AndyM

I fully expect them to have been given a kick up the @rse and to be more aggressive, but that still won't cover all the cracks. Until we have talented riders breathing down the necks of Nicholls and Richardson we won't be rid of the complacency.

And if Stead had scored a dozen, you would have been saying how it was your idea in the first place, Steve. Your 20:20 hindsight is miraculous! Frankly, if it's so blooming obvious, why did Middlo, the man whose management abilities you rate so highly, decide to stick with home track knowledge?

But they are all riders who know the Brandon track like the back of their hands. What excuse do they have?

Let's face it - he didn't have a lot to choose from, did he? Selecting a combination of current and ex-Bees is about the best anyone could have done without the luxury of hindsight. Compare that to the days when it was a tough call to select a team - when we had the likes of Collins, Morton, Simmo, Jessup, Louis, Davis, Gordon Kennett and many more. Sad indictment of the current British riders, wouldn't you say?

But surely all professional riders should be equally capable of riding a track in ANY condition? What favours any one team of riders who appear in EL on a regular basis over any other team? Aren't they all individuals?

Forgive me if I find this statement faintly absurd. They're all professional riders riding on a well-known circuit. So far as I can see, it seems to have plenty of shale and to be in excellent condition. How can Danish riders find it to their liking but not Brits? Surely it's either about how fast the British equipment is performing, or more likely how mentally geared up to win are the riders on the bikes? To blame a well-prepared track seems totally feeble!

There's little pride or motivation attached to riding in national colours. It's the lowest priority for riders who already spend most of their working lives riding for 3 or 4 clubs. Rider talent is one thing, but making the national team no 1 requires major structural change.

Gives me no pleasure whatever to see this abject humiliation, though as I've said many times the roots of this kind of performance are woven into the fabric of uk speedway and how it's organised. Frankly, I don't think that anybody in authority really cares enough to invest in the infrastructure, coaching, facilities or support for the British team, so I for one would not place all the blame on Middlo. Any manager would struggle to get the best from his riders in that context.

Wonderful idea requiring major league sponsors. Think it would struggle to make money unless you could attract fans to come over from other countries in big numbers, as with the GP circus.

Was the perpetrator thrown out? I'd hope decent fans who heard the remark reported him to the stewards and had him ejected, if not arrested.

As someone who despises racism and overt prejudice in any form, I hope never to hear any such remark at a speedway match, a sport as international as any. That said, speedway hasn't helped its own cause by recruiting very few people from ethnic minority groups. It may be a cultural thing that black and Asian lads play cricket, football, rugby and other sports - even F1 now - but don't really go in for speedway. I think it would help greatly if we had our own Lewis Hamilton. Anyone on the horizon?

Yes, but the damage is done now. The result of that GP won't be changed retrospectively and riders who lost out through his incompetence will never regain that opportunity. Nicki Pedersen, as it turns out, was the main beneficiary, and therefore the result of the world title may have been materially affected. Small consolation now to the rest.

Anyone notice Crumpie's quote on today's BSPA update?

Forgive me if it was mentioned in a post, but who provided the pre-match entertainment this year? Used to be pretty decent - I saw the likes of the late Edwin Starr, Suzi Quattro and a Blues Brothers tribute band there.

If that rule was enforced, at least one rider would be excluded from every race.

You're not wrong that the ref had no choice. He made a rod for his own back by taking the first decision. But I don't agree that Bjarne should have been excluded, since he did what any other rider would have done to gain an advantage at the first bend and baulk those behind (that's what speedway is all about!) - it wasn't his fault another rider chose to go into the back of him. In fact, incidents like that occur practically every match but I don't think I've ever seen the rider in front excluded twice in the same match before.

A very small minority, Keith. Most of us are sickened by the crashes.

Did you hear him getting booed during the interview?

WELL DONE CRUMPIE!!!!

The track is clearly rutted and causing the riders major problems, Ashie.

However you define it, I'm right - there was clear contact and if Andersen had gone down, Harris would have been out. What's the distinction between "hard riding" and an exclusion for "unfair riding"?

Notice how Hans Andersen stayed on after being clobbered by Harris? If he'd gone down, Harris would have been excluded.

Notice how the ref is holding the tapes for an inordinately long time, too. Is it any wonder there are pile-ups occurring?

Since results can't be changed retrospectively and there isn't a speedway equivalent of Hawkeye, the only punishment he can receive is to be removed from the premier refs list. How the heck did he ever make it there in the first place though?

The ref has at least been consistent, even if it's consistently wrong - bad, bad decision in semi 1.