Ole Olsen

[tomcat]

Think I read that Olsen prepares the tracks slick so the riders don't get covered in muck and look cleaner for the trophy presentation. Trouble is we are talking about dirt track racing here and one of its beauty's is the (usual) ability of riders to race on other than the accepted racing i.e. around the inside as in Moto Gp, F1 et al. That means some dirt on the circuit to enable them to do so. The riders wipe as much dirt as possible off themselves at the end but who cares if they look little grubby provided we've watched an entertaining meet....

 

I keep hearing that very same reason too, keep the advertisments on the fence clean, keep the riders and their sponsors names clean...etc etc.

 

As you rightly say, this is supposed to be dirt track racing...emphasis on the dirt I believe it should be.

I was losing interest in the GP series last season, but thought I'd give it another whirl this year, but lo and behold, its even worse. Talk about sterile racing.... the only real incidents have come from rider error, due to a bad track surface. The main reason for rutting, is down to no top dressing, which means the base gets a hammering and breaks up.

 

I am one of the One off World Final Brigade, but even I could deal with the GP series IF the racing was held on tracks that are prepared for real racing. To date it hasnt happened, therefore I, and probably many others, are fast losing interest. Whoever is responsible for the attrocious tracks we get served up, they need getting rid of and someone that knows what they are actually doing being brought in.

 

Watering seems to be a big issue too, as we saw again in Lezno.... had that track been watered

properly in advance of the actual day, then even the slightly slicker surface would have been better

for racing, as what there was in the way of top dressing would have binded and given more grip than we saw.

How long will it be, before the riders say enough is enough, as engines are screaming flat out and

going nowhere, which ultimately costs in repairs. Not even Nicki P is going to stand heavy engine bills for too much longer, and it must be happening as no racing engine is built to sustain that length of abuse from over revving.

 

BSI/IMG dont seem overly bothered that their so called Premier event, which is also our sports

World Championship, is going down the toilet. If we are to have a multiple round World Championship, then at least lets have some well prepared tracks.... simples....

 

If not, let them get on with it, and lets do our own thing again, as we did in years past. It worked back then, so it could well work now.

 

[Rico]

Last few GPs I've seen the finalists have gone straight to the centre green for interviewing.

 

In years gone by they used to have multiple versions of the adverts, so if they got dirty they were simply peeled off and a fresh new one was underneath.

 

I'm sure someone somewhere mentioned the GP 'bible' which instructs the organisers how things must be done - has anyone got a copy of this ?

 

Rico

[Man in black]

Like Formula One, the SGP is a business masquerading as a sport and the prime objective is to make a profit for the promoting company. Much of the SGP revenue comes from the TV rights which in turn generates income from advertising. Advertisers are not going to pay good money for banners that become invisible after the first race, therefore the clean fence and riders is the only logical reason for the dry, slick tracks even if we'd prefer to stick the blame on Ole Olsen's ego. As F1 has proven for years, boring, sterile and processional "racing" does not matter one iota so long as we all keep switching on our tellies to watch. Will this situation change? Not unless the TV viewers walk away. Then the TV companies will follow suit and that will be the end of the SGP as we know it. Which may or may not be a Good Thing, depending on your point of view.......

Edited May 14, 2009 by Man in black

[spook]

However, He did inform that the track prep was the responsibility of the FIM. Therefore could we all be being a bit harsh om Olsen?

 

How is that harsh on Ole? He works for the FIM............. he was the guy who came up with the GP's ........... he is the guy who quite clearly runs everything with an iron rod to the degree where he thinks he could even interfere with the refs

 

 

Regards Ole Olsen his full title is FIM race director SGP and SWC.He might also be employed by BSI/IMG to build the temporary tracks at Copenhagen and Cardiff.I think its time several points are clarified by the authorities

 

1 Who is ultimately responsible for track conditions at every GP(does this vary from temporary tracks to permanent ones)

2 depending on the previous answer what input do BSI have on track prep.

