chunky

Well, we couldn't hear Dave because of the noise WE'D be making during the race!

Like everything else, team nicknames have become "old hat". I loved Dons, Aces, Hammers, Lions, Tigers, and Bees. Same as football (and cricket), there is a need for "rebranding". NO. THERE. ISN'T! I'm all for progress - in certain spheres - but you don't have to mess with the things that made the sport what it is, and what we all love...

One of the problems with modern speedway (for me, anyway) is that it has become too "clean". I know H&S has played a part, but there's more to it than that. Yes, machinery dictates the track surfaces, but I miss the deep dirt on the tracks, with he-men struggling to control bucking broncos. I miss getting covered - or trying to avoid getting covered - in shale. I miss bags of sawdust being dumped on the bends. We never knew what a poxy "blue groove" was. That was all part of the show for me, like riders doing the parade without helmets, rakers, being pushed off on the track, tractor rides, bike racks etc... I loved the fact that it was a lot simpler and more basic back then.

You can buy earplugs...

I don't disagree with anything you say, but my main point was that as far as British fans go, that was perfectly okay. Things have changed, and it's almost like British fans resent the fact that we are only a bit-part player in modern speedway. Again, I agree with everything you say. If we want a successful GP series, we have to go with what works. A great point that people seem to forget...

Funny how times change... Had we had a GP series 50 years ago, all the British fans would have wanted/expected the majority of the rounds in the UK - and it would have been considered "fair"...

Thanks; I figured it was someething like that. Still, it just seems that it's another excuse for people to complain...

Yep, I think we all get it...

Mauger was another...

I like Vaculik, and when he's on form, he can be unstoppable. Trouble is - and he's already shown it this year - when he isn't, he can look like a complete novice.

It's hard to disagree about Pocking, seeing that Ermolenko definitely wasn't under power at the time the race was stopped...

The key to success in any competitive sport is confidence - and he has been gaining that every time he takes to the track.

And ANOTHER semi-final for the Englishman who doesn't deserve to be in the GP's...

Respect!

We're all married to the same woman...

Too much vodka...

Seriously though, you were right (and I hated saying that)! This isn't a classic, but the racing has been decent, and has certainly been better than some recent efforts. No, it wasn't great early on, but that can be blamed on the rain. Again, it has been far superior to most World Finals...

Except when you are wrong...

You do realise that there is time to type a sentence or two between races, don't you???

That's a feeble excuse...

Exactly...

Still a lot better than the vast majority of World Finals - and we have proof of that...

Is that what you're interested in? Or are you just interested in complaining because we can't control the weather?

I just love how, every couple of weeks during the summer, the same mob surface on here to complain about EVERY GP - yet they still insist on watching (and having their say).

Then he'd have bugger all to whine about...