Dave the Mic

The average score isn't relevantly at all. Whether Harris should have been given a place in the GPC, is not my point, it was about the slating of a man risking his neck to entertain us. Anyone who races speedway is not a failure, but a very brave person and regardless of your view, Harris, or any other rider, for that matter, is not a failure. Further, the averages you refer to are irrelevant and how can he have competed illegally, when his inclusion was sanctioned by the FIM. And why should the place have been given to a German rider? On what grounds? Smolinski has qualified by right and I salute him for that, but you can't honestly suggest there is another German rider who could have been in with a chance? I respect your view, but disagree with you. How do you know I have only seen these riders in occasional international meetings? You make a massive assumption in making that statement. Just because you advocate Laguta, does that make you right? No, it doesn't. In any case, if he isn't prepared to go through the process, why should he be handed a spot? What makes him special? Possibly he couldn't get a visa, but also, perhaps he thinks he is "better" than doing the qualifiers and thinks he should be handed a place? And why would Dudek, MJJ and Janowski be more deserving than Tai, or Darcy. Don't make me laugh. With the possible exception of Nicki Pedersen, Darcy, not that I like him personally, is the biggest box office in speedway and Tai's credentials need no justification at all. Regarding the "one off" meetings, I accept this, but the point is, the one off meeting in question here was the GP play off, so it sort of mattered and Harris took the chance he was offered and why wouldn't he? The 16 riders knew the rules when they lined up at Poole. Yes they are, but Dudek was actually a reserve in Poland for most of the season and MJJ has had many poor meetings this season. And is Lindgren the same lame duck that has won a GP as recently as 2012? Thought so. And I'm not dismissing anyone, MJJ, is very talented, it just happens to be my view that he isn't a GP rider, not yet, at least.

How so? Laguna isn't prepared to do the qualifiers, MJJ couldn't beat the so called no hoper that is Chris Harris and Dudek didn't even compete. Tai was a completely different set of circumstances, having been in the series before and had come through some very testing times which slowed his progress. In the main, the champions have been the old guard in any case, with only Tai and Holder of the brigade winning titles, the likes of Hancock, Gollob, Pedersen and Crump having taken most of the titles in recent times. Tai has been the exception.

I am astounded at the vitriol poured over the riders on this thread, it's a disgrace to be honest. If any of you are brave enough to race the way these guys do, fill your boots and slag off their inclusion and criticise their ability. I'd be happy to have 10% of the ability of these guys, who, by the way, risk their lives to entertain us each time they throw a leg over a bike. Regarding the wild cards, feel free to extol the virtues of anyone else you care to name, including MJJ, Dudek, Jonasson, Laguta even, but a couple of decent performances on the world stage does not a GP rider make, ask Martin Vaculik. I rank none of them as my favourites, but Holder and Gollob pick themselves, AJ and Fred have been consistent performers on the world stage for some time and are worthy of their place in the series. Regarding the likes of MJJ and Jonasson, they had their chance to qualify, like others, and couldn't do so. That being so, how does it make them more deserving than the four picked? It doesn't. Regarding Harris, why can't you get off his case? It's fair to say he hasn't been deserving of the nominations for wild cards he has had, but he hasn't bought them, he was offered them and accepted them. In his position, I suspect any of you would do the same. Likewise in the GP challenge, although in that case, many of the riders that were next in line from the semi finals supposedly declined a place to race, Harris was offered the place and took it. So what? He then finished ahead of many of the riders who have been put forward on this forum as deserving of a place in the GP, and matched Smolinski. Surely, if they can't finish ahead of Harris, supposedly so poor according to many on this forum, how can they possibly be included in the series. You couldn't write it.

