

He probably is and its splitting hairs in many ways, but i've thought for a while his success (whilst a great story) doesn't say much for the current crop

Hancock is staggering,for a 46 year old to be beating riders 20 years his junior is amazing. That said i agree with Norbold - when you consider how he was regularly behind the likes of Rickardsson, Crump (even his 2nd title in 2011 came after Jasons' arm injury which basically finished him) - makes you wonder just how good the quality right at the top is today compared to say 10-15 years ago when Greg wasn't even a regular top 3 man.

i hadn't read all the comments tbh, majority seem very positive. Just shows how good speedway can be when the track is conducive to good racing

People may disagree but i actually enjoy the SEC meetings more than the GPs lately. The racing is definitely better imo. Don't know whether the tracks they choose help on that score but i've really enjoyed these last few meetings.

First Cardiff since 2012 after 4 in 5 years before then. Enjoyed it but not the degree i want to do it every season. Idiot in front of me giving hand signs to (quiet!) Poles didn't help. About 2 dozen people wanted to lay him out. As for the crowd I thought it looked less than i've seen before.

Without using the offensive word(s) what exactly has woffinden said? Left the stadium straight after the final

If Hampel comes back after the World Cup then basically he and Lindgren get half a season each. That benefits nobody.

Thought so. No coincidence (to me at least) that the racing seems to be better recently. Going back 6-7 years i remember seeing the gp tracks and they were like roads

Does Ole Olsen have any input into any of the GP tracks nowadays? Officially or unofficially

Can't say Hancock exactly excites me but wow....the guy is 46 and still top of the standings....be even more clear but for two flat tyres last couple of gps. Got to take your hat off to him. Well done to Doyle and nice one Bomber, great to see him on the podium

Not being privvy to what was said in the winter you have to wonder did hampel expect to be back the first or second gp? Because surely he wouldn't have been given the wildcard if the powers that be had known he wouldn't be back till july. This suits nobody as it stands

I probably expected more, they didn't score badly by any means. Cook lost points by being overtaken which did surprise me he's always struck me as someone who once in front usually makes it count. Obviously i don't include the british final in that!

Good win for Wolves. As a Belle Vue supporter who hears a lot about our strength in depth tonight didn't really show that. Zagar only came to life last two rides (just in time), Cook and Nicholls were ok but not enough race wins, Steve Worrall struggled in the no 3 position. Reserves did as well as i expected. Wolves were good value for their win....Masters impressed me quite a bit.

I live about 10 miles from monmore and its been dry for past 3 hours so chances are it will be on. The rain may perversely make for a better track so looking forward to it. Narrow win for wolves imo.....zagar seems out of form/mechanically dodgy which may prove significant

How long do tickets usually take to arrive? Ordered mine approx 10 days ago.....last time went (2012) we booked really late and had to collect them from the rugby club. Here's NOT hoping for a repeat

Purely going on updates it looked as though belle vue didn't have one rider they could really rely on for wins (bar fricke to be fair). Harris was that man for Coventry, together with far better reserve scoring. Look forward to the rematch.

The planning (or lack of) wasn't ideal but i still think he should have done the british championship. I understand his reasoning but don't agree with it. But my original point was you can disagree with things like that without being against the bloke as it seems some are

I suppose at the end of the day you've got to do what is best for yourself. Judging by his last few seasons his various decisions seem to be working.....there's a difference between possibly disagreeing with aspects of his career / ways (which i do, he's by no means a 'favourite' of mine) and pure criticism / knocking. If nothing else his success has got speedway a little more uk media coverage, though i accept its a drop in the ocean compared to other sports