JT Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) I see in this weeks Speedway Star, Chris Harris, serial wildcarder and professional whinger, has threatened to quit the Team GB world cup squad unless he's given yet another GP series wildcard in 2013. Having given up on using his machinery, gate selections, inability to adapt to slick tracks and cardiac health as excuses for yet another woeful season, Harris now says his World Cup form shows he should be back in the Grand Prix's next year. I haven't got the quote in front of me, but the three paragraphs went something like; "I'm good in the World Cup, which is the same standard as the GP's. People say I'm not good enough for the Grand Prix, if that's the case I'm giving up on the World Cup next year." Ignoring the fact that the early stages of the World Cup featured such greats as Max Dilger and Matej Kus this term, the threat to quit his national side (surely an honour), unless he's given his own way, strikes me as both petulant and unprofessional. Especially as Harris should count himself lucky for having a free ride for so long. After all he only got into the series with a wildcard and has needed one in every season bar one, since. Hopefully the BSI tell him where to go and we finally see riders given wildcards on talent and potential, not nationality. I won't hold my breath... JT. Edited September 28, 2012 by JT 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_minall Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 The fact that in the speedway star suggests that he's after his 5th wild card pick should explain it all really. I love Harris to bits, on his day he's an absolute pleasure to watch, but at the end of the day he's just not good enough to be classed as a true world class rider. At least he'll be in the record books for the rider with the most amount of wild card picks? haha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blazeaway Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 The bloke is a t!t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 The bloke is a t!t. Well JT certainly is-every post running Bomber down. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdmc82 Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 harris has proven in the world cup that he is able to beat the big names so does make you wonder why he isnt doing it in the GPs do think harris is still the best british option for the gp but the question is does there have to be a british rider in the series? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cj69 Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Bye Bye Bomber, no great loss 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekker Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 talented rider, but hasn't a scoobie about the mechanical, set-up side of speedway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Well JT certainly is-every post running Bomber down. Oh boo-hoo. If any other rider was given as many chances as Harris has over the years, they'd be grateful for the opportunity, not threaten to pull out of a BSI run event because for once they didn't get their own way. I'm also certain if any other rider was given the charity Bomber has been afforded, they would have sorted out their machinery by now. JT. PS. Thanks for the t.i.t comment. If you must know, I used to enjoy watching Harris. Unfortunately years of GP charity have made him delusional, so much so, every season seems to see Harris coming up with tired excuses for rubbish GP performances. I genuinely believe the guarantee of a place in the past has held him back. Who knows? A season or two reassessing his current set up, and hopefully qualification by right as a result, will see Harris return a much improved rider. Unfortunately quitting your national side because they won't give you another wild card just strikes me as sour grapes. Edited September 28, 2012 by JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCookie Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 I hope not, I had GB down to win it next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostwalker Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Sky Sports article http://www1.skysport...e-GB-sabbatical Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 harris has proven in the world cup that he is able to beat the big names so does make you wonder why he isnt doing it in the GPs I agree with you. He can beat the very best when he is on top form but something is letting him down. Maybe its mental and his confidence is blown. He shouldn't get another wild card as another year of performances like 2012 would be a retrograde step. As others have said here, and in other threads, a year or two to rebuild would help. Having heard him speak on TV I reckon he is totally fed up and, as he said, cant wait for the season to end. There comes the threat to quit but I doubt that will happen after a winter off to recharge. It's disappointing that so many people on the forum do not care about him or about having a Brit in the GP's. Maybe if we got behind our riders a bit more they might do better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) "If people say I can't do a job in the Grand Prix, then I can't do it in the World Cup either. So what's the point doing it?" Maybe to have the honour of representing your country, Chris? I could sympathise if said he wanted to take a year off the international stage to focus on his league racing. In fact that's probably what he needs, but this plea for another wildcard strikes me as desperate. Leaving with dignity and coming back with a vengeance in 2013 would be far more effective for his career. It's disappointing that so many people on the forum do not care about him or about having a Brit in the GP's. Maybe if we got behind our riders a bit more they might do better. There's caring about a rider and then there's taking a blind eye to our poor representation at this level. Wouldn't it be nicer if a Brit qualified by right, rather than relying on their nationality for a place? Fortunately after years of blissful ignorance, the various media outlets have woken up to the sorry state of British Speedway on the international stage and started questioning our wild cards year after year. Accepting we're not good enough now and rectifying the situation with a proper development plan will benefit us in the long run. JT. Edited September 28, 2012 by JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) "There's caring about a rider and then there's taking a blind eye to our poor representation at this level. Wouldn't it be nicer if a Brit qualified by right, rather than relying on their nationality for a place? JT. Your right about riders who think I'm from GB give me the wild card, that shouldn't happen, but we should at least treat him with respect. He's won a GP, been 6th in the world, so he is no mug. Calling him a twit and saying he is no loss is what disappoints.. Edited September 28, 2012 by marky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Your right about riders who think I'm from GB give me the wild card, that shouldn't happen, but we should at least treat him with respect. He's won a GP, been 6th in the world, so he is no mug. Calling him a twit and saying he is no loss is what disappoints.. yep some of the threads and posts on him have become slightly over the top............... in some ways though he does bring it on himself as everyone instinctively know the limits .... and the limits of a respectable amount of wildcards ended a year or two ago.............. and if it was being made worth his while, then how many years does it take to even stumble across a decent setup in his camp? ...let alone purposely hone in on on his day you cant take your eyes off him.... and that cant be said about too many riders..................... but we have had enough years now to know that his overall game is not to the required standard time to move on 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) Your right about riders who think I'm from GB give me the wild card, that shouldn't happen, but we should at least treat him with respect. He's won a GP, been 6th in the world, so he is no mug. Calling him a twit and saying he is no loss is what disappoints.. Totally agree. Even Harris himself says he doesn't want to dine off his Cardiff performance any longer. Now he has failed to qualify again, he should make a dignified exit. The longer these press releases go on for the more people start to forget his past achievements. That would be a shame. On a more positive note, he could do worse than have a chat to Niels Kristian Iversen in the close season about how to totally reboot your career. JT. Edited September 28, 2012 by JT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Fortunately after years of blissful ignorance, the various media outlets have woken up to the sorry state of British Speedway on the international stage and started questioning our wild cards year after year. You mean the solitary media outlet in the case of British speedway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 (edited) talented rider, but hasn't a scoobie about the mechanical, set-up side of speedway I would agree,anybody with his back -up Team would struggle given their track record.But he seems happy with them and thats all the counts. Edited September 28, 2012 by Fromafar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT Posted September 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 You mean the solitary media outlet in the case of British speedway? SKY attempted to discuss the issue in the studio during the last GP. It wasn't brilliant, with Ermolenko and Louis both sidestepping any difficult questions, but it was a start. Speedway GP online has also started mentioning Harris' unprecedented number of wildcard picks whenever next year is mentioned next to his name. The Speedway Star (which I guess crosses over with a lot of the SGP online stories) seems to have given up on Harris and is now throwing it's weight behind Woffinden, without really explaining why he deserves one. It would be genuinely interesting if the Star published an article under the headline, "Does a British rider deserve a place in the GP series?". JT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screm Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 It would be genuinely interesting if the Star published an article under the headline, "Does a British rider deserve a place in the GP series?". JT. The simple answer is no. Harris says he fancies only doing league racing,plus the GP qualifiers,he did those this season and was eliminated,I see no difference in next years qualification system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spin king Posted September 28, 2012 Report Share Posted September 28, 2012 Funny ain't it, if these comments had been made by Tai Woffenden this thread would be 20 pages long by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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