T.N.T.

The idea and principal of the format is great but there are a number of things could be done to balance out the races and who rides who The reserves are playing a major part in the meetings now and while I support the inclusion of draft riders to some degree, A team with two in form or strong reserves have almost a 12 point advantage and this makes it near impossible for the other team to overturn. So how about changing the team scoring a little bit. Instead of both reserves races being a potential 8 point advantage, how about putting just 2 team points on offer in each race. If a team gets a 5-1 or a 4-2 then they get 2 points for the team. A drawn 3-3 heats gives each team 1 point each. This would also mean that both reserves only get two programmed rides each and a rule can be added to ensure each reserve rides in two races apart from the reserves race. That however is just a thought, but I do have a number of race formats that I feel are more balanced and will give a better reading of the strongest team rather than having riders in the right heat at the right time.

I missed the posting for the second round after gaining 450 in round one. Am I still in as I am in credit ....... If I am then I will go with Woffinden 8 - 10 .............. 30 More Lindgren 6 - 8 .............. 140 More Bjerre 4 - 6 ...............30 More Cheers

NOTE; With Kasprzak withdrawing through injury during the practice session, his place will be taken by Kauko Nieminen on the track and in this game. So if you select Kasprzak 11, you are really getting Nieminen 11 !!! IMPORTANT; All posts to be in or edited before 4.45pm as that is the start time of the TV Coverage

Have to admit that I thought dropping Nicolai for Dakota North was a big mistake but he was by far the best Swindon rider on show and attacked the heavy / deep track which many struggled on but he won heat one in a time less than half a second off the track record and Tai couldn't get near him. The track looked perfect to start but it held quite a bit of water and this made the first half of the meeting very difficult and points were dropped by both teams. As the track got better, so did Wolves and Wolves have a great top pairing in Tai and Piotr who were not going to be stopped and with Ashley's excellent Heat 14, Swindon did a Liverpool and let it slip in the last bit. Although he was unlikely to do much, Dakota North should have been in heat 15

11 Krzysztof Kasprzak 11 Jarek Hampel 11 Darcy Ward 10 Greg Hancock 10 Neils K Iversen 10 Nicki Pedersen 9 Chris Holder 8 Tai Woffinden 7 Kenneth Bjerre 7 Martin Smolinski 7 Fredrik Lindgren 7 Matej Zagar 6 Andreas Jonsson 4 Troy Batchelor 2 Joonas Kylmakorpi 2 Chris Harris BONUS POINTS 60 POINTS = Chris Harris to reach the Semi Finals 40 POINTS = Fredrik Lindgren to reach the Final 25 POINTS = All three Danes to reach the Semi Finals 10 POINTS = Tai Woffinden to reach the Semi Finals =============================================== 11 Jarek Hampel 8 Tai Woffinden 7 Fredrik Lindgren 4 Troy Batchelor BONUS POINTS 40 POINTS = Fredrik Lindgren to reach the Final

Never moved him into the correct order FINNISH GP PREDICTIONS 11 Krzysztof Kasprzak 11 Jarek Hampel 11 Darcy Ward 10 Greg Hancock 10 Neils K Iversen 10 Nicki Pedersen 9 Chris Holder 8 Tai Woffinden 7 Kenneth Bjerre 7 Martin Smolinski 7 Fredrik Lindgren 7 Matej Zagar 6 Andreas Jonsson 4 Troy Batchelor 2 Joonas Kylmakorpi 2 Chris Harris BONUS POINTS 60 POINTS = Chris Harris to reach the Semi Finals 40 POINTS = Fredrik Lindgren to reach the Final 25 POINTS = All three Danes to reach the Semi Finals 10 POINTS = Tai Woffinden to reach the Semi Finals

Last season Tai was exceptional but even before that he was an 8+ rider and at present he is way below that ...... but he will soon be back on form although it may take a week or two to sort things out and get him back to his 2013 form. Magic scored just 3+1 from 8 rides at Monmore last season but in 2012 he scored 6 from 4 incliding two wins (one over Freddie) however his last showing at Monmore was in the Joe Hughes meeting and he looked alot more stable and scored 7 from 5 rides. Milik hasn't got going on away tracks so far and Wolves will be hard for him as our second strings in Wells and Thorssell are riding well and scoring big points so it will be hard to see him score too much while Grajczonek failed to score last season here for Poole but scored 10+1 from 7 for Kings Lynn at the start of the season ...... but can he beat the in form Wells and Thorssell this time ? Holder can ride anywhere and although on current form he should be capable of beating Tai, his battles with Piotr Pawlicki will be interesting as the teenager has already beat and passed Iversen, PK and Nicholls this season but the interesting rides will be when he meets up with his bro who looked very quick here in the seasonal opener scoring 10 from 5. Although I think Poole are one of the teams to beat this season, I think Wolves will be much better suited in this one and can see Wolves getting a 51-42 win with Peter Pan flying to a maximum.

