The Cardiff Grand Prix Discussion Thread

[BTL]

Well just back from another Curse of Cardiff when the flybe flight from Paris to Cardiff delayed by baggage handlers dispute at Charles de Gaulle - just made midnight ferry by the skin of our teeth.

 

Onto the GP.

 

Referee - music said it all: an absolute Ravi Shanker

 

Track - not as good as last year

 

Racing - same

 

Latest suggestion - apart from the FIM not getting rid of this incompetant ref - fit rear view mirrors to riders helemets.

Edited June 30, 2008 by BTL

[Gambo]

So who finish third in Saturday's GP. Today's Times has 1st JC 2nd GH and 3rd Bjarne Pedersen and 4th SN

Is this correct or was Nikki Pedersen third?. As Nikki Pedersen and Scott Nicholls were both credited with no points in the final surely Scotty should be placed higher than Nikki Pedersen as he scored more points overall in the other races.

 

On-Line pdf of GP Rules:

http://www.fim.ch/EN/rules/Sportifs/ccpGP/2008/077_en.pdf

 

Snipped from Rule 077.9.2

The Referee is the only person authorised to take decisions in case of any doubt

regarding a rider’s placing if disqualified, injured, etc. during a the Big Final.

These decisions must be communicated to the person in charge of the Official

Results.

 

ATB

Dave

[Jeff.]

There should only have been two riders on the podium. There was no third place rider. It's just silly to suggest otherwise.

 

Oh right so having made the final where do you suggest Nicki Pedersen finished. Maybe move all the other competitors up two places and put Pedersen and Nicholls 15th and 16th, perhaps expunge their scores from the record altogether.

 

Or quite simply Pedersen stood third on the rostrum because he finished third. There were 4 positions available in that final, 1st to 4th, you with me so far!, now he cant be 1st because he didnt win, he couldnt be second because he wasnt second, he couldnt be 4th because the already excluded Nicholls occupied that spot, he couldnt be 5th to 16th as those positions were already taken, so just where in your cuckoo land do you think Pedersen finished

 

[Jeff.]

No, the ref did wrong but the rules are also wrong in that riders can go across the rest of the field like they can from gate 4, things like this are bound to happen, bring back the old rule where riders are not allowed to turn until a certain point after the start, can't remember now whether it was 10 or 15 yards.

 

Ah the old urban myth again, the thirty yard marker had no meaning other than the point to which a rider could receive outside assistance, it had nothing to do with keeping a straight line

 

[beesboybert]

Oh right so having made the final where do you suggest Nicki Pedersen finished. Maybe move all the other competitors up two places and put Pedersen and Nicholls 15th and 16th, perhaps expunge their scores from the record altogether.

 

Or quite simply Pedersen stood third on the rostrum because he finished third. There were 4 positions available in that final, 1st to 4th, you with me so far!, now he cant be 1st because he didnt win, he couldnt be second because he wasnt second, he couldnt be 4th because the already excluded Nicholls occupied that spot, he couldnt be 5th to 16th as those positions were already taken, so just where in your cuckoo land do you think Pedersen finished

 

 

If Pedersen finished 3rd in the final, as you say, why didn't he receive 2 points? I agree with Sub he shouldn't have been on the podium, and if he was then Nicholls had every right to be on there too as they both scored the same in the final

[Grachan]

Be a bit silly having two people on the rostrum wouldn't it?

[hatcham]

Oh hatcham, thank you for making me giggle today! A bit bias are we? What exactly does he deserve respect for? Crump and Hancock got to the final without dirty tricks and help from the referee. Twice he lays the bike down with minimal contact, slides gently into the air fence and stays down to force a re-run, and then the one time he took a tumble that could possibly have injured him he was up like a shot to save losing his place on the rostrum through exclusion. People say he should be applauded for that, I say he knew that the ref couldn't help him out this time if the race had to be stopped, and he wouldn't be in the re-run if that happened. What did he have to gain by staying down in the final? B*gger all. What did he have to gain by staying down earlier in the meeting? Everything.

 

 

 

Of course he would be eager to return to Britain! He doesn't ride for that warm fuzzy glow of entertaining the fans, he'd return to Britain because speedway is his livelihood. He's in it for the money. He cheated his way to the final (perhaps because he's desperate to get into the big-prize-money Super Prix race?!).

