lucifer sam

Conkers - no, but I'll see you on the bus to Assen the following week. All the best Rob

Did we get a list of final standings? All the best Rob

And you still haven't got it right. In 2007, there were three rounds - at Weymouth, Northside and Oxford. The riders best round score from either Weymouth OR Northside PLUS their points from Oxford (NOT double points) made up their final score. The top three were: Daniel Greenwood 15 + 17 = 32 (after run-off) James Sarjaent 17+ 15 = 32 Brendan Johnson 17 +14 = 31 Got it now? And I'm glad that you have now come around to everyone else's way of thinking, that Daniel Greenwood was a most worthy winner of the 2007 British Under-15 Championship. I really hope he is able to compete in the National League in 2009. It was a pity you didn't check the facts before your initial post. All the best Rob

WW - I love to see old Parsloes put his foot right in it. Daniel Greenwood was a hugely deserving winner of the 2007 British Under 15 championship. And both James and Brendan were very magnanimous in defeat when I interviewed them that night. A sad footnote is that this meeting is currently the last to have been held at Oxford. All the best Rob

Hard luck on Buzz Burrows, who will be due a double testimonial by the time this meeting takes place. All the best Rob

Full details of the final round are: Friday, October 26 BRITISH UNDER-15 CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL ROUND OXFORD QUALIFYING SCORES: Daniel Greenwood 2 3 3 3 3 14 James Sarjeant 3 2 3 3 3 14 Kye Norton 3 3 2 3 2 13 Brendan Johnson 3 3 3 2 1 12 Shane Hazelden 3 2 2 3 2 12 Richard Franklin 2 1 2 2 3 10 Danny Stoneman 1 3 3 1 0 8 John Resch 2 0 2 1 3 8 Scott Meakins 1 2 1 2 2 8 Jake Knight 1 1 1 2 1 6 Jack Hirst 2 0 0 0 2 4 Chris Bint 0 1 1 1 1 4 Cameron Hoskins 1 2 0 0 0 3 Montana Jowett 0 X 1 0 1 2 Michael Bovis - - - - - - Jason Garrity - - - - - - Referee: Graham Reeve HEAT DETAILS: 1: Sarjeant, Hirst, Hoskins (three riders only), 65.18. 2: Hazelden, Resch, Meakins, Jowett, 63.85. 3: Johnson, Greenwood, Knight (three riders only), 63.42. 4: Norton, Franklin, Stoneman, Bint, 63.71. 5: Greenwood, Sarjeant, Franklin, Resch, 63.45. 6: Johnson, Meakins, Bint (three riders only), 63.75. 7: (awarded) Stoneman, Hoskins, Jowett (excluded) (three riders only), no time. 8: Norton, Hazelden, Knight, Hirst, 64.12. 9: Sarjeant, Norton, Meakins (three riders only), 65.60. 10: Stoneman, Resch, Knight (three riders only), 67.03. 11: Greenwood, Hazelden, Bint, Hoskins, 63.57. 12: Johnson, Franklin, Jowett, Hirst, 64.02. 13: Sarjeant, Knight, Bint, Jowett, 64.81. 14: Hazelden, Franklin (two riders only), 65.00. 15: Norton, Johnson, Resch, Hoskins, 63.42. 16: Greenwood, Meakins, Stoneman, Hirst, 64.47 17: (re-run) Sarjeant, Hazelden, Johnson, Stoneman, 64.03. 18: Greenwood, Norton (fell, remounted), Jowett (three riders only), 66.03. 19: Franklin, Meakins, Knight, Hoskins, 65.25. 20: Resch, Hirst, Bint (three riders only), 69.37. Final: Greenwood, Sarjeant, Johnson, Norton, 64.24. Run-off for championship: Greenwood, Sarjeant, 64.78. 250cc races: 1: Morris, Naylor, Stoneman, Portwood, 70.06. 2: Morris, Naylor, Stoneman, Portwood, 69.56. 3: Morris, Naylor, Stoneman, Portwood, 69.62. 