21st century heathen

Thanks guys. I was in the stadium well before 'kick off' so I did see all the kids out on track. It was good to see them all out on track in a continuous line. Didn't get any photos though. Some of them couldn't have been more than about 4. Still amazes me that such young kids will go out on track and ride their bikes in front of a crowd like that. Shy? What does that mean!

sorry double post

OK...you got me...I can't resist... I was sat directly opposite the fourth turn (but on the home straight), and was in a dead straight line to see the riders in full broadside at the appex of the turn. Few can claim a better view than that! The person I went with is not a speedway fan in particular and has only been to three matches since then end of '95. As such this person has no bias at all. Imediately this person said 'he never touched him...he just fell'. Now admittedly on video evidence there was the slightest of contact but certainly not enough to make a rider fall. Jason chose to get off the bike. Far from being over 60mph as some are trying to claim this was at the slowest part of the track. On a tight circuit I'd be willing to bet that they were doing barely half that speed. A talented motorcyclist like Jason can quite easily slide off gracefully, and without injuring himself, at that speed. If he can't then he shouldn't be riding as he wouldn't be able to avoid a fallen rider. Nicki did know that a rider had an outside run on him and, as he was a clear leader, he was well within his rights to move out to around mid track to cover an outside run by an opponent. This used to be called good speedway! He did not take the rider all the way to the fence, and he did not take the riders front wheel away. He moved once by about a metre from the line he took going in. There was the slightest of contact between Nicki's dirt deflector and Jason's front wheel. Lets be honest though...if Jason was using a worn front tyre there would have been no contact, that's how slight a contact we're talking about. Is Jason really the talented rider most think he is if he can't control a bike with such slight touch? His wheel doesn't even move from the line it was taking. He simply takes a dive knowing that there's a good chance he can get Nicki excluded now that he has a bad boy image. It gets worse. He then jumps straight to his feet, hoping mad (apparently), waving his arms around like a footballer trying to get an opponant booked. He leaves his bike and begins to walk back to the pits. Finally the bit that really gets on my nerves. He suddenly, out of nowhere, begins to limp!!! Funny how that went away as quick as it started. As for Nikci's reaction he shouldn't have made a gesture towards a photographer but nobody has mentioned the fact that Tony R actually pushed a camera man away from him. Again it is strange how selective some people can be when reviewing an match. Nicki does kick and scream when things go wrong. Nothing wrong with that. As he says it gets it all out of his system in a few minutes. He's then back to the smiles and jokes, and more importantly he can focus again on what he has to do next time out on track. Jason will sulk for the rest of the night if things don't go his way. Which of them has a tittle under his belt? The phone call to the ref. I thought Nicki should be congratulated on keeping his cool when he clearly thought he was being victimised by the ref. Oh...and how's your Danish before you have a go at his choice of words. We all know exactly what he meant. Put simply he never wants to speak to him again. Oh yeah...nearly forgot. For those who seem to think you should look at other riders reactions. I think Scott summed it up. None of us can be left in any doubt what he thought about Jasons actions. Finally I'm glad to see that some of you could at least give Nicki a pat on the back for clearing his bike in the final. The cameras didn't pick it up too well. It was a big off as the bike just suddenly stood upright. Rather than trying to hold the bike like Scott did he just let go. He sprinted virtually the length of the straight to retrieve his bike. He then dragged it sideways, and finally (litterally) dived off the track as the red lights came on. Anyone who was there will tell you it was the single most sporting incident you could ever see. (considering it was Jason leading) (and if i get any more offensive e-mails for voicing my opinion on Nicki/Sam/or Wolves i'll name and shame)

1. Tony 2. Leigh 3. Nicki 4. Jason I'd love to see a Brit or Greg win though.

Wouldn't dare! (you might tell me to do it) One more good result this week and I can put pressure on the leaders. Do I need to stay in the top 8 to qualify for next season?

It will not be too hot on Saturday but the trend is for the temps to soar again, reaching 27/28 by Monday. (southern half of Britain, low 20's further north) Cardiff may be plagued by some cloud tomorrow. The temps will be affected by the amount of cloud cover. Cloudy could see the temps held back to about 19. A clear day could see a p.m. max. of around 22. (hard to be certain as low cloud and fog can be very localised on the coast) I'm on a roll with my predictions so I'm confident in this.

Too far to walk. You can catch a bus but can't remember the number. Just ask somebody with a Welsh accent It's worth going down there, nice ice cream

Try here if you want to keep track of whats where on the roads. I can confirm the M6/M5 is going to be a nightmare. Apparently they are doing the road works there in the summer because there's less traffic. Go figure Just noticed Phil has posted some links...and after what I said about duplicated threads being annoying I post here

5 day forecasts don't always have any human input to sort out any mistakes. Don't trust them really, although the Beeb have sorted theirs out (shame about their interactive forecasts) Expect around 21/22 degrees with sunny intervals. A very pleasant day considering the average for June (for most of the country) is around 17-19 degrees.

1. Greg (has to ride there well some time...surely this year) 2. Leigh 3. Mark 4. Jason

Always the same mate. They always tempt you with one or two, like Mark.

Taken from William Hill J Crump 5/2 T Rickardsson 9/2 T Gollob 6/1 L Adams 6/1 G Hancock 9/1 R Sullivan 10/1 J Hampel 12/1 N Pedersen 16/1 S Nicholls 25/1 M Max 33/1 M Loram 33/1 L Richardson 33/1 A Jonsson 33/1 W Jagus 40/1 R Holta 40/1 P Protasiewicz 50/1 L Dryml 66/1 H Anderson 66/1 B Pedersen 66/1 G Walasek 80/1 J Jensen 100/1 B Brhel 125/1 A Dryml 125/1 K Laukkanen 150/1 I think... 1) Gollob 2) Crump 3) Loram 4) Adams Hoping for... 1) Jensen 2) Pepe (who knows?, and at those prices!) 3) Loram 4) Hancock

I asked the same question weeks ago, and to say the response was limited would be an understatement. I estimate about 5 Brits going over.

You're quite right, they were sluggish at best. I thought TRick had a badly broken arm, or worse, because he just lay motionless. Next time Tony wiggle your toes or something. Rather like the medical staff at Monmore. Can you believe the doctor is 'walking' with a limp!!! One of the lads in the second half crashed, and was down for a while. The doctor was only just out of the pit gate before he was able to get up. If there was an emergency on the 3rd/4th turn he'd never get there in time.

The ref was a joke. There was very little contact between NP and BB. Tough call that could have gone either way. A little like a footballer taking a dive when there's the slightest contact. Got nothing against BB but he went down easy. Totally different to JC and RH last year. JC ran straight through RH leg with his back wheel. NP brushed BB leg with just the dirt deflector it looked to me. TR should have been excluded, although that would be tough on him. It wasn't the fault of HA or TG that he got caught on the fence. Half way down the back straight means somebody ahs to go. The race was stopped because TR fell. That means he has to go. Should have excluded NP for knocking GH off. I refuse to subscribe to the 'hang him at dawn' mob though. Two GP's down, and the ref has let us down on both occassions. It seems that where TR, in particular, is concerned the ref is going to bottle it every time.

Hardly a supprise that Scott has taken the safe option. Couldn't havetold you was next in line though. Wonder why Tomas T didn't get the nod to ride?

Anybody got a Polish scarf? Just been to put a bet on Pepe, and Tomasz. I've always really admired Pepe (yeah right ) 80-1...go on my son!!! I'd settle for Hans at 66-1 instead though. (oh and £1 on Mark to keep Shazzy happy ) Before anybody notices I know I've not bet on the same riders I stated here for the final.

Yeah, thanks Kev. I did realise what you meant so I just clarified it for the sake of accuracy. Right...I'm off to find a mistake in one of you posts

In the hope I'll be included this time 1. Tomasz 2. Jason 3. Tony 4. Greg 5. Leigh 6. Jesper 7. Nicki 8. Jesper Here's the latest from William Hill if anyone fancies a flutter. Check out the outsiders J Crump 5/2 T Rickardsson 4/1 L Adams 4/1 R Sullivan 9/1 T Gollob 12/1 not bad at all N Pedersen 12/1 G Hancock 14/1 worth a quid R Holta 25/1 M Max 25/1 L Richardson 25/1 A Jonsson 25/1 S Nicholls 33/1 M Loram 33/1 track should suit if not slick L Dryml 33/1 J Jensen 33/1 on great form B Pedersen 40/1 riding well too B Brhel 50/1 J Hampel 66/1 H Anderson 66/1 great odds on the form he has T Svab 80/1 P Protasiewicz 80/1 can't believe this, you never know! A Dryml 125/1 R Barth 150/1 K Laukkanen 150/1

I remember reading that the track is only 1 metre different to Monmore. Admittedly the Monmore track has more banking/dirt but the size/shape is similar.

The one thing I forgot to say in my previous post was that the Millenium Stadium is almost identical to Monmore. Chris has shown he can pop out the start with the best of them, and even beat Lukas and Lee from the back. He's got the pace and knowledge of that size/shape track. Perhaps gives him the edge? (shudder!!! sound too much like a Wolves fan now...give it Floppy and Shaggy )

You can check all last years results here. (and this years)

Agree that Norris is great in front of the camera, so I'd be happy enough for him to get the nod. He is in great form too, so it's justified. In general terms though I think it's good to give the younger riders, who hopefully will be in the GPs in years to come, the experience. At least when it comes to big meetings they will have at least one under their belt. There can't be much more pressure than the Millenium Stadium, with 40k+ all desperate for you to do well. I'd like to think that riders like David Howe, Chris Harris, Simon Stead, Danny Bird, and Chris Neath (maybe others) have a genuine chance of increasing British interst in future GPs. With these guys in mind I say give Chris N. and Danny a chance.

My advice would be to get travellers cheques from Tomas Cook. You don't pay extra commission when you're there, and they have an office (well two), in the city centre. Just remember to take your passport, or copy, as ID when you want to exchange them. I did that two years ago. No probs. Easy money!

Prefer something just a tad more refined myself. Even Pawprint has better hygene manners and always leaves the room if she wants to stick her hind leg in the air to lick her bum. Now you're just making it up. I didn't see Nicki try that once!!!