Gp Challenge

[salty]

But then Harris didn't bother last year yet still got a place. I have to be honest Harris seems to get away with far more than Nicholls, a few meetings apart (one in particular he is still dining off) he has been pretty crap in the GP's, yet he seems to escape the kind of flak Scott receives. How many series has he actually qualified in the top 8? How many has Nicholls managed? I'm willing to bet that Nicholls has done far more in this respect, although I would be the first to admit he Mr Nicholls doesn't deserve a 2010 place.

Harris has never qualified in the top 8. Got equal points as Holta and Nicholls in 2007 but got knocked off in the run-off.

Pretty sure he got in as a nominated rider in the first place so he has never actually qualified for the GP's by his own efforts.

10 points on his own track last night doesn't mean he should get picked for the 2010 series imo. Add in the fact he is currently 14th then you would be picking him over riders who have perfromed better this season.

If there is to be a Brit for next year (rightly or wrongly I am sure there will be) then it should be a choice between Richardson and Woffinden. A strong performance by Tai in the Under-21 Final might just persuade them to go with a youngster over a rider who, although he has had a strong season in League racing, has not set the pulses racing in the GP's previously.

[WembleyLion]

Well done to the three qualifiers. Zorro was a bit lucky though particularly in getting a second chance when Pepe brought Harris and Lindgren down when Zorro was firmly at the back. Still he beat Holder twice though, so fair play to him. I feel Noddy was a dead certainty for a nomination anyway but it's good to see him qualify outright. Hampel rode well (he is a much more talented rider than the pale imitation who wore a Witches race jacket at Coventry earlier this year). Pepe may well have qualified (at Zorro's expense) had he not fallen in heat 12. Bomber's night was pretty much over by the first bend of heat one though.

 

I was quite surprised at the large turnout (aided by a high number of Polish fans).

Edited September 19, 2009 by WembleyLion

[The Cat]

Bees fan if you would like to come up the stadium tomorrow morning you can see how much dirt was on the track I,m sorry but your comment has annoyed me a tad .

cheers Mick

 

Totally Agree.. The track was perfect with a very good dirt line.. there was plenty. The problem with these meeting is when the likes of Holder, Lidgren and Hampel get out they are too quick to catch dirt or no dirt.. some guys were really fast tonight. People have no idea, they just like to say oh rubbish no dirt and just to moan and cant see what is right in front of them.

 

[fryit]

Seems so many people have wrote off Zorro in next years SGP already! I'm by no means a fan of Zorro but give him credit for what he's acheived. Chris Holder is a by most peoples admission a fantastic talent and Zorro seems to have the beating of him last night; ok he may not do that every GP but let's see what he can do................he may make some people on here eat their words!!

 

I also agree with the comments that a rider that is in the GP series should not be allowed to go through the qualifiers in the same year just incase they don't make the cut, they should have to go through the process the following year and give the oppurtunity to someone else.

 

As for the wils cards, because of the politics in today's speedway I don't think there will be a series without a Brit. It's a shame there is little mention about Kennet, Bridger, King, etc etc on here; ok they may not be able to challenge for the title but they should be considered along with the usual suspects.

 

The pics from the meeting are great and the track looks as though it had a good surface.

 

As someone has said already, we've really got to start backing the young Brits and let them feel their efforts are appreciated, look at the support the Poles give.....everywhere!!

 

Anyway, no WC decitions will change on the basis of anything that is written on this forum but at least we can express our thoughts.

[Haza]

Well what a borefest it was track was poor to wet at start of meeting racing was no better and we left just after heat 18 and lots were leaving then and there was a lot of empty car parking spaces .Why wasn,t it a 7.30 start ? All in all not worth £25 . As for the result well done to Chris Holder and Jaroslaw Hample and Zorro was a worthy winner on the night but he will add nothing to the GP,s and at 37 fits in well in what is becoming an old mans club a massive clear out is needed in freshen the Gps up Zorro is a backward step .

