heathen76

Jake & Micky dont go home till the 3rd November. I can only presume they have been allowed to start sending kit back for a busy winter schedule back home following the Heathens exit from major competitions.

I would doubt it as Tom is only just turned 17 now.

Nothing wrong with Richards home form; 8.57, or 7.81 ex BPs (not quite up to date but a fair indication) away from home its apparent things aren't going too well, but following a nasty spill at kings Lynn, and a switch to reserve, im sure things will improve. Another spirited fightback, and now (aside from the IOW re staging) a run of home fixtures to end the regular season, everything from the teams performances, to the levels of support on the terraces both home and away has exceeded expectations so far,and then some! long may it continue

Great performance by Greg in the final,taking full advantage of Gollob & Nicki seeking to take care of each other,& despite the slick track an above average GP IMO, Cant help but feel for Gollob a little,but hey.we"ve seen it many times before. Did anyone else notice Greg taking a swig of something most definetely NOT monster after ( i think) ht 19? ! (looked suspiciously like a bottle of water-is evian next? ). As per usual-Scotty proved he can be up there with the best one minute,and crap the next no doubting the guys ability on a bike,but did he change setup when he shouldnt have,or (more likely) vice versa?-he may never be a world champ,or realistically much above no 8 in the world,but hes the best we"ve got,gives 100% & worthy of our support surely?, Sub-you are even gaining notoriety for being a brit(& particularly scott nicholls) "basher" on current midlands speedway forums-avoid at all costs this guy is on a mission type comments etc(tho i should add this isnt the case on the Cradley forum,as we are sort of stuck in "neutral" for obvious reasons!). A victory for Greg is generally well received by many,particularly back here in the black country. Residents in Netherton & Rowley Regis could apparently hear the cheers all the way from Cradley Heath! More wonderful consistency from Nicki-despite his past iindiscretions looking a worthy successor to the likes of Gundersen,Nielsen,& Janno Pedersen(who would surely have won more world titles given better luck with injuries etc). Suprised by AJs non improvement this year,flabbergasted at Bjarne Ps inept performances,considering his general form,given his current shoulder probs i also thought PUK gave it his all tonight for little reward. How often over the years has Greg dominated the qualifiers,only to lose out in the final,due to being Mr Nice Guy? Great to see him turn that statistic on its head-MONSTER!!

We were originally booked in at the walkabout in Newport,but due to certain problems(and sadly,the lack of a welsh open the following day)-we decided to drive back on the night. Looks like a good move if the reports regarding the train back are correct-had no probs in 07-left GP (after fireworks),had a beer in the city arms,and still in plenty of time for the last train(1135 i think)-newport is ok-hotel pass gave us free access to night club,& plenty of options regarding places to eat etc,just check the train timetables i guess! On a side note-arrived in Cardiff at just after midday,& parked(with mostly other speedway fans)on the P & D in north st-R/H side of road entering Cardiff after leaving J29) for the princely sum of £3.50! approx 10 mins walk.

Well done to JC-could really open up this years competition if he keeps it up -looked more like his old self last time out,& I actually predicted the winner for once(I also reckoned Greg would be in with a shout,particularly having two gate 1s in the qualifiers-did i visit the bookies-no! ) Obviously a little disappointed(as were all heathen types) that Herbie again had to settle for 2nd,but good to see both riders in good spirits after the meeting,& positive toward the Cardiff experience(despite the usual dodgy track). Personally,I think this years competition could go right down to the wire-in Germany-where we once again have a certain Polish referee it seems For once i also agree with SS regarding poor Bjarne-really looked up for it and transferred a good domestic performance onto the international stage.

Hope your"e right Will!-but we were really on an all too rare win/win situation last year,with a Heathen or (finally) a British winner! Sat up on the 3rd bend was just about perfect as it gets regarding watching the action unfold Seeya in the POW or before

Stayed at the Castel? and ANOther guest house(by the video shop) in Rumney for the first 3 years at Cardiff On main rd into the city centre-only 10 mins on (frequent) bus-never had a problem getting a taxi back either,despite staying over for a beer or two & food after the GP Staying in Newport again this year at the walkabout-shame it seems there wont be a welsh open to watch the following day(hoping for a positive outcome regarding the wasps future from 2009),but still struggling to find a secure overnight car park near to Newport town centre on a saturday night!??

