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No More Semi-final Gate Picks


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In an interview with Ole Olsen in the latest issue of the Swedish speedway magazine

Speedway racing, Ole Olsen said that they have scrapped the semi final gate picks.

 

Ole considered it unfair for the riders who did the best in the round robin stage

to be able to pick their gates. Instead there will be a draw to decide which rider

goes to which gate for the semi finals. Gate pick will still be in place for the finals though.

 

 

I don't really like this. Ole was asked about the gate differences that there usually are

and just said "they are working on it". I don't its particular fair if the best rider during the

night ended up with one of those really "dead" gates and thus loosing out on a place in the final.

 

 

 

Ole also mentioned the dirt problem or lack grip on the tracks and he claimed

that they "are working on it" but that the riders already are having problems with

it and the engines have become more sensitive.

Edited by Ghostwalker
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Ole considered it unfair for the riders who did the best in the round robin stage to be able to pick their gates.

 

He does have some strange ideas. How on earth is it any fairer for a rider finishing top of the points to possibly get the worst gate of the night for a knockout heat?

 

Olsen seems to want the SGP to be a lottery, whether it's his knockout format or random gate positions... :rolleyes:

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What is this round robin?

 

I thought the gates get picked in the finishing order after 20 heats according to points scored, so you get a pick when it's your turn/after the riders that have been better than you...

 

Not many days ago I was thinking that they have not touched the SGP system for a long time and I found nothing wrong in that. And now they've done it again. :lol:

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WILL check with Tony Olsson today but have a feeling Ole may be wrong. I do know that the TV companies were unhappy with the time it was taking to do the semi-final draws and that an alternative was being considered but that still required riders to draw in the order in which they finished in the qualifying heats.

Even though it takes a few minutes, there's an element of entertainment in those minutes. And also time to restock the coffee table / hit the loo.

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WILL check with Tony Olsson today but have a feeling Ole may be wrong. I do know that the TV companies were unhappy with the time it was taking to do the semi-final draws and that an alternative was being considered but that still required riders to draw in the order in which they finished in the qualifying heats.

 

Funnily enough, I thought it was dragged out BECAUSE of TV!

It can't take too much to work out the qualifiers, drag them together & tell them in the pits the order of picks & get a response as to which gate they want.

 

TV will undoubtedly want to show the random selection of gates - what's the betting it morphs from being four balls in a box into a mini National Lottery draw.

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WILL check with Tony Olsson today but have a feeling Ole may be wrong. I do know that the TV companies were unhappy with the time it was taking to do the semi-final draws and that an alternative was being considered but that still required riders to draw in the order in which they finished in the qualifying heats.

 

Surely one alternative would be to allocate the riders the best riders the better gates in order of the points scored.

E.g. Gate 1 scores 40 points, gate 2 scores 32 points, gate 3 scores 18 points, gate 4 scores 30 points.

 

Therefore in semi 1:

1st highest scorer from heats gets gate 1 (best gate)

4th highest scorer gets gate 2 (2nd best gate)

6th highest scorer gets gate 4 (3rd best gate)

7th highest scorer gets gate 3 (worst gate)

 

Likewise with semi 2.

 

Therefore the top scorers are still rewarded with the best gates, but without the delay of having the semi-final draws.

 

All the best

Rob

Edited by lucifer sam
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WILL check with Tony Olsson today but have a feeling Ole may be wrong. I do know that the TV companies were unhappy with the time it was taking to do the semi-final draws and that an alternative was being considered but that still required riders to draw in the order in which they finished in the qualifying heats.

 

But the 'gate pick according to points scored' could be done without pomp or ceremony, even in an ad break.

The randomised draw that Olsen is talking about would take just the same time.

 

What is more troubling is that the FIM Director of Speedway actually believes that for the highest points scorers in the first twenty races to be given the pick is actually unfair.

 

Whether he turns out to be right or wrong on what has been ratified the tragedy remains that Olsen is in a position of such power and yet so befuddled.

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I also thought that the semi final gate pics were drawn out for the benifit of the TV stations, could be done much quicker if they wanted to.

 

Regarding Lucifer Sams post, who exactly would decide which is the best gate and which is the worse? Surely it is down to personal preference for the riders. I would think that at some meetings opinions differ greatly as to which gate is the best or not.

 

 

Any way, how do we get to see monster girls if we can't see the gate draw!! :P

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What is this round robin?

 

I thought the gates get picked in the finishing order after 20 heats according to points scored, so you get a pick when it's your turn/after the riders that have been better than you...

 

Not many days ago I was thinking that they have not touched the SGP system for a long time and I found nothing wrong in that. And now they've done it again. :lol:

 

 

Round Robin is the first 20 heats, the all meet