Bridger didn't complete any of his three races and disappeared after his third. Was seen talking to Jonah after the meeting still wearing his kevlars. Hope he gets things sorted as he can be a real entertainer As for Tai - He will get things sorted in the next few weeks and back to his usual self but as he said tonight, mentally, physically and back up crew are spot on and he can handle the pressure of being World Champion ...... he will sort it

Interesting to hear Tai saying he knows what the problem is with his slow start to the season and is going to get it fixed soon

Not a bad meeting but no way a classic but the racing improved as it went on and some very good hard passes along with a few spills where thankfully all walked back to the pits. KK is on fire at the moment and could be doing what Tai did last season, but still have a feeling it's too early and a few low scores are surely around the corner while Darcy is as expected full throttle all the way and is either unstoppable or on the floor while Nicki was the opposite with a poor showing and lacked power just like Tai who will turn things around and is only 12 points behind second place !! It looks to be an interesting season ahead and still think its going to be between Jarek and Darcy for the title while Batch and Bomber look out of their depth and no replacements for Tomasz and Emil

ROUND 2 SCORES 10 - Krzysztof Kasprzak 9 - Greg Hancock 6 - Darcy Ward 4 - Andreas Jonsson 3 - Jarek Hampel 1 - Niels K Iversen 1 - Chris Holder 1 - Martin Smolinski 0 - Troy Batchelor 0 - Chris Harris 0 - Matej Zagar -2 - Fredrik Lindgren -2 - Adrian Meidzinski -3 - Kenneth Bjerre -3 - Tai Woffinden -7 - Nicki Pedersen BEST SCORES Hilly was the top scorer in round 2 with an impressive 165 points while Icescot, OmmerUm and Gray all scored 150 ..... On the other side Waihekeaces scored 0 after getting -50 from the four selections but back to nothing as the post scored 50. LEADERBOARD 270 - 210 rico 255 - 135 Referee Rick 270 - 120 Gray 270 - 120 OmmerUm 225 - 60 Hilly 170 - 20 Icescott 145 - xxx - PTW 130 - 0 TNT 115 - xxx - JaimeE 110 - 55 Gavan 100 - 50 Pyscho3a 85 - 85 Waihekeaces 70 - 5 CJ69 65 - -10 Pantherman 40 - -20 INCOGNITO 35 - 30 Screm xx - 20 HasseHolmqist* All four bonus points failed so no extra's in this one

Bydgoszcz Predictions 12 Nicki Pedersen 11 Jarek Hampel 10 Darcy Ward 10 Chris Holder 9 Neils K Iversen 8 Krzysztof Kasprzak 8 Tai Woffinden 7 Fredrik Lindgren 7 Kenneth Bjerre 7 Greg Hancock 7 Adrian Meidzinski 6 Martin Smolinski 6 Matej Zagar 6 Andreas Jonsson 4 Troy Batchelor 2 Chris Harris BONUS - Pick just one 75 pts - Harris to reach the semi finals 50 pts - Smolinski to reach the Final 40 pts - Three Aussies to outscore three Poles 25 pts - All 3 Polish riders in the semi finals DARCY WARD NEILS K IVERSEN GREG HANCOCK MATEJ ZAGAR Aussies to outscore Poles

50 points awarded for posting - not 25 SCORES FROM ROUND 1 -40 Darcy Ward -20 Tai Woffinden -5 Chris Holder -25 Greg Hancock -25 Neils K Iversen -15 Jarek Hampel 40 Nicki Pedersen -15 Matej Zagar 20 Kenneth Bjerre 35 Fredrik Lindgren 55 Krzysztof Kasprzak 5 Andreas Jonsson -10 Troy Batchelor -25 Chris Harris 55 Martin Smolinski 5 Jason Bunyan 30 Hampel / Kasprzak LEDERBOARD 210 rico 135 Referee Rick 120 Gray 120 OmeerUm 85 Waihekeaces 60 Hilly 55 Gavan 50 Pyscho3a 30 Screm 20 HasseHolmqist* 20 Icescott 5 CJ69 0 TNT -10 Pantherman -20 INCOGNITO *no spread bet Bydgoszcz Predictions 12 Nicki Pedersen 11 Jarek Hampel 10 Darcy Ward 10 Chris Holder 9 Neils K Iversen 8 Krzysztof Kasprzak 8 Tai Woffinden 7 Fredrik Lindgren 7 Kenneth Bjerre 7 Greg Hancock 7 Adrian Meidzinski 6 Martin Smolinski 6 Matej Zagar 6 Andreas Jonsson 4 Troy Batchelor 2 Chris Harris BONUS - Pick just one 75 pts - Harris to reach the semi finals 50 pts - Smolinski to reach the Final 40 pts - Three Aussies to outscore three Poles 25 pts - All 3 Polish riders in the semi finals

