Undercover Elephant

Zmarzlik really is a cut above the rest, patently obvious. Indeed the Russians need to return. If Danill Medvedev is still allowed to compete in Tennis, so should these riders. There has to be someone out there to take over the reigns of commentating for the UK viewers. As much as I like Tatum, he’s not a lead anchor. David Rowe a much better option alongside Kelvin for 2023. I actually feel the Polish feed is far better.

Ok, my diagnosis here is you don't know what love is! However I know Foreigner knows someone who can show you! Alternative venue in Melbourne once the five year contract is up could well be AAMI Park, or the Rectangular Stadium currently preferred! 30.050 depending on seat planning and a much better contained atmosphere if full I'd well imagine.

If the FIM eventually decide to not take any action towards Greg in bringing the Sport into Disrepute, then I will finally concede that this series is rigged 100% as there's no other way of looking at it. A precedent has been set by Hancock, and if any rider from now on in the GP's is unfairly excluded or disqualified in the rider's mind, then what's stopping them from doing the same in the future and making a complete mockery of the whole sport. It could, and will most probably happen again and again. What was the protocol once the protest from the Zmarzlik camp was put forward. Was it immediately after Heat 9? Did Phil Morris secure the bike in question after Heat 9 with no contact to the bike from anybody, or was the protest after this slot? Was there potential time in between to tamper the clutch lever which may or may not have been planned to cover his tracks if questioned? Did Phil Morris and Hancock communicate to the FIM jury/Referee to come down to the pit area and see for themselves? If not, why not, to prove your innocence? Surely he'd be going to the extreme lengths to get the matter sorted as soon as possible. I'd much rather the jury spent ten minutes in between a race or block segment to get the correct outcome, instead of basing their decision from the other side of the track with no vision itself A complete jumbled mess that should not be brushed under the carpet and casually dismissed for the integrity of the sport. Clearly one man and a series sponsor actually think they are bigger than the sport because in their minds they are.....

This brings up the lack of advertising, marketing and all that jazz which for the second year running was evident. I was pretty shocked to discover this morning through a contact in Radio Advertising here that BSI/Monster Energy had no advertising taken out on ANY radio station in Melbourne. That included SEN 1116 (Sports Station), Triple M or Gold which are key markets for any event in town who promote 99.9% of events staged whether sports or concerts. Even Monster Trucks once a year pays for advertising on their visit. His quote was they should have done! Talking to fans in the hotel, and general public (non race fans) who didn't even know such an event was being staged at the Etihad where the advertising for the Speedway was. Even though a niche sport, there seemed no effort was made. The only TV media I saw was Hancock doing a brief chat on Channel 9 Breakfast, but when Crump was flying around the track in the background, they cut back to the studio shortly after without any information given out by the Presenters on start times and ticket info for viewers. The lack of promotion to a wider audience feels restricted, so in turn you won't attract new customers, just Speedway fans, and the cost cutting becomes more apparent in their attempt to get bums on seats or lack there of. Makes no sense. Sure, they took out advertising on Fox Sports but again that's only a small percentage in households on Pay TV. Regarding Doyle, and not drawing a bigger crowd. That told me either a chunk of fans were not being enticed to pre book tickets in advance or organisers were probably hoping for a better walk up on the day despite the poor weather travelling. But on a side note about the actual experience of the day for race fans, I stood amongst dozens of children with their parents waiting in line to get an autograph or a picture around the 5pm mark. As per the 'advertised' run sheet, an allotted 20 minutes (only 20) was scheduled, and when the time actually elapsed, the eight designated riders who were Tai, Niels, Zagar, Holder, Jonsson, Freddie, Pawlicki (awesome bloke) and Brady all got up to return back in the stadium. A 3pm slot most probably would have been Einstein's choice to run with as a suitable option for the riders, and in return they get two full hours to do what they bloody wanted to prepair. Nobody was angry when it was cut short by a ridiculous timeframe which did surprise me to be honest. The genuine looks on these people's faces was priceless. Legitimate real disappointment. The line was not massively long whatsoever. I do often wonder who's in charge of organising an experience like this for supporters. In fact two of the security persons overlooking proceedings made their feelings known to parents that it should have been done earlier in the day and apologised for signings being cut short. Leaves a bad taste in people's mouths, and something so small in the organisers mind's which might not bring these families back next year. It only takes something like this with no real care or concern for the customer, kids especially, that potentially has a lasting effect moving forward. Hardly surprising when you cut your rider signings in half compared to last year, and the small line of folks didn't get their wish unfortunately.

