Tom Turner

Nicki Pedersen on Darcy Ward "It's a disaster for the sport. A disaster!" "But it was only a matter of time with him. When we ride in Poland, it is often clear in the morning that he was drunk (the previous night), but he always passes the alcohol test." "Today we rode at 2 o'clock and it was obviously too early" says an irate Nicki Pedersen, who has no doubt the Australian had too much. "I know that he was very drunk on Saturday night. He greeted me at the bar in the hotel, and he never does otherwise" laughs Nicki Pedersen, however he stresses that the matter is very serious. "It's a f*cking mess that somebody would compete in speedway against others with alcohol in their blood." "I hope it will have a serious impact, so that he will learn once and for all"

I believe that is correct. The original sentence was "Wardowi grozi nagana, kara zawieszenia lub kara finansowa." which translates roughly as "Ward threatens to rebuke, the penalty of suspension or a financial penalty."

Because speedway is a much bigger deal in Poland. The media in Poland are much more accustomed to speedway journalism as there is far more national interest.

That's interesting to hear, thanks for that. Do you know if any other sponsors provide free equipment like Mitas?

Lying about your breath test results is not a wise move. I think Darcy will be looking at a 6 month ban.

No? It was 0.5, then 0.45, and finally 0.39.

Update: 2011 Torun team manager and organiser of the European Speedway Championship, Sławomir Kryjom has said: "I have been talking to Darcy for a very long time. He is devastated by what has happened. I do not want to justify what he has done but he has been suffering with problems in his personal life. I know what these problems are but I do not feel I can speak about them publicly." Former Torun manager Jacek Gajewski has said: "Darcy has been stupid. I thought the lawsuit he faced when accused of rape scared him and it occurred to him that he must grow up, but then he was caught in Australia riding a motorbike under the influence of various different drugs. Unfortunately the Australian is very reckless. If the same thing at Daugavpils had happened to say Perowi Jonssonowi or Ryan Sullivan who do not usually drink, you would think they must be suffering with a lot of personal issues, but Darcy Ward? Think about the damage this could of caused if Darcy was scheduled to ride in an important play off match? In 2012 he went to a pub in England and got into a fight only 2 days before the second leg of another match." "I expect Darcy will be suspended from any competition pending his disciplinary hearing. I do not expect he will be allowed to race in Sweden tonight (or in England on Wednesday)." "Darcy had also lied about his alcohol levels. He claimed his alcohol levels were 0.01, but that was not the case. Darcy was tested 3 times, the first indication was 0.5, after half an hour of 0.45 and 0.39 on the final test." Ekstraliga president Wojciech Stępniewski has said: "The ban should not effect his ability to compete i the Ekstraliga (or the British Elite League) as the violation took place in the Grand Prix series and not a league match. We await the ruling of the FIM" Sources close to the FIM say they expect Darcy Ward may face a ban until the end of the season. Darcy Ward, who is awaiting the decision of the FIM say's he does not think he deserves a suspension or financial penalty, although he is very apologetic for what has happened. He said he is feeling fit and would like to ride in Sweden tonight and for Poole in the Elite League on Wednesday. I believe this is an accurate translation. Please forgive me if I have translated any details incorrectly. Translated by myself from a Polish article by Nowosci.com.pl.

Edit: Reposted below due to update.

I've been a speedway supporter for a good 10 years now. My circle of friends and I don't tend to talk too much about magazine editors, believe it or not we are more interested in the speedway. Not to mention there are quite a few Phil's and Philips in the speedway world. But no of course, I must be new to speedway. Good call

Yes, of course I am serious. Out of the 1 million posts currently on this forum, posted by some 14,000 members, I have not come across many of the 0.3% of Philiprising's posts, and not one that explained who he or she is. Is that very hard for you to imagine?

Nahhhhh!

And how does one acquire such a privilege?

Great info, thanks! Where did you find this?

Unfortunately clubs are for over 18's only

Thank you for clearing that up for me. Can Poole utilize the guest facility whilst looking for a new rider? What are a teams options when a rider is banned? In all fairness Poole have had the rug pulled from beneath them. (Perhaps it's karma! )

http://www.speedwaygb.co/14issues/el14_issue24.pdf Does this make Darcy's average 9.18? S.R.17.7.1 Absent Rider's actual achieved CMA is calculated as actual +5%(for Home team only)

With such a short schedule until the end of the season I would imagine Greg might be interested, especially as he could be part of another title win. I recall last time he said racing in Britain had really helped him sharpen up.

This is the first time Darcy has been caught with alcohol in his system on a speedway bike. He was breath tested a few weeks ago and found to have 0 alcohol in his system.

