Steve Shovlar

And I agree with that comment. I am not the person who has decided to change the name to NYC. Like Rabbit, I woould have steered well clear of any connection between this meeting and Newport. But the promoter can call it what he likes and if he feels he wants to call it the NYC in memory of Tim Stone, that's his business.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Sandie. The profits will go to a worthy cause, Poole Speedway to keep the club running in the black. Can't get better than that in these harsh times. Fans moaned when the Chapions Of Champions was named, saying it was a disgrace and what about Tim Stone memorial etc. now Poole have done that ( They could have called it anything) more fans moan! It's absolutely ridiculous. Newport fans will I am sure have every opportunity to pay a minutes solience to Tim Stone when newport opens its doors in March for their first meeting. Or they coould organise a coach and come down to Poole on the 4th january to pay their respects, as I am sure there will be a minutes silence for Tim at Poole.

Is it you this time CC or has some else logged in under your name again?

When has Matt ford put together a poor lineup for an individual? Being in the middle of winter it must be very hard to attract riders such as Nicki Pedersen away from their sunbeds, and if it was called The Champions Of champions and NP wasn't there is would be a silly thing to call it. The lineup will be announced shortly so I guess we will see for ourselves who is riding.

Well as you have no intention of coming why moan about it? I am sure those that do attend will be treated to a great afternoons entertainment no matter who is in the lineup.

Not at all. Whilst Poole have rescued the event for 2009, I would like to see another club run it in 2010 and then pass it on to another club the year after. One club shouldn't have sole rights over the meeting.

It isn't going to happen and now Newport have a new promotion they will have to bid for it the same as every other club I should imagine. Whilst the NYC was Tim Stone's baby, it has little to nothing to do with the new Newport promotion and now any club has the right to put in a sealed bid to run it. Personally I believe it should be shared around, with a different club running the event every year.

I am sure the new Newport promotion can apply for it next season.

INterestingly Bjarne missed two meetings, and if he had scored his "average" for this years GP's, he would have been in the top 8/ yet he has never been mentioned as a wild card. And befor anyone jumps on this, no he will never be world champ. But like Harris he has won a GP and is a far, far more acomplished rider.

Talk of riders such as Woffinden getting a GP berth are farcical. He would be half a lap behind. Hasn't done a single thing, yet, to show he will even make the grade in years to come. Sure he looks like he will be a good rider buut I don't think he will have a near 9 average in 2009 like Holder managed this season. And the powers that be say Holder isn't yet ready! I mean, to put in Harris over Holder is a sick joke.

