Bavarian

Don't know what the problem is with Zielona Gora, but they seem to have a big problem. Their team manager Rafal Dibrucki quit the day after their big loss in the semi-final second leg Meeting at Gorzow. Now this poor performance in today's meeting.

Weather is fine here today on the Bavarian/Bohemian border, should be perfect in Pardubice over the weekend. So, don't worry about the Polish Play-Offs.

There is a strong rumour that we will get a German SGP next year, BUT as long as no German TV station is prepared to buy the rights for SGP/SWC (and believe me, this will not happen), there is not much hope for Smoli to be chosen for a permanent wildcard in 2015. He will surely get the local wildcard for that German SGP, but that's all.

Pole Pirate or Poole Pirate, not much difference.

Not quite, gustix. There are two Riss's, but not two Eriks. But it is a historic first in the history of the world long-track championship that a father and now the son have both won the world cahmpion's title. Erik following the tire marks of his father Gerd.

His father Gerd said on Sunday, right after Erik had won the world long-track title, that even now if he would ask his son, whether he is more keen on riding speedway or long-track, the answer would be speedway. Erik says, he only rides long-track occasionally and as he so easily got into the world championship, he did that as well this year, but never expecting that it would be so relatively easy to win it. His one year elder brother Mark is the same, and is just as good on the long-track as is Erik, but keen and very much focused on speedway racing. Mark did not ride long-track at all this year, after fallign of a few times the year before. Mark has instead concentrated himself completely on his speedway career, has won a place in the Landshut Devils Bundesliga team, finished runner-up in the German U-21 speedway national championship and has reached the European U-21 Championship final (which he unfortunately missed riding in due to their transport van breaking down en-route to Poland). Interesting fact on the Riss Brothers is that they are born on the same day, but one year apart. Mark is born on September 13, 1994, and Erik on September 13, 1995. Perfect timing shown once more by their father Gerd. By the way, Gerd Riss has already indicated that if Mark and Erik are to become professional speedway riders, at one point of their career the two must come over and ride in the UK to learn to ride the many different types of tracks.

And as he was fournd to be "over the limit" he has been taken out of the meeting and not allowed to race on that day. A fine for the offense might be apporpiate as well, but a lenghty ban from racing seems a bit harsh. Don't get me wrong, I agree that he should not escape unpunished, all right, but this here turns more and more into a witch hunt and quite a few on the BSF, it seems to me, would rather like to see him burnt on the stakes, just because he is Darcy Ward, or because he is a Pole Pirate, or because he's a ginger head, I don't know?

The 19-year old world long-track champion Erik Riss rides at Pardubice on Friday instead of riding for his club Landshut Devils in the first leg of the Bundesliga Finals against the Brokstedt Vikings. Landshut does not require Erik Riss, as he would anyway only have been their non-riding reserve at number 6.

Could there be an SEC round in Britain next year?

When will a decision be taken about how Long Darcy Ward will be banned from racing?

No, not many will travel to Lonigo either. The Polish speedway fans do not travel away as much as they used to some years ago. They only have those really huge crowds for some of teh League meetings (local Derbys and top of the table clashes) and some Special Events, but other meetings in Poland are often poorly attended. Last night's SEC final, though, was expected to be a good crowd puller. For some reason it failed to attract the people. The attendance at Czestochowa last night was well below 10,000 and a huge disappointment for SEC / One Sport. They have already indicated that they won't return to Czestochowa next year, due to the low attendance figure. It's a shame because the Stadium is very good and the speedway track there is probably the best race track anywhere in the whole wide world. I can not think of a better / more exciting speedway race track. Czestochowa is as close to perfection as it gets.

Though I'm glad that EUROSPORT shows us live Swedish league racing, I must say that I find these Swedish Elite Series meetings on tv quite boring to watch with all the delays and nothing going on between the heats. Nearly as boring as watching Snooker. Yet the racing is quite good, they should just speed up the proceedigns and avoid the long breaks and delays with nothing going on. SKY SPORTS are doing a much better job with their Elite League coverage.

Good question, dave. Germany is full of them Poles, too. They seem to be everywhere.

The Polish and Danish domination of the u21 events unfortunately is a killer. Hardly any interest shown from the rest of the world about who wins this team event, or this year's individual title. Who cares if it is this Pole, or that Dane.

