Fourentee

Actually, good question in hindsight! Just what Klindt told me; perhaps Mads was doing other paperwork (or perhaps I misheard!).

First you have to get into the embassy. Klindt and Madsen spent an entire day in Copenhagen, paperwork in hand, and were told to come back the following week...when they were racing in Britain.

OK, I took the British reference as being to the team rather than to an individual.

Lindgren, as far as I know, has always ridden the SWC when selected and has got (I believe) four medals to show for his efforts. His view, in gist from tonight's Wolves Express & Star, is that the silencers don't help the bikes or the sport. He's riding the GP qualifiers (with the new silencers, despite blowing an engine in the last round) because being a GP rider is important exposure for his sponsors. Always proud to ride for Sweden, SWC is a fun week with good racing. But boycott decision has been taken by four riders as a team (Lindgren, AJ, Zetters and Jonas Davidsson) and they are sticking to it. Hopes Polish and Danish riders will also join the objections. Come to think of it, if it's five-man teams presumably someone has decided not to join the boycott. Anybody any ideas? Just on the GB U21 team, Mark246, was that not affected last year more by injury (eg Barker broken leg) than payment attitudes? Or have I missed something?

I think "a certain level" is the point. I can't believe there are many fans on these shores who would object to Aussie (or indeed Kiwi if there are any about) riders coming over to try their hand at EL or PL racing. The crux is that, with Great Britain probably ranking about sixth in the world and without the facilities available in Denmark or Sweden, to name but two, the infrastructure does not look capable of supporting the development of British riders. And in that case, particularly given its remit, is it unreasonable to impose restrictions on what is basically the training league? I appreciate that the situation is complicated by the varying demands of the tracks in the NL. Some are standalone and need a certain amount of commercial success, some are nursery circuits for their bigger PL brethren and so on. But we have to start somewhere. I was at Poole for the Wolves EL match earlier this year; Erik Gundersen had brought over four of the Danish under-15s (if I remember rightly) on smaller bikes. They were polished and talented; the big shock was when Gundersen mentioned casually in an interview over the public address system that there were a couple of hundred like them. Against that backdrop, and I'm trying hard not to go all little Englander over it, it's hardly surprising that there is unease over the influx of foreign riders at NL level.

Well said. Webber, at one of the post-race interviews after a podium finish, said it had been a good weekend for Australia after Crump had won a GP the previous evening. This is live on BBC 1; how much would that kind of advertising cost?

You can picture the scene in the pits, can you not? Sewing machine, sewing machine, sewing machine, STEAM ROLLER, sewing machine....Um, Leon? A word?

That's how I thought the numbers would work when tomazpozrl posted (and thanks to all for the info, by the way). So from the semis presumably it's five apiece to the final and, what, highest-scoring sixth-placed rider? Home nomination?

How many go through, top five?

Suppose Joe Haines (or any other non-Oz) makes the top six: Does he qualify for the three-round finals or do they just take the next one down?

Any chance of Piszcz signing?

I take it these are the non-wildcards announced on the official Speedway Grand Prix site under the title: '2010 SGP wildcards announced', in a story that goes on to say: 'The FIM Speedway Grand Prix commission and BSI Speedway, rights holders of the FIM Speedway World Championships, has today announced the full rider line up for the 2010 FIM Speedway Grand Prix series (SGP), including the four riders that have been awarded a permanent wild card place.' Those non-wildcards? Edit: Actually, apologies Neil. Having jumped from page one to page four to post and now gone back, I can see you have dealt with the whole wildcard/permanent wildcard/seeded/nominated etc etc issue!

Possibly! His persona would not have been so dry after a roll in the Torun shale, anyway!

Bet Peter Adams is glad Wolves raced their final before seeing that. Lindgren might have taken the idea back to Britain!

Hmm, so even now the ref doesn't have to exclude the rider in blue!

So what's happening? Meeting abandoned, score stands at 38-40?

Disgraceful 'homer' decision in heat 14! Painful for Jagus, and difficult conditions, but no-one's fault other than his own. Clearly loses control just before catching the back wheel of Dobrucki who does nothing other than hold his line. Edit: Watch the ref exclude Iversen in the rerun now! And extra edit: Nope, not even this ref could bottle that one.

That will do nothing other than cut the number of entrants, surely? Schedules are tight enough as it stands and, for British-based riders at least, that's an awful lot of travel.

OK, thanks for that. Look forward to next year, then.

Whoo, that was a hairy last lap! Was terrified Holta or Walasek (or both) were going to come to grief there. Some weekend for Darcy Ward, world U21 winner and fourth in the Golden Helmet.

Great link, Peatbog! Cracking picture.

Yep, good point, we have tended to focus on the riders we know. It sounds like a cracking meeting, anyway. Is Janowski of an age to have another crack next year, like Ward and Woffinden?

Must reiterate my congratulations to Darcy Ward; a stunning performance for a 17-year-old. I allowed myself to be sidetracked by Skeletor's moronic post, which was most remiss of me, and have not acclaimed Ward's showing in the way it deserved. When he rode at Monmore earlier this year I was most impressed. I do hope the Wards and Woffindens of this world "train on" in racing parlance and become big players in future Grands Prix. Woffinden has probably done his 2010 wildcard aspirations no harm in the way he bounced back from the tapes offence, mind. Trees, as to your point on a Woffinden max -- not necessarily. Don't forget that Ward knew second place would be enough in his final race. Had it all been on the line at 12 points apiece, who knows? Edit: Just remembered that Ward was actually on 11 after four, but you get my drift.

Ah, the intelligentsia have arrived.

Wonder what the actual racing was like? It was certainly draining watching the results come in heat by heat. Mark, if my scipts read like that I'd be rewritting them too!