Staying over in Newport again this year,does anyone know the best place to park overnight? Lucky last year that a family just outside the town centre(on their way out shopping!) offered us the chance to park outside their house!! There is an NCP car park right opposite the walkabout,but we were advised against using it,as it didnt offer anything other than short stay options Surely the train station has a long stay option? Great value BTW £60 for a double or twin single room,and the option to confirm a 12 o clock midday book in(the "swipe card" to get in also acts as a free pass to the nightclub).& only 2 mins from train station,and town centre ,and 3.4 miles to Newport for the welsh open on the following day

Hi,WA-we stayed at the walkabout in Newport this year,2 mins from the train station right in the town centre,(£3 return-last train back 1135pm) Attached to the hotel(£40 per room,just remember to request an early book in 12 instead of 3pm)is a large pub/nightclub open till 2 30am Got back from GP and walked straight into club,showing the swipecard they give you to get into the hotel acts as a "pass" with the bouncers!! Lots of places to eat nearby,open late(indian/chinese etc),and a big wetherspoons round the corner for a cheap brekkie the next morning. The only problem we encountered was car parking overnight on a saturday,as the main NCP says closed on sundays-eventually i drove just out of the town area,and parked in a residential area thanks to a kindly fella who gave permission to park outside his house! Anyone know better parking arrangments for newport? Oh,its only 3.5miles to newport for the sunday too!

In 30 years of watching speedway,Ive seen allsorts-meetings ive enjoyed and others have found boring,and vice versa,at this particular moment however i am struggling to think of a better example of why many occasional viewers find our sport a turn off. What should have been an enthralling battle between 3 teams all capable of winning on the night,was in the end a total & utter yawnfest,and a huge waste of a saturday evening. The lack of an airfence for a meeting of this magnitude was also a disgrace(where is the SGP one?),its not as if they have to rush it back to GB for monday after all-whilst we all realise the danes thrive on a slick surface,this was taking matters too far!,at first i also questioned the common sense of some riders for persisting with an outside line(that wasnt there),but then with 2 riders in front not moving off the white line-what other option had they? (none) hopefully a little rain(i said a little!!!) will prevent ole from creating a similar surface at brandon,and i doubt he could make leszno that poor no matter how hard he tried(or at least i bloody well hope not) PS-if i see that damm mondeo advert again i"ll **^"?**!!

Despite the often dodgy nature of a temp track,cardiff is seen by most(including the riders) as the jewel in the crown of the GP calendar--so why is it round 3/4??? surely(and i admit that stadium availability must come into play) cardiff should be the final round,where you actually get to see the world champ crowned!(would undoubetdly add to the attendance-even more so if a brit was still in contention,sadly unlikely) I cant beleive BSI havent thought about this,eventhough we would be talking sept/oct it seems the obvious move to fill the place,to me!!

So,"ANOther" scrapes thru to the semis on ,say 7pts(its happened before) finishes 2nd in his semi,& wins the final-7+2+6=15,whilst "ANOther 2 "goes thru the card with 5 wins,but finishes third in his semi-15+1=16,more GP points than the winner!! ludicrous if you ask me,we may as well go back to the old one off final scoring system with a run off if needed for a rostrum place,at least it would make sense to the average supporter,or more importantly the casual viewer on sky on the long running nicholls debate,i dont see much wrong with his attitude(tho it is becoming a mental hurdle prob to get thru the semis by now),he just needs to learn to gate!! actually re reading the above it seems unfair that the man on a 15pt max gets nowhere(even with big GP points),and equally unfair that the guy who was crap throughout the qualifiers gets all the plaudits for winning!!(but less GP points) plain madness

The sky coverage seems to have done little to increase numbers thorough the turnstiles,what is needed is coverage in the national media-the only way to get this is to get the sport back in the capital,where there is currently none!! I would hate to see cardiff go as it is a wonderful day out,but if sweeden and poland can host 2 GPs,then why cant we?-at the time of the last wembley world final in 81,(and allowing for the diversity of other entertainment now available)speedway was a "biggie",sadly(and the lack of british talent-understandable given the lack of training/practise facilities)plus the lack of speedway in the capital have been major reasons for the sports decline-although cardiff is wonderful we need to get back in london to raise the profile(and maybe the allowance for training future stars) for the sport