They should pick three young Poles to help fill the Gorzow grandstands. Not that it will be a repeat of the Bydgoszcz GP in front of empty terraces.

Very sad news, indeed. 58 is no age. R.I.P. Mike

Keep it simple. No extra points/ bonus points etc, please. It is near perfect like is is now. We never had a better system for the SGP. No changes needed. It would only be changes for the worse.

No, the points averages have no meaning in the Bundesliga. Any German rider can replace any other German rider as a guest. All German riders are regarded as Grade B. The only excepetion this year is Smolinski, as he is a SGP rider. Therefore he has the status of a foreign rider, Grade A. That is why Landshut this year can only track one foreigner alongside Smolinski in their team. The other teams can track two foreigners. Bundesliga team line-ups numbers 1 to 6 consist of the following types of rider: 1 - Grade A rider (a foreigner or a German Grand Prix rider) 2 - Grade A rider (a foreigner or a German Grand Prix rider) 3 - Grade B (German rider) 4 - Grade B (German rider) 5 - Junior (German U23 rider) 6 - Junior (German U21 rider) Number 6 is optional, and has no programmed rides.

I'd say that the Bundsliga is a very good competition, even with only three teams left. Five teams in the Bundesliga would be the ideal number, to make it a round-robin-tournament with two home and two away meetings for each team, followed by the top two play-off finals. What I am not happy about is the introduction of guest riders. But I will be at Landshut to-night for the re-match with Wolfslake Berlin. It's a must win situation for the Devils in their last meeting of the regular season. I guess they will win to-night, and if Brokstedt wins at Wolfslake, Landshut will be in the finals versus the Vikings ( I only hope that no guest rides will be used in the finals).

Bad blood already, and the competition has not even begun yet. I am only waiting for someone suggesting to allow a "guest rider" in circumstances like with Holder either riding for Poole or Piraterna.

Yes, bizzare rules. Deddens was ruled unfit to continue riding by the track doctor. He apparently had high blood pressure. Very handy for Wolfslake, as they were now able to replace their worst rider (Deddens) with any other one of their remaining four, and chose Ulamek. The Bundesliga has introduced "guest riders" this year, and Landshut used German champion Kai Huckenbeck as a guest for their injured junior Michael Härtel at Wolfslake. Yet, Härtel had already made his comeback from that injury when he turned out for Landshut's junior team at Olching a week ago on Sunday, and had scored a fifteen point max. Härtel rides for the Devils in to-night's return match against Wolfslake at Landshut. Tonight at Landshut, the Wolfslake team have a guest rider, Tobias Kroner (a former Landshut rider), replacing Mathias Schultz, who was "injured" (burns to his leg) last Sunday at Wolfslake, but had completed the whole meeting with his "injury", apparently showing no ill effects then. I hate the guest rider scheme, because it opens the door for cheating (allowing a horses-for-courses strategy, by replacing out-of form riders with guests who go particularly good a certain tracks). This makes a mockery of what should be a fair and square sporting contest. It should be abolished immediately.

nice logo, but how can they seriously call this entirely European competiton for the league champions of Poland, Sweden, Denmark and Britain a WORLD LEAGUE ?

Worthless event - this proposed champions league of Speedway, strangely to be named "the World League", is well and truely a mickey mouse competition that nobody wants, and will never work. How come British promoters constantly complain about too many of these competitons on the continent and then help create this one?

Slovenia and Italy on 28 points tied for first place after 16 of 20 heats. Germany on 25 and the three Russians have 22. All except Germany have played the joker.

It is first of all the duty of the FIM to pay the teams and riders better. Where is all the money (a million per year from BSI for the SGP and SWC) going to? 071b.11 SCALE OF EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT Travel expenses, as well as long distance and ferry costs, are included in the scale of expense reimbursement of each Championship meeting. All amounts indicated in the scale of expense reimbursement are shown in Euros and are net amounts. All amounts can only be paid to the riders in Euros. This is how much the teams get paid fro riding in tonights SWC qualifier in Italy. Preliminary Round 4 teams Placings 1st = 2,725 Euros (per team) 2nd = 2,000 Euros (per team) 3rd = 1,575 Euros (per team) 4th = 1,300 Euros (per team) total = 7,600 Euros No wonder the Russians came with only three riders, it is better to devide it by three than by four. The money on offer is ridiculous, and I am amazed that Russia, or the USA in recent years, does sent a team to participate in the SWC qualifying rounds.