Czech Gp

[SwissPosition]

On an earlier post it said the standing area was packed like sardines, so maybe more about the ticket price than racing quality.

To me, that shows a lot of locals showed up, but the travelling fans (on whom Italy, Czech Rep., Latvia, Slovenia depend) stayed away. In the current climate it doesn't seem unreasonable that a good few of those who'd normally jet off to these things either decided to keep the money and watch from home, or ran up against the sudden realisation that these trips are actually pretty expensive when they can't pretend their house is paying for it...

[Gemini]

But we had a perfect replacement didn't we?

 

Misunderstanding here I think.

I meant he did bugger all in the World Cup at Coventry.

 

[rusky]

Oh yes he can he's part of IMG/BSI who are ultimately responsible ................... can't IMG/BSI sort the schedules with SKY if they feel the tracks need more attention during the meetings?

 

 

Not strictly true Trees. OO is part of the FIM, and although he has a close relationship with them, I believe he is not part og IMG

 

As for the Prague track, I have been there numerous times for various meetings and I have never seen it anything other than Slick, be they SGP, League or Individual. I really don't believe that it would be any surprise to any of the riders that it was slick last night

 

[Concrete Cowboy]

I don't think Nicholls should even be considered for Team GB. he turned his back on the EL, we should not give him the opportunity of representing his country if he can't be arsed to ride over here.

 

Rather use Bridger, Tai, Eddie, Harris, Richardson. At least they race in this country.

 

Completely agree with the exception of Richardson who has imo failed to impress in recent years.

[bruno]

Looking at the crowd n the back straight, it seems I was not the only 1 who decided after 3 years of crap that I was not going to bother going to Prague this year. They need to sort it out and soon they'll be left with half a dozen people there

 

agreed we were going right up to the last minute but the cost for 24 hours in prague made no sense id rather have 3 nights for cheaper in poland plus the racing was rubbish

[Bagpuss]

Rob Lyon as a guest on Sky. No more please. Shifty eye movement when on camera, and didn't have anything to say that wasn't obvious to anyone who was watching

 

Considering it was his forst time I thought he did ok....obviously there to talk about the Team GB squad, so may not be on again anyway.

 

[rose]

I must say the racing last night was very boring and is doing the sport no favours ! I dont know whether it was just the prague track or as i suspect as others do that its Ole Olsen preparing slick tracks to suit certain riders !!!

I love speedway and always have and have been trying to introduce a lot of my friends to the sport for a while but all i get back is "its just four bikes going round and round" !! which really frustrates me as it is so much more than that. So I decided to have a barbecue party round mine while the speedway was on last night to try to convert a few of them. So you can imagine to my dissapointment the lack of entertainment on show down to the slickness of the track,needless to say by the end of the meeting I was the only one watching with my friends in the other room saying " told you, just four bikes going round" !! How is speedway going to expand its fan base when the entertainment is being squeezed out of the sport ?

[Trees]

As for the Prague track, I have been there numerous times for various meetings and I have never seen it anything other than Slick, be they SGP, League or Individual. I really don't believe that it would be any surprise to any of the riders that it was slick last night

Not that I care but does the fact that it's always slick make it right to be slick for a showcase GP meeting?

 

So Ole Olsen is an FIM employee? Even more reason to do his utmost to make sure the tracks are prepared for great racing ............... he's letting the FIM, BSI/IMG, the riders and fans down .............

 

 

[Edward Barrett]

 

 

So yet again Harris and Nicholls produced their usual mediocre/poor performance, and yet again people feel it is necessary to make excuses for it.

How much longer are they going to continue?

Both of them have been in the GPs and riding abroad long enough to know what to expect, and what set up to use.

Embarrasing and depressing are the 2 reactions that come to mind.

 

And before people say that Gollob and Andersen were also poor, THEY are able to raise their game in the next round, our two are not capable of doing so.

 

 

 

[rusky]

Not that I care but does the fact that it's always slick make it right to be slick for a showcase GP meeting?

 

So Ole Olsen is an FIM employee? Even more reason to do his utmost to make sure the tracks are prepared for great racing ............... he's letting the FIM, BSI/IMG, the riders and fans down .............

 

 

You are right in that more dirt would make Marketa very good race track. As mentioned previously the track preparation for an SGP is contracted out, usually to the organising club / federation, although I think that all of the manmade tracks are contracted out to the same supplier namely Speedsport A/S.

 

Unfortunatley Prague is one of those tracks that is always slick, as that seems to be the only way that they know how to prepare it (or maybe the only successful way )

[spook]

I love bashing Ole for his slick tracks as much as the next man, but I can't say that I have ever seen anything else at Prague, so I am not sure that it is fair to blame him entirely.

Prague is a fantastic City and a great place to visit, but their speedway track is generally a waste of time if you are looking for good racing....Which makes it a bit surprising that the kid that couldn't make a gate tonight actually won the GP Nice one Emil!

 

I'm suprised you are saying this as the first time we met was in Prague following an extremely exciting GP that saw an early downpour force blades out to cut off mounds of dirt that was left piled inside the white line on the centre green.......... admittedly it was a few years ago now and the racing hasnt been great since.... but we know the track can be good ........... if anything for me it is one of the biggest examples of Ole's obsession with speedway being a slick gating bore fest

 

I reserve the right to have seen this night through rose tinted glasses as I was more than a little p1sh3d

 

 

First this is speedway, not football.

 

correct.... please name me another sport that buys into what you are saying......... I understand the politics and feelings on this at British League level but it really has diddly squat to do with the national team

 

 

It's not slick tracks that give processional racing, it's the riders on it.

Sajfutinov,Pedersen, Walasek, Adams, Harris all had the ability/desire to overtake in Prague:

Too many riders are safe within the GP series, hopefully the rumoured change in the qualification, with only the Champion and 4 TV picks (wild cards) returning will liven it up.

