lucifer sam

I never have massive expectations of Cardiff being a great meeting, so I'm not let down when it isn't. Yesterday was a ho-hum meeting, it wasn't great, but it wasn't awful either. Cardiff 2010 was something a bit special, I'm fully aware we are unlikely to get that every year. At least the track this year didn't rut up in the way it did in the early days, some of the early Cardiff meetings were very poor. As usual, the best racing of the GP weekend came at Somerset 24 hours earlier - with the Joe Screen masterclass. All the best Rob

I hope Bridger never grows up, he's hilarious What a twonk. All the best Rob

I'll be at the POW mate, it still seems to be the meeting point for everyone. All the best Rob

Trust you to be noisy. Getting my tickets on Saturday - will be getting an air-horn free zone if possible. I don't mind them - but not when you've got some numpty in the seat behind who doesn't realise you're supposed to direct them skywards and blasts it straight in my earhole instead. All the best Rob

Shawn Moran brought it down to a rained off at Oxford at the end of 1986 and it was lost. The competition was held early on in 1987, even though there was no helmet any more, but then curtailed part way through the season. All the best Rob

Some people will moan about anything Meanwhile, it looks like quite an expensive trip to the collectors fair for me on Sunday... there's two books and one DVD I want. All the best Rob

Humph, I don't really recall it extending beyond that one night. Paul Thorp seemed to have more of a hoodoo over Hans - he beat Hans several times in several different meeting during 1987. All the best Rob

True, but you won't get bumped into by any psycho grannies with shopping trollies at the collectors fair. All the best Rob

RIP Jimmy Gooch. One of Oxford's first world class riders. He was part of the treble-winning side of 1964, plus reached the World Final as a Cheetah in 1965. All the best Rob

Tony, it was completely fair and square. Carl Blackbird actually beat Hans THREE times that night - in Heat 12 of the league match, in the ill-concevied Gold Sash (remember that) and the Golden Helmet. Hans just had no answer. Probably the only time that someone beat Hans Nielsen three times in the same meeting anywhere in 1986. My main memory of the Golden Helmet comes from later in the same season. Hans had missed a home meeting against Ipswich, thus allowing Marvyn Cox to take the Golden Helmet off Jeremy Doncaster. Cocker defended it a few times (including beating Chris Morton from behind at Belle Vue), and then Cradley came to Oxford. Erik Gundersen, the defending World Champion, duly topped scored for the Heathens and thus became the challenger. Cocker lost the toss for gate positions and started off the outside, and when he missed the gate, it looked all over. But Cocker wasn’t beaten, climbed all over the back of Erik, before driving under Erik on the third lap and then holding onto a famous victory. I was in the crowd on the fourth bend, going barmy along with the rest of the Oxford faithful! Just before the race, my uncle's registration was called out and he was asked to immediately move his car. He did move it - but only after the race! Cocker held onto the Golden Helmet longer than anyone else in 1986, not bad for a third heat leader. Ironically he also lost the helmet to Carl Blackbird! All the best Rob P.S. Now back to transcribing my article for the next issue of Backtrack.

Hans Andersen's tantrum that day was brilliant... one Nicki would be proud of. He hit the wall of the temporary Reading pits and they wobbled for several seconds. For a moment, it looked like they were going to fall on top of Andersen. All the best Rob

A little push?? That was slightly more than a little push. The cause of the stoppage had to be Nicki P. Would Harris fallen without the contact from Nicki P, I very much doubt it. Gardell was awful. Nearly every decision wrong, including incorrectly excluded Nicki P in the re-run... although he should have gone first time. All the best Rob

Thank goodness for Nicki P. What would we talk about in the GPs if he wasn't riding? Ref was awful last night. It's time to use the excellent Craig Ackroyd again. I admit a degree of bias here, but Craig did a great job in the opener at Leszno. Use him again. All the best Rob

But the same old excuse trotted out for why Britain doesn't have a second GP is that we can't fill Cardiff. So we get 40,000 into Cardiff and don't get a second GP, the Swedes get just 14,000 into Gothenburg and yet do. Where's the logic in that? It really looked awful on the TV last night - a near empty stadium. Surely a few less in a smaller stadium - i.e. that almost bursting at the seems with people would look better? All the best Rob

I'm sorry, but that wasn't included in your original statement. Just admit it: you made a mistake. You've also made a further error, the 2003 GP in Ullevi went three races before being abandoned, not two. On the whole, Tony Olsson has exerted a positive influence on the GP thus far. Whether last night's decision to plough on as far as possible was the right one (which once the meeting has started, would ulimately be up to the FIM Jury, not Tony Olsson), depends on what the weather forecast was for last night and today. Does anyone have this information? All the best Rob

Why do IMG bother having a second Grand Prix in Sweden? From the TV coverage, the stadium looked about a third full last night. Surely it would be better to scrap Ullevi and have a second GP in Britain at Coventry. I'm sure Coventry would atttract a crowd of around 10,000, whilst the track is already there. And our weather, while unpredictable, is definitely better than that in Sweden in April / May time. And, in due course, it may be that this round shifts from Coventry to the new Belle Vue stadium, once that is completed. All the best Rob

Nope, Gollob will back down - he won't go through with it. All the best Rob

Good grief, I send something in a blue moon these days since the demise of Oxford and I've never had any personal contact with Phil Rising. I actually thought the Star should have been more critical, at the time, of the postponment at Gelsenkirchen in 2008. But your conspiracy theory is just plain daft. All the best Rob

Ladyluck, did you go to Gelsenkirchen in 2008? You're carrying on as if you were personally wronged, but I'm sure you weren't out there. I think Phil Rising has given the fullest and truest explanation of events that he can. Of course, the events leading to the postponement of this meeting were a complete and utter embarrassment, but surely trying to restage the meeting at Gelsenkirchen a week later would have only led to further disaster. And a lot of negative publicity came out of the postponement. I don't think for a moment that it would have been done on purpose; it just doesn't make sense. All the best Rob

Bryn, next Monday off? Tsk, tsk, lightweight All the best Rob

Not a U-turn by Mr. Gollob, surely? Ladyluck, my dear chap, does that mean you'll be branding Mr. Gollob a coward for backing down. All the best Rob

True, but also should remember that, in 1995, there were only 20 points for the win. So it all balances out. And the GPs are easier these days as well, with a weaker line-up. Gollob took advantage of that last year (and fair play for him doing so). Gollob was never a match for either Rickardsson, a fully-fit Crump or a properly firing Nicki P. All the best Rob

This table just shows how classy Hans Nielsen was. He's eighth in the table, despite the fact he only rode 5 seasons in the GP in the twilight of his career from the age of 35 until the age of 39. And his average is above everyone's bar Rickardsson's, who has the advantage of being in his prime whilst the GP was running. At the time of his retirement, Hans had won 6 GPs and Tony 5, despite Hans being 10 years older than Rickardsson. All the best Rob

Interesting to see Krasnikov not having it all his own way for once. I miss not being out there this year (including my session putting the speedway world to rights with Conkers in the hotel bar on Friday night ), but I do plan to return in 2012. All the best Rob

I think there's nothing wrong with the odd older rider in the third tier, as long as there are enough youngsters around them. As for whether Dean Felton holds the appearance record, it depends if anyone from the 1947-1953 period surpasses him (the third tier was called Division 3 from 1947 to 1951 and then the Southern League in 1952 & 1953). But unfortunately we don't have the same kind of detailed information on this period. All the best Rob