3 what input does the FIM jury president(the meeting is under his control)have on track conditions.

4 Do the riders have any input into track conditions either pre-season or before each GP.

 

If we could get the answers to these questions we all might have a better understanding of how things operate at GP level.

 

Interesting questions and although it would be good to finally get some hard answers where it will be difficult for any future race directors to pick and choose with the media as to if it is their responsibility or not..... I dont think that there is any doubt as to who is in charge is there?

 

Either IMG/BSL are hiring Ole's 'expertise' .... or the FIM are insisting that their members fill certain roles................... either way all fingers point to Ole no matter how he tries to pass the buck when the fingers come out......... what your questions would possibly gain is the support behind the guy and where it is coming from

 

 

Like Formula One, the SGP is a business masquerading as a sport and the prime objective is to make a profit for the promoting company. Much of the SGP revenue comes from the TV rights which in turn generates income from advertising. Advertisers are not going to pay good money for banners that become invisible after the first race, therefore the clean fence and riders is the only logical reason for the dry, slick tracks even if we'd prefer to stick the blame on Ole Olsen's ego. As F1 has proven for years, boring, sterile and processional "racing" does not matter one iota so long as we all keep switching on our tellies to watch. Will this situation change? Not unless the TV viewers walk away. Then the TV companies will follow suit and that will be the end of the SGP as we know it. Which may or may not be a Good Thing, depending on your point of view.......

 

and heres the crunch...............

 

yes the SGP may well be focussed on its financial interests

 

NO the grand prix is not masquerading as a sport... it IS a sport! It is what became of the old world final and road to world final......... it is not available to any tom dick or harry to feel that they can make a mockery of it.......... I hear what you are saying but I dont think that they can be lumped into Ecclestone and Mosely's bracket who tarnished their sport for 20 years in order to get rich and make it one of the top fixed 'sports'............ maybe I am wrong... we will find out

 

however .......... if this really is all down to dirt on the erm dirtboards.... and dirt on kevlars then once again speedway shoots itself in the foot and no imagination at all is shown...................................grateful teenagers with free passes hosing down banners/ripping off top layers.................... tv 'projecting' advertising on centre greens, first few rows of stands...................... Polish style advertising boards on the centre green ............. In fact it really wouldnt be difficult to saturate a stadium and tv presentation with advertising without using the airfence.............. boards amongst/behind the crowd/flags/boards and stickers all over the pits like some wierd corporate style fete.......... and TV presentation graphics littered with it

 

but most important of all speedway uses dirt! dirt is what makes it interesting ....... that just cannot be messed with lol ............... its like saying rugby should be played on concrete with no tackles.....ie a pale shadow of what the sport is about and a borefest

 

despite the length of the meeting I defy any speedway fan, non fan, floating fan, & potential fan not to get excited about Cameron Woodwards pass on Monday in ht15................. Gollob in full flow at Bydgoszcz up to 2004 .......... Gundersen at Odsal 85 ....... Gollob/Nilsen 99 ....... Havelock/Rempala 04 ......etc etc.........all of these required dirt and there is no sanitised substitute that we should sacrifice our sport to

 

for the record my polite email to the IMGworld guys has not been responded to

Edited May 15, 2009 by spook

[tomcat]

How is that harsh on Ole? He works for the FIM............. he was the guy who came up with the GP's ........... he is the guy who quite clearly runs everything with an iron rod to the degree where he thinks he could even interfere with the refs

 

 

 

 

Interesting questions and although it would be good to finally get some hard answers where it will be difficult for any future race directors to pick and choose with the media as to if it is their responsibility or not..... I dont think that there is any doubt as to who is in charge is there?

 

Either IMG/BSL are hiring Ole's 'expertise' .... or the FIM are insisting that their members fill certain roles................... either way all fingers point to Ole no matter how he tries to pass the buck when the fingers come out......... what your questions would possibly gain is the support behind the guy and where it is coming from

 

 

 

 

and heres the crunch...............

