fatface

Erm...if you were a young man, you'd say stuff your World Championship because of what one person on an internet forum says?! Perhaps it were somebody in authority who had the clout to make the big decisions, then maybe. But I think it's safe to assume the young riders concerned will not be adopting the same attitude you are.

Is Scott Nicholls safely among the top 16 riders in the world? Yes. To be honest, I can't see him ever finishing anywhere other than somewhere between 6th and 10th in the series. That's his place in the world. I wish it were higher, but it could be worse. I agree that if he were Danish or Polish, he wouldn't be afforded as much slack. But he is one of the more entertaining riders in the series and is comfortably still amongst the top riders in the world, despite not being a genuine title contender. The Russian boy (I aint even going to attempt to spell his name off the top of my head) is well worth a shot too, so too Freddie Lindgren. Bomber just hasn't shown enough this season at all to merit a place next year.

Cowboy Cook - surely John Berry keeps in touch?! Egon Muller Dennis Sigalos some of the big hitters in the National League too... Steve Lawson Tom Owen Steve Schofield As for non-riders... Gary Newbon Ian Thomas Peter Adams

If Scott gives a rat's ass about one isolated individual's rants on a internet forum, then he really is in trouble. For what it's worth and back on topic. I went to the GP, was on the back straight and haven't seen it on TV yet. But my thoughts are: * Ref got most calls spot on, but my first instinct was that Crump was a little fortunate in the Gollob incident * Scott was great value bar his customary GP cock-up..though I do think he should have thrown caution to the wind in his final ride and gone right out to the boards a la Gollob. He was never going to catch Bjarne by following the same line * Crump is right...12 points was workable...16 is not * Track was reasonable..but got a bit slick late on

Hmmm...yes that is a frightening thought! I doubt it would get that far though.. I'm thinking more so that Lee Richardson, Tai Woffinden and - if it comes to it - Chris Harris would have a much better shot on a UK track.

Ah yes..now I remember. Certainly sounds like it is due to return to the UK then. Fingers crossed it does because that will be the best chance our lads have.

Just a fresh thought on this debate. Has the GP Challange ever been in the UK? And if not...why not? Shouldn't the BSPA be doing our guys a favour and bringing this meeting over here on home turf? It's not as if it's the sort of meeting that would struggle to attract a crowd either...

Jonsson and Lindback were very well backed...but haven't done the biz. Simple as that. We are simply waiting for someone to come along and light up the international scene...similarly to say how a Carter, Lee or even Ermolenko did. It won't happen every year, but it's been a while since we've had a genuine new superstar emerge.

Eh? It's not as if Gollob, Nicki, Adams, Crump and Hancock are on Ferraris, whilst the rest are on Toyotas. I think SGP is a pretty level playing field, unlike F1. The opportunity is there for the younger guys, it's just that none of them have taken it yet. 3/4 years ago most would have foreseen Jonsson, Lindback, Bjerre, Hampel taking over at the top...but none of them have taken their chance. That's not the system's fault, it's not BSI's fault, it's not the older rider's fault. Quite simply, the youngsters have failed to step up to the mark. I just hope that in the next 2/3 years Pavlic, Woffinden, Sajfutdinov, Holder can step up to the plate and deliver.

I don't understand this notion that it is hard to get to. I've travelled to the Cardiff GP from Edinburgh (when i lived there) and London (where i now live) and have found it very easy to get to from both locations, be it by plane or by train. The journey takes a maximum of 3 hrs door-to-door. The beauty of it is once you are there, you are there. You don't have to worry at all about transport...pubs, restaurants, shopping and stadium are all located centrally. Once you've got there..all you have to worry about is your feet. As for the casual fan..well I'm one of them..I must take in about 3/4 meetings a year and one of them is always Cardiff. I've been every year bar one...so it's attractive enough for me. I don't think I'm alone either, there are lots of people I meet there who come out with the common line "I used to go all the time, but now I just come to Cardiff." As for Wembley..my fear would be two-fold.. a) we'd end up spreading ourselves too thin if we went with Cardiff and Wembley in the same year..people would go to one or the other and both crowds would suffer b ) London is such a vibrant city with a million and one things going on every weekend, our sport would get a little lost...in Cardiff, it really feels like it is speedway GP weekend

Also, if possible can the standings be posted on the first page of the thread...they're difficult to find otherwise. Ta

Ditto. A rider who has given many of us some great entertainment over the years. England v USA, Sheffield 83 anyone? Also, from the SS, it sounds like he is trying to get the Collins boys re-united for this one, maybe they'll even take to the track? That would a great way to round off a fine career. Good luck to him.

