T.N.T.

If there are possibly 12 teams and riders like Lindgren, Andersen, Iversen, Bjerre etc not riding here (only examples), then the limit has to be that low and quite frankly wouldn't be suprised to see it as low as 36 !!

Points limit much lower ? Riders signing that are more commited to British Speedway and riding less in foreign leagues as there will be more official fixtures here. As Kildemand rides in Poland, Sweden and Denmark, it would be hard to see him fitting in just as much as Hans Andersen. Batchelor may not be an asset, but he rides in just Sweden and Poland so maybe he is the most likely to return as #1 while Nick Morris has to be included. Have to ask though, who actually owns Morris as I think there will be TWO current PL teams moving up next season meaning each track has 22 home and 22 away meetings. Swindon do have Mads K and Zengota as assets but Mads is in the same boat as PK and Hans while Zengota also adds the German Leagues to his calendar (one meeting) and it would be hard to see either dropping racing elsewhere to commit to British racing. Therefore Swindon may recall Simon Stead or carry on using Edward Kennett but most likely will be Jason Doyle teaming up to make an Aussie spearhead next season. Batchelor, Doyle and Morris ...... that wouldn't leave too much if the limit is around 36-38 next season as they have a combined average of 21.41 so Howarth, Birks, Stead and a 3.00 rider fits under 38 giving an indication of how much the leagues may look next season on strengths as I wouldn't be suprised to see Wolves something like the current team with two new reserves replacing the Lindgrens (possibly)

It is very much guess work as to what team strengths are going to be next season but it does seem that finally British Speedway is going to make the sport financially viable by cutting down on the big earners and concentrating more on the regular and committed second strings that are not racing so much abroad in various leagues and competitions. Thankfully Tai has seen the benefit of racing in Poland, Britain and the GP's and not having such a cluttered fixture list and think that will continue next season as Tai lines up at Monmore Green as the #1 in the team, the league and the world. Howeverif the points limit is lowered, it is more likely that Wolves could then only fit in two riders around the six mark to back him up. That could point towards Skornicki and Proctor while Ricky Wells and Jacob Thorssell are sure to be in the plans too. Those five total 31.08 so if the limit is lowered some what, then there would be little left for the last two places so you would have to be looking at Pontus Aspgren 3.15 (34.23) as a possible and the final place possibly going to Ashley Morris who would also double up if riders are allowed to. Basically it would be replacing the Lindgren's with Aspgren and Morris. That is going to be the big question for me. It's ok saying there will be less top riders and the likes of Barker, Proctor, Cook etc becoming heat leaders next season, but if there are going to be more matches then how could they also double up as PL teams wont be much weaker and there will be more official fixtures which would give more clashes in meetings. If you stop these riders doubling up, they will look to ride abroad also which then begs the question of availability once more. It's going to be an interesting close season and it looks like everyone will have to pay a penalty in some way for the over spending by tracks for too long and hopefully tracks, riders and fans will see a benefit in the long run with a healthy British Speedway scene that is affordable for all even if it means some riders in the lower leagues maybe having to work during the season to pay the bills.

My post states that the Spider is lurking around the corner waiting to finish of its prey. That does not say it's over ...... yet NEWSFLASH ..... While Tai MAY be World #1 after the weekend, he isn't yet .... you are posting that this is fact when it hasn't been proved .... yet

In case I forget to post, I am going for Darcy Ward, Fredrik Lindgren, Andreas Jonsson and Adrian Miedzinski

The top 8 are all but sorted with KK, Bjerre and Smolinski from the GP Challenge leaving four wild card picks. Chris Holder and Tomasz Gollob are nailed on and Sweden have to have one rider at least and only AJ or Freddie can be under consideration and Freddie and this season they have both competed in 9 rounds together and its so far 4-4 as to who scored the most with one tie. Both have valid reasons to be included next season as the Swedish representative. That leaves one space and unless both Freddie and AJ are given wild cards, the only riders I see that could bring something to the series are Grigory Laguta or Patryk Dudek and for pure entertainment, Laguta should get the vote.