 

And to be fair, this jeering is more personal than racism! A racist hates any person of a particular nationality or ethnicity because they are from there. We hate Nicki P because he's a filthy rider with dubious tactics, not because he's Danish.

 

And was he 'hurt and shocked' by these events? Unlikely. He's been booed before, he will be booed again, and he loves it! You can see him playing up to the crowd on camera, he even encourages it and enrages them even more! Nicki is our panto villain... do you ever boo the wicked stepmother in Christmas pantos? Bully.

 

 

 

D'ya think?

 

from todays press release,it would appear you are wrong,he does not love the booing.

 

i'm not one for christmas pantos,but i would have assumed one booed the character,not the actor.

 

[colincooke]

Haven't got a problem at all with Leigh, in fact I'm still convinced he won heat 5.

The only problem i have with Leigh is he does whinge a bit.

Saturday though, he had good cause, looking at the replay of the heat with Greg it seems he got that by half a tyres length, BUT you can't see all of Greg's front wheel.

Like he said Wozzy wotsisname must have it in for him.

[SUPERACE]

Well all the maoning on here about the track, thought we had a great meeting and really enjoyed the night, Well done CRUMPY more than well deserved and the race is back on for the title.

 

ref had a shocker but thought the booing of NP was over the top.

[iris123]

If Pedersen finished 3rd in the final, as you say, why didn't he receive 2 points?

Because he didnt finish the heat.The heat wasn't awarded,so he got no points.Doesn't alter the fact he finished ahead of Nicholls,who was excluded and took 4th place before any of the other positions were decided.

[Tsunami]

Looked like the whole air filter to me, can easily come off if the jubilee clip isnt done up tight enough!

 

 

Agreed, it was one of them foam ones.

 

 

[Subedei]

Oh right so having made the final where do you suggest Nicki Pedersen finished. Maybe move all the other competitors up two places and put Pedersen and Nicholls 15th and 16th, perhaps expunge their scores from the record altogether.

 

Or quite simply Pedersen stood third on the rostrum because he finished third. There were 4 positions available in that final, 1st to 4th, you with me so far!, now he cant be 1st because he didnt win, he couldnt be second because he wasnt second, he couldnt be 4th because the already excluded Nicholls occupied that spot, he couldnt be 5th to 16th as those positions were already taken, so just where in your cuckoo land do you think Pedersen finished

 

No one pays any attention to places 4-16, do they. Neither Nicki P nor the British champion completed the final and as such neither should've been on the rostrum. I would've had two riders only on the podium and nominally awarded the British champion third on the basis he scored more points than Nicki P.

 

[Matousek]

Only just seen this, but tbh i dont like the track, too rutty and it looked a mistake track imo.

seen ht 19 with crump, world class riders all over show. Sorry think tracks awfull.

Edited June 30, 2008 by Matousek

[pscutts]

First things first, loved the meeting, the atmosphere (not the sound effects/music though) and the occasion, the racing wasnt as good as last year but i doubt if it ever will be as good as that again.

 

As for the track, yes it rutted up as it always does but i would have thought the riders should have the knowledge and skills to get over this. The track looked really grippy which is surely what you want for passing etc. A lot of riders looked like they couldnt even turn their bikes which just shows that they want smooth, slick tracks which they can ride flat out with little or no passing. The first 3/4 heats shows what you would get if the track was like that all through the meeting, follow my leader racing. Im not condoning dangerous tracks or wish to see anybody hurt but if all speedway was follow my leader we might as well shut up shop now. Look at Greg, he didnt look in trouble all night, in fact he looked like he was in his armchair most of the time, which just goes to show what can be done with a bit of thought and experience.

 

Apart from the music the only other thing that annoyed me was the amount of aggressive, drunk fans. Last year i witnessed a fan throw his drink over another after an argument which would have ended up in a fight had the stewards not spotted in and ejected him. This year, i went to the toilet during a break and there was a Polish guy with a bleeding nose which had obviously been caused by a punch going by the peace makers around him trying to calm him down. Imo its only a matter of time before there is quite serious trouble at one of these gp,s. My mood was not helped by sitting next to a load of clowns who kept getting in and out of their seats to get more beer then more getting in and out to go to the toilet, then spilling most of their beer on the floor so you were paddling in it, luckily there was some spare seats behind us, so we could move away. What on earth is the point of spending all that money on good tickets and spending all your time back and forth to the bar and in the toilets as they missed several of the races.

