New Article On The Cradley Website

[BUDGIE]

My review of the SGP season is now on the

Cradley website

 

Sorry if I've upset anyone, but I call it as I see it!

[cwf]

Pretty spot on review of the season.

 

Great site by the way. Good to see so much support for the Heathens.

Lets hope something can be sorted so the Midlands can be a hotbed

of speedway again.

[barrow boy]

Very good. Just about sums it all up perfectly. Just one query though. You said the top 10 all requalified by right. I thought it was the top 8 excluding Hans Andersen.

[BUDGIE]

Very good. Just about sums it all up perfectly. Just one query though. You said the top 10 all qualified by right. I thought it was the top 8 excluding Hans Andersen.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Yes, you are correct and I must apologise for that error, was in a bit of a rush to get the article finished, have now checked with http://www.speedwayworld.tv and can confirm that it was the Top 8 excluding Andersen who qualified. I had originally written it like that, but then decided it was the Top 10, hence the reference to the 'Andersen affair' Hans got in because of his third place in the qualifier. He is though somewhat bizarely listed as number 6 for next year which seems to indicate that his finish in the actual GPs took precedence over the qualifier, if you see what I mean. In which case Hampel needed to be nominated, which he wasn't!

Andersen does though without a doubt deserve to be there, and should according to me be wearing 14 next year, not that I matter!

 

Glad you enjoyed the article, check back again in a month or so for further ramblings from me!

[barrow boy]

Yes, you are correct and I must apologise for that error, was in a bit of a rush to get the article finished, have now checked with http://www.speedwayworld.tv and can confirm that it was the Top 8 excluding Andersen who qualified.  I had originally written it like that, but then decided it was the Top 10, hence the reference to the 'Andersen affair' Hans got in because of his third place in the qualifier. He is though somewhat bizarely listed as number 6 for next year which seems to indicate that his finish in the actual GPs took precedence over the qualifier, if you see what I mean. In which case Hampel needed to be nominated, which he wasn't!

Andersen does though without a doubt deserve to be there, and should according to me be wearing 14 next year, not that I matter!

 

Glad you enjoyed the article, check back again in a month or so for further ramblings from me!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you know that I too didn't expect to see Hans Andersen at 6. Should this mean therefore that if 3 qualifiers are entitled to take part that only 2 in fact do so and that the next in line i.e. PK should be in. If this had happened then only 4 places would have been available and one from Jarek H. Bjarne P, Antonio L, Scott N & Chris H would not have got in.

[Subedei]

A couple of glaring errors, prominent among them having Hampel and Jonsson tangling at Cardiff when it was Hampel and Hancock.

Anyway, some interesting comments pertaining to the riders. And here's mine:

 

Jason Crump: Looked set to dominate in the same way as TR a year earlier, but while TR only took his foot off the gas at one GP (Bydgoszcz, when he claimed the title, before storming back to win at Lonigo), Crump took it easy for 3-4 GPs, which was a shame and maybe distorted the lower order of the table. Personally, I consider him head and shoulders above the rest at the minute and someone will have to produce something very special to prevent him winning again next season.

 

Greg Hancock: Once again Hancock defies me and age to roll back the years and produce a wonderful effort in the GPs. I thought his 3rd place in 2004 was perhaps his final hurrah. But I was wrong.

 

Nicki Pedersen: Won the 1st GP, won the last GP and sort of got lost in the middle, perhaps as a result of on-going wrist problems.

 

Andreas Jonsson: Started poorly, but really grew at the series progressed. He never hides when the track is a little rough and ready (in fact, he seems to relish those tracks), but is often hampered by poor judgement at crucial moments. An example of this was poor gate selection in the semi-final at Bydgoszcz.

 

Leigh Adams: A very disappointing series for Adams, although he did improve after a poor start. Adams is also prone to engine failures at the wrong time - whether you view that as poor luck or poor preparation is down to individual choice. It's somewhat amazing that a rider of the undoubted ability and class of Adams has only managed 3 GP wins. Or is there just, more often than not, someone out there who simply wants it more?