Havent had much chance to get on here to post my thoughts on Mondays meeting until now. Wolves deserved the win overall but Kings Lynn deserved the point with Iversen / Bjerre leading the team well, reserves doing a good job and Lambert looking a very good prospect who doesn't bottle in tight battles and can handle himself in the first turns. The Iversen / Proctor debate was hard to tell from the pits but Ty was given no room to turn and had no choice but to bail out. Maybe it could have been just hard riding but the end result was the race was stopped due to a fallen rider. Would Proctor have stayed on if Iversen gave him more room ...... yes. Therefore it was possibly right that Iversen was at fault. Kings Lynn had their share of luck in heat 9 when Lewis Kerr lost power going into turn one which meant Joe Jacobs had to take avoiding action and in doing so caused Ashley Morris to also fall. Kerr was excluded for not being under power but should JJ have been excluded for avoiding a bad accident ? Tai was more rusty than unfit but his mechanic was quite busy during the night trying to get a better set up as Tai was struggling out of the gate which doesnt help when you are up against an in form Iversen and Bjerre in most races. Jacob again showed up well and sadly made a small mistake in heat one to allow Iversen through off turn two and then in his final ride he had to use Ricky Wells's bike which possibly cost him a win in his final outing. Overall though JT is progressing well into the next Super Swede at Monmore. Ty started slowly but progressed as the night went on and was a bit miffed in his first ride when Piotr forced him to shut off twice and thus causing him to lose his points. Overall though Ty is a good team man and 6-7 points a meeting is job done. Ricky again scored well but in some races you would expect him to win them. Will be interesting to see what happens if he becomes the third heat leader later in the season but he has invested in new equipment this season and he is certainly heading in the right direction and still a young man at 21. Piotr was the star again for Wolves. Bad gate in his first ride and no chance of getting the win, but then looked unbeatable and a great double pass of Iversen proved how good he can be, Sadly his gating skills deserted him in the final heat and the Stars duo were fast and away giving him no chance to split them. 7.00 isn't looking a gamble now !! Joe Jacobs wasn't with it but thankfully Ashley Morris was and not feeling the nerves so much this time. Match winning performance by Ash to counter the strong Lynn reserves. For Kingls Lynn Rory Schlein was a big disapointment and Porsing didn't look great until his final ride where he did well. While they have a big two at the front, there strength is at reserve and double figure returns from the reserves in most matches will push them easily into the play offs. Lambert for me though was the most impressive and almost passed Pawlicki in one race and he certainly looks to be a possible German #1 if he continues on their licence. Wolves still unbeaten but they will be tested big time in the next few meetings starting with the usual mid day meeting at Belle Vue on a slick track and poor viewing areas where they may lose their 100% record.

Nice to see you have admitted you posted this before knowing he had been injured less than 24 hours before flying out to NZ However ....... if you are getting paid for making comments progessionally about the sport for such a period of time, I would have thought you would have revised about the subject before passing comment on the www or at least listened to the numerous comments about his crash to know what the situation was. Sadly this year has seen a number of non qualifiers make it into the series but as one of those was Smolinski its shows that even non qualifiers can put up a good showing. I like Bomber but he is not a big meeting / GP standard rider and his lack of gating skills can not be covered up in such a line up and personally feel that if there are still spaces to fill after the GP Challenge then the best riders or most entertaining should have been considered as wild cards. Bartosz Zmarzlik, Patryk Dudek, Michael Jepsen Jensen, Alex Lokatev, Artem Laguta etc etc are young riders who would be much better entertainment or standard rider to fill the spaces. If it is a question of having two Brits (which it isn't) then I would say Craig Cook or Scott Nicholls would be better suited to ride in this meeting. Michael Jepsen Jensen, Adrian Miedzenski ......

