21st century heathen

Not even the ref can change the decision after the result has been declared. Do you remember a few years ago that the riders and Ole Olsen tried to get a race re-run? The ref stood his ground because the race result had been declared.

You really are a miserable sod sometimes aren't you?!

Because the result had been declared before the replay showing the offense was shown. Too late then. I forgot about the Freddie race. The ref should have ordered him to be black flagged during the race. Perhaps he did but the start marshall didn't get the message.

You have rooms booked for next year Sandie? And how much?

But would that fit in with the TV schedule? (they could play catch up - not the same as live though) I don't know, nikkif had an entire CD of songs for Cardiff. Even if we did start to lose the will to live half way through.

Well it never got a mention on Sky until the replay, and even then they only said possibly. Later on and 'someone' was claiming Nicki had 'charged' the tapes. From the way 'he' was speaking later in the GP you'd have thought it was as clear as Scott going striaght through the tapes. If you saw it -well done you. You're right that touching the tapes is the same regardless of the ammount of contact made. This was an error on the part of the ref but not something that was blindingly obvious. I still firmly believe that the reaction to the ref has been utterly ridiculous. Let's hope Tony Steele doesn't exclude Scott or Bomber for being knocked off by Tomasz. Who will everyone want then? Turnbull (sp?) presumably!!

Taking a dive suggests there was no contact. Clearly there was significant contact in both incidents. Exaclty. Any rider worth his place in a team or individual meeting would stay down after a first bend incident in which there has been contact. Cheating is sliding off on your own and trying to get the race stopped. As I said, I haven't read all the comments but I wonder how many recognise the difference between Nicki staying down on the first turn and him chasing the bike to clear the track after a very nasty looking fall in the final? The only rider deserving of the boos was Hans (who I like BTW) for spraying Freddie (who's a dirty dog ) with dirt after he had failed to free his bike from the air fence, forcing a re-run when Hans had been leading comfortably.

Hotel costs - I've stayed over the last two years and found the costs very reasonable indeed. Perhaps other people have paid more to be right next to the stadium. Bad choice in my opinion. Transport - I've never had a problem getting to or from Cardiff, other than once having to go via Bristol when I went down on a Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday (can't remember which time it was). I might be giving away a secret here but when I've been down for the day in a car we have gone past the City, and then in from the west. This avoids queuing traffic in and out of the City from the east. There's a park and ride by the Cardiff City Football Club, and you can ever walk from there rather than wait for the bus. Driving into and parking in the City Centre will obviously be very busy. Anyone that doesn't realise that, and try to find a plan 'B' needs a reality check. Toll Bridge - Don't use it!! Road works - Frustrating but I use the M6 every week in the speedway season so I'm used to it. W'ton to the M5 used to be the busiest stretch of road in Europe (I don't know for a fact that it still is, but it's a lot busier than ever now) so again I have to say I'm used to the traffic (although I usually ride a bike and filter through). Even on the bike my average speed on the 4 mile trip to work is around 11mph. That's no different to many people so we should all be used to slow-moving traffic. Visitors to Wmbley - Accepted. As above it may well be more attractive to foreign visitors.

He was superb. I don't think anyone else could match him. Although Colin Pratt gets a vote for just being there. I really didn't expect to see him. ------------------------------------------------------- I don't have time to read all the comments at the moment, but just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone that made my weekend a fantastic one. You all know who you are so there's no list, especially as several aren't members and I couldn't miss them out.

It was a bit flat after Right Said Fred had finished. Believe it or not Sandie took her Gelsenkichen blowy thing to Cardiff this year. Yes, I remember this concern being raised since 2001. There's also a ban on food and drink, umbrellas and number of other things. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some people were queueing to have their bags searched when we got to the stadium this year. There was another security chappy less than 10 feets away with no queue. We simple walked past him with him simple glancing at us. We must have all looked pure, sweet and innocent. Why people were queueing is still a mystery though.

I suspect Nicki is just playing to the crowd with these comments. He seemed to quite enjoy being the pantomime baddy on the night.

Don't have time to read everything so can someone tell me, briefly, how exactly did Nicki cheat?

The Tube in London is excellent in terms of regularity and coverage. However, it can be extremely busy and very hot. I don't really like it, or London in general. So much so that I've only visited once in my adult life. I've stayed in Cardiff twice at a hotel about 10-15 minutes walk from the stadium and I've travelled to and from on the day for all but one of the others. I would happily do either for a trip to Cardiff. But for those that can't get a hotel in Cardiff or don't want to travel home late who not get a hotel on the outskirts ofthe city or even in Newport? Surely there's local transport to Newport that runs a little later? If you've nothing against Cardiff why the negative comments. I'm not being argumentative, just trying to understand your view. I can see that Wembley would be more attractive to overseas visitors, but what percentage of the crowd are from overseas? I agree that it would have to be Cardiff or Wembley, and that this may be a case of gauging public views and trying to get the rent down at the Millenium Stadium.