Does anybody know what the main differences are between the Mitas and the Golden Tyres? I am lead to believe that the only rider in the Grand Prix series using the Golden Tyre is Greg Hancock. Is that right? Greg Hancock seems to be gating brilliantly at the moment and I am guessing this may be something to do with the Golden Tyre. Greg is gating brilliant but I have noticed that he can struggle to maintain the pace afterwards and has to ride very defensively. This works well for Greg as he has more years experience than some riders have even been alive! Is this down to the tyre or is just Greg? Is it work having better traction at the start and a potential lack of pace later on in the race? What are the main differences between the Mitas and Golden Tyres? I apologize if this thread or similar has already been started

Assuming Darcy receives a ban I would expect him to be replaced by Chris Holder or Greg Hancock. Does anybody know if the averages will allow this? I would prefer to have Greg instead of Chris to be honest. Greg is firing on all cylinders at the moment and feels very comfortable with his place in the sport. Chris is working through a lot of injuries and I don't think he is the best man for the job at such an important part of the year.

I am around the same age as Darcy and to be honest I've probably made enough of those mistakes myself. I don't think the young girl thing is fair, from what I understand about the case it is not much different to how life is every weekend in town. A lot of girls dress and act very provocatively after they have had a few drinks and they do have a habit of throwing themselves at you! Wasn't she also a big fan of Darcy Ward and speedway? I honestly think that Darcy did little or no wrong in that scenario and no different to how most men would of acted in the same scenario. I've been in fights, I've taken my fair share of drugs, I've been on the wrong side of the law and I've definitely not been fit for work on some occasions! I am not proud of these things and as much as I would like to avoid saying "Isn't that what they do these days" unfortunately that is what people do these days. A lot of it comes down to peer pressure and feeling left out if you aren't a part of it. I wasn't strong enough to resist it myself, and at the time I thought I was having a brilliant time. I know I have definitely learned some very valuable lessons and they have all played a part in making me who I am today. In a way I feel much stronger from the experience. Darcy deserves a ban and will benefit from some time away from the sport. I sincerely hope he will come back a much better rider and stronger man in general, but to say he is a bad person, or has had too many chances is just not fair. He is a young man who is divided between friends who still haven't grown up and being a very professional sportsman with a hell of a lot of expectation on his shoulders.

Darcy made a mistake. Nobody in their right mind can say he did it intentionally, he would of known after being breath tested recently (and found to have 0 alcohol in his breath) that he couldn't take chances like that, nor would he ever wish to intentionally put another rider in danger or risk potentially years of professional earnings. Can't help but feel for Darcy. The guy has been very stupid and he will certainly pay the price but a lot of people on here seem to be using his mistake as an excuse just to be malicious towards not only Darcy, but also Neil and Poole who have done nothing wrong! It's not right to use things that have happened in the past as an excuse just to be nasty. In my opinion the vindictive nature of some of the biggest mouths on this forum do more damage to speedway than Darcy being marginally over the limit ever could. I didn't think adults needed reminding that two wrongs don't make a right. It was a mistake, nothing more. He will pay his price and hopefully it will make him a better rider. Some posters on here would rather have Darcy banned from professional speedway life and lose a very exciting rider and potentially a future world champion. Those certain posters cannot honestly say they want the best for the future of speedway. Yes you're exactly right. No human has ever turned to alcohol during tough times. That's practically unheard of.

I actually made it clear that Darcy was in the wrong and should be banned. Perhaps you should read the posts yourself before you reply.

He will almost certainly drop out of the top 8. I would like him to have a wildcard for next season. This could be the kick up the rear he needed. He is definitely Grand Prix material. I think an 8 month ban is more than sufficient. He certainly won't take an 8 month ban lightly.

Update: Source: bournemouthecho.co.uk The 22-year-old is due to attend a jury meeting following this afternoon's event in Riga at which he will give his version of events. Based on that meeting, a decision will then be made on what punishment, if any, will be handed out. A suspension and/or fine are possible penalties that Ward could face. His team manager at Poole, Neil Middleditch, politely declined to comment on the matter in detail. However, Middleditch told the Daily Echo: "I do not condone Darcy's actions but there are some mitigating circumstances which will come to light." I think a 2 year ban is well over the top. He has done wrong and deserves punishment but potentially ending his career considering the circumstances isn't the right thing to do. And no, I don't think he was suffering from grief or hardship then. I would prefer to go by evidence than judge somebody who I really don't know, especially not based on mistakes they may have made in the past. None of us here know the full story. It's very easy for us to be judgmental when we aren't walking in his boots.