MP, the reason for the posting is partly as has been mentioned by 500cc. You mention Danno, but you could easily mention Nermark, Klingberg, Zorro, Tommy Nilsson and Erik Stenlund in the same vein, so why him? None were world class performers but all won the title. Nilsson rode in World Finals as a seed when the finals were in Sweden a couple of times, Kilngberg had a flirtation with the GP, Zorro had one season in a recent series, Nermark was a wildcard and Stenlund was a world ice champion, but never a star on shale. It doesn't make any of them less worthy of their win, does it? Fact is they were best on the day, as Szczakiel was in the 73 World Final. Regardless of what anyone else may think. Rickardsson may not have competed but look at who did - AJ, PK, Henka, Lindback, Lindgren, Mikael Max, Zorro, Stefan Andersson, to name a few. Danno took six rides and dropped a point. That makes him a worthy winner in my book, regardless of the track conditions or anything else. As 500cc says, just because he didn't figure in any other championship, doesn't mean his win was a freak, Loram was never in the top three of the worlds apart from his title in 2000, nor Havelock apart from his win in 92, but I witnessed every heat of both and believe me, they deserved their wins. As Danno did. In addition, you cite his and Nermarks league records as being comparable. That's as may be, but the Elite League in this country, for example, is ten fold weaker than it was when Danno rode and. For me, that makes Nermark's win more remarkable as Danno competed when speedway was arguably stronger with more top class riders around than there are today. I simply was trying to point out that his win was deserved and was ahead of many excellent riders and as 500cc says, given you were out of touch with speedway for a long period, that could easily have spanned Danno's entire career, so the point of posting the results and stating his GP and World Final exploits were to serve the point that he was a decent performer and his title win was not as much of a freak as you might have suggested.

SM-final. Hagfors 2/8. 1.Stefan Dannö Vals 3 2 3 3 3 3 2.Stefan Andersson LS 2 3 3 2 3.Mikael Max LS 3 2 2 1 4.Peter Karlsson Kap 3 0 2 2 0 5.Freddie Eriksson Rosp 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 6.Fredrik Lindgren Pir 3 2 1 7.Antonio Lindbäck Gas 3 3 1 3 3 0 8.Andreas Jonsson Rosp 2 1 3 U 9.Magnus Zetterström Smed 1 3 3 0 2 1 10.Peter Ljung LS 3 2 2 0 1 11.Robert Johansson Väst 2 0 1 1 3 0 12.Daniel Nermark Varg 0 2 2 2 1 F 13.Henrik Gustafsson Ind 3 3 S 1 14.Mattias Nilsson VMS 2 0 1 0 1 15.Björn Gustavsson VMS 1 3 3 1 F 16.Tobias Johansson LS 0 F 17.Peter I Karlsson Vals 2 1 0 18.Magnus Karlsson Kap 0 2 0 19.Jonas Davidsson Rosp 1 1 20.Emil Kramer Örn 0 1 21.Rickard Sedelius TB 1 0 Daniel Davidsson Smed ES Niklas Klingberg Mas ES Tony Rickardsson Mas ES A little harsh on Stefan Danno to be honest. Rode in the SGP for three years and finish third in two finals, ahead of such poor performers as Tony Rickardsson and Nicki Pedersen. He also raced in the last one off World Final in 1994. Twice the rider Nermark is, who, incidentally finished 12th in the meeting you refer to.

If it is Keith Anderson, then he raced for Birmingham in the old British League 2 in 1974 & then the New National League in 1975. He moved up with the Brummies when they moved into the top flight in 1976 & raced a handful of matches but didn't make it at that level & retired soon after I think.

Kermit, that really is a very nice thing to say. I think you must have only ever heard two announcers in your life, the other being a deaf mute Seriously, thank you very much for your kind words. It's nice to be appreciated & if I in some way contributed to your enjoyment @ the Oak Tree on pairs night, then that's fantastic. Thanks again.

Lioness, I bow to your knowledge regarding the Stoney & Wato thing & apologise for my error. I agree with your comments regarding the event set ups, but I can't really agree with your comment about the roads. I travel from Exmouth (just outside Exeter in Devon for those that don't know) every week & it is a 55 mile trip from my house to the OTA. It normally takes me about 50 minutes & I can honestly say that the amount of times I have encountered travel issues can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Admittedly, the people in Exmouth have 60 fingers on each hand... I accept however, that it is more of an issue from the north, but given around 25-30 dates a year, it is still only one or two a season where there are anything other than minor delays. Perhaps you have just been unlucky as we were on the Pairs evening.

I must say Paulco the circumstances that evening were absolutley exceptional. I grant you the M5 is always busy, but you simply cannot legislate for what happened that Friday night. There were four or five major incidents on the M5 (north & south as well as one almost outside the front gates ). I have been officiating at the Oak Tree for 4 or 5 seasons & whilst there have been delays on the M5 from time to time, nothing has come close to June 29th & I think we were just very, very unlucky. On the positive side I am glad you felt the track was good, we are very lucky @ Somerset as the racing there is top drawer stuff week in, week out. With regard to the arena, Mike Golding & Bill Hancock have invested an awful lot of time, effort & money & there has been a shedload of work done by volunteers during the winter & our summer to improve facilities at the venue & that work is continuing. Rome wasn't built in a day & given that up until the end of last season it was pretty much almost as it was from day one, then the new promotion deserve a lot of credit for what has been done so far.

