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Good one to kick off with, with some great match ups in prospect. Hope we get a few away fans to add to what I'm hoping with be a good home turnout. Stock cars at weekend so I hope the track is in good shape. Fine weather this week should help. Go for it lads, but stay safe!

The gate positions in the first two rounds must confirm that this race is incorrect, or for some reason this race has been changed.

Looking at the race card, I think it will be really close for the 2nd spot. If we can pull off a “backs to the wall” performance then we could sneak it. Heats 13 and 20 are the decisive heat for us and we need to ensure the Joker is not squandered. Whatever happens it will be the meeting of the year, real edge of your seat job. Can’t wait.

I reckon the Aussies to go through with the Poles second and making their way to the play off which they will be satisfied with. The Brits will keep in contention for second due to the Slovaks more often than not occupying last whilst the Aussies finish first meaning the two middle teams stay fairly close. At around heat 19/20 the Brits will fold and end up third. Kings selection will be the main bone of contention with the Brit fans after the meeting, due to him only beating Slovaks.

Peter Ljung, Jonas Davidsson, Daniel Nermark, Adrian Rymel, Kenneth Bjerre and Bjarne Pedersen. All these riders rode above themselves, obviously with some national pride. The GB team underperformed terribly. Why didn’t they at least show some fight whilst going down. Where was the bulldog spirit you here about? That’s what gets me. I’ve always said I prefer to see a lad trying his heart out to score 5 than some bloke go through the motions and score 6. We need more passion and Lynch is not the man. Floppy or Havvy would be much better at getting MORE out the riders we have available. When asked at the top of the programme if he thought the Danes were favourite, Lynch agreed. Even if he thinks that he should not voice that opinion. It should be instilled in the team that we WILL beat the Danes in our country no matter what. If you aim high and just miss, you’ll finish better than aiming lower and hitting it. We aimed low and missed that! Show some bollox GP, for Christ sake.

Move off the inside line and go backwards. Didn't the Brits think about this?

I agree with you there. It was the “so BV are out straight away” comment that I took issue with. Cheers

If the Aces had a good top man and a bad number two, then you could rule them out straight away. In your opinion we have a good top man and a “temperamental” number two. By temperamental I take it you mean he has good and bad performances. If you are able to pinpoint exactly when he will have his good and bad days could you also supply me with this weeks winning lottery numbers by personnel message? You could also give me the winning numbers for Saturday 05/04/2008. A spreadsheet would be nice of Gjedde’s scores this coming season, as we may be able to do a Poole style Ferjan sickie on his bad days and run R/R. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Cheers everyone

Yes or no, did you find the above to be valid, intelligent post from me.

My dear if you consider Rob B’s post (Looks like the holders won't have the chance to defend it then.......) to be a moan then you’ve lost the plot. Where is hyderd’s post from? I thought we were discussing the pairs. Why do you have to make stuff up? You are only making yourself look silly. Look love, there’s no need to call me an idiot. Name calling is a little childish. If logic is not my strong point then please but me straight and don’t resort to “I’m right” as a come back without anything to support it. Anyway that’s her sorted. To the other members do you, like me find it’s ironic that had averages including bonus points been taken into account, you know them things you get when team riding as a pair, then the Aces would have been in.

When you posted only Ron Butler had posted complaining. Read back and check it and perhaps try this in future so as not to embarrass yourself. When the Aces assembled their team in early January they did not know the formula or venue for this years pairs. Don’t make thing up to suit your lack of knowledge. I really didn’t think an explanation would be necessary but (apologies to all in the know speedway fans) here goes. When the BSPA set a limit on GP riders per team it stopped teams tracking two top stars and therefore made these supplus riders available to other teams. When the BSPA set a lower points limit it meant some teams could not accommodate all the riders they had hoped to and therefore made these supplies riders available to other teams. I do not necessarily agree with these rules but the point I’m making is that the BSPA have a very real effect on team building and if rules such as this were in place this year the Aces predicament would not have arisen. Yes it’s the same for everyone, but they do never the less greatly effect team building. You say maybe I’m the thick one and this implies an element of doubt on your behalf. Maybe is not a word I would choose for you in relation to this matter. Please don’t feel the need to augur for augments sake as it only serves to make you look foolish. Valid, intelligent posts though are always welcome.