I agree that it seems obvious some figures are rounded off. Cardiff is clearly not one of them as you have quoted an exact figure. And, incidentally, one that falls within the bracket I suggested. As I said earlier, there were certainly more available seats used than empty so that figure seems perfectly reasonable to me. Why not have two here? There's still plenty of development work going on in Cardiff. Although I haven't researched it, I'll leave that to you ) there's sure to be more accomodation within the next 2/3 years. I doubt 40,000 would want to go to a Coventry (for eg) GP. They never did in the past. But you could certainly fill the place, as is likely for the WC. Wouldn't that be nice?! I only ever went once (GP '97) but it was a great track. Oh dear...do you really think Wembley would be cheaper, the presentation different or the racing any different? Will speedway suddenly attract a bunch of old dears sitting quietly or will it still be speedway fans that go? The transport to London may be better, but there will be the hassle of getting to and from on the Tube whereas one can walk to and from the Millenium Stadium. The attraction of Cardiff, for me at least, is that it's a nice compact City that offers me everything I want within a matter of a few minutes. Obviously there are the shops, pubs/bars, the Castle (should one choose to visit - worth doing once), the park for a stroll (when the weather is warm and dry particularly) and a short bus ride to the bay for a walk, boat ride, a choice of restaurants and an ice-cream. Did I miss anything out?! Incidentally, I visit Cardiff for pleasure a few times throughout the year. My brother went not long after it reopened. He liked the stadium, but I never thought to ask him what it was like trying to get to and from with hoards of others.

Having now seen the footage I can make a more informed decision on the calls the ref made. He missed a slight 'clip' of the tapes by Nicki. Nobody saw it as it happened, only having viewed a replay. He excluded Leigh, rightly. Leigh turned sharp right out of the gate, and although a little ahead he collided with Nicki coming off gate four. Speedway tracks only have left turns so which rider was at fault?! I would have understood all four back. The first turn with the two Danes is less clear as Bjarne doesn't move sharp right as Leigh did. On the night I thought Nicki had gone down far too easy, and should have been excluded. Having seen the replay he does get clattered. I would say all four back for that one. The only other thing that stood out was that there was a case for Crump being excluded, when riding all over Cardiff to stay on the bike, as he forced a fellow competitor to take avoiding action. Scott had to slow down and change line to avoid a rider completely out of control. That's an excludable offense. Overall the ref made a couple of mistakes but nothing that justified the witch hunt by Sky, and some fans. I normally defend Sky as much as I see reasonable, but the constant comments about the ref completely spoilt the analitical side of their production (the camera work was superb - especially the slo-mo pics). I felt it extremely unprofessional and completely over the top. I like Nigel for his knowledge of the sport and promotion of tracks around the country, but he was the main culprit. I mean FFS when you have security telling you to put a lid on it you must realise you're not doing a professioal job as a commentator (his admits this and seems quite proud of it!). If you want to be a fan for the night, Nigel, then sit with the fans and enjoy the night off. Back to the ref, and thread title. Is he any worse than Tony Steele? He's the guy that threw AJ out of a race for being wiped out by Gollob. Rant over...for now.

I believe the capacity for speedway is on the region of 65,000-67,500. Crowds have typically been reported to be 40,000-45,000. I make that about two-thirds. There were certainly more available seats taken than empty so it must have been more than half full. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think Wembley could prove to be a financial disaster. How many people will go to Wembley rather than Cardiff? How many people can afford to go Wembley and Cardiff? If people do both will that hit attendance at league meetings or visits to foreign GP's? I would dearly love to have another GP in Britain, and to be honest I think the fans deserve it. Britain hosts the biggest speedway meeting in the world, so give us another GP. However, I think it should be at a regular league track. The prices will be respectable, and the track will be easier to prepare. I would love to see a GP at Monmore, but the capacity is too low now. It would probably have to be at Coventry. Any other tracks with an 8,000-10,000 capacity giving good views of the track?

That's a fantastic suggestion. The line goes "I'm a w@nker I'm a w@nker..." as Nicki was walking away from the 2nd first turn incident (with Bjarne). Cracked me up and although I agree that's it's borderline for a family audience SCB is right. No young ears would have clocked it. And if they did then you wonder how they know what it means. Younger teenagers may well have heard and understood, but I would suggest that they hear much worse on the street and at school every day of the week. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Bad Boys' was a great choice. I find some of the riders' tunes cheesy and old but that's partly because I've heard them so many times. On the whole the music was good. Plenty of upbeat tunes to keep everyone on their toes. Sometimes you hear music that just sends you to sleep. Could stand to hear a lot more Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Guns 'n Roses...

That'll do. What more could a girl want Tasha?!

Sure you don't want to drop the rubbish Pole for a Brit Kitten?

Tell you what. You lot wear one, and I'll be the one without. That will make me easy to find.

Just 15 mins?! £10 Just park and walk.

Won't be as good as Right Said Fred, that's for sure, but doubt many will walk out this time.

I've decided to keep my team. Well, I was dumb enough to pick them in the first place so I should suffer the concequences. Is there a prize for last place? Scott to be captain please.

By Sat p.m. pretty much everybody in there will be members I guess.

Perhaps we should get pictures of you with people you meet so that there's evidence for you to peruse at your leisure over the next year? *edit* reply to Shazzy