I just wanted to make a comment if that's ok. I am lucky enough to be announcer/presenter at Somerset & I must say that for all the problems that surrounded the Oak Tree circuit that night - most of which are known by everyone now - the meeting those of us lucky enough to witness was a credit to speedway. I sincerely hope the fours will be the same. Having said that, the opening post on this thread is a bit rich in some ways. Mr Chapman seems to want to take all the credit for the on track success of this series, & it does seem to have been well received, but you only have to look at some of the facts to see that the people who run this sport still don't have a clue on how to run it properly. First there was the issue of who was in & who was out of the pairs, then the ridiculous situation of Craig Watson (nothing against him or Glasgow) turning out for the Tigers when he hadn't actually turned a wheel in anger for his new club. That being the case, why wasn't Stoney allowed to turn out for Workington in the fours? Where is the difference? At least Stoney had ridden for the Comets previously! Then the stupid wild card rule. The format for the pairs & the fours is a good one & has always been generally well received, but why for a 8 or 10 team event, do you not just pick the best 8/10 teams available, instead of choosing 7/9 & kicking the others in the teeth? With regard to the British Final, the added "spice" of the wild card issue was somewhat diluted by the Final being staged at Wolverhampton - a track where David Howe was always going to prosper. Further, the event will never have the kudos it once did if all riders are not given the same opportunity. Why seed half the field + to the final? Why not have everyone qualify? Surely that's fairer for all, perhaps just seeding any British GP riders to the final. Why not 2 semi's & a final & maybe even a qualifier? Surely a qualifier at a conference league venue would be well supported? Take the situation regarding Gary Havelock/Andre Compton. Now Havvy is my favourite rider & I have no feelings either way for Andre, but whay was Havvy given a seeded place & Andre none at all? Also on the day of the British Final, I have it on good authority that a certain announcer/presenter was only asked if he could officiate on the morning of the meeting! With regard to the pairs at Somerset, given the delays etc, the first race didn't take place until 7:45pm & given there were 24 races & a 10pm curfew the club did a fantastic job in getting the meeting completed, but that was down to the staff on duty that night & the ref speeding things along. The organisation that evening was done in the main by the club, not by those responsible for the Super Seven. Perhaps the powers that be should consider that & similar efforts at other venues in their press release rather than trying to cover themselves in glory. And, finally, can I just add that this is in no way an attempt to take some of the credit for the Pairs at Somerset - all I did was announce a few results & keep people informed, but there were many, many people who worked like trojans to make that event on the 29th June & I think they deserve more of the credit.

Post of the decade. Fantastic.

What a delight & a privilege it was to be the announcer last night. For all the troubles surrounding the area it was great to see so many people in the Oak Tree Arena to witness what must have been one of the best speedway meetings you will ever witness. 20 committed riders on a fantastically prepared circuit (take a bow Ex Curtis & your team) under blue skies Also, from a personal view a delight to work with Craig Saul & Mike Bennett, consumate professionals both, making proceedings flow in excellent style throughout. I hope everybody enjoyed it as much as we did.

That's gotta be post of the year so far. Had me crying. Excellent.

I must say I do agree with an awful lot of the comments on this topic about the make of the event. The wild card idea is pants & allowing Watto to ride, much as he is a good rider is a poor idea & does nothing for the credibility of a sport already in crisis. Regarding the staging of the event at Somerset, I can fully understand all the negative comments about it not being neutral & that is very valid, especially given that many of the shared events have been won by the rider(s) from the host track & that the powers that be said they would stage the Super 7 events on neutral tracks. Sadly the the people who run the sport don't always(!) do it that well & they don't listen to the fans either. But will it ever change? On a positive note, as some have already said, Somerset is a very good venue in terms of it's proximity to Cardiff & whilst I am bias, the track is fantastic & I suspect the racing, if the meeting survives the monsoons we are having at the moment is likely to be some of the best you will see in 2007.

It would be interesting to hear some of Phil's thoughts concerning the County Ground @ Exeter. It is well known he was something of a master at the track - always went home with a hatful of points, no matter what the conditions, circumstances or what meeting it was. Thought it might be good to get an insight given so may riders loathing of the place & it's likely exit from the sport for good in the not too distant future.