 

yes the SGP may well be focussed on its financial interests

 

NO the grand prix is not masquerading as a sport... it IS a sport! It is what became of the old world final and road to world final......... it is not available to any tom dick or harry to feel that they can make a mockery of it.......... I hear what you are saying but I dont think that they can be lumped into Ecclestone and Mosely's bracket who tarnished their sport for 20 years in order to get rich and make it one of the top fixed 'sports'............ maybe I am wrong... we will find out

 

however .......... if this really is all down to dirt on the erm dirtboards.... and dirt on kevlars then once again speedway shoots itself in the foot and no imagination at all is shown...................................grateful teenagers with free passes hosing down banners/ripping off top layers.................... tv 'projecting' advertising on centre greens, first few rows of stands...................... Polish style advertising boards on the centre green ............. In fact it really wouldnt be difficult to saturate a stadium and tv presentation with advertising without using the airfence.............. boards amongst/behind the crowd/flags/boards and stickers all over the pits like some wierd corporate style fete.......... and TV presentation graphics littered with it

 

but most important of all speedway uses dirt! dirt is what makes it interesting ....... that just cannot be messed with lol ............... its like saying rugby should be played on concrete with no tackles.....ie a pale shadow of what the sport is about and a borefest

 

despite the length of the meeting I defy any speedway fan, non fan, floating fan, & potential fan not to get excited about Cameron Woodwards pass on Monday in ht15................. Gollob in full flow at Bydgoszcz up to 2004 .......... Gundersen at Odsal 85 ....... Gollob/Nilsen 99 ....... Havelock/Rempala 04 ......etc etc.........all of these required dirt and there is no sanitised substitute that we should sacrifice our sport to

 

for the record my polite email to the IMGworld guys has not been responded to

 

 

Well Done... Your post sums it all up exactly.

Also, think back to the earlier GP's, I am sure I saw plenty of advertisng boards on the centre green. So it shows it was/can be done, I'll have to dig some of my old VHS tapes of the first GP's out and have a look. As I said, spot on post Spook....

[Ghostwalker]

Smederna have most of their advertising on the inside of the track as well as on the grandstands although there are some minor ads on the airfence too so the question is why they dont use that in the gp?

Edited May 17, 2009 by Ghostwalker

[tomcat]

Smederna have most of their advertising on the inside of the track as well as on the grandstands although there are some minor ads on the airfence too so the question is why they dont use that in the gp?

 

Exactly what some of us are asking too. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Speedway needs better prepared tracks for what is ultimately the top competition within the

sport....the World Title, not ultra slick gate and go circuits.

 

We've had the arguments, for and against One off World Finals, I was and still am very much in the

Old one off World Final camp, but if we have to have the SGP series, will the powers that be actually give us some race tracks that these guys can race on.

 

The SGP series may limp on for a few more years, but anyone with half an ounce of sense knows that sooner or later it will collapse, because it will be too predictable, with the same faces winning again and again, until they retire, then a new lot will start the trend all over again.

 

Its blatantly obvious that Olsen doesnt have a clue, so someone, somewhere must accept responsibility and move the guy out of it and let someone that does know what they're doing have a crack at it..... for the sake of speedway.

Personally, if the tracks were better prepared, with dirt on them, and the racing improved, I would be happy to continue seeing the SGP, but until then, I and many more like me will start looking away from the SGP series. How long before the fans that pay handsomely for tickets, airfairs etc see the light and stop supporting the series financially???

 

[HenryW]

The SGP series may limp on for a few more years, but anyone with half an ounce of sense knows that sooner or later it will collapse, because it will be too predictable, with the same faces winning again and again, until they retire, then a new lot will start the trend all over again.

I don't understand this argument at all.

Of course the same faces win again and again....They are the best! The best don't just change from year to year.

It's the same in every sport....does it make any other sport bad just because the title contenders only change occasionally?

