Grachan

It does if you say "out" in a very posh voice.

Is that genuine?

On the Swindon website it says Crump can't ride. Troy Bachelor in his place. Iversen has also pulled out of the meeting without explanation. Lewis Bridger in for him.

My sat nav certainly got confused coming back from Wolverhampton when I had to turn down past the stadium. It said to turn right - yet a right turn was there none! Instead I had to turn left. My advice - wait for it to say "turn right" then keep going a bit (you'll know when - there's no right turn) and take the next left. I think.

I went to that meeting and have the footage on a video tape somewhere. Haven't watched the Youtube, but guess it's the same footage. Does it have the bit with Ole and the young Danish kids? Wondered if any of them a recogniseable. Always thought one of them looked like it could be Brian Karger. Ole's refusal to go where he was allocated was, I believe, influential in the demise of Rider Control. He refused to ride for Oxford in 1975 too insisting he wanted to go to Coventry after being allocated to the Rebels.

Ah, but would he have won if it had been a one-off World Final?

Maybe Hans Neilsen in 92 and 93?

Who me? Or you? Or maybe it's different depending on the region. Definitely said 3 hours speedway on SS Xtra on that site though. EDIT - And still does. http://www.radiotimes.com/ListingsServlet?...earchTime=18:00

Yeah. Radio Times. It's a website that shows you, like, times of radio programmes and television ones. you know the sort of thing. And when I look it still says 3 hours of speedway at 6pm on SS extra.

Not any more apparently. Radio Times has 3 hours of speedway on SS Extra with Spanish Football on SS3 as a rescheduled programme.

6pm - 9pm on Sky Sports Extra according to the Radio Times website. Spanish League football on Sky Sports 3 from 7. Super League getting just one hour from 6-7.

Wasn't it 1975 when Phil Crump emerged with his 4 valve? Nobody could get anywhere ner him, let alone beat him. He'd have had the championship almost wrapped up by the time the others caught up equipment wise. I'm pretty sure Crump would have won in 1975 - a time when he also still performed well in World Championships. Even after other riders got on board equal equipment he would still have been scoring decent points in the closing rounds. Ivan Mauger has always claimed that he felt he was the best rider in the World in 1976 and Peter Collins was in 1977 and that they got those titles the wrong way round. 1973 - Ivan Mauger 1974 - Tough one! Mauger again? 1975 - Phil Crump 1976 - Ivan Mauger 1977 - Peter Collins 1978 - Ole Olsen

Fine by me. Crump, Pedersen, Sayfudinov, Jonsson and Holta have, between them, hardly ridden in Britain this year. Let's get rid of them too shall we? Let's get rid of the whole lot of them actually. Let's bring 16 new people in. Keep it exciting.

I sort of get your sentiments regarding riders getting out before they struggle, but I'm confused also. Are you saying Gollob and Hancock shouldn't be in the GP because they have been in too many finals this year? These two riders may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but they are also currently lying second and third in the series. I just don't see where you're coming from on that score. You may as well say get rid of Crump as he is winning too easily and making it boring. Adams was in the GP this year on merit and fully deserved to be in there. This year he's unlikely to make the cut and - if so - could well find himself out next year. But that doesn't make his inclusion this year any less warranted.

Reckon I might have to sit out a few of these for a while. Apart from my fantastic im-depth knowledge of 1967, I'll probably have to wait until Phil Crump's obvious GP victory in 1975 to give definite answers.

A fascinating piece of random trivia! Having looked it up on Wiki, the other 3 must have been Jack Biggs, Bernt Persson and Craig Boyce. I assume they didn't have run-offs in the days of Eric Langton.

Briggs, without a doubt. He was far and away the best rider in the World that year, and pre-final it was pretty much a question of who would come second to Briggs on World Final night. Admittedly he fluffed it a bit on the night, but over a season he'd have had no problem - even riding with injuries I reckon. Mauger was almost there, but not quite. Banger? Nah! Was never going to be World Champ. More a Simmons, Kennett, Autrey type.

He wouldn't have won it in 1967 though.

I think Neilsen's problem was that, at a crucial point in the World Final, he'd get into a paddy and over-ride. Even when he finally won the title he did this - and was let off by a shocking refereeing decision after bringing Knudsen off. In a GP he'd have just plugged away scoring points without having to deal with such do-or-die crucial situations. We could have been looking at a 10 times World Champ if the GP had been around then in it's current form. I'm convinced of that in my own little world. If the GP had been around in its previous form with the KO rounds I think it's more likely he might have blown a few. Gundersen might have had a bit of an edge in those with his "big race" mentality.

Michanek only scored 6 in the 1973 World Final though, which must be some sort of indication. For anyone other than Gundersen to have won a Grand Prix World title when Hans Neilsen was at his prime would have been a miracle. I doubt even Per Jonsson would have won one - and Per Jonsson was truly brilliant.

If the GP had been around in the 80s and 90s it's quite possible that Hans Neilsen would have won every year from 1984 to 1995 - and perhaps 1983 as well. Maybe Gundersen might have nicked one or possibly two, but in terms of consistency nobody was close to Neilsen over that period, and some of the mistakes he made in Finals would have been barely noticed over an entire series. I guess Dave Jessup's engine failure in 1978 makes him a possible "World Champ that never was" - but I'm not convinced he would have won. And Les Collins might have won in 1982 had Bruce Penhall either not knocked off Kenny Carter or been excluded as he should have been. And, had the race been re-run without Penhall, then Carter might have been World Champ.

I do remember Michanek in his prime. My reasoning was more to do with not being convinced he would have had the dedication and commitment to win over a full season - based ore on his interviews than his undoubted ability. He has also admitted he didn't really like being World Champion and was pleased to drop points in his first ride in 1975, so he could relax and enjoy the meeting without worrying about having to be World Champ again. So it's more based on that.

Well, easier if you weren't the best rider in the world. Possibly harder if you were - as Hans Neilsen would probably testify. There are many riders who probably wouldn't have made World Champ under the GP system. I doubt even riders like Ermolenko, Michanek and Jan O. Pedersen would have, let alone Muller, Havelock and that Polish bloke.

Leigh may have won a title under the old system, and may even be a better rider than Gollob overall. But in World terms Gollob has, I feel, shone more. In league racing I'd say "yes" about Leigh Adams, but in World Championship terms I'd go for Gollob as more likely.

Tomasz Gollob has to be a contender among the current batch. Would probably have won more than one under the old system. Possibly 3 or 4, depending on where in Poland they decided to stage it! Regularly comes to the party when it matters in World Championship meetings.