T Blair

Short answer... yes if he missed because of a medical condition and withdrew on the night of the event. If he is removed prior to the event, then the ban should be 7 days from the diagnosis. Same rule for ALL riders. Can't be any fairer than that.

One the Polish site, it says that they collided and Hancock was excluded. He was concious and taken to hospital but no word beyond that yet.

Well the 'good news' is that Walasek has apparently recovered well since he scored 6 from his first 3 rides for ZKŻ Kronopol Zielona Góra in Poland tonight. Even if the nationality of the doctor is irrelevant, hit 'em where it hurts and have an automatic 7 day ban for any rider deemed to have to withdraw from ANY officially sanctioned meeting in any league or international competition. If the doctor must err on the side of caution, then the rider should as well. Unfit to ride tonight means 7 day recovery period before riding anywhere. Walesek's riding tonight is proof positive that, even if he was in discomfort last night, he was capable of riding and the Poles abused the injury rule (read 'cheated')! Towards the end of last season when the crunch was on for the playoffs, Hans rode with at least 2 broken bones in his hand. He didn't complain. He rode through the pain for the benefit of the team and the league. When Jonsonn clipped him at the Danish GP and took his chain off, Hans was unhappy, but said, 'Hey, this isn't football'. In other words, he understands sportsmanship and doesn't believe in 'taking a dive' even though if he had, Jonsonn would have most likely been the one excluded. Why bash him? NB: Holder scored 11 in Poland tonight. Even though it didn't change the SWC result, its still cheating

As soon as we saw the starting line ups with Balinski at reserve we something was amiss. Truth is, I believe that a 'team' competition should be allowed reserve replacement up to a maximum number of rides for the reserve and subject to minimum rides for each main team member (except for injury, of course). The fact is that this is not the rule. The track doctor should be from a non-participant country with nothing to gain or lose from their decisions. First he was ill, then he was injured. Later we will see if Walasek rides today. Given the 'stretching' of the rules and engine trouble in the final heat, I thought Hans was remarkably restrained. Poland were truly the losers in all of this because, being on home soil, with home track preparation and a vast abundance of experience on this particular track, to squeak by by 3 points under controversy is really truly sad. Winning 16 out of 25 heats and only winning overall by 3 certainly doesn't show the consistency of the Danish team who only won 8 heats. And for those that say that replacing Holder and Kennett (assuming they were not injured) isn't cheating, yes it is. Cheating is act of breaking the rules, not whether an advantage is gained by the breaking of the rule or not.

I'm not a Nicholls fan, as evidenced by my other posting, but perhaps with the change in extenuating cirucmstances, he may do better next year. He'll be better rested for the GP's if there aren't any outside distractions. Unless of course its his turn for nappy duty the night before!!

Well that all backfired didn't it? He could have proved his worth by going to the qualifier, but chose not to. If there's only on Brit in next year, let it be Bomber, at least he's hungry for success!! Don't be so hard on Millard, I find his commentary amusing and adds to the event. I'm so cynical as to let the facts get in the way of what he says! Based on the number 1's performances in advance of Monday, only Greg seems to be on top form at the mo. Will make it all interesting. Just hope Scotty keeps up his form at P-boro.

Keep telling yourself that!!

Its so embarassing that they beat everyone else innit? I agree with Sulli above, but there is also a distinct difference between the governing body of a sport and the broadcaster. Although you wouldn't know it the way the last week of the EL was handled.

Thats a bit of an unfair way to measure. As much as I dislike Bomber, he is improving from beginning to end of the season. His form is now GP standard, if NKI is the standard, its well above GP standard. A weak start to the season would preclude a capable rider. Maybe the last GS average would be more appropriate, or perhaps a poll of the BSPA to nominate the wild cards... Just some thoughts.

Quite funny how in the beginning, it seemed everyone thought Hans shouldn't even be there, then when he is, his points shouldn't count, but when it suits, his points should count! Truth is, if you count Hans' points, then his qualifier doesn't count. This opens the argument for PK finishing 4th in the qualifier to be qualified. Seems fair to me. Alternatively, Nicholls probably won't finish top 8, but if wildcards are chosen to balance the sheets, as it were, then NKI should be out, Richardson should be out and Harris should be in. Lets face it, Richardson sicknotes and bottles too much. He's had his chance. I'm no fan of Bomber, but he's exciting, young and on the up, unlike Richardson. NKI has performed woefully in the GP series, and Bomber outperformed him in the qualifier. Nicholls isn't my favourite either, but he is the British number 1 and is capable when he performs. Oh, and I forgot Lindback... he might be ok for it next year because if Matt Ford has any sense, its the end of EL for Lindback so he'll have plenty of time on his hands next year to prepare (if he's not doing National Service in Brazil)!

According to speedwayworld.tv the draw is: 1. Leigh Adams 2. Hans Andersen 3. Jason Crump 4. Tomasz Gollob 5. Jaroslaw Hampel 6. Greg Hancock 7. NK Iversen 8. Andreas Jonsson 9. Antonio Lindback 10. Scott Nicholls 11. Nicki Pedersen 12. Bjarne Pedersen 13. Kasts Poudzuks 14. Piotr Protasiewicz 15. Lee Richardson 16. Matej Zagar