4: Morris, Naylor, Stoneman, Portwood, 70.56. FINAL ROUND POINTS: Greenwood 17, Sarjeant 15, Johnson 14, Norton 13, Hazelden 12, Franklin 11, Stoneman 10, Resch 10, Meakins 10, Knight 7, Hirst 6, Bint 6, Hoskins 4, Jowett 3. OVERALL STANDINGS: 1 Daniel Greenwood 32+3 (15+17), 2 James Sarjeant 32+2 (17+15), 3 Brendan Johnson 31 (17+14), 4= Kye Norton 26 (13+13), 4= Richard Franklin 26 (15+11), 6 Shane Hazelden 25 (13+12), 7 Danny Stoneman 19 (9+10), 8 Jack Hirst 18 (12+6), 9 John Resch 17 (7+10), 10 Scott Meakins 16 (6+10), 11 Cameron Hoskins 14 (10+4), 12 Montana Jowett 13 (10+3), 13= Chris Bint 11 (5+6), 13= Dale Lamb 11 (11+DNR), 15 Jason Garrity 9 (9+DNR), 16 Jack Butler 8 (8+DNR), 17 Jake Knight 7 (DNR+7), 18= Michael Bovis 4 (4+DNR) 18= Nathan Stoneman 4 (4+DNR). DANIEL GREENWOOD clinched the British Under-15 title, after winning the final round at Oxford and then defeating James Sarjeant in a run-off for the championship. Greenwood, who hails from Moreton-in-the-Marsh in Gloucestershire, is the third rider to win the title, following in the footsteps of Josh Auty (2004 & 2005) and Joe Haines (2006). As with the previous two winners, Greenwood has progressed to speedway from junior grasstrack, where he won four British Championships in various youth classes. 14-year-old Greenwood was the best rider on the night, winning six of his seven races, and suffering his only defeat to home favourite Brendan Johnson in his opening outing. Crucially, Greenwood beat Sheffield-based Sarjeant, aged 13, on the three occasions when they met. Riders took forward their best score from the two opening rounds at Weymouth and Northside (Workington) and this was added to their Cowley tally to determine their overall points and positions. Leaders going into the final round were Johnson, the winner at Weymouth, and Sarjeant, victorious at Northside, with 17 points apiece. Greenwood, sixth at Weymouth and second at Northside, took 15 points into the meeting, as did Coventry second half rider Richard Franklin. With four riders separated by just two points, this final round was always likely to boil down to a thrilling conclusion, and that’s just what happened. Greenwood and Sarjeant topped the scorechart after the 20 qualifying heats, with 14 points each. Kye Norton came next on 13 points. Norton fell on the second bend of his final programmed outing in Heat 18, while contesting the lead with Greenwood, and then remounted and passed Montana Jowett, but only after a sterling effort from the female rider. Norton’s tumble was one of only two falls in 26 heats of action – an indication of the skill of the riders on display, despite their tender age. The other fall came in Heat 7, when Cameron Hoskins laid his bike down to avoid Jowett, who had come to a sudden standstill due to a shed chain. Johnson, the pre-meeting favourite, was the only rider unbeaten after three outings. However, he could not catch Norton in Heat 15 and had to settle for second place. Heat 17 was a vital race, bringing together Sarjeant (11), Johnson (11) and Shane Hazelden (10). Johnson trapped, but referee Graham Reeve spotted movement at the tapes and halted the race. In the re-run, Sarjeant came out on top after a closely contested first bend, while Hazelden roared inside Johnson on the second lap to take second. That left both Johnson and Hazelden on 12 points, with Johnson getting the nod for the fourth place in the final, on the basis of his three heat wins as opposed to Hazelden’s two. It was hard luck on Hazelden, who had been the winner of a terrific tussle with Franklin in Heat 14, which had been reduced to a two-man match-race due to the non-appearance of Michael Bovis and Jason Garrity. The final was a cracking race. Greenwood, Sarjeant and Johnson were all in contention for the championship, while Norton looked a very capable spoiler. Greenwood, off the inside gate, took the lead, but Sarjeant darted inside him on the third bend