RobMcCaffery

If Woffinden, Hancock & Doyle need wild cards it could be a heck of a fight for the fourth place.

After 8 - Iversen & Bjerre 6, Aspgren, Loktayev, Vaculik 5. Brits - Cook 3, Lambert 2, Harris 1. Fricke in trouble on 2

Heat 7 to be rerun - chequered flag shown on third lap.

They've swapped to Terenzano two months ago - filling the gap between 8 & 9] I suspect.

Feel sorry for those poor souls in the 3rd/4th bend stand. Loneliness can be a killer!

Guess where they're getting the results from ;-)

Iversen, Bjerre, Loktayev and Vaculik all won first rides. Lambert 1, Harris 1, Cook 0

As ever, the Polish site Sportowe Fakty has updates. https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/relacja/95359/grand-prix-challenge-w-gorican

Yes. It is the way forward for major events not covered by a TV deal. Take Sweden this year - PPV in use. 72 matches plus 10 play-offs over 5 months at about £16 per month. About £1 per match!

The whole question needs to be reviewed at a high level. Speedway is missing out on available income. The problem, as always, is a lack of vision. As ever, we are crying out for people who can move us logically into the modern world.

Yes, time to focus on realities, not possibilities. 3-2-1-0 - that's what it's all about.

Better speedway gets the cash than illegal streamers.

Then perhaps the solution is to have the GP Challenge under the protection of the BSI deal rather than at the risk of the Pavlic family who I presume still control Gorican. If One Sport have proved something, it is possible to elevate minor competitions to fully-sponsored, internationally televised events on the flimsiest of bases. Yes, the risk could be too much for Gorican, which is why perhaps they are an unwise choice of host. But then, how many have there been at SGP and World Final level since the glory days of the Wembley, Katowice, Gothenburg triangle?

Then if streaming geoblock as Edinburgh Speedway are able to - a practice commonplace in the U.S. for regular TV coverage. If the staging venue is at risk from live coverage how do the SEC hosts cope in what is a much inferior competition? If it can't be sold to a broadcaster and if FIM TV are there then the argument for streaming, perhaps with a fee is pretty strong. As is often the case in TV, it's a matter or what will be possible, not what can be. Of course if there's no crew there.....Mind you streaming fees could cover a Swedish ESS-style one camera stream. It works for them on mere league matches, as we both know.

Then perhaps it should be included in the next GP TV contract, as a service to the loyal followers of the sport. If we can have meaningless practice sessions televised (I know the cost is marginal with the cameras already there), there must be a way to provide the pictures and show one of the most significant individual meetings of the season outside the GP itself. One Sport can get their irrelevant meetings televised, even if in Britain we're supposed to be grateful to see more than a couple of races. As for those practice sessions, the hype is truly at desperation level and was beautifully punctured by Woffinden at the last GP. Practice timings work in a sport with grid positions or where timing is essential . Neither have ever been relevant in speedway, well unless you include 'fastest second' from the days of second half Rider of the Night events..... Yes it's good for the sport to get an extra hour. The interviews are the only point of interest to me. I'd rather have three hours of highly significant racing tonight, involving the only stats that matter in speedway, 3 for a win, 2 for second, 1 for third. EDIT: Secondary thought: Surely Dorna are there for FIM TV? They have been in the past so if that is still the case the question of finding someone to televise it would be academic. The FIM TV highlights package used to be sold to channels such as Motors TV, like their ice racing coverage. #;

I'll make a very rare return for this. Welcome back Ghostwalker, you've been missed.

