MagicOctopus

Thanks guys!

I'm a fairly new follower of the sport, and only recently became interested in the national leagues. I'm still confused by the way the reports talk about scoring. Specifically, what does it mean that someone "scored 10 paid 11"? Paid what? Also, sometimes I see "scored 10+3". Where does the "+3" come from?

I don't get all the negativity regarding the GP. I went to the meeting with my father, and we both enjoyed it a lot. The venue was great, the track and the racing were good and the atmosphere was top notch. Would go again, and recommend it to everyone. The location of the venue is also very convenient.

Ok. I don't follow any of the national leagues, so wasn't aware of the the relationships with the riders. Is KK not well liked among the other riders? I can see there being some words exchanged in the heat of the moment, but with Nicki I am under the impression that it is different, and he doesn't have many friends among his fellow competitors. BTW, I find it hilarious that people are arguing about swearing on TV for several pages

In heat 11, Kasprzak pushed Nicki to the outside, so Tai took the lead Later on, it looked like Tai gestured to Zmarzlik to block the inside so Nicki couldn't pass. Is it possible that Tai talked to the Poles before hand and got them to help him win the heat?

Excellent meeting. Another reminder that you cannot judge a meeting a failure after the first 4 heats. The championship seems close to being decided, but there is still lots of excitement regarding the bronze and the top 8.

I thought the attendance was good. Speedway is not a popular sport in Finland and a turnout of over 10K is very good. However, the promoters have a mountain of work to do for next year, because the casual visitors will not come back unless they can be convinced that the event will be more exciting. The promoters should take responsibility, own their failure, and work hard to make it better. I'm not an expert and have no idea how to make the track work better (or how possible it is to widen it). I agree with IanT that if a casual fan like me can see the track and immediately be sceptical of passing opportunities, it is inexcusable for the professionals to not do something about it. If nothing can be done, the event is doomed.

Really looking forward to Saturday's GP. Got the tickets however long ago, finally the wait is almost over! For people visiting Tampere and who like quality beer I offer some pub recommendations. Quality has a cost, so pints will be probably 7€+ at these places. Number one place for anyone visiting Tampere for the first time is Plevna. They brew their own beer, and they a varied selection (check out the beer list!). Their food menu is designed to work with beer, and comes with beer recommendations. It is located on the northern edge of the central market. http://www.plevna.fi/?page_id=178 Oluthuone is another place that serves Plevna's beers: http://www.oluthuone.org/ Another way to go is Soho, an English style pub. Their kitchen makes stereotypical English bar food, and I really like their burgers. http://www.gastropub.net/soho/index_en.php Close to Soho is O'Connell's, an Irish pub. It is fairly large, but very popular. http://www.oconnells.fi/ All these are within a reasonable walking distance from the stadium. There are also Czech style and Nordic fancy alternatives: http://www.gastropub.net/praha/ http://www.gastropub.net/nordic/ Or the oldest pub in Finland ("janonsammuttajat" means "thirst quenchers"): http://www.sqc.fi/salhis/new/index.php?sivu=nesteet.php Just in case you are cash strapped, there are lower cost alternatives. (The Finnish word "Ale" means "Sale".) Here are some addresses: Ale Pupi is at Rautatienkatu 14 Ale Pub is at Hämeenkatu 25 Wanha Monttu is at Hämeenkatu 17 Ale Bar is at Hämeenkatu 5 Price of lager at those places is probably around 3-4€. They are all along the same street, so you could easily do a pub crawl! Please drink responsibly. Welcome to Tampere!

I wonder why the best seats are unavailable (grandstand A3). Maybe they are reserved for corporate clients or maybe they'll be sold with a higher price at a later time? Annoying.

Ryanair flies directly to Tampere from Stansted airport (also from Frankfurt/Hahn, Kaunas, Bremen, Alicante etc.). If coming from Sweden or Estonia one option is to drive and take the ferry (Tampere is a 2 hour drive from the coast). This one's tough to answer without knowing what you're interested in. Tampere is one of the bigger cities in Finland (although small on an international scale), and has all the stuff that comes with that (3D cinemas, great pubs, international restaurants, nightclubs, shops etc.). Historical sightseeing is probably not what to visit Tampere (or Finland!) for, although there is a nice walk-in museum block that displays the way of life from the 1800s. For local flavor, these are my current top 3 for visitors of Tampere: 1) The Plevna Brewery Pub and Restaurant: they brew their own beer and have a good variety of beers and some ales, with a matching kitchen that serves German style food. 2) Pyynikki Observation Tower Café: A tower on top of a ridge next to the city centre with great view of the surrounding lake. The Café is famous for its delicious doughnuts. 3) Tammela market: Nothing out of the ordinary here, but for the full Tampere Experience, you must try the local blood sausage here if you missed it at Plevna. Tampere also has a lively music scene, so when we know the date of the GP one might check out if there are any interesting bands in town.

I agree with Eglese 19 that it is weird when the guy winning the GP isn't the one getting the most points from it. Do they get any financial incentive, that is, is there a monetary reward for winning a GP? I think this is a nice example of what I consider differences in "European" thinking vs. "American" thinking. Europeans want to know who is the best. Americans want to know who is the winner. This is why all major American (non-motor) sports have playoffs. It does not matter how you do during the regular season - as long as you get to the "tournament", you have a chance to win it all. This results in lots of excitement and drama, but it can also sometimes mean that the best might not win. If you increase the significance of single heats (that is, the semis or the finals), in some extremely dramatic cases this might result in the best racer not getting the most points from the GP. Personall, I would like a system where the winner of the GP to get the most points. I agree that the regular 3-2-1-0 system is simple to explain to new fans, but you still have to explain that "even though he won the GP the guy who came 5th got the most points, so really he won it", which is weird.

This is my first post in this forum. I'm glad it is this one! YLE (the Finnish equivalent for BBC) reports today on their website that the GP in Tampere is happening in spring 2014. The agreement was apparently signed on Wednesday. The exact date of the race, details of the TV-deal and ticket prices will be announced later in August. The track material will be put in place on the running lanes (it's an athletics stadium) during the autumn, and it will settle under tarps over the winter. Here's the link to the story (unfortunately, only in Finnish): http://yle.fi/uutiset/speedwayn_mm-osakilpailu_ensimmaista_kertaa_suomeen/6769528 I've just lately rekindled my interest in the Greatest Motorsport Ever, and have been thinking about visiting a GP in another country. Looks like I don't have to leave my home town to see top flight racing after all!