2013 FINAL ROLLING AVERAGES 9.20 Tai Woffinden 8.94 Fredrik Lindgren 6.14 Adam Skornicki 5.78 Ty Proctor 5.35 Ricky Wells 5.11 Robert Miskowiak 4.61 Jacob Thorssell 4.48 Ludvig Lindgren 2013 ONLY AVERAGES 9.25 - 9.93 ... Tai Woffinden 8.78 - 9.59 ... Fredrik Lindgren 6.92 - 8.76 ... Ty Proctor 6.24 - 6.80 ... Adam Skornicki 5.23 - 5.95 ... Ricky Wells 4.67 - 5.51 ... Jacob Thorssell 4.49 - 5.34 ... Ludvig Lindgren 2.33 - 2.67 ... Robert Miskowiak The Averages for just 2013 matches shows how much Wolves went off the pace once Ty Proctor was injured as he was never truly replaced and while R/R was ok in some meetings, Wolves really needed a top class replacement like Peter Ljung, Mikkel Michelsen or Daniel Nermark if they were to carry on leading the table and in the end, Robert Miskowiak was a real disapointment. It has been a decent season for Wolves but what started like a bullet out of a gun has ended a fly stuck in a spiders web. You know the end is about to come but there is no escape until you are finally put out of your misery. In a way, the season however kept some of it's optimisum going partly because of the heights that were being reached by Tai Woffinden in the GP Series and now in the space of the next few days we will see the Spider lurking from around the corner while a battered and bruised (and broken) Tai finishes off his remarkable season with the World Title. So it's virtually time to start looking towards 2014 for Wolves unless we somehow pull off a miracle at Perry Barr but sadly next season looks to be a different ball game and by all accounts it's very unlikely any EL track will be able to field two big names in the same team. At least we should see the return of Ty Proctor fully fit and possibly the return of former Wolves riders, Nicolai Klindt and Pontus Aspgren along with Wolves asset, Ashley Morris in a possible scaled down league that is more financially viable to run with more official meetings.

All the scores from the previous rounds have been calculated and a new leaderboard will be posted within the next 24 hours. So here we are then. Eleven rounds gone and just one to go and we know now that their will be a NEW World Champion crowned in Torun which will either be former World #2, Jarek Hampel from Poland or British Champion, Tai #woffywoffywoffy Woffinden who holds a 16 point lead in the title race. Odds are that Tai will be the man celebrating on Saturday night (as will I in Torun) but in this prediction competition, the winner is not always the best rider. It's the rider that makes me look a novice and goes out and scores a bag full of points that I didn't predict. ...... So get you posts in before Saturdays start time. TORUN PREDICTIONS 13 Darcy Ward 12 Jarek Hampel 11 Nicki Pedersen 10 Niels K Iversen 10 Greg Hancock 9 Matej Zagar 8 Troy Batchelor 8 Krzysztof Kasprzak 7 Tai Woffinden 7 Martin Vaculik 6 Fredrik Lindgren 6 Andreas Jonsson 5 Adrian Meidzinski 3 Leon Madsen 3 Antonio Lindback 2 Ales Dryml GOOD LUCK to everyone.

Will be flying out on Friday from Stanstead to Gdansk and then staying in a B&B nearby before driving down to Torun on the morning. Flying back on the Sunday but not until a bit of a celebration on the Saturday night. It's a shame that possibly three of the biggest names in Holder, Gollob and Sayfutdinov will be missing but if Tai can secure the title here by scoring the required six points (or Hampel dropping points) then it's going to be a day to remember for sure in a stadium that is purpose built for the sport with a complete sell out crowd. Not long to go for the final National Anthem of the season !!!

As I stated, riders that did not feature or start in 2014 would have 10% added to their averages. This could even be 15% so for example Kenneth Bjerre finishes on a 7.99 average but doesnt start for a team in 2014. Should a team wish to sign him once the season has started would have to sign him on 8.79 (or 9.19) so there would be no inflated averages really. One thing I do think should happen is riders should have just ONE average. Therefore going on a calculation of 1.5, a rider in the EL on a 6.08 average would be a 9.12 PL rider. Any rider that rides in both leagues has his average calculated to just one average. Lets say a rider rides in the EL and has 64 races, scoring 59 points and that is an average of 3.69. However in the PL he has 94 races and scores 171 points which is a 7.28 average. The 171 points becomes 114 points (/ 1.5) so he has 173 points from 158 races which gives him an average of 4.38. To make all riders have a realistic average, PL averages will be converted to give them a universal average. So a rider just riding in the PL and has a 6.23 average would carry an official average of 4.15 so Premier League teams would have a points limit of 30.00 (which in effect is 45.00) and at the end of 2014 the gap between the two leagues wouldn't be as great, plus ALL riders would have ONE Official average which wold then lead to ALL tracks starting 2015 in one big league where hopefully each track will have roughly 24 home and 24 away matches. This would mean no real spare weeks, a more varied fixture list as no team returns for a second or third visit and gives riders committed to riding here at least 48 league matches each season. In 2015 the limit would be set at a figure that takes into account riders moving up from the NL on 2.00 averages and the fact riders would no longer be doubling up. Also with all tracks in one league it gives everyone a better scope of riders to choose from should they require a guest. There may be a few hiccups in the first year or two, but by 2016 we would be seeing the benefits of a league more evenly set up and cost effective. Riders that rode in 2013 but not in 2014 but signed up in 2015 to the one big league would then have a further 10% added making Kenneth Bjerre a 9.67 rider for example.