Personally,i feel that riders outside the top 8,should meet with qualifiers to decide the final 16 for the following year-the meeting would have all the tension of an old style world final,and looking at positions 9 10 & 11this year they might as well have stated a top 11 place was enough,as scotty blarne and antonio are all certainties in my book,perhaps BSI would keep a place or two for circumstances such as last year(hampel) and in 98?(hamill) who only missed out thru injury etc--very good GP tonight,crap commentary-tho i did win the "millard bingo" compettition!!-as posted earlier it seems there is 1 place up for grabs-my vote goes to bomber,though a few would doubtlessly disagree

The "major" local newspaper in the west midlands area(express & star) ran its main headline tonight(sat) stating that construction work on a new golf course in the sandwell area had been halted as the local council acted on a new ruling allowing them to do so,following complaints from nearby residents re noise and dust pollution. the golf course has full planning permission too,what chance for a new speedway track under these circumstances!! (in this case cradley obviously) with the recent news regarding exeter,it really does make you fear for the sports future

also the fact that hans enjoyed a 20 year career,wheras erik only had 11 years must come into play-at the time of gundo"s tragic accident he was ahead of neilsen as far as world title/pairs/team/longtrack medals are concerned,tho admittedly hans always pipped erik to the BL averages title-the fact that erik only ever rode for cradley,and was seemingly as proud of being a heathen as danish,makes the guy a bit of a god like figure to this day in the black country,comparisons with modern riders such as trick is difficult however-over a GP series hans may well have been the best ever,the GP didnt really come into play until he was past his best-in his heyday consistency was very much the name of his game,wheras gundo was very much the master of adapting,and mastering the big occasion,ideally suited to the one off world final format-whatever-i was privelleged to see both throughout their careers i guess as well as prob the most underated dane ever in janno pedersen,who may well have eclipsed them both(and in exciting fashion) had it not been for such awful luck with injuries

always enjoyed my visits to swindon,big track,grippy,and given good weather,fair for all-not been for a few years since the robins/heathens holiday monday double headers-but more than likely going to this one(with several mates of the "kennel dwelling" variety!)wont be driving ,so glad to hear about the four bars!!

sorry but greg is as fair riding as you can be in this sport(i should know having followed his career since his first trials in the uk riding erik gundersens bikes in 88)you just dont end up 2ft from the air fence on turn 2 coming from the inside gate!!! as often as nicki does-someone is gonna get seriously hurt one day-no speedway riders are angels-you cant be if you wanna win,but NP is taking things too far(a far cry from his predessesors such as erik/hans/ janno/tommy k etc)whilst crumpy had a mare on saturday there is no doubt in my mind that hans "played for and got" the rerun ,similar with TRick and norris,something needs to be done at this level to stop riders manipulating the rules(similar incident at monmore earlier this year when bomber went down and didnt get up allowing AJ another chance to get a double points win after he missed the gate 1st time out)nearly all meetings are videoed these days so plenty of evidence to ensure correct desicions are made

A familiar pattern emerging this year,follow the leader to start,getting better as riders realise they need points for semis,good stuff eventually though,TR looks unstoppable,nicki is giving it a good go,JC fired up as always,and some interesting bit parts going on-flyin ryan really back in the groove tonight,greg outta sorts(must be those sleepless nights!)lindback showing immense promise but occ mistakes through inexperience(turned left before 1st bend-correct desicion ref!),scotty looking better but must sort out his gating,less said about rico the better!! well done matej-gotta go elite surely in 2006? cardiff next-and back to the temp tracks,could throw the proverbial spanner in the works for 1 or 2-still wouldnt bet against trick tho-seems really fired up for no 6 this year

Looking forward to my 4th cardiff GP,although driving i have no parking worries,booked into guest house in nearby rumney! (£1 and less than 10 mins on the bus to cardiff centre !),that way we can also enjoy the post meeting entertainment too!,and break up the journey home,by stopping off at newport of course!,a weekend to remember and look forward to,cheap too really B&B for £20,so much better without the dreaded drive home after a long day,as we found out last year-roll on june 11,and COME ON GREG!!!!