Disagree. NP is head and shoulders above the rest, with Crump a farly distant second. Riders like Holder could have come in and rustled a few feathers. Todays Echo. Holder misses out on GP place 12:31pm Friday 7th November 2008 By Phil Chard » PIRATES star Chris Holder has missed out on a Grand Prix wild card for next season. The permanent seeded places have gone to British duo Scott Nicholls and Chris Harris, alongside the Russian Emil Sajfutdinov and Fredrik Lindgren, of Sweden. There were no surprises with the selections, confirmed by the FIM Speedway Grand Prix Commission and BSI Speedway today. Particularly as Poole Castle Cover’s Holder had discounted himself because he feels he is not financially ready to compete in the World Championship series next year, preferring to wait at least another 12 months. Talking about the four picks, BSI managing director Paul Bellamy said: “The riders chosen as the permanent wild cards reflect the experience and emerging talent of speedway riders in the world. “Russia’s Emil Sajfutdinov is one of the sport’s hottest prospects at the moment and will be an exciting addition to the series. “At 19 years old he will be the youngest permanent rider in the 2009 series and already has an unprecedented two World Under-21 titles under his belt that underlines his flair and aptitude for the sport. “Sweden’s Fredrick Lindgren, who at 23 was the youngest rider in this year’s series, has shown great maturity and ability in his first season as a GP rider and is also widely recognised across Europe as one of the sport’s rising stars. “This year Scott made two finals and only just finished outside the top eight and an automatic qualification for the 2009 series, but his performances have shown he still has the commitment and drive to be world champion. “Chris, a GP winner in 2007, knows he needs to prove he is world class next year following a disappointing 2008 campaign but we all know that he has the ability to be a great rider.” GP race director Ole Olsen said: “The line-up for the 2009 GP series is a very exciting one. “The combination of the experienced campaigners versus the young pretenders will provide some thrilling racing as all 15 riders believe they are capable of winning GPs and ultimately the World Championship. “I believe next year’s series will be one of the most competitive seasons to date and we are looking forward to welcoming them all in 2009.” The full 2009 GP line up is N Pedersen, J Crump, T Gollob, G Hancock, H Andersen, L Adams, A Jonsson, R Holta, S Nicholls, F Lindgren, C Harris, K Bjerre, G Walasek, S Ulamek, E Sajfutdinov, event wild card in each round. Qualified substitutes: NK Iversen, T Jedrzjak, R Sullivna, JB Monberg, A Miedzinksi, J Pavlic. NEIL Middleditch believes it’s no “bad thing” Chris Holder has missed out on a permanent wild card into next year’s Grand Prix. The GP promoters have announced Scott Nicholls, Chris Harris, Emil Sajfutdinov and Fredrik Lindgren as permanent wild cards for the 2009 World Championship. So Holder missed out, most notably, as expected, to two-times World Under-21 champion Sajfutdinov, who relegated the Aussie into second place both times. Middleditch said: “I think Chris would have accepted it if they had offered him a place, but it’s not a bad thing he hasn’t got one. “He’s still young and can learn a lot more in the Elite League. It gives him a season to consolidate his position next year. “His schedule is pretty hectic anyway because he rides Sweden and Poland as well as England. “It might just have been a lot to take on this early in his career.” Asked what 21-year-old Holder would need to do to ensure he was ready for the GP in 2010, Middleditch said: “To qualify and if not he just has to consolidate his position, continue his form from 2008 to get a permanent wild card. “They (BSI Speedway) are trying to get pairs of riders in (from different countries) and they already have Leigh (Adams) and Jason (Crump) in there from Australia. “Having said that, I think Chris would be a great addition. He’s young, exciting and would have brought a lot to it. “But I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It might be a bit too soon for him. “I think he’ll most certainly be ready for 2010. If he continues riding like he has, I don’t think there is any way they could not choose him. “He has taken the Elite League by storm. No-one could have envisaged, average-wise, he would have done as well as he did for Poole.”

He has no chance. Polish fans would riot if one of their own isn't chosen over Holder. have to wait for 2010 and a wild card, or have more luck in the qualifiers.

A very embarressing day for British speedway and the GP series to include Chris Harris, who was completely out of his depth in 2008. I can't remember a single GP where he made a mark. His performances were no better than Richardsons. In fact Lee did a bit better. And considering bjarne Pedersen has been given the heave ho, and was 11 points in front of Harris and missed two GPs ( which if he had ridden in woould have probably qualified) shows how poor and off the pace Harris was. This is nothing more than a TV contract deal. Sky have probably got an agreement where there will always be two british riders in the series, no matter how rubbish they are. Let's be frank and honest here. Chris Holder is a class above Harris, but was born in the wrong country, where there are currently no GPs and no live TV coveregae from a TV station. If Aus had a live feed and a round, there is no way on gods earth that Harris would have been chosen over Holder. Noddy had a disaster in the qualifying round with two EF's while leading and an exclusion when he was nowhere near the rider. But that's the way his luck went that day. Hampel was unfortunate but with Walasek and Ulamek both getting back into the series, he never had a chance. a better rider than both but where was he in the rounds? So we have quite a few duffers in the series for 2009, but NP will walk it anyway. Just a shame riders of a high quality have to wait to get in.

Rumour has it the Japanese speedway on concrete champion Kanu Sukalajwun is going to come over and show off his skills.

I seem to recall the other champions could include the Polish U21 team ( did they win it?). Going to be an interesting lineup and whilst the likes of Nicki Pedersen won't likely be there, ( unless he wants to do some competitive bike testing) the lineup should be exciting enough to want to venture out on a cold winter Sunday afternoon. Only 9 weeks until we find oout.

