lucifer sam

I think we can already add: 2009: Failed Surely he can't be seeded again? All the best Rob

Scott Nicholls' GP record: 2001: Finished in top 6 of GP challenge and qualified for 2002 GP 2002: Failed, but seeded into following year's competition 2003: Qualified for 2004 series 2004: Failed, but seeded into following year's competition 2005: Failed, but seeded into following year's competition 2006: Failed, but seeded into following year's competition 2007: Qualified for 2008 series after knocking off Chris Harris in run-off 2008: Failed, but seeded into following year's competition It's not impresive reading is it? All the best Rob

Pete, My team is: 2 Jason CRUMP AUSTRALIA £50,000 (Captain) 3 Tomasz Gollob POLAND £45,000 7 Andreas JONSSON SWEDEN £35,000 8 Rune HOLTA **NORWAY** £35,000 15 Emil SATSUMANOV RUSSIA £25,000 All the best Rob

A VERY rough example All the best Rob

Yes, the result of the 2000 World Team Cup was somewhat controversial and after that a 4-team, 24-heat format involving pairs was quietly dropped. A PROPER World Team Cup would only involve two teams in each meeting. Two groups of four, with Group A & B matches (two each) taking place on alternate. Schedule could be: Day 1 - Thursday - Group A matches x 2 Day 2 - Friday - Group B matches x 2 Day 3 - Saturday - Group A matches x 2 Day 4 - Sunday - Group B matches x 2 Day 5 - Monday - Group A matches x 2 Day 6 - Tuesday - Group B matches x 2 (Restaging date for all group matches is the following day) Day 8 - Thursday - SF1 - winner Group A v runner-up Group B Day 9 - Friday - SF2 - winner Group B v runner-up Group A (Restaging date for semis is Day 10 - Saturday) Day 11 - Sunday - the final (Restaging date Day 12 - Monday) Prospective groups Group A - Denmark, Australia, England, Czech Republic. Group B - Poland, Sweden, USA, Russia. All the best Rob

TNT, you are hopless at times - you've got different countries riding in a different number of heats. 27 x 2 / 4 = 13.5, which is not a whole number. All the best Rob

Under-19 team championship? What a load of rot - yet another pointless competition to take riders away from the leagues who pay them their wages. All the best Rob

So Jacques what do you think? All the best Rob

I misread the title of this thread. I thought it said "Nicki says no to haircut". Scruffy git! And 50% is a lot. If my employer wanted to cut my wages by 50%, my reply would involve one finger. All the best Rob

(Parsloes is now getting excited so) Don't have a boner, Parsloes Parsloes, depending on what the weather is like on Sunday, I may or may not put my trip to Mildenhall back to April 26. But whatever the case, I will get you that pint on my trip to West Row. All the best Rob

Good grief, Parsloes, it's the Under-15 championship. It's a nice thing for a young lad to win, but winning is certainly not the be-all and end-all. The important thing is the experienced picked up. Don't have a period, Parsloes. All the best Rob

Surely the crux of the matter is that they should be enough opportunites at this level for the riders that need them. Any rider who was already 15 on January 1, but still without a NL place, should be allowed to compete. It's not that important who actually wins the championship (although I'm not belitting the achievement of those who have for one moment). It's far more about the experience picked up and how that can be used to help the rider with the progression of their career. All the best Rob

Of course not. But Makovsky is a bit of a mentalist, so don't try to paint of picture of him as an angel. All the best Rob

But Michal Makovsky himself is certainly no angel. All the best Rob

Fantastic to see so many people there today for such a good cause. Paul Ackroyd, the main driving force behing this meeting, deserves a huge pat on the back. Let's hope it becomes an annual event. And yes folks, I can confirm that I sold a programme to SCB, even though I warned him in advance of the somewhat scary photo on page 30. All the best Rob

Drat - mind you with the earlier start-time for Cardiff, it may be possible for them to do both. "Pot the reds then screw back, for the yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black... " All the best Rob

Grachan - as were the Swindon Robins (and quite a long way back into the 20th Century as well), but it doesn't stop you watching them every week. I hope Chas'N'Dave are brought back again - maybe they could do a longer set this time to incorporate "Snooker Loopy". All the best Rob

I really hope this happens - Ice Racing in Britain would be fantastic. All the best Rob

Conkers, thanks - yes I missed Lehtinen in Heat 26, but when I spotted Lindstrom in Heat 32, I guessed Lehtinen was in the earlier race. These Ice Racers are tough - another example being Vitali Khomitsevich who took a right pearler yesterday on top of his Saturday crash, but still completed the meeting. All the best Rob

The general rule of thumb seems to be whether the rider qualified for the finals or not. If they did, they get the points. If they didn't (such as Vitali Khomitsevich on Saturday, who was outscored by Sven Holstein - good prospect, that lad), then they don't get the points. Incidentally, how many rides did Harold Simon take yesterday. Was it one or two? I noticed it was Lindstrom in Heat 32, but Lehtinen was first reserve, so I would have expected him to take the first reserve ride. Was it Simon or Lehtinen who ran a last in Heat 26? All the best Rob

Conkers, it was good to bump into you on the Saturday night. Krasnikov is a quality act - eight wins in eight rounds and five World Championships on the trot, that's incredible. And he's still only 24. Good to get back to Assen after a gap of a few years. All the best Rob

I think Lindstrom got that point, not Simon.

Hi Conkers, If the figures in the Assen proggie are correct, then the final totals are: Vitali Khomitsevich Rus 103 Harald Simon A 45 All the best Rob

Conkers - I may well take you up on that offer. Really looking forward to the weekend - it's been too long since I last went to Assen. Since then this young Krasnikov bloke seems to become quite good. All the best Rob