Regardless of Sky filming next season or not, the sport should run as a business and be cost effective and no longer can speedway in Brtain afford to have so many big names in one team and should be scaled down next year. Personally I would like to see the points limit reduced to 35 points and any rider that doesn't start the 2014 season will have 10% added to their previous average to stop riders coming in at a later date on a false average. Wolverhampton for example would start with a team something like Tai Woffinden 9.23, Ty Proctor 5.78, Ricky Wells 5.37, Ludvig Lindgren 4.42, Jacob Thorssell 4.41, Pontus Aspgren 3.15 and Ashley Morris 2.36. (British rider can go as low as 2.00 while foreign riders cant go below 3.00.) There will still be 90 points on offer each meeting and a number of riders will improve their averages, but instead of paying another superstar a four figure sum, the others should score more and pick up more money, but the wage bill should be cut to a more realistic figure and more palces would be available for riders to move up from the lower divisions. Leicester could be moving up and there are a few other tracks that may move up if there was a 35 point limit like Edinburgh who would keep Craig Cook and be able to make them competative simply by signing one or two current EL riders while teams in the PL would still be able to have riders doubling up, but would have more spaces open for National League riders to move up. Should SKY want to carry on, then tracks should then run at a profit and part of this should then go to safety improvements, stadium improvements, and the resources to help young riders break into the sport with some sort of academy for future years.

May I just raise a few points regarding the last few moments of heat 15 Freddie suddenly slowed heading towards the finish line as he came off turn four well clear of Doyle and yes he clearly changes line very quickly BUT ...... Ask yourself a few questions 1 - If he was blocking Doyle, how come they didnt collide until turn two at a much slower speed ? 2 - If Freddie was going to slow Doyle down to get Skornicki up to get a 45-45 draw, why would he wait until the final bend instead of the previous three laps 3 - Anyone thought that Freddie wasn't under power going over the line ? Regardless of comments by many, the result still says Wolves 44 Birmingham 46 so well done Birmingham

Firstly congratulations to the Birmingham Brummies who were the stronger team on the night and most of the mishaps were on the Wolves side with Brummies only letting points slip when King fell early on, but then benefitted by Barker winning the rerun over an impressive Skornicki who deserves credit along with Ricky who both battled well through the night. Ludvig tried but struggled while Nicolai was either brilliant or terrible while Miskowiak was as expected a big disapointment and never beat one Birmingham rider that could do four laps. To think this is the replacement for a rider that was averaging 9 points a match shows how much the injury to Ty Proctor has cost us this season. On the night, Niels was having a nightmare but heat 13 was the rider we saw on Saturday and hopefully it wont be too long before he is back on the bike and winning races ...... next Monday hopefully !!. As for Freddie, he was on form but beaten just once by Bomber who was back to his usual fast Monmore form and along with Jason Doyle led the Brummies well. Barker did well and King had that one very good race while Andrew Tully did a good job at reserve by scoring in each race and Smolinski grabbed a few points early on but honestly doesn't impress me at Wolves while Nico Covatti just cant seem to ride the place. As for after the meeting, I'm not going to comment on who did what or to who but it never involved Freddie or Doyle and it was over comments made from both sides that got over heated but soon settled and soon everyone was back to packing away and looking back on a very good meeting won by the better team ........ but it's not over yet !!

Very nearly spot on but there will be a few that will be tempted to stay and Zagar has let it be known that not only is he quite happy at Belle Vue but feels that riding in Britain again has helped him in the GP's. As for Tai, you can almost certainly mark Wolves 2014 down as Tai Woffinden, Ty Proctor, Ricky Wells and Jacob Thorssell as definates with Nicolai Klindt, Ludvig Lindgren, Adam Skornicki, Sam Masters and Ashley Morris on the short list for the other places. Sadly I think Freddie will be elsewhere as any team will be lucky to have one big name let alone two and Tai is now the #1 name for Wolves. Leicester likely to move up (KK linked to be #1) and maybe one more team so Craig Cook would most likely be back at Belle Vue unless Edinburgh move up and with Richie Worrall an asset they would be crazy to let him go elsewhere on loan while Kevin Wolbert has done a decent job for Aces so far and would form a decent top four if the limit is lowered to something in the 30's. 1 = Matej Zagar 2 = Ales Dryml 3 = Kevin Wolbert 4 = Richie Worrall 5 = Craig Cook 6 = ............... 3.00 7 = Max Fricke Somewhere around 37 points and cant see the limit being much more, so give or take a few this should be about the strength of teams next season