What are you on about? One Aces fan makes a comment and you come out with this. "BV knew the rules!" Wrong. Belle Vue didn’t know the rules, nobody did until recently. "Hardly the BSPA's fault that BV have built a crap team with a poor top 2." Wrong again. So if it’s not the BSPA’s fault then who altered last years points limit to help accommodate Reading, or set a limit on GP riders a few years ago, etc, etc... The BSPA have a direct affect on team building in the Elite league. Please don’t be so thick next time. Try harder to grasp the bigger picture. On the pairs front by the way, I’m not arsed.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'd already posted that the top three qualified but f-s-p didn't get it. Lets meet back here at the end of the GP series and discuss Ferjan's GP scores. I'm going out a limp now by saying I think Stead will have scored more GP points that Ferjan. I am there to be shot down though.

Nope top three. Just ask Peter Karlsson if you need it confirmed. The meeting in question.

It only mattered if you finished in the top 3. Neither did. This meeting is as relevant/irrelevant as any other for these two non qualifiers.

The last time Team GB rode at Smallmead Loram scored 7/5, Richardson a 10/5, oh and Louis 1/4. Ouch. If the track is prepared to Steadys liking, all the Brits will do well. I still say it's in our hands to give us an advantage.

That will do for me. I’m more than happy. The Aussies cannot take any physiological advantage from this meeting, as there was nothing between them and Team GB. Todd e/f was accounted for with Scottys re-run, and if he hadn’t have fallen whilst in no-mans land then the leading brit would have won the race. I’d much rather face the Poles at the race-off than the Aussies and its another match for the lads to ride together as a team. Hopefully they will keep in their minds the riding of the track under race conditions and take that knowledge forward to the final. From a personnel point of view, I’d prefer to watch a match with Team GB in than without. I now know how it feels to have the 2006 vintage Jason Crump in opposition and quite frankly he’s a pain in the backside. It’s a daunting prospect when your lads have to come up against him. Also from an Aces point of view I still think Stead get pushed about too much. He rode a good race to keep Gollob behind him, but too often he lets others dictate the race. Watching the meeting, if you beat Nicholls or Harris you certainly had to work for it with no quarter given. If Middlo reads the thread then remember the next two meeting are in Britain, so we should prepare the track for our team. If you had to describe Loram, Nicholls, Harris and Stead then you would say they were racers. Forget what Olsen wants for the Danes, we’re running it so we decide. Come you Brits!

Looking through the riders that have pulled out of the next round either through injury or disinterest, then David Howe looks the next available qualifier. Wouldn’t it have been easier to report the fact that all this had occurred instead of the leading with the picking a choosing method that was originally stated. It only served to get peoples backs up when it could have been avoided. Cheers for the clarification, something the sport needs to do more often.

Your first two paragraphs restate the points I made, but unbelievably you seem to think this kind of behaviour by the powers that be is ok. Middlo given the choice. That’s bad surely. You shouldn’t assume in speedway. That’s bad surely. Lee Richardson over Hans Andersen. That’s bad surely. Seeding Wrighy last year over a true qualifier. That’s bad surely. Yet you use these in defence of your augment. We are poles apart in what we think is right and wrong. Lets stick to PL matches only. Wrighty is higher. Oh and his current EL average is now 4.76 You cannot pick and choose which world final you want. It’s completely logical to use the most recent and I’ll stick with it. If I look a fool because I feel that the points above are bad for the sport then so be it, trouble is people like me don’t feel foolish, they just walk away from the sport never to return. BTW I wouldn’t have chosen anyone, I’d have let them ride for their place.

I’ve seen many inaccurate and ill-informed posts on this forum, but this one is beyond belief. If you have just started watching speedway this year then I apologise for calling you a fool. For almost eighty years when qualifiers have been run in a speedway meeting (longer if you look at other sports), the first competitor who finishes outside the qualifiers is known as the first reserve, the second as second reserve and so on and so forth. If a competitor above them is injured or unable to take there place in the next round then these reserves take their place. It’s yet another very simple rule that speedway has somehow managed to cock up, and it gets added to all the others that collectively turn people away from speedway. Second bit…. James EL average 4.46 Eddie EL average 4.43 James PL average 8.86 Eddie PL average 8.10 In the most recent U21 final the top Brit was James Wright. I just pick James because I know more about him. I’m sure many other fans from many other teams could come up with a better choice than Kennett. I DON’T think James should be seeded by the way as he didn’t qualify, but then neither did Eddie. It’s not what you know etc….