of the opening lap. Greenwood kept his composure and regained the advantage on the fourth bend and then pulled away. Second-placed Sarjeant then came under pressure from the chasing Johnson, who could replace Sarjeant in the deciding run-off if he could get through. Greenwood looked safe up front, but drifted wide coming off the second bend of the final lap. It allowed Sarjeant and Johnson to close the gap, and a blanket could have been thrown over the three riders as they dashed across the finishing line, with Greenwood just holding on from Sarjeant and Johnson. That meant Greenwood had won the Oxford round, but the much bigger prize of British champion was now on the line. A delay to the start of the run-off due to a problem with the air-fence heightened the tension, however once the race got underway it was a straightforward tapes-to-flag victory for Greenwood. It concluded a packed 26-heat programme which also included four 250cc races between Ashley Morris, Rhys Naylor, Nathan Stoneman and Adam Portwood. Morris was the winner of all four heats, while a feature of these races were the battles between Naylor and 11-year-old Stoneman, with Naylor passing his young opponent on each occasion, twice on the final bend. WHAT THEY SAID: DANIEL GREENWOOD “It’s great to win the British Under-15 championship, because it was my main objective this year. “I know both Josh Auty and Joe Haines from grasstrack, so it’s nice to follow in their footsteps. “I had a few crashes in the opening rounds, but I managed to avoid that tonight. I was making starts and then staying out of trouble. “I got a bit nervous prior to the run-off, due to the delay with the air-fence, but I fired out of the start and then pulled away. “Oxford is quite a technical track, but I’ve been here a lot in second halves over the last few years, and I’ve mastered it. “I’d like to say a big thank you to Andy Altoft, of SubSpecies, who has promised to sponsor me in 2008. And also thanks to my dad and the rest of the family for all their encouragement and support. “I’ve got a personal trainer, Gary Barnett, who makes sure I eat the right things and do the right exercise, and I think that was another thing that helped make the difference tonight. “I’ll be seeing Gary regularly over the winter, to be fighting fit leading into next season. “I’m 15 next June and I’d like to get a good Conference League place. I’d be grateful to anyone who wants to offer me sponsorship, to help me make a big impact next season.” JAMES SARJEANT: “I was very happy with my performance. “I nearly got past Daniel in the final, but he just held me off. In the run-off, he gated and I was spinning and couldn’t catch him. “But I’m very happy to finish second overall. “I’ve still got two years left to win this title – and I’m really going for it next year.” BRENDAN JOHNSON: “I feel that I should have won it, but I had a bad night. “After I finished second to Kye Norton in my fourth outing, we made a team decision to change the bike. It proved to be the wrong decision. “Full credit to Daniel and James, who both rode really well tonight and fully deserved to finish first and second. “It’s a disappointing end to the season for me, but I’ve still really enjoyed riding for Oxford this season – I made the right choice of track. “I’ve been one of the babies of the Conference League, and although it’s been a bit up-and-down at times, I feel I’ve had a good season. “The team spirit at Oxford has been outstanding, and we’ve done excellently to finish second behind Scunthorpe in the league.” REPORT: ROB PEASLEY All the best Rob