Well Done Martin Smolinski on a remarkable first full GP and a brilliant ride in the final to win in New Zealand

Quiyr frankly I think there is really only three that will be up for the title come October but there are another four that won't be too far away but just miss out. 1 - Jarek Hampel .......... Consistant double figures 2 - Darcy Ward ........... A few crashes will cost him 3 - Tai Woffinden .......... Pain Barrier will be too tall 4 - Neils K Iversen ............ All out trier but just misses out 5 - Chris Holder ............. Could be top but have doubts 6 - Greg Hancock ........... Life in the old dog still but maybe his last year ? 7 - Nicki Pedersen ............ Would love to put him lower but can't 8 - Matej Zagar .............. Best of the rest 9 - Krzysztof Kasprzak ........... Gating and 3 Polish rounds will help 10 - Fredrik Lindgren ........... Will miss riding in England where he was a #1 11 - Andreas Jonsson ........... May show signs of his old form 12 - Kenneth Bjerre ............. Don't rate him (sorry) 13 - Troy Batchelor ........... Would like to see him higher 14 - Martin Smolinski .......... Battle with Bomber for the wooden spoon with the odd good round 15 - Chris Harris ............. Gating and bikes will let him down edited when it's clear there is a bit of a gap between Bomber and the rest !!

140 ... Darcy Ward 135 ... Tai Woffinden 135 ... Jaroslaw Hampel 130 ... Chris Holder 125 ... Neils K Iversen 115 ... Nicki Pedersen 110 ... Greg Hancock 100 ... Matej Zagar 90 ..... Krzysztof Kasprzak 90 ..... Fredrik Lindgren 90 ..... Kenneth Bjerre 80 ..... Andreas Jonsson 75 ..... Troy Batchelor 70 ..... Chris Harris 66 ..... Martin Smolinski NEW ZEALAND PREDICTIONS 13 Darcy Ward 12 Tai Woffinden 12 Chris Holder 11 Greg Hancock 11 Neils K Iversen 11 Jaroslaw Hampel 10 Nicki Pedersen 9 Matej Zagar 7 Kenneth Bjerre 6 Fredrik Lindgren 6 Krzysztof Kasprzak 6 Andreas Jonsson 6 Troy Batchelor 5 Chris Harris 4 Martin Smolinski 1 Jason Bunyan BONUS Who will score the most ? 25 pts = Holder / Batchelor 30 pts = Hampel / KK 40 pts = Woffinden / Harris 60 pts = Lindgren / Jonsson SELL Chris Holder 5 BUY Andreas Jonsson 5 Darcy Ward Greg Hancock Andreas Jonsson Fredrik Lindgren Jonsson / Lindgren REMEMBER; No posts or edits after the start time. 6am !!!

It could work ........... If it was true

Tai is taking it easy before the meeting and is booked a sports therapist while out there to help him take his place in the first GP. He will be having daily sessions in a relaxion pool where jets of water help relax the muscles around his back and ankle and is having electro shock pads fitted to the inside of his right shoe. This seems to be a steady current of electric impulses going through his foot and he will be having it fitted inside the heel of his boot during practice and possibly the meeting. This will mean his heel will be roughly two inches bigger and will help him also keep his foot on the foot rest during the race.

Mid table is 5th or 6th, so if you are slightly wrong then we could scrape 4th and come the play offs as you well know, all four start equal and anything is possible ? Maybe he hasn't ridden an official fixture there ....... but what about training laps behind closed doors

Quite frankly it's early days and while we may have had two matches against what many feel are the weakest two teams in the league, we have done it with a heat leader struggling to find form after a long lay off. I'm not sure who is going to make the play offs but must admit a team with a good trio of heat leaders like Belle Vue, Kings Lynn and Poole do look best set up but Eastbourne are going to be difficult to beat at home and Lakeside with Bech on a modest average could be dark horses ...... but Wolves have a very young team with Tai Woffinden as World Champion being the second oldest at just 23 and anything is possible as the phrase you don't win anything with kids was proved wrong before.

Tai Woffinden - "Still in hospital done the ligaments in my right foot! And my back is not broken but because the impact was so hard i can only use one leg right now the other aint working but no breaks! flying to NZ soon gonna need crutches thanks for all your support"

It appears that Tai felt he had broken his ankle in Heat 1 and was going to get an X Ray in New Zealand as he was due to fly out this morning. After further crashes, obviously the Heat 15 crash being the worst, he has injuries to his right shoulder (same as last year) and his lower back. Don't know what damage has been done and hopefully it's just bruising but obviously he won't be flying out to Auckland ..... yet !!!

Prefer the middle tier and have been in a different place most years. Best was on the front row on turn two but wherever you go, its a good view. Don't mind the top tier at all as it probably gives you a better view of the stadium overall and I feel it gives you a bit more atmosphere when the crowd are waving flags and air horns going off. Wherever you go, its a good day and be sure to spend the day in the town first as its great to see so many speedway fans invading a city center and there is always something going on all day.