Shocking and poor decision to give ne of the wildcards to Zagar, who just doesn't have what it takes and will the the Dryml of 2009. Whilst Holder has missed out, and said himself he isn't yet setup for the series, he is clearly a far better rider than Zagar and Lindgren. Still, Poole fans could look at it selfishly and say there will be no GP distraction for any of our riders in 2009. But even a under prepared Holder would have been better than a fully prepared Zagar!

Newport don't currently have a promoter, and by the sound of it with the huge rent increase won't have a club in 2009 unless something dramatic happens ( and which I hope can be sorted out) so how KevH thinks Newport could run the NYC in January beggers belief. On second thoughts he probably believes that's the case.

And who have you heard that Matt Ford put in for the NYC 3 days after Tim Stone passed away? The same person that started the rumour on here in the first place?

No suprise. think its clear as daylight both Emil and Noddy will be two of the wild cards. Noddy has said he isn't ready but once given the "nod" will be more than happy to take it. Easily the best two youngsters in speedway at the moment. Nicholls and Lindgren are the likely other two.

Thanks for making this post as a complete neutral with no vested interest.

I don't post spin. I post it as I see it. Sure I am defensive when it comes to my club, as would any fan be, but I don't resort to personal abuse which has gone on in this thread. You know the deadline would have been set by the BSPA MC. Poole have no input there and Matt Ford is not on the MC. If Newport thought they could have got the meeting run on January 4th, they should have applied to run it, or at least asked the Reading promotion to do it on their behalf within the time frame. But they didn't. It seems the whole "lets ask Reading", and the article in the Speedway star was something of an afterthought. A bit of like closing the stable doors after the horse has already bolted. And of course the meeting is there to be run to make money. Speedway promoters are businessmen and need to make a profit otherwise what would be the point of doing it? The love of the sport? Plenty of fans have been promoters and look what has happened to the majority of those. Being a businessman first and a fan second is the only way to survive in these harsh times. You know as well as anyone else the meeting will be well promoted and Poole speedway will get the best possible field together in the circumstances. I wish Newport well, even though a small majority of their fans have acted disgracefully and pulled the name of their club through the mud with their abusive posts on here, inflamed by some idiot posting about Matt Ford aplying for the meeting three days after Tim Stone's death. Such posts were bound to incite trouble but luckily the majority saw straight through it. But you know, as well as many others, that there was no way that Newport could have run this meeting in January. They haven't got through probate and they haven't got a promoter in place as yet. To think this is going to happen in the next month, the promoter becomes ratified with the BSPA and everything woould have been ready for the 4th January is not a realistic goal. This time next year Newport might well have announced the return of the NYC, and good luck to them when it happens and I hope they have a massive crowd turn up. But this year the decision has been made to let it go elsewhere, and speedway fans throughout the country will be treated to an out of season event.

What you are saying makes no sense. There will be no NYC at Newport in January because there is no Newport Speedway. The club is currently not running and there is no current promoter. Hopefully the situation will be resolved in time for the club to ride in 2009 but there are no guarentees. So Poole have stepped in to make sure there is a winter meeting. Poole are not running the NYC, as Rabbit has already stated, but are running their own event, called the Champions of Champions. It's a one off meeting for 2009 only. What you are saying is that if Newport don't run, there should be no winter meeting? And yoou can't "leave things" to see what happens, because to put on a meeting takes time and planning, plus the build up for the fans. If the weather is good it should be a great afternoons speedway action at Wimborne Road on 4th January. And if newport are back up and running next season, they may have the NYC back there in 2010.

The BSPA put it out to all clubs to submit an application to run it, with the cutoff date of 30th September. There as no rush for any club as it wasn't a case of first come first served. Once all applications were in, the BSPA would make a decision. As it was only Poole applied to run it, so were granted the lisence for one year only. The talk of Poole applying for it three days after Tim Stone passed away is rubbish and posted on here just to inflame Newport fans, many of whom were gullible enough to believe it.

And you know this as a fact do you? Just because a begrudged fan said this earlier doesn't make it true, even if it's constantly repeated. I would think Matt Ford will be quite upset if he reads this accusation. Even though its gone on record that he didn't apply for the event until mid summer, it seems Newport fans are jumping on a made up lie to tarnish and slur the Poole promotion.

Interesting thoughts of Team TRick. They might go with one but Lindback back in the GP's so quickly? Think he needs one more year out before he comes back in.