Iversen only knows one way to ride and thats full throttle and win every race and many have seen what he gets like when he loses a race and honestly think at the moment Niels is riding better than anyone at the moment and confident he will be out to get 3 3 3 3 3. Jacob missing is a slight disadvantage but I'm confident Nic will be out to prove a point and our big loss is Ty Proctor as we just havent been the same team without him this year. This is a match that could go either way and pretty sure they will be letting Freddie and Niels just go and get 3-3's in most heats to keep it tight as they can kill us at Perry Barr

Think bth Bombers and Scottys best years are behind themnow, but if the league is weaker without so many star riders, these two will be two of the biggest names in the league, so both may get 8+ averages once more in a larger more competative and financially sound EL. Coventry should benefit if Leicester do move up with KK linked to #1 for a change.eing lined up as their #1. Personally I think they would be better off making a new team with Kenni Larsen and Edward Kennett back along with Summers and possibly Smolinski or Barker back to form a decent top three. Either that or they look at Wolverhampton or Poole and see who they keep as #1 as both are very unlikely to feature two big names along with five National League riders and would think Lindgren and Holder would be allowed to go on loan to another track. Lindgren being a Brandon specialist would certainly give them a true '

He has had a poor season but Simon Gustafsson 4.86 and Timo Lahti 4.66 look bargains for next season, especially if the points limit is around 35-38 points per team. Cameron Woodward 6.25 is the heart of the club, so that's three and if Mikkel Michelsen 5.00 is interested in returning instead of being drawn away to pastures new, then you have four very capable riders that will form the main spine of the team. Depending on what's left after those four are signed (20.77) then I'm sure Eastbourne will find a 3.00 reserve and then fill the last two places with anyone from the list of Bjarne, Bridger or Dryml if possible.

If Zagar can be bought back then that will be some signing as there are unlikely to be many riders of that calibre around next season and if they can keep Cook, Wolbert and recall Worrall then Aces could have a decent line up next season as the limit is likely to be somewhere from 35 - 38.

Was hoping before last night that Tai scored one less point than Jarek but most importantly got through the meeting in one piece. Sadly that crash has cost him the chance to go out in a blaze of glory as I know he was looking to go to Torun and wanted to give Darcy a beating on his home turf and win the GP. However Tai's aim has always been get the points required and come the final GP, if Tai scores points or Jarek drops points, Tai could well just see it out until he reaches that finishing line. Once it is 100% sure he is the 2013 World Champion, I can't see Tai looking for anything other than the painkillers and a podium finish is possibly more likely for Ales Dryml. Working self employed has it's bad points and being in the transport sector isn't rewarding, so after a month without work, I'm just pleased I have managed to book up for Torun and travel via Stanstead and Gdansk to see Tai rightly and much deservedly crowned WORLD #1. ..... Until then it's the play off semi's v Birmingham (hopefully with Iversen as guest) and a trip to the local kit firm to get a shirt done up for the big night !!!

