lucifer sam

The format has little to do with it. In 1980, almost every top rider in the world rode in the British League. In 2015, I'd say around a fifth of the top riders ride in the Elite League. 1980 is therefore, by definition, tougher. Another point: tactical subs. A heat leader could often spend the latter half of a meeting with some exceptionally difficult rides, if additional heat leaders were thrown in against him. And we're talking proper heat leaders. All the best Rob Modern-day Poland is different: a very, very tough league. Similar to the British (Super) League of 1985, where some very good riders ended up with some very average averages!! Put Emil in the current EL, and he'd average 11.00+ no problem. All the best Rob

But the above argument falls down when you consider the number of World Class riders in the modern day Elite League. In 1980, most of the 17 BL sides had three World class riders (it's not an exact science: some teams had one or two, others four or five). They are almost non-existent the current EL. For example, Swindon had a No 1 in the play-offs who couldn't complete four laps on a wet track. A rider like that wouldn't have been a second string in 1980, yet alone a No 1. Yes, the current EL format does pitch heat leaders against heat leaders. But when those heat leaders are weak, it's not that tough. 1980 (around 50 World class riders in BL - around three per team) No 1 rider met No 1,3 and 5 a total of five times - meets five world class riders in four outings 2015 (around 10 world class riders in EL - around one per team) No 1 rider meets opposing No 1 three times - meets three world class riders in five outings 1980 was tougher. All the best Rob

Now corrected. I'm just wondering how BWitcher reckons the current Elite League, which probably contains around 10-15 of the top 50 riders in the world is tougher than the 1980 British League, which contained around 45-48 of the top 50 riders in the world. All the best Rob

You're saying the likes of Mauger and Olsen would only be mediocre riders in the current Elite League? Really????? What are you on??? All the best Rob

Far more world class opposition. Look out 1980. So many world class riders, that reigning champion Ivan Mauger failed to reach the final and Ole Olsen was only reserve too. All the best Rob

What are you talking about? I'm certainly NOT a Poole fan You might want the same riders in the GP year in, year out (zzzzzzzzzzzz ) but personally I think there should be a limit of, say, 3 permanent wildcard seeds per rider. After that, they have to qualify. There's no way a rider should get up to 6 nominations, that's far too many. All the best Rob

How does what AJ did in 2009 or 2010 or even 2014 determine how good a speedway rider he is NOW? Using your logic, I reckon Ove Fundin should be the Swedish rider in the GP, because he won the World title five times. All the best Rob

Posa was 54. International licenses expired at 55, but the rules were changed, because there would have been uproar to tell the reigning world champion that he's too old!! All the best Rob It's subjective and down to opinion, though. I would say Penhall, as well, but Hancock is not an incorrect answer. It's someone's opinion, just as some people would say the best-ever American is Jack Milne or Scott Autrey and so on. All the best Rob

I think I would alter the qualifying system as follows: * Top 5 from GP series qualify * Top 5 from GP Challenge qualify * World Under-21 Champion qualifies * Three seeds (one of whom must have never been a permanent GP rider before) * Two wildcards per round All the best Rob

The other way to look at it is that AJ finished below a guy who missed a quarter of the GP season. All the best Rob

Joe, this is the sixth time that AJ has been handed a wildcard, one more than any other rider. Surely that's too many. Especially when there are the likes of Vaculik, who could come in and do a better job. I hope he's been told to finish in the top 8 next year or finish in the top 3 of the GP challenge. All the best Rob

What's your obsession with Bomber? He qualified fair-and-square on merit. There's 11 riders who qualified for the 2016 GP series. Bomber is one of them. I agree Vaculik would be a good addition to the GP. But it would be in place of another seeded rider. I would suggest AJ. All the best Rob

That makes no sense, with two Swedes seeded already. I'd use the reserve spots to nominate riders from nationalities not already picked e.g. 1. Vaculik 2. Milik 3. Smolinski Mind you, I'd have Vaculik in instead of perennial charity case AJ in the first place. All the best Rob

Oi!! Wayne Carter truly has the patience of a saint. All the best Rob

Barry does the music. Graham does the announcing. All the best Rob

I think it's the sixth time he's been seeded in. In which case, he supersedes the other three, who were all seeded in 5 times. All the best Rob

AJ again? How many times he has been seeded in now? All the best Rob

Full story here: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=4515 Second signing to be revealed next Thursday. All the best Rob

Off the top of my head, 1951, 1960 and 1985 were three other years with a three-man run-off. All the best Rob

SCUNTHORPE’S Eddie Wright Raceway will feature in a forthcoming episode of the hit BBC3 programme ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’. No plot spoilers are allowed; simply to say it’s well worth watching! Here is the official BBC blurb: “Joker Kyle has just three weeks and £12,000 to pull off the perfect wedding for his bride-to-be Kate. Kate dreams of a traditional affair that’s all about her, with a perfect dress to match. But Kyle wants his wedding day to go with a proper bang – he wants to put his bride into an old banger, onto a race track and then send her down the aisle, demolition derby-style. Will Kate flip when she finds out his plans for a smashing day? Will Kyle’s plan to rent a wedding dress backfire? Or will his whole wedding end up as a write-off?” The episode, which kicks off the tenth series of the ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’, will premiere on BBC3 on Wednesday, October 28th at 9pm.

SCUNTHORPE’S Eddie Wright Raceway will feature in a forthcoming episode of the hit BBC3 programme ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’. No plot spoilers are allowed; simply to say it’s well worth watching! Here is the official BBC blurb: “Joker Kyle has just three weeks and £12,000 to pull off the perfect wedding for his bride-to-be Kate. Kate dreams of a traditional affair that’s all about her, with a perfect dress to match. But Kyle wants his wedding day to go with a proper bang – he wants to put his bride into an old banger, onto a race track and then send her down the aisle, demolition derby-style. Will Kate flip when she finds out his plans for a smashing day? Will Kyle’s plan to rent a wedding dress backfire? Or will his whole wedding end up as a write-off?” The episode, which kicks off the tenth series of the ‘Don’t Tell The Bride’, will premiere on BBC3 on Wednesday, October 28th at 9pm.

Thank you for proving my point.. All the best Rob

SCB, but were any of those other 9th-placed riders already handed a wildcard in the Grand Prix Challenge? How much chances should a particular rider be given within a calendar year? Should it only be one wildcard per rider per year? The irony is poor Bomber Harris get more stick... and yet he's qualified on merit in the last two seasons. All the best Rob

But Greg isn't fake. He is genuinely nice. All the best Rob

It's not just one Challenge, though: 1. He was eliminated in the semi-finals of the qualifiers, after crashing out in his opening ride. 2. He received a wildcard for the GP Challenge, but failed to make it through. 3. He failed to finish in the top 8 of the Grand Prix series, although I accept he did three rounds less than everyone else in this case. So PK has had three chances to qualify for 2016 and blown the lot. In that case, should he be given a wildcard? Is there not an argument that any rider who is given a wildcard for the GP Challenge should not also be given a wild card for the GP series? Zmarzlik grabbed his extra chance with both hands and booked his place. All the best Rob