Biddows

If it were as simple as that, then they wouldn't be in it at all. And you've described Scott Nicholls as a serial failure in the past too, so by that logic perhaps he shouldn't be in either. But the fact is, the British GP is the show piece event of the speedway calendar and if there were no British representatives, then how many people would actually turn up? That's a chance that BSI and the FIM don't want to take. Unfortunately, the GP is not a pure contest between the top riders in the world. If a country didn't have representatives, then the authorities would lose a lot of money. There's a chance, for example, if Britain didn't have any representatives, that Sky would stop showing the GPs. Only if all the countries involved were able to put forward suitable candidates would this be a pure competition, but that is extremely unlikely. There will always be an imbalance of top riders, so the system can never be perfect.

Mark Loram, by his own admission, is close to the form he showed in 2000 when he became world champion. If that is true - and TBH it's quite hard to judge, because you can't really compare league form to GP form, since the GPs are much more competitive - then I see no reason why he should be overlooked for an nominated spot next year. However, BSI, FIM, Neil Middleditch, or whoever it is that ultimately influences these things, definitely seem to be favouring youth over experience. Just look at what happened after the British Final. I know Mark wasn't in that meeting, but after Nicholls and Screen declined their qualification spots, several of the next in line, such as Smudger, were ignored in favour of Richardson and Kennett. This seems to me like a desperate attempt to force younger riders on to the world stage, when they may not necessarily be good enough. I'm sad to say it, but if Mark wants to get back into the GPs, he will probably have to qualify the hard way.