Anyone care to comment on the nose dive attendence of 21.700 down from 26.685 last year. Hardly surprising on a number of levels, and I'll go out on a limb and say the figure will only decrease until the contract is up with Etihad, and then I think it will be either wind up or Sydney gets a crack and some money person stumps the bill. Can't see this continuing after the five year deal personally.

Have you got a link please of the Pearson/Tatum commentary.

Just got home from the Grand Prix weekend, and I've got to say the consensus around our seating area on Saturday was one of dismay which at first was judged at the time to be team riding by the petrolhead followers. I did somewhat think he rode more loose in that ride but no concrete proof at first. Our section had many raised eyebrows on the decision made and it felt a lot of fans were in agreement at the finish. You only had to notice subtleties on several occasions with Greg looking round in that race, and the way he was riding the bike not 100% as Crump states on commentary looking back, that a bike failure wasn't seen to blame in this instance, or so we thought from Greg's statement on the issue. I was pretty furious at the time when word got around that he withdrew himself in protest from the meeting, because in essence I believe he got bloody caught out this time round. Up until last night I was still one of his admirers, but enough is enough. I kind of turned a blind eye to his well documented antics in retaliation to Nicki and the Team USA race off withdrawal etc. His association with Joe Parsons in particular, and the continuation of Joe playing the role as Director of special Marketing projects for M.E, the perception is of someone who became a Mark for his riders in the sport. The Trump fanatic who has put himself in the thick of the action instead of winding his neck in and calm the reigns in his bubble have come unstuck. Parsons has been publicly critical of Pedersen in a role he has no real business passing comment within his association as main sponsor of a series filtering into league racing, when he should just keep quiet on matters that the riders should sort out for themselves. Question now is if no action is to be taken by the FIM on Hancock's withdrawal last night on the evidence clearly seen, despite Hancock's explanation on his webpage. He speeded up in parts of that race which does beg several questions of rider safety in his explanation. It doesn't add up why he decided not to pull up if the problem he's claiming is true. His riding position was questioned by experts of the sport during that moment and it may not have been obvious at first, but something wasn't right as the laps unfolded. A complete disregard for the paying fans which is unforgivable in my estimation which didn't look good for the sport no matter who the rider in question was in summary.

What's Lindback seeing that I'm not on Gate Three Dont speak too soon, he's getting ready to come out for the finale with Greg

Toni and Zmarzlik putting on a masterclass

Nice to see the start Marshall demonstrate to the Monster Energy girl on Gate Four she had the wrong bloody rider!

The crowd here seem completely unaware he's pulled himself from the meeting

I blame that Trump supporter Parsons!

Disappointing crowd inside this place. No way 25.000 people in here

Speaking to a lot of guests in our hotel last night here for the Speedway, and mostly not having heard or seen any advertising for the GP in Melbourne leading up, other than advertising spots on Fox Sports, and not terrestrial TV. Not everyone has pay TV here! I noticed there was no coverage in the Herald Sun and The Age newspapers, Melbourne based news outlets today in their sports section. Another noticeable thing during practice yesterday was the only GP rider who has any merchandise other than the regular SGP gear on sale was Greg Hancock with his Grin range, nothing from any other rider. I guess the point I'm trying to make is nobody seems to know an event like this is being held at a premier venue in Melbourne, other than those who follow the sport itself. A busy area is Southern Cross station and a main business area nearby the stadium. There is literally no advertising anywhere in the vicinity which is mind blowing when you're trying to exceed last year's attendence around the 26.685 mark. They've forecasted around 25.000 for this year. Are the organisers leaving money on the table because I think they are massively. I can't see how the organisers are getting the word out there attracting new customers, and this is Australia, a good source of Motorsport is held around the country. Holding it the same weekend as the Moto GP is bonkers in itself. That's a key market who are an hour down the road for three days not at the Etihad as an example. It just feels it's not taken as seriously as it should be, and the same people will just come each year, or eventually numbers will drop off demographically.

Mixed feelings going into Friday's practice kicking off the weekend. The Moto GP is also on at Phillip Island just outside of Melbourne, so a busy weekend for those doing both. As far as showcasing the event, a minute 30 clip of Crump doing circles, Hancock and Holder comments aired on Channel 9 tonight at 6.30. Again not sure if any riders did radio interviews on a couple of sports stations here, maybe someone knows. An estimated 25.000 was mentioned for Saturday and a lineup of events put on for the public Friday and Saturday outside the stadium. Practice is free with a ticket and starts at 3 til 4.30pm As far as the GP goes, I'll have to suffer watching Joe Parsons dancing around like a coat hanger!!