Just read this issue and thought it was the best yet. Excellent pieces with John Davis and Larry Ross. I must say, it always completes the piece if we have a picture of riders "as they are today". Sometimes I feel a little frustrated having read a decent article and yet we can't see what they look like now. But that was not the case with these two. The highlight? JD saying he would have been World Champion under a GP formula! Come off it old boy...he would've still been miles away from being British Champion under a GP formula.

The whole super prix concept leaves me very cold. It is just one layer of competition rules too many. The beauty behind the most successful sports are their sheer simplicity. The new "Super Prix" idea, added to the new points scoring system makes the SGP just a tad confusing for the average punter. Even commentator Nigel Pearson seemed very confused last night, calling Lindgren as the Grand Prix winner, Holta as the Super Prix winner and Nicki Pedersen as the "real" winner.

Erm..exactly what it says really. For reasons I won't bore you with, I will find myself in Eastbourne on Saturday night..does anyone know of a fine hostelry that might serve one a frothy ale whilst partaking in the viewing of ye olde speedway GP?

Yep, I would agree with that. When travelling to GPs he always has the full Crump posse with him and I think that is where his obvious priorities are now. Nothing wrong with that of course... But in terms of being the world's top rider, IMO he was much more effective as the hot-headed hungry racer than as the contented family man we see today.

That's completely wrong. Olsen was something of a mud-lark in his day

I'd tend to agree that Nicki is a hot favourite. He's the best gater, is also the most aggressive on the first turn and furthermore I think he simply "wants it" more than most of his rivals. Was pleased with the weekend's result though. From a neutral's point of view, it would've been bad news if Nicki had stormed away with it...as it is, Crump, Andersen, Jonsson are still very much in touch.

Nicki Ped - £60k CAPTAIN Crump - £50k Wildcard - £30k Nicholls - £35k Iversen - £25k

Yep..I only know that because I have a pack of Polish playing cards from the early 90s featuring riders from the Polish League. He is in there. I cannot confirm that he is the Queen of Hearts though.. couldn't resist (again!)..

Thanks for the bonus taster Tony..really looking forward to reading it. I guess another thing about John Davis is that in many ways, he was a bit of a pioneer of riders racing in more than one league. I seem to recall him racing alongside Egon Muller in the German league in the mid-80s as well as turning out for his British League club, when nobody else had similar arrangements in place. I think I'd be right in saying he was also among the first of the glut of Western riders to race regularly in the Polish League..maybe it was his 80s rock star image that attracted the Poles?! Sorry, couldn't resist...

Egon Muller would be a good one. I'd like to know more about what Peter Ravn's up to as well. I understand he is in Oz these days. Gary Gugliemi would be interesting too. Oh and John Cook too..just purely for the John Berry rant it would no doubt prompt!

Exactly that! The two undisputed top smells in the world together!!! A precious childhood memory :-)

Not THE speedway museum. But in the last couple of weeks I have been to both the Crystal Palace Museum and was also at the new Wembley Stadium, where I was pleased to see speedway's role well acknowledged in both their respective histories. The Crystal Palace one was a charming little place, with programmes and pics of Tom Farndon amongst others. And at Wembley, there are several old trophies and programmes and a run-down of the sport's history at the stadium. One thing they could do with though, is a programme from the 81 Final (last ever meeting there) and one or two pics. Don't know if any kind soul has anything spare, but I reckon if you do, there can't be many better places to house it for the sport's exposure.

My "home tracks" would be Belle Vue's Hyde Road and Exeter's County Gound..both very special places for very different reasons. But of the rest, I loved the Shay - great atmosphere, Owlerton was another great place to visit (is the bakery still there on the road down to the track by the way?), King's Lynn is a top track, I've never seen a bad meeting at Wolverhampton either, Somerset is also a smashing venue. There is also something special about Brandon too. Not sure what it is, but I always feel as if I'm going to a true speedway venue there and not a greyhound stadium.