[Red Panda]

Well done to Zorro, Noddy and Jarek...............................does anyone have the full results at all?????????????

 

As for those of you who have written Zorro off without seeing him turn a wheel in a GP................he may be older but at least he is a true showman and entertains wherever he goes......................Noddy is the first of the real new generation to come through and should be there for a good few years yet................................

 

RP

[philfromcov]

Well what a borefest it was track was poor to wet at start of meeting racing was no better and we left just after heat 18 and lots were leaving then and there was a lot of empty car parking spaces .Why wasn,t it a 7.30 start ? All in all not worth £25 . As for the result well done to Chris Holder and Jaroslaw Hample and Zorro was a worthy winner on the night but he will add nothing to the GP,s and at 37 fits in well in what is becoming an old mans club a massive clear out is needed in freshen the Gps up Zorro is a backward step .

its not zorros fault is it, the so called pretenders are np good id it?

 

best thing for harris to get out of the circus his not gp standard and never will till he can gate and his pit team can work out track conditions.

i enjoyed it myself especially the drunken poles, but living locally and getting home at midnight is not good!

[Steve Shovlar]

Most of the riders were going at it hammer and tongs the track had plenty of dirt on which is what most fans wanted IMO and nearly all of the crashes were due to two or more riders being in the same place at the same time apart from Pepe parking it on the fourth bend causing Chris to run into him .

I hope most fans were happy with a track which had quite a lot of dirt on it as opposed to the last two (in particular) and also others throughout the year being run on the slick side

But then again fans moan cos its slick and fans moan cos it dragged on due to the crashes on a deep surface

TRACKMEN CAN,T WIN

cheers Mick

 

 

Don't think its much to do with the dirt. The track is not great for passing and perhaps the event should ave been held where the racing would be a bit better. Rarely been to Brandon and seen loads of passing in dozens of visits.

[Haza]

its not zorros fault is it, the so called pretenders are np good id it?

 

best thing for harris to get out of the circus his not gp standard and never will till he can gate and his pit team can work out track conditions.

i enjoyed it myself especially the drunken poles, but living locally and getting home at midnight is not good!

No not Zorro,s fault at all.All i,m saying is at 37 it should not be what the Gp,s are all about.

[RobMcCaffery]

If there is to be a Brit for next year (rightly or wrongly I am sure there will be)....

 

As I mentioned earlier I really suspect that Sky would pull the plug unless there was a Brit for them to focus on. The retreat behind the red button has come in a season where the British riders have clearly failed to achieve.

 

In sporting terms it would be a wake-up call for no British rider to be selected but economic realities are unlikely to alllow it.

 

Rob McCaffery

 

 

 

[RobMcCaffery]

No not Zorro,s fault at all.All i,m saying is at 37 it should not be what the Gp,s are all about.

 

The GPs should be about the best sixteen riders in the world racing for the title, irrespective of age. There are plenty of competitions there to develop young talent.

 

The GPs should be about talent, not age.

 

Rob McCaffery

[crazysue]

Well done to Zorro, Noddy and Jarek...............................does anyone have the full results at all?????????????

 

http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/index...5094&page=1

 

With regards to the meeting reserves, Tobi Kroner was supposed to be one but is still injured and so unable to ride.

[philfromcov]

Don't think its much to do with the dirt. The track is not great for passing and perhaps the event should ave been held where the racing would be a bit better. Rarely been to Brandon and seen loads of passing in dozens of visits.

problem with that is coventry is the only UK track (other than cardiff) that holds the correct licence!

 

and you would have never got that crowd into any other uk track either.

 

i think thers so many crashes because riders have fast bikes but not the ability, it did make you reliase how low the level in the elite legue is

 

zorro deserved it, didnt too much appart from get whacked, but theres a lesson there for mr harris if he could be bothered to learn it!

 

the best english rider by a mile at the moment could only manage 10 points at home, lets not pretend that tai/scott and all the others would have got more points because they wouldnt have.