 

The fact that the same people are winning isn't a problem as long as the events are delivering good entertaining racing....and that's why the track prep is so important.

 

So many of the old one off World Finals delivered rubbish racing, but provided entertainment by the very fact that it was a one off match for the title, and that's what I think so many people want back. They want the excitement of unpredictability rather the excitement of great speedway....Surely it's better to work on the great speedway rather than just relying on the excitement of the "one off"....

Edited May 18, 2009 by HenryW

[Ghostwalker]

we have to have the SGP series, will the powers that be actually give us some race tracks that these guys can race on.

 

The SGP series may limp on for a few more years, but anyone with half an ounce of sense knows that sooner or later it will collapse, because it will be too predictable, with the same faces winning again and again, until they retire, then a new lot will start the trend all over again.

 

well the gp series survived the domination of T Rick didnt it? although i also think that Nicki and Crump will be two of the contenders for a few more years i think that

Hans Andersen, Emil S and possible some more will start to be a larger threat to Nicki and Crump. Besides that i think we will also see some new faces fighting for GP wins the nearest years

when riders like Adams, Gollob & Greg retires.

[BTL]

Straying from the GP's, I went to the World Cup down at Coventry last season when GB got humped by the Danes. I may be wrong, but I think Olsen was in charge of track preperation for the meeting.

 

I met a couple of riders after the meeting, and asked why team GB were so poor. They suggested it was because the Brits were going for the dirt on the outside of the track that usually exists, however the track was completely different from league racing. That meeting was poor, with little overtaking.

 

The next Monday, Coventry were racing at Brandon, and the meeting was extremely entertaining, and the track was graded differently.

 

I may be wrong about it being Olsen in charge on that particular occasion, however it was another flag ship sky meeting where the track was gash.

 

Well we waere there as well having driven nearly 400 miles from the Highlands. I have on reliable info from one of the participants that Slick Ole Olsen was indeed the race director on that occasion.

 

You could see how little dirt there was on the track that night, when the wheel and grader came round for the first time sparks were clearly seen by all we were with (and we were with our friends from the East).

 

Yes it is time to get dirt on the track and allow the racers RACE!

 

[tomcat]

I don't understand this argument at all.

Of course the same faces win again and again....They are the best! The best don't just change from year to year.

It's the same in every sport....does it make any other sport bad just because the title contenders only change occasionally?

 

The fact that the same people are winning isn't a problem as long as the events are delivering good entertaining racing....and that's why the track prep is so important.

 

So many of the old one off World Finals delivered rubbish racing, but provided entertainment by the very fact that it was a one off match for the title, and that's what I think so many people want back. They want the excitement of unpredictability rather the excitement of great speedway....Surely it's better to work on the great speedway rather than just relying on the excitement of the "one off"....

 

Using your argument, then why do we have 16 riders in a GP?

Surely if the others dont have a chance, because according to you they're not good enough, why bother.

My argument is quite simply, give the guys a proper racing surface, then maybe some of the so called lesser riders may have half a chance at winning something....ergo making the whole series more entertaining with closer racing....which is what the public seem to want, not gate and go with

very little if any passing.

If the same few riders winning round after round is what floats your boat, thats your choice, but for some of us its not speedway. Close racing and the opportunity for riders to pass and repass eachother and genuinely have a reason for being in the GP is what I would like to see.

Sorry, but paying out a lot of money on travel, accomodation and tickets to a GP, knowing that the same names will be at the top of the board everytime is not something I would advocate.

Going along and knowing that any of the 16 riders on show could take the win on the night would

excite me a heck of a lot more.

 

If you had read my post earlier...and quoted it properly, I did actually say, I could enjoy the GP's, if the tracks were prepared properly for racing. Yes, I did enjoy the one off World Finals, but if the GP circus is to stay as our sports Premier event, then someone needs to take responsibility and sort these crap tracks out. And you can save this and quote me when it goes poop.... Because in its current form, it most certainly will.