Here we go again, having to put you straight yet again. . I started out as a fan of the Rockets at Rayleigh in 1971 and was a loyal supporter for the next three decades. In 1999 I was part of the team that revived the Rockets and despite ill-health presented all of the Rockets' 'home' meetings that season. In 2000 the Silver promotion took over from us and that meant the return to Rye House as part of his management team someone who I detested even more than nasty idiots like you. I worked at Mildenhall and Boston/King's Lynn during 2000 then moved to my current home, about a 250 mile round trip to Rye House. With the management still including the person I refused to have any dealings with I stayed away and tried to build a new life away from speedway. Sadly my love of the sport saw me start going again, to tracks local to me in the west country and west midlands. When BMR took over I was delighted at now being able to return to Rye House, Unfortunately ill-health and an inability to work ruled out £50 trips (fuel and admission). Despite recent hospitalisation I was keen to get to the track this year and was all set to go over in July. If I am such a poor 'fan' how come I was asked to write a substantial part of the eulogy for Kelvin Mullarkey's funeral, which I would have delivered in person had I not been 400 miles away in Cornwall convalescing from my latest hospitalisation. You really are scum.

My best time to go to speedway is at the weekend. Right now, the only weekend tracks that are within 100 miles of me are Stoke and Coventry (at Leicester)!

Yes, names may increase the crowds but by how much? Enough to cover their costs? Will they use their best efforts or bikes or just use Britain as paid practice? Anyway, ask Rye House fans what they think. They probably won't be alone by the end of this wretched season. I really wish Wolves and their fellow elite good luck in their star-studded four team league. Should be fascinating to see the 'names' back - every week..... As ever the supporters of clubs like yours live on in dream land where everything has a simple, easy solution that can be summed up as "If only everyone were as perfect as us".

I'd be intrigued to know what alternative they think is possible. Perhaps they could just go off and run their little fantasy while the rest of speedway rebuilds on sane lines? That's three times now my Rockets have died. My worry this time is that it is the stadium leaseholders involved and any replacement future promotion would have to deal with them rather than a third party, as is usually the case in speedway. One promotion goes and a replacement does a deal with the landlords. It's not so easy this time. I tried to prepare people for the worst..........

I watch Sabmar's coverage frequently. It's just about acceptable if you don't mind the very limited quality, constantly inaccurate captions and general feeling that it's made by amateurs. Still, it's only speedway, doesn't deserve having it done properly eh? Let's just do it on the cheap and hope the punters are desperate or easily pleased, eh? Lovely jubbly!

Many years back I appeared before the National League/Division 2 BSPA Management Committee to propose a scheme to indeed take broadcasting 'in-house' and produce programmes for sale to the network. The response was "But we don't know how to do it". I'd rather hoped they'd got the point that they'd need to hire someone who did..... I doubt very much whether the attitude has changed. It would be interesting to know how Sweden is coping with the lack of a TV deal this year. They have a deal to sell matches to Poland and Britain with the Swedish (and international) markets covered by pay per view. One small point that is ignored by most BSF people, probably because of its subtlety, is how promotion of speedway on BT Sport treats it as a major sport, slotting in promos alongside their European football and Premier League matches and their Rugby, either sharing ad breaks or being promoted in the ad breaks of those matches. For example, during the Champions League Final, watched by about 3 million people, a record for pay-TV, there was at least one promo for the Rye House v King's Lynn match the following Monday. Just as you can have guilt by association so you can have credit by association. Anyone watching BT Sport's premium events would have no doubt that they covered speedway and see promos that made it look like one of their top sports.Of course you could pay for such publicity - if you could afford it. The last time I tried to explain this one BSF charmer responded "Well it was a crap meeting" which does rather sum up the BSF and perhaps speedway as a whole. Unless something gives direct cash in the hand its benefits are too hard to understand.

If The Groveway was unviable they did a damn good job of hiding the fact when I worked for them!

Okay, you win. I regret trying once more to help the BSF. I will remove all postings on the matter and you can all whinge on about how nobody ever tells you anything and maybe work out why? EDIT: - There, all gone now. Apologies for disturbing the ignorance.

I announced at the Groveway in 1985 and it seemed to be doing no worse than any other track and closed due to stadium availability, I believe. Elfield Park was a different matter.