Dave the Mic

GM, I do indeed recall him saying that he would never race for England again whilst DJ was in charge. I suspect however, that may have been in response to the very public slating that Jessup gave him. Wonder why he wasn't in charge of the team for very long? And in terms of some liking him & some not, I am not refeering to fans. We all have aour favourites & that is the way it will always be, but there is little doubt that he is respected almost universally by his fellow riders. And, yes, the look on his face ( & Chris Louis') at the end of the programme was funny - they were not amused! And Rotski, I accept you didn't question his approach at the SWC, but in the post I quoted, you didn't slate Havelock for waht he was saying/doing. You just slated him. Nor am I questioning your right to your opinion, we all have that right, which is why people are still referring to the incident in the SWC. However, if you are going to slate someone, at least try & justify it. Having said all of that - well done to Hans, he deserved his win on the day - no question. BTW Rotski, I do like your sig - reminds me of my relationship with my PC

So let me get this right. You are absolutley certain that Hans didn't cheat & that Havvy didn't ride his heart out for Team GB in the World Cup, or that he he isn't one of the most well respected riders amongst his peers? Very perceptive.

What, the idiot that rode his heart out for his country, you mean. Havvy says it how it is & 9 out of 10 times is right on the money. One of the most well respected riders within the sport. The only idiot is you.

There was no need for Sky to put ideas in anyone's heads - what Hans did was as plain as day. And in my case the case against Hans is for cheating, not robbing GB of the SWC.

Just come back to the forum having moved house & no net connection - can't believe this is still running, but having moved on slightly! Agree with you Splatty, company addresses & contact details are freely available on the net, phone book, companies house, etc., etc., So how is publishing their contact details "irresponsible"? That's ridiculous. In addition, as Splatty rightly says, if you feel that you must act on SCB's post, well that's up to the individual, not him. And I suspect if anyone felt that strongly about contacting one of Andersen's sponsors they wouldn't need prompting!

You could be right about the format Steve, but I can't help thinking that it's a retrograde step. What is wrong with the current format - it seems to work pretty well for the most part, doesn't it. I guess from a BSI viewpoint it's better to have less riders to pay prize money to?

Been giving the '05 GP some thought after looking into next year's event. Ticket prices are higher than this year I see. I believe that the number of riders in each event is being reduced to 16 - I assume this is likely to see a reduction in the number of races for each round. So, we get charged more money, to see less racing. That doesn't seem very fair does it? Does sound familiar though. More money for BSI, less action for the paying customer, or have I missed something?

Certainly Lindback's presence will add to the GP series, he is a quality rider & should do well. Chzranowski, whilst earning his place on merit (regardless of whether anyone likes the rules or not - they ARE the same for all riders) could be another in the line of those riders who have just made up the numbers in the past & may not exactly set the series alight, but I guess we shall have to wait & see. Anyway, congratulations to both men, they will doubtless be well pleased.

"Chrzanowski was riding second but brutal attack of Andersen made him fall to the third place. The referee did not react. After a while Andersen had an engine failure and Chrzanowski finished second." Looks like there may have been some justice there

Arguably he deserved to go through, but I suspect ther won't be too many people in the UK shedding tears over his non-qualification.

Steve, you are right in some ways of course, but the fact is those are the rules & the riders knew them before they started. In fairness, it's the same in the GP itself. A rider can win just one race all night & still take the 25 pts on offer, yet another rider could ride unbeaten all evening & miss the start in the final & finish last. Right or wrong, that's the way it is.

Mmmm, countback, or a race off?

Grachan, I think you have perhaps misunderstood what Neil is trying to say. Hans is well known for being pretty ruthless on track & I think what Middlo is perhaps trying to say is it would have been better if Hans had simply ridden his own race. My experience of watching him would have suggested to me that his normal MO would have been to keep it all screwed on going into turn 3 & had that been the case, there is every chance PK would have had to slow a little, because Hans would have stopped his run. This is what he would normally do, so why didn't he do it this time? Don't think I am subscribing to the "Hans cost us the SWC" view - I am not, but it would have been better had he ridden as he normally does rather than look for PK & then shut off to make PK's third turn run clearer & easier than it would have been.