 

As for Nicki, dont like the bloke as i feel he crosses the line between hard and dirty to often, but still dont feel he deserved all the abuse, it should have been directed at the ref.

[shortoi]

from todays press release,it would appear you are wrong,he does not love the booing.

 

i'm not one for christmas pantos,but i would have assumed one booed the character,not the actor.

 

Yes, if he truly means what he said in today's press release it would appear that I stand corrected - but I'm still sceptical.

 

Anyway, I am booing the character. Nicki's speedway character is a scheming, hard racing, all-round bad boy in the eyes of the public, but I did a training school with him in the close season after he got his first World Champ title and had a brilliant time (blooming heck - four years ago was it?!), he was a great guy and very encouraging all round. In fact I still have the signed picture that the track photographer took of me with him up in my room.

 

As a man, I have nothing against him. As a rider, I think his tactics are dubious to say the least.

[LisaColette]

Yes, if he truly means what he said in today's press release it would appear that I stand corrected - but I'm still sceptical.

 

Anyway, I am booing the character. Nicki's speedway character is a scheming, hard racing, all-round bad boy in the eyes of the public, but I did a training school with him in the close season after he got his first World Champ title and had a brilliant time (blooming heck - four years ago was it?!), he was a great guy and very encouraging all round. In fact I still have the signed picture that the track photographer took of me with him up in my room.

 

As a man, I have nothing against him. As a rider, I think his tactics are dubious to say the least.

 

nicki has complained about the booing at poole before but when he's on the parade and gets booed he's always laughing, so i don't really buy it.

 

[turn right instead]

Does anyone have or can anyone get Ted's impression of Christiano Ronaldo?

 

He really wants to see it again as all he said he saw was the floor coming at him fast.

[Chewbacca]

Seen a few posts on the various Cardiff threads about people hating all the American style presentation. I was there with a mate and his 10 year old son who has been to Belle Vue and was distinctly unimpressed with speedway. However, he absolutely loved Saturday night and if we are going to attract a new generation of fans to keep speedway going for another 80 years, then this is who we have to entertain.

 

Kids these days have short attention spans and are used to something happening all the time and they like (shock horror) the loud music and flashing lights/flamethrowers/fireworks. The odd spectacular crash and a bit of pantomime villanry also helps get them hooked.

 

Sorry for the old timers and I sure Romford in 1947 WAS the pinnacle of speedway history but thats what it is, history. We can't go back, and if we tried to, speedway will die when you pick up your flask and folding chair and shuffle off this mortal coil.

 

What we could do with less of were drunken East Europeans who were somewhat intimidating for said 10 year old. I know speedway is bigger than football in Poland but surely they don't have to behave like football fans do they?

 

[zonkers]

As for Nicki, dont like the bloke as i feel he crosses the line between hard and dirty to often

 

 

Well said !

[pscutts]

Seen a few posts on the various Cardiff threads about people hating all the American style presentation. I was there with a mate and his 10 year old son who has been to Belle Vue and was distinctly unimpressed with speedway. However, he absolutely loved Saturday night and if we are going to attract a new generation of fans to keep speedway going for another 80 years, then this is who we have to entertain.

 

Kids these days have short attention spans and are used to something happening all the time and they like (shock horror) the loud music and flashing lights/flamethrowers/fireworks. The odd spectacular crash and a bit of pantomime villanry also helps get them hooked.

 

Sorry for the old timers and I sure Romford in 1947 WAS the pinnacle of speedway history but thats what it is, history. We can't go back, and if we tried to, speedway will die when you pick up your flask and folding chair and shuffle off this mortal coil.

 

 

Yes i agree the kids will like it, i know as i took a 12yo last year and he loved it. However it didnt make him want to go this year or make him want to go to another meeting and to be honest if they think all speedway meetings are like the gps they are going to be seriously underwhelmed when they get to a league meeting.

 

Dont know what you meant by the old timers tag, but dont see any posts harking back to the good old days and i for one love the Gp's. I took my Dad, who is 70, to his first Gp Saturday and he loved it and his first meeting would have been in the 50's, so you wont hear any it was better in the past nonsense from me.