As I said, it may take a few years, but it will all come crashing down if the current trend with the

tracks continues. I've been around this sport way way too many years and I know the signs.....

 

Laugh all you want, but dont say I didnt warn you.

[Pollyanna]

Using your argument, then why do we have 16 riders in a GP?

Surely if the others dont have a chance, because according to you they're not good enough, why bother.

My argument is quite simply, give the guys a proper racing surface, then maybe some of the so called lesser riders may have half a chance at winning something....ergo making the whole series more entertaining with closer racing....which is what the public seem to want, not gate and go with

very little if any passing.

If the same few riders winning round after round is what floats your boat, thats your choice, but for some of us its not speedway. Close racing and the opportunity for riders to pass and repass eachother and genuinely have a reason for being in the GP is what I would like to see.

Sorry, but paying out a lot of money on travel, accomodation and tickets to a GP, knowing that the same names will be at the top of the board everytime is not something I would advocate.

Going along and knowing that any of the 16 riders on show could take the win on the night would

excite me a heck of a lot more.

 

If you had read my post earlier...and quoted it properly, I did actually say, I could enjoy the GP's, if the tracks were prepared properly for racing. Yes, I did enjoy the one off World Finals, but if the GP circus is to stay as our sports Premier event, then someone needs to take responsibility and sort these crap tracks out. And you can save this and quote me when it goes poop.... Because in its current form, it most certainly will.

As I said, it may take a few years, but it will all come crashing down if the current trend with the

tracks continues. I've been around this sport way way too many years and I know the signs.....

 

Laugh all you want, but dont say I didnt warn you.

 

 

Good post, tomcat.

 

[shazzybird]

Give me Premier League racing any time compared to that!!!

 

You are sounding more and more like Trees each time I read this yet I'm sure if they asked you to be the announcer for the day you wouldn't turn it down

[Humphrey Appleby]

why do we have 16 riders in a GP?

 

16 riders are needed to make the heat formula work, and to generate the optimal number of heats without repetition.

 

 

[tomcat]

16 riders are needed to make the heat formula work, and to generate the optimal number of heats without repetition.

 

 

Prawn.... We know that, please stop stating the obvious.... I love people like you, quote a small

piece of a post, then try to answer it with a nothing answer.

 

My question was, in response to the poster that queried my post earlier:

Why have 16 riders if only a handful at most have a chance of winning it.

I thought the idea was to have 16 riders that ALL had a chance to win a GP and/or the

World Title. If so few have any chance, why have 16 riders in it at all. And saying you need

16 riders to make the format work isnt an answer is it???

 

In theory, say 6 riders stand a realistic chance of the title, then thats 10 riders wasting their time

and money competeing, which is not what a World Title competition should be about, surely.

Some of us ask serious questions and some people just post nonsense.

 

At the end of the day, it comes down to the type of racing surface, the gate and go jockeys are

having a field day, while the from the back racers dont stand a chance at this moment in time.

Each type have their strengths and weaknesses, but slick tracks stop the racers from having any

real chance of glory.

[Humphrey Appleby]

We know that, please stop stating the obvious.... I love people like you, quote a small

piece of a post, then try to answer it with a nothing answer.

 

Well then don't ask questions that you already know the answer to.

 

In practically any sport you can think of, only a handful of competitors are likely to win, and it's been pretty much that way in speedway whether the old World Final or the SGP format has been used. There were a handful of unexpected World Final winners in what 50 years, and there's even less chance of it with the GP format now.

 

I think there's virtually no chance of finding 16 riders capable of winning a single GP, far less the whole series, but that's what you need to make up the numbers. Presumably though, the newcomers may eventually gain experience to become top runners, and that's the point.

 

Less slick tracks might help some riders and would certainly make the racing better to watch, but the global superstar would likely still not win anything...

Edited May 19, 2009 by Humphrey Appleby