 

Hans Andersen: Rightly excluded from the series, Andersen showed his mettle with a superb showing as "wild card" in Denmark. And when TR bowed out, Andersen proved his worth with another win and a couple of rostrum places, but then, with his place assured for next season, his form dipped. Complacency was his undoing before, it could be again.

 

Matej Zagar: They said - the experts - that Zagar was just a PL heatleader with no business being in the GPs yet. They said he would only perform around Krsko. They were, as they so often are, wrong. Zagar had a splendid season and handily qualified for 2007.

 

Tomasz Gollob: Remains the most compelling performer in world speedway and rolled back the years with a wonderful display at Bydgoszcz, but he disappears when a track isn't to his liking and things don't go his way. Hard to believe that going in to Cardiff he was around 3rd-4th in the standings. His decline after Eskilstuna was disastrous. It looks like 2007 will be his swansong in the GPs. And he'll be greatly missed.

 

Jaroslaw Hampel: You keep expecting Hampel to make that step up and become a contender, but it never seems to come and you end up wondering if it ever will. He had his moments, might've won at Cardiff if Hancock hadn't bitten the shale, but didn't.

 

Antonio Lindback: Had his moments, made a few finals, might've won a GP if lady luck had gone his way, but she didn't. And in the end Lindback again relied on his reputation and the charity of BSI to get another chance. Personally, I wouldn't have been so generous and I think Lindback would benefit from a season away from the circus.

 

Scott Nicholls: They said - those experts again - that Nicholls would really make 2006 his own. But, what happened? Another failure, that's what happened. How many more GP lives does this serial failure get? With this second charity nomination, as far as I'm concerned, Nicholls has had two chances too many.

 

Bjarne Pedersen: Really surprised me last season when he finished 6th. I thought I might have to revise my opinion of him, but this season saw the BP of my expectations. I expect him to struggle next season and possibly bow out before 2008.

 

Niels-Kristian Iversen: Did better than I expected. But I didn't expect much. I really don't think Iversen disgraced himself in the GPs and it's awfully hard on the guy to throw him out on his ear after a single season, especially when you think of how many chances certain riders have had.

 

Lee Richardson: The road to hell, so they say, is paved with good intentions and the case of Richardson may be proof that the saying has some merit. No doubt BSI thought they were doing him a favour. But instead it looked to me like getting humiliated every couple of weeks in the GPs destroyed his confidence. I hope to see the guy pick up the pieces next season.

 

Piotr Protasiewicz: I really don't know why PePe bothers with the GPs. It must surely be obvious that he's just not cut out for them. A good rider, a very good rider, but it just doesn't happen for him in the GPs. He was awful in 2006.

 

Tony Rickardsson: Not really sure what happened to TR. He started well enough, but faded horribly and bowed out with a whimper in the end. Was it an aggregate effect of injuries? Possibly, but they didn't tell against him in 2005. Was it the realisation that others had stepped up their games and that a 7th title wasn't going to materialise? Again, possibly. I got the feeling that both speedway and Rickardsson had moved on long before TR's final laps. A sad end to his career in many respects. But he will always be among the greats of the sport.

[cwf]

One thing that does strike me from the GP series is the longevity of the careers of some of the elite GP performers. People have been writing off the likes of Hancock, Adams and Gollob for a good few seasons now and every year they continue to perform at the top level of the sport. All three are in their mid-late 30s now and seem to comfortably see off the GP challenges of the some of the so-called whizz kids.

 

Andreas Jonsson has been around the GP circus for some time now and only this season stepped up to top level.

Hans Andersen needed a wake up call to make that big leap forward and Lindback is a few seasons away from being a serial contender.

[Subedei]

Indeed. And you could very well add Tony Rickardsson to that list. I suspect had TR been in the right frame of mind for the GPs, he'd have comfortably qualified. But we'll never know.

TR bowed out at a time of his choosing and I suspect the likes of Adams, Hancock and Gollob will do likewise. And the GP circus has been built around the personalities of Adams, TR, Gollob and Hancock, together with Nicki P and Crump. I do sometimes ponder how it will survive their passing into history.

This season saw just a single new GP winner (Andreas Jonsson) and last season saw none at all.