Once again Crumpie makes the final whilst his “close” challengers fall away. If I couldn’t have a Brit win or Crump, then Andersen winning was just the thing to give BSI the finger after the farcical selection process that went on last year. I even turned into a Poole fan for a few heats as once Pedersen and Lindback made the final Crump was assured of at least 20 big points. I’ll be cheering on the Pirates again on Monday. Have to find a blue and white scarf if it carries on like this.

Peter Ouches Grand Prix chatter….. Following the Hampel/extinguisher incident. Lee Richardson had second thoughts about seeking assistance from an ex rider after reading that he would be accountable for their behaviour. The short list of Malcolm Simmonds, Mike Lee and Mark Courtney were said to be “disappointed”. Scott Nicholls’ new girlfriend looked none too pleased after Scotty only managed a semi… again. Mrs Hancock one the other hand is beaming, as though Greg likes to take the lead early on, he always comes second. Didn’t fancy speaking to Nicki Pedersen after I saw him grab a rag on the way to the loo, then on his return he used said rag to also wipe his armpits, face and TEETH!! Tony Rickardsson has apparently had to letter from Cathrine Tates lawyers asking that he stops using her “Am I bothered” character. Rickardsson replied with, “Do I look bothered? Face, bothered. Face, bothered. Bothered, face!” The marketing manager of Crumps polish “sexual enhancement” product was fired after the MD turned up and realised they were sponsoring a sport where once the bloke gets the green light, it’s all over in 60 seconds. Antonio Lindback was seen running from the hospitality tent after hearing Matt Ford whist at the vegetable counter say he said he fancied a bit of the Brazilian swede! Nobody fancied the polish dumplings, Pepe. BSI continues to champion indoor arenas, even if the racing surface is rather unconventional. Ian Thomas submits Telford for inclusion in next year’s GP rota. Stan Postlethwaite and Olly Olsen outline next year’s point scoring system. Stan: “Well the winner get 30 points with the rest getting two less down to the guy who finished last in the semi final. The riders are allowed to pick their best nine rounds out of the ten too determine their finishing order. This rewards the top eight in each round and gives riders a chance to work around an injury.” Olly: “Tell me that again.” Stan: “Well you take a rider who’s 30 and you give him an eighth, then he picks who goes in the final to determine which rounds they miss.” Olly looks to camera bewildered and annoyed. Stan smiles to camera, removes his bowler hat and scratches his head.

For a Sunday fixture the elements couldn’t have been much worse for speedway. Hot, hot temperatures and a strong wind blow dying the track. Anybody who thinks this didn’t play a part must have not seen many daytime fixtures in these conditions or are just a bit thick. The bumps and ruts shouldn’t be there, but they do make the riders work harder and love them or hate them they do add to the racing. Nicholls sent out a message to all with his last to first in heat 20. Steady I think doesn’t have the mental approach just yet for the pressure races and coupled with his discomfort on the bike saw him miss out. Screeny was great value again and now has a full set of medals from the last three years. Harris looked the part and this bodes well for the upcoming WTC. About the crowd and the atmosphere, well the line up didn’t really look inspiring. It’s a sad reflection on British Speedway that this is the best we have. It is without doubt the worst I’ve ever seen and I’ve attended many finals over the years. Any atmosphere at Kirky lane, especially in the daytime just escapes up into the clouds, due to the stadium being so flat and open. If we still had Hyde road it would be a lot lot better. But we don’t, so it isn’t.

Well it was third time lucky for the Aces, and once again against a Swindon pairing. I thought we might have blown it when Steady (ironic nickname) fell whilst on a 7-2. Luckily for us the Reading pair didn’t perform as I expected and it left us the opportunity to again progress to the final. Simon should remove the Kick Me sign he obviously had taped to his back. After Gollob in the WC last year, Jonsson at the GP and then Ulamek in the final he must feel a little apprehensive every time he takes to the track.