If we didn't have Sky televising the meetings, then Hans' wrong-doings wouldn't have been seen by that many Oh, well that makes it OK then Because of this Hans has got a reputation which is constantly mentioned on Sky meetings and on forums...this can't be good for the guy's career. Call me a cynic, but should he not have thought of that before he cheated? If you take away the dirtiness, Hans is a great rider What kind of comment is that? It's OK to be dirty as he is a "great" rider. Don't make me laugh.

Top class comments from a top class champion. VV take note!

I have to say I do agree with these last 2 posts, but given Hans' actions on Saturday & his penchant for swearing on live TV when interviewed, isn't he guilty of the same thing? But as a profesional sportsman, shouldn't he know better? I can't condone personal threats or bad language in a public domain, clearly they can only do the sport harm. I am sorry to say, however, that he is as bad as those that have made foul mouthed posts on his site.

VV I'm not a Poole fan so my argument isn't flawed. All this crap about the test match. That meeting was about trying riders out you fool. Middlo picked the best 5 riders available for both the qualifier & the final & they ALL did us proud. This is the first opportunity Middlo has had to select his best squad & he has led us to our best international result since 1989. To say he isn't good enough is ludicrous. He is the best man for the job & the riders respond to him. What is even more ridiculous is that you suggest Ronnie Russell as a replacement. Ronnie Russell wouldn't win a raffle if he had all the tickets. I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

Thank's la-la. Just a bit of reasoned (I would like to think) consideration after a couple of days reflection.

That's right Splatty. The reason, for example, that there is no Scotland team is that all speedway in the UK is governed by the ACU. Ergo, it has to be GB, not England.

Steve, I think you have done us all a great service by making this post. Thank you very much indeed. And, Middlo, if you get to read this, my thoughts are with you at this time of your loss, I felt for you at the end of the evening on Saturday & even more so now. Middlo's comments sum up the events of heat 25 perfectly.

I have been reading quite a lot of what has been said on the forum today - & there has been quite a lot - & refrained from posting too much, but I have to say that all the "Hans Andersen didn't race tonight for fear of his personal safety" rubbish makes me want to yak. Those people thick enough to make personal threats against Andersen aren't bright enough to know better & if they came face to face with him, probably wouldn't have the intelligence or the balls to even say anything to him, never mind do anything. And I certainly don't condone any of them. In any case, do any of them know where he lives? No. Would any of them be able to get anywhere near him? No. They know they wouldn't do anything I know they wouldn't do anything You all know they wouldn't do anything It wasn't the fact that he stopped Team GB from winning, PK was in front of Scott anyway, that has angered so many people (the genuine speedway fans, I mean), it was his actions showing a total disrespect for everyone & everything involved this last week:- The sport The tournament The occasion The organisers (BSI, BSPA, Poole, Eastbourne) The TV companies The sponsors His fellow riders But most of all? The people who pay him his income - the fans, who paid their hard earned cash - & it wasn't cheap. No-one will lay a finger on Hans Andersen - nor should they - the worst that he will get is a load of verbal aimed at him & frankly he deserves all he gets. No, Hans Andersen doesn't fear for his safety, because he is not in any danger, he simply isn't man enough to stand up & take the criticism he so clearly deserves & the fact that he is racing in Sweden tomorrow night demonstrates that clearly. He has the cheek to call himself a sportsman, but frankly he isn't worthy of the title.

Mmmm, something like that!

Bryce, I seem to be following you! Agreed on this one too!

Bryce, you are of course quite correct. The trouble is, making a complaint to the authorities will do no good, because Olsen will stick his nose in & it would all be swept under the carpet. Therefore, people vent their spleen here

I agree Richtea, the comments by the Ipswich riders are too contrived for me. And why no quote from Hans?