Humphrey - is this a late entry for the most obscure "claim to fame" thread that was running a couple of weeks ago. All the best Rob

Iris, it's maybe "only 1 GP", but significantly it's the most recent. And since the farce of Gelsenkirchen and the following whitewash by BSI with the likes of Ole Olsen having escaped without reprimand, who can travel abroad to a GP meeting with any confidence? It will still be Olsen buggering up these tracks. I suggest GP attendances figures will be down in 2009 for three reasons: 1. The credit crunch 2. Gelsenkirchen 2008 3. People are getting bored of the GP series All the best Rob

Why had only 4,000 tickets be sold for Gelsenkirchen, then? All the best Rob

Parsnips, don't be all-Scrooge like, you seem to have overlooked my three smileys, which suggested I was being less than serious. All the best Rob

So winning a semi-final of the World Championship is not a big deal? Let's have a look at some of the riders to have qualified to the World Final via the Continental route: 1964 - Igor Plechanov (2nd in World Final) 1965 - Igor Plechanov (2nd) 1966 - Antoni Woryna (3rd) 1968 - Edward Jancarz (3rd) 1970 - Pawel Waloszek (2nd), Antoni Woryna (3rd) 1973 - Jerzy Szczakiel (WORLD CHAMPION), Zenon Plech (3rd) 1979 - Zenon Plech (2nd) 1983 - Egon Muller (WORLD CHAMPION) Add in the likes of Viktor Kuznetsov, Jerzy Rembas, Grigori Khliniovski, Vladimir Gordeev and Boris Samorodov, who also all performed very well in World Finals. And then add quality such as Jiri Stancl, Andrzej Wyglenda, Karl Maier, Gerd Riss, Armando Castagna, Zoltan Adorjan, etc. I think winning the Continental Final on no fewer than four ocassions is a very big deal. Egon Muller is a far better rider than the majority of British fans give him credit for. And remember how well he performed on unfamiliar tracks and unfamiliar machinery in his very short spell for Hull, his only British club. He is a far better rider than Gary Havelock, who was, with all respect, a one-season wonder. All the best Rob

Newport could stage a meeting in February, since Telford is not taking place this year. All the best Rob

Egon Muller: World Champion 1983 7 x World Finalist in the years spanning 1976-1985 (Havelock's final appearances spanned only 1992-1996) Four times Continental Champion (a semi-final of the World Championship - often derided, but remember it supplied two World Champions and a whole lost of riders who finished on the World Final rostrum) (Havelock never won a World semi-final) National champion on at least five ocassions (Havelock only won the British Final twice) Plus all his Longtrack exploits (Havelock never achieved anything in this sphere) All-in-all, a much more impressive list than that of Gary Havelock. All the best Rob

Why it's "staggering"? Havelock had one very good year in 1992 - and that was it. In contrast, Egon Muller was a quality performer for many years and a multi-discipline World Champion. It shows the typical chauvinistic view of British supporters, disregarding the talents of any rider who has limited British experience. All the best Rob

Henry - you should look beyond performances in Britain. Muller was a lot better than Havelock. All the best Rob

HenryW, I have to say it would have been bloody boring had there been a GP series from 1983 onwards. Yes, Hans Nielsen would have won a lot more individual titles (maybe even into double figures), but I got great pleasure from attending the majority of the World Finals between 1981 and 1991 and wouldn't swap that for another few titles for Hans. Most of the World Champions under the one-off system were highly deserving - they weren't many "fluke" winners. And Jerzy Szczakiel & Egon Muller are much better riders than they are often given credit for - and actually they were probably better riders than Freddie Williams (only a World Champion because the meeting was held on his own track) and Gary Havelock (probably the worst ever rider to become World Champion). I'm really starting to miss the old one-off final, the GP series has started to get a bit boring in the last few years. Unfortunately I think we're stuck with it. All the best Rob

Is it safe to be up in the box without Chris anchoring it down? I'd hate for the box to blow away while Parsnips was in full flow on the mic. All the best Rob

Dear Mods... please could you delete this thread All the best Rob

What's this short track rubbish doing in a speedway section? All the best Rob

I realise it's largely wishful thinking on my behalf. I'd like to see the GP series scaled back a bit, though. Now that it's 11 rounds, it's too become a tad too predictable and makes it less likely to have a close finish overall. I think a return to 6 rounds and only one GP per country would help. It would make the meetings more unique and special - at the moment there are ten-a-penny. And two-bob venues such as bloody awful Vojens should be avoided. All the best Rob

But Humphrey Appleby has already provided a link that showed that BSI wasn't exactly flourishing. And this was before Gelsenkirhcen and the financial impact that will have, while the weak pound will deter British fans travelling outside their country for the next few years. And the probable collapse of the Russian League, plus problems for the Polish and Swedish Leagues, added to the desertion of the top stars from Britain, will mean the GP stars will be wanting much more for their GP appearances. It's a worrying time for the GP series, along with speedway at all levels. EDIT: Please don't think I share ALL the views of Parsloes, though. All the best Rob

Give it a few years and the World Final will be back. The world recession will kill off the GP series. All the best Rob

So ANY news of ANY action to be taken against Ole Olsen following Gelsenkirchen. All the best Rob

Full Throttle & Conkers, Thanks, I think I'll go-ahead and book myself and the old man on the Eurorider trip. I normally travel with Travel Plus for the GPs, but we've been to Assen plenty of times before, so a quick in-and-out for this trip will suit us and allow me to save up the pennies to go to Sweden with Travel Plus later in the year. All the best Rob

What's the Eurorider trip to Assen like? Can anyone recommend it? All the best Rob