fatface

Yep, Paul Thorp's run was merited and I think Andrew Silver might have got as far as the Overseas Final whilst a lower division rider? As much as i liked Martin Yeates as a rider, he only got as far as the Overseas thanks to freak conditions at the 84 British Final. And at the Overseas, he was way out of his depth. Brilliant the year before at the NL Pairs at Hyde Road, but that was definitely his level.

It might be the ultimate fence sit, but beyond Muller and Szczakiel I can't see any one off World Champion who wouldn't have been capable of winning in a GP system (Havelock perhaps, but he was red hot in 92) and no GP World Champs that couldn't have taken a one off World Championship. The GP's certainly make sure the cream rises to the top, but the one-offs had a good record on that front too. The different systems require a different approach, so whereas a riders would build towards September to be at their mechanical, mental and physical peak, they have to be consistently on it right from the start now. To pick two examples, riders like Mike Lee and Erik Gundersen could be in (relatively) patchy form at the start of the year, but be absolutely on it by the business end of the season in the one-off era. I don't doubt that both would have been much more "dialled in" (to borrow a fashionable term) from the get go under a GP system.

Did they do "How deep is your track?" and "5-1 Talkin'"?

I can't argue with the logic. But as I understand it, it goes much deeper than just a desire to have Cardiff GP as the sole British GP, it's part of the contract with the Welsh authorities. I stand to be be corrected by someone more in the know than I (Phil Rising?), but that's what I understand. And, from a business perspective, I get it.

Ha! :-) Nice try, but I think we all know that to be untrue. The kudos of being the British GP and the exclusivity of having the only GP in Britain to draw fans UK wide are what secures that investment. Without it, there wouldn't be any government support.

Correct. Should Cardiff lose its "British GP" tag and be threatened by another UK-hosted GP then it would be hugely less appealing to the Welsh Government.

I've been to Cardiff probably 15 times since the first GP there and have never failed to have a brilliant weekend. From Friday night through to Sunday morning, speedway fans take over the city and every time, it's been a cracking atmosphere and a lot of fun in and around the stadium and city centre. It's a hole in my summer this year....as it is for 40,000 others. Racing wise, there have been 3-4 classics, 1-2 shockers, but by and large pretty good stuff. I think to not enjoy the whole weekend, you'd have to make a very determined effort to be miserable.

Yes. True to say that the Olympic Park is on the old Hackney site though. Could be wrong, but hasn't the road itself also been slightly rerouted to add to the confusion of exactly where the speedway stadium was? ps. agree with a lot of the above. Star doing a great job - as ever - in particularly trying times.

Yes, on the face of it, it is puzzling. I can only imagine that BSI have their own difficult legal complications to overcome first. After all the Cardiff cancellation will blow a big hole in their finances. I stand to be corrected, but I think it is the only event in the series, where they are also the local promoters? They will have their own insurance claims to deal with. They may even seek compensation from the stadium owners. I am sure they have to get absolute black and white written confirmation that the GP cannot go ahead from WRU, Millenium PLC, Welsh Government to be "forced" to cancel, to put them in the strongest position to make claims. None of this helps the punter of course, ie. you and I. But with BSI losing the SGP contract from 2022, sadly and cynically, customer relations will not be their priority right now. Let's be honest, the speedway crowd is not the wealthiest demographic around either, so I would urge anyone to hang onto their cash for now. This event simply aint happening.

Please read my post again. I'm not sure if I can be clearer. The realistic assessment is that major events as we know them will not be back for two years. That doesn't and shouldn't stop any event organisers having plans in place should their realistic assessment prove to be overly cautious due to there being a significant (medical) game-changing breakthrough. This goes for anyone in any business affected by COVID-19. Being more cynical...it also makes business sense as far as cash flow goes. Better to get ticket money now for an event in June 2021 (or sooner) than none at all. That way, if - when - the time comes that event has to be postponed, the organiser can offer you the rescheduled date and hang on to your cash. On the flip side, you as consumer might be happy enough to get your Rammstein (for example) gig ticket booked just to make sure you are going to that gig, no matter when it takes place. It's a free country and your are free to weigh the pros and cons.

I am saying the realistic assessment is two years before normal service is resumed. It makes perfect sense for arrangements to be made for best case scenarios by event venues and organisers. That way, they are good to go if - and it's a big if - there are significant and imminent positive developments, ie. a vaccine. That's just sensible event planning, covering all eventualities. Every event organiser is now optimistically on plan B, but there is a realism that plan C, plan D, plan E and so on might come into effect. It would be a poorly prepared event manager to say 100% that an event is definitely going to happen in June 2021 no matter what. All anyone can say at this time is that is what they are hoping for, no more no less.

Of course. Many big gigs nationwide have simply been put back a year, including my visit to Eden to see Lionel Richie! There are also mass participation events, ie London and Manchester Marathons rescheduled for this October. But these are optimistic, best-case-scenario arrangements. Without a vaccine, the safety of mass crowds is a logistical and practical nightmare....and ultimately cost prohibitive. As an aside, I also work in the event industry at a regional level and I cancelled our events months ago when this situation began. Longer-term, I also dread to think what this will do to public liability insurance fees. So, I am passing on a realistic assessment from a credible source to help people better decide whether to part with their well earned money for future events. Take from that what you will. If you wish to stock with tickets and hotel bookings that's entirely your business. I wish you well. Yes...and let's be honest..there's been a fair bit of rubbish from the Government too. It's worth remembering that football shut down before any Government guidelines forced it. They have been on the back foot right from the start of this situation and given the country's position in this crisis compared to other countries, they haven't exactly positioned themselves as an unquestionable, reliable authority. Sure, the event industry will still take on Government input and advice, but they will make their own decisions on when it is safe, logistically possible, practical and viable to reopen. If you are in charge of a venue like the Principality or the O2, used to overseeing events hosting tens of thousands of people on a regular basis, you are going to broaden your considerations way beyond the words of Matt Hancock, Priti Patel etc. What I pass on from is unfiltered by media...well, I am the filter I suppose. My only interest is my intended visit to the GP this year and based on what I have heard directly from the horse's mouth, there is no chance of it happening, with serious doubts for next year too. I hope I am proved wrong, then I will buy you a pint at Cardiff and you can dismiss me as another internet nut job.