 

it should have been at poole, lots of foreign riders and a underperforming brit, pretty much standard fair for poole!

 

[Hazzman]

problem with that is coventry is the only UK track (other than cardiff) that holds the correct licence!

 

So how come Peterborough held a FIM event this season?

 

One of the worst meetings I've had the pleasure of attending. Delays albeit some explainable but there were points where everyone just stood there, there was no need for a delay at all. Thankfully, it was slightly liven up by Zetterstrom's fairytail with a deserved gritty performance after two awful knocks.

 

On top of it all despite the prestige of the meeting etc., Coventry still ran the tired presentation package from 1975. I don't think there was one song played which is currently in Top 40 and then we had Elton John and Chumbwumba on multiple times after crashes....beautifully original.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Hazzman

[Hazzman]

The only long gaps were caused by crashes and the aftermath of them. Can't do anything about that unfortunately.

 

What about the 8.15 start or in Heat 2 where every rider went back to the pits as opposed to the mechanics bringing fuel to them.

[alkadera]

The meeting took so long because of the numerous crashes and resulting delays as riders and bikes were checked over.

 

In all the other races the two minutes warning was on for the next race as the riders from the previous race were riding back along turns 1-2 into the pits so its not like they were slow with it.

 

8.15 - whats the problem? It will have allowed a lot more people to make it to the meeting. I live in Leicestershire and would have really struggled to make a 7pm start as some have suggested. Not everyone can get time off work to go to a speedway meeting.

[philfromcov]

What about the 8.15 start or in Heat 2 where every rider went back to the pits as opposed to the mechanics bringing fuel to them.

not saying it was a good meeting.

 

in the old days once they were stood up after a crash, pretty much the 2 minute warning came on.

 

delaying the meeting for 20 minutes because zorro had "run out of bikes" is not really on, he should have brought more?.

 

its the riders fault, the slightest delay and ther off the track eating a cheese sandwich! if its all 4 back then the pit gate shouldnt be opened!

 

when you looked at the top riders last night you could see who was set up and who wasnt no track would have changed that.

 

the delays are becoming a real pain, even 15 heats seem to take at least 2 half hours these days, it just takes too long.

 

this needs to be looked at imo it all just drags

Edited September 19, 2009 by philfromcov

[Chris Brown]

Were you even at the meeting? Zorro was leading when Nieminen wiped him out on the 2nd crash! There was tons down, it was just soaking wet for the first 6 or 7 races and boasted a massive inside 2 gates advantage early on.

 

In fairness he was stone last when Pepe fell and in the first running of the race where Niemenen wiped him out he had missed the start when Niemenen gave Lukas a big shove and turned him round causing Zorro to hit him

 

Having said that he fully deserved it and he Holder and Pepe were by far the quickest riders on the night

[harleynut]

Note to IMG: how about a long overdue restructuring of the whole GP so that you can make more out of hyping up the qualifiers (customer interest and TV interest) and get out of this stupid idea of 'picking' who should be in the GP. Picks seem to be based on politics/ country presence.

 

So an idea....... have two GP Challenges which you could call GP Semi finals (!!!!) rotated around different countries, run on the same weekend (Sat and Sun) with the top 4 from each going through to join the 8 from the previous GP. Or take the top 3 from each Semi, keep the top 9 from previous year and hold one back for the winner of the world U 21.

 

Sturture the rounds that feed into the two semi finals - have a sreies of quarter finals and brand them all which will also increase the potential TV exposure. The quarter finals can then be fed by some riders from the Country finals (ie British final feeds top 6 into the QFs etc)

[The Cat]

One of the worst meetings I've had the pleasure of attending.

 

You must have been to some great meetings over the years then, wish i had your luck! I have been to much much worse, and one of those was last years GP challenge which was ten times worse on a track like a motorway . Oh and that was in that land of the mythical dirt laded track in Poland.. And the crowd and atmosphere was very poor as it was one fifth full.. Stop moaning and enjoy the drama if not the racing last night..

Edited September 19, 2009 by The Cat