 

The GP was better than most Sky sports live "Elite" league meetings for entertainment, and a worthy winner.

A good nights viewing.

 

I'd agree that an ethos has developed over the years and the riders have started to buy into it now in the interest of earning money and staying fit......... the comparitive lack of injuries suffered in the GP's over recent years tells its only story.................... while obviously that is great ...every single one of the riders and officials knows what the sport is actually about and what turns the fans on .... and it isnt this

 

If you watch the GP again you will notice that the majority of the passing was due to mistakes.......... and the ones who passed as of right had the set up at the optimal levels and were passing guys who werent.... and even then they had to force the issue and struggled to make clean passes

 

 

Not strictly true Trees. OO is part of the FIM, and although he has a close relationship with them, I believe he is not part og IMG

 

As for the Prague track, I have been there numerous times for various meetings and I have never seen it anything other than Slick, be they SGP, League or Individual. I really don't believe that it would be any surprise to any of the riders that it was slick last night

 

It makes no sense for the FIM to dominate IMG over this..... IMG has a vested financial interest and I should imagine are after the most exciting product......... and tbh it makes no sense for the FIM not to have the same goals................. this is why I cannot believe that Olsen still has so much control...... and also why the appointment of Tony Olssen is an interesting one

 

So yet again Harris and Nicholls produced their usual mediocre/poor performance, and yet again people feel it is necessary to make excuses for it.

How much longer are they going to continue?

Both of them have been in the GPs and riding abroad long enough to know what to expect, and what set up to use.

Embarrasing and depressing are the 2 reactions that come to mind.

 

And before people say that Gollob and Andersen were also poor, THEY are able to raise their game in the next round, our two are not capable of doing so.

 

Is it not just a little too early to be coming out with stuff like this? I agree that Hans will finish somewhere at the top of the points scorings come the end of the season... Gollob? I'm not so sure......... how long can he defy the ageing process? Lets not forget that this was a gating track...... therefore the Brits were stuffed and Gollob should have shined

 

If the preparation of this track tells the story for the whole season then yes i'd agree that Scott and Chris will be struggling...... but lets be completely honest here as speedway fans does that mean that they are actually poor/mediocre? Or does it mean that unbelievably we are having tracks prepared to find out who the best gater is? If they arent good enough for a competition that focusses on gating then yes they arent good enough and ultimately were born in the wrong era

Edited April 26, 2009 by spook

[Rob B]

Track was far to slick as most of them are but you have to remember that just over 24 hours earlier they have practise which lasts couple of hours but I read somewhere the amount of laps the riders do equals about 3 meetings and the track takes a hammering, hard to sort that out in 24 hours, think they should scrap practise.

[iris123]

QUOTE (Rob B @ Apr 26 2009, 10:00 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Track was far to slick as most of them are but you have to remember that just over 24 hours earlier they have practise which lasts couple of hours but I read somewhere the amount of laps the riders do equals about 3 meetings and the track takes a hammering, hard to sort that out in 24 hours, think they should scrap practise.

This is what a lot of the Olsen knockers forget.....how many times have we heard that the track was great at practice and pants in the real meeting?????What really is gained by the riders knocking the crap out of most tracks for practice?Olsen is a genius,but even this task is beyond him.......

[spook]

Olsen is a genius

 

 

since when?

 

If practice is the issue then doesnt that go back to Olsen as well? If we are talking about nothing more than a tradition then Ole was the guy who set it all up........ if we are talking about a cutting edge organisation (FIM) and company (IMG) who reassess things annually then shouldnt this have changed by now? Wouldnt the guy responsible for the track have said something by now if he was unhappy?

 

Tbh though i'm with you on this as you dont see teams getting practice on tracks before league matches..... and if they get practice for the purposes of setting the bike up correctly then quite clearly this is now pointless

[MunichMassive]

i can tell you that its not the tracks fault.At individual Meetings like Tomicek Memorial the track is always really good and allows lots of passing.

so the racing is always exciting there.but at gps its gettin worse and worse every year.but i have to say yesterday was actually really good cause there were some surprises..but the racing itself was not that much world class....unfortunately.....i was really lookin forward to it havin beer and crackers next to me...

 

i was expecting a bit more but anyway,was good to see some speedway and emil riding and winning his first ever gp...

 

lookin forward to leszno

[slav2]

If it wasn't for Emil it would have been a really boring meeting.

 

Prague SGP photos

[SUPERACE]

Meeting wasnt great, Emil and Lingren were superb, good to see Crump have a decent start, once again Harris and Nicholls show they are not good enough for the gp and Hans Andersen shows he cant handle the gp pressure he will come good later in the season when the pressure of winning the title has gone.

[SCORPIO]

Oh Dear, a bit of a bore, almost fell asleep watching the Czech GP.

The racing could've been better but it was really good to see Emil win it, a big star of the future and Freddie Lindgren come second.

Hopefully this year will see the series a bit more open.

 

As for Harris & Nicholls, why don't they just give up on the GP's, they will never be World Champion.

[one of clubs]

That meeting was rubbish,i am glad i sky+ it. 3 hours wasted if i didn't.

[Blazeaway]

Oh Dear, a bit of a bore, almost fell asleep watching the Czech GP.

The racing could've been better but it was really good to see Emil win it, a big star of the future and Freddie Lindgren come second.

Hopefully this year will see the series a bit more open.

As for Harris & Nicholls, why don't they just give up on the GP's, they will never be World Champion.

 

 

Neither will most of the field, but I get your point.

 

There were a few good races most notable Nicki and AJ going at it, although not the most exciting of GP's it was pretty absorbing. Onto Leszno which surely will be a bit better.