Well my team haven't finished yet but will still post what I will remember about the 2013 season so far. On the downside their have been far too many Mondays without meetings. Wolves have not had one rain off at Monmore Green so far but after Freddie's Testimonial on Sunday 10th March, Wolves waited till Tuesday 2nd April to start their campaign at home but there has been NINE free Mondays since then, TEN if you include the Wolves NL Select v Dudley fixture. If having a much weaker team with riders like Proctor, Skornicki and Wells are heat leaders then so be it if it means meetings every Monday against more teams and both home and away twice. Injuries have played their part at Wolves once again with Freddie out for a while, Tai with his broken collarbone (twice now), Ty Proctor missing most of the season and Jacob Thorssell improving week in week out only to end the season with a broken arm. Add to that the big accidents to Chris Holder, Emil Sayfutdinov, Peter Karlsson, Ashley Birks etc and it's been a tough year for quite a few. Wolves were the early pace setters in the league, partly due to the form of riders like Ty and Ludvig and also being in the right place at the right time but when Ty Proctor was injured, it took far too long to find a decent replacement and even more frustrating when riders like Michelsen, Lebedevs, Porsing and Robson join other teams and hit decent scores while Wolves wait till the last moment to sign Miskowiak who is struggling and sadly r/r was more effective. This may be the thing that costs Wolves the title. On the plus side, Wolves have yet again started under the same promotion for over 25 years now and Monmore still provides great racing for both teams ..... shame it's not every week !! Being in contention through the season has been good and finally winning away from home for the first time since 2010. Freddie's Testimonial was sadly hit by bad weather, but a good day still but the big big plus and memory this season has been the transformation of Tai Wffinden from a brash youngster to the ultimate professional. So many things have changed inTai and the difference is amazing. On and off track, Tai has been a pleasure to know and his Cancer Research bike ride actually bought a tear to my eye when he did his final lap at Cardiff. That day was a great day for me in many ways as Cardiff is always special, but to go in the pits before the meeting, have a buffet laid on by Tai and meet Emil etc and seeing Tai spend so much time to speak to people, have photo's done as make sure everyone was looked after. His walk around the track at Monmore also stands out as it was during a meeting yet he signed everyone's certificate, took photo's and joked with the kids. When he ran back from the fourth bend to pick up a little lad that had got left behind was great to see and the look on those kids faces was a picture. I will be going out to Torun in two weeks time for the final GP and had planned to do so at the start of the season, but now that it could be the day that Tai is crowned WORLD CHAMPION makes it a day I will remember in 2013 possibly more than any and to be fair, Wolves are now under dogs in the play offs and for me 2013 will be remembered mainly as the year Tai Woffinden went from being a cocky young lad to a perfect gentleman and the Pride of Britain along with being a nice guy to meet, talk to and spend time with kids, sponsors and friends. 2013 = TAI WOFFINDEN

Coventry seem to be in a weird situation by trying to build a team that won't finish rock bottom again. Assets of the club are either not wanted by the fans or they dont want to ride for the Bees while riders on loan from other tracks seem quite happy to stay if their parent clubs allow. With the Sky deal looking dead in the water, the points limit will no doubt be much lower in 2014 and a top three of Nicholls, Harris and Zengota could be a strong trio and Aaron Summers should be considered. However if there was a complete rebuild, could see Bees grabbing a big name like Chris Holder or Fredrik Lindgren but thst would mean a much weaker second heat leader like Zengota.

Not yet he hasn't ...... but will have by the end of October Have spoken before at home impressed I have been with Tai this year and how he has changed to the ultimate pro and he is reaping the rewards big time and already has his sights set on next season by meeting potential sponsors now to ensure he starts next season even better than this season. Haven't read all comments on Tai but at the Slovenian GP you might have heard that Tai said he had a bit of a swim and a bike ride in the morning. That's him being modest as a swim was something like 100 lengths, a controlled breakfast, cycling 30 kilometers to the track and then back, a sleep for a few hours before getting his bicycle back out of the van and to the meeting. To me that shows you that even knowing Emil was not riding, he still wants to do things according to plan and regardless of what Hampel does in Sweden, Tai will be out to score what he can and if thats not enough to win it tonight then so be it. He has a massive following going out to Torun of family, friends and sponsors and until the final GP is over, then he will celebrate or lower his guard ...... for a hour or two any way !! Should he win the title tonight, his first meeting back is the play off semi at Monmore v Birmingham on Monday ....... if he wins it in Torun, it will be on the following Monday v Swindon or Poole

8 Tomasz Gollob 7 Fredrik Lindgren 7 Matej Zagar 7 Krzysztof Kasprzak POLAND ......... hopefully

10 behind on the night which is usually why a team likes to ride at home first. Get a 12+ lead and then defend it using a TR at the right time ..... bit like Skornicki did at Swindon Brummies have gone for the money match because if they make the final they will have two massive gates. Also fair play to Birmingham (Swindon/Poole) for agreeing to Wolves riding at home in the first leg incase Tai settles the World Title on Saturday. At the start of the season, we hoped that with a strong top two and some potential lower order riders we could make the play offs ...... but it's remarkable to think Britain could be showing off the WORLD CHAMPION in less than a week

Two former Wolves riders, Oliver Allen and Pontus Aspgren have completed the line up FULL LINE-UP: Greg Hancock Sam Ermolenko Darcy Ward Fredrik Lindgren Scott Nicholls Maciej Janowski Przemyslaw Pawlicki Nicolai Klindt Adam Skornicki Robert Miskowiak Ricky Wells Lewis Blackbird Aaron Summers Thomas Jorgensen Olly Allen Pontus Aspgren.