This is a group of CEOs, directors, senior managers and the person in question was no office junior. It was a decision maker. I don't say this with any glee at all. It's terrible news. But what was said was highly credible from a credible source. I do understand your cynicism. I am under no illusion I am just another bloke on the internet posting some unaccountable opinion. No problem. Fair enough.

I was on a sports industry webinar this week and a senior figure at the Principality Stadium was talking more like TWO YEARS before normal service can resume. This goes way beyond social distancing in your seats, it goes from entrance and exit logistics to the need sanitise toilets and bars after EVERY INDIVIDUAL use. In short, it is a logistical and practical nightmare and as such, not viable. It was a pretty sobering insight. In short, keep your hard earned cash in your pocket. It simply aint happening this year and we'll be very lucky to see it back in 2021.

Of course and was a deserved finallist then and again in 1988. My point is that the quality of top level opposition took a serious dip from the mid 80s onwards. John Davis reached the 1980 final in quite a tough era and fair play to him. And for many years after that didn't reach the final, because he just wasn't good enough. So when he got there again in 1988, it wasn't that he had become a better rider, it's because - for different reasons - a lot of world class riders fell by the wayside.

Anyone would be hard pressed to find a clearer World no1 in the late 80s as Hans Nielsen. Even though Gundersen pipped him for the World Title in 88 (he was great under pressure), Nielsen was still consistently better than Erik at that time. Gundersen seemed beatable and at times, no matter the track, Nielsen was unbeatable. That said, in different circumstances, I would have loved to have seen Sigalos, Penhall, Carter, Lee, Sanders in the mix at that time too. The cream was notably thin at the top of world speedway then. Guys like Conny Ivarrson, Olli Tyrvainen, Troy Butler, even John Davis all made world finals, when in truth, they wouldn't have had a sniff 5-10 years prior.

You know, I reckon 95% of those clubs would've been more than happy with him too. Strange he was so often on the move. Always enjoyed him at Exeter and would have made a great - if slightly reluctant - Falcon.

I suspect Neil Collins is right up there on these lists?

Yep, never nice when someone hurts themselves. There were a couple of other crashes around that time involving the Falcons that you couldn't help but smirk at after the riders emerged unscathed. One involved Richard Green (of course), whose cut out failed and the bike chased him across the centre green. The other was Mark Simmonds somehow finding himself sliding astride the Exeter solid steel fence and he took out a red light on the way. He literally had sparks flying from his nether regions.

I'll bet he did. PC, Olsen and Mauger were must-have riders for any big open meeting in the UK or on the continent...and fair play to them too!

Do we? I'd be interested to hear of them. I certainly recall grumbles when British League riders were threatened with bans if they refused to ride at BSPA events in favour of a more lucrative engagement. I also recall Simon Wigg and Chris Morton missing an test match decider with Denmark at Wiggy's home track at Oxford. Why? Because they had a better paid job at the Ace of Aces Grasstrack on the same day. They could, of course, have take the Hans Nielsen approach. This meant rocking up at the Ace of Aces, riding one race, taking their appearance fee and then pulling out complaining of injury before heading straight to Oxford and riding in the Test Match a few hours later for a few more quid. Now, I'm not going to judge any of these guys (although Nielsen's approach was questionable), it's a short and dangerous career and they need to make money when they can. But I think it's naive to believe that top riders from today or the past were putting some sort of club or country loyalty above financial gain.

Seen Alan Grahame get a few mentions on here...and I couldn't agree more. He didn't ride for any teams I ever supported, in fact more the opposite, riding for Cradley Heath when they were big rivals of Belle Vue for the big trophies. More often than not he was the key man too. Always capable of beating the best and doing the business in critical races. His international record doesn't really do him justice, he was much more of a club speedway rider. But I even love that his one appearance - as reserve in the 84 final - he didn't waste the moment and scored 5 from two rides. Most reserves would simply stay out of the way on such occasions. But he was always 100% effort.

It certainly would be interesting to compare the schedules of the top riders of yesteryear with today's top riders. It's a bit apples and pears of course because the stars of the 70s and 80s would spend the majority of their week in the UK, with perhaps one lucrative Sunday in Germany, as opposed to today's riders racing in 3-4 countries every week taking multiple leagues and GPs into account. I suspect the schedules would be comparable. I would imagine Nicki Pedersen has been the busiest rider of the modern era, balancing commitments in Sweden, Poland, UK, Russia, Denmark and GPs.

Of course. And if there were more lucrative league speedway outside of the UK, that would be their priority. It's silly to debate otherwise.

PC, Lee, Mauger, Briggs, Olsen, Penhall, pick anyone you like. If they were in the modern era, they would not be riding in Britain, they would be straight where the richest pickings were. To suggest they raced in the UK out of loyalty and/or pride above finance is hopelessly naive.