My personal choice (as per the original topic), in no particular order, would be:- 1. Jason Crump - as World Champ he has to be in 2. Tony Rickardsson - consistently the best over the last 10 years 3. Tomasz Gollob - record at this level speaks for itself 4. Greg Hancock - see Tomasz Gollob 5. Nicki Pedersen - out & out racer & one of the best, regardless of ones personal view. 6. Scott Nicholls - still England's best bet for the title & still manged to look good although his season was ravaged by injury. 7. Lee Richardson - upwardly mobile & a good bet for regular rostrum places in the coming years 8. Leigh Adams - under achieved at this level, but still capable of winning the thing. 9. Andreas Jonsson - best of the new breed. 10. Hans Andersen - inconsistent, but that is likely to change with experience 11. Bjarne Pedersen - see Hans Andersen 12. Ryan Sullivan - deserves the benefit of the doubt for 2004. A class act however you look at it. 13. Jaroslaw Hampel - in the same mould as Jonsson 14. Antonio Lindback - I don't see how he could be left out. 15. Mark Loram - it would be nice to think this year was a blip. Still the most entertaining racer of the current era. 16. Billy Hamill - a great racer & should still grace this stage. It would be easy to argue a case for so many others though, Max, Karlsson, Zagar, L Dryml, Iverse, Bjerre, Norris, Holta to name but a few. Please don't shoot me down in flames, it's just my opinion!!

Don't have too many specific memories, but just recall that he was always immaculately turned out & one of the most stylish riders around. It was such a shame (from a speedway perspective) that he retired too early. Be great to see an item on him.

Steve Koppe - hard as nails.

Yeah, just received the first 3 issues today - only had a flick throuh, but looks great. Nice to see black & white pages!! And really high quality paper & print. I can't wait to get home from work & bury my nose in some nostalgia. Nice one tmc!

I don't see why everyone is so angry at Mark for not doing so well in the GP's. He didn't let Team GB down in the SWC & he knows as well as anyone how poor he has been in the series this year. I don't suppose for one minute that a) he is that happy about it & he does it on purpose. Mark has nothing to prove to anyone at all, does he? He has been there & done it & there are not many that can say that. He can't win, can he? If he makes an excuse he gets slated, if he says he had a bad time he gets slated. I daresay if he was doing great he would get slated by someone. The person he is letting down most of all is himself - I could understand people getting uptight if he was up with the leaders in the series & yet average 7 points a match in the league, but that isn't the case. He has ridden out of his socks for both Arena & Team GB this season, so what if he isn't at the top of his game in the GP. Why is it that people in this country have to get on the backs of their sporting heroes? Mark has always given 110% in his racing, give the guy a break.

Quite.

If you didn't see it, how can you say it wasn't deliberate? And, you say you won't comment & then you do! I don't say it was . I said that I didn't think it was. . . . I accept that garf, but how can you possibly comment on what did & didn't happen when you say you didn't see the incident?

If you didn't see it, how can you say it wasn't deliberate? And, you say you won't comment & then you do!

Rabbit I agree 100%. Not sure what BSI are trying to do, but some of the prices I have seen are ridiculous. Is it any surprise half the stadia are empty. Cardiff is clearly an exception & it IS a fantastic day out, but even so, there will come a time when people won't pay inflated prices. I recall when the GP first came to stadia like this that BSI said that they would sell tickets @ £10 to fill the venues up. Mmmm.....

My God, so many to choose from. Exeter v Belle Vue late October 1975 - Belle Vue needed a point to win the league from Ipswich, but Exeter triumphed 41-37. Iwas an incredible match. So many miles separated the sides, but Falcons v Aces matches were always like local derbies & that one was no exception. 1983 Weymouth v Exeter Cup final second leg @ Radipole Lane. Weymouth were a quality side then & the Falcons were pretty average to be honest, but the second leg will go down in Exeter folklore. Won the cup with a one point aggregate victory. Terrific match. SWC 2004 play off? 1996 KOCQF Swindon v Exeter @ Blunsdon 48-48. Just one of the most entertaining matches I have seen. Drama, controversy, great racing, it had the lot. Including an honourable draw. 1973 England v Sweden @ Sheffield 40-38. PC & Eric Boocock bringing the house down with a from the back 4-2 in the last race. Now that was a case of "Happiness is 40-38"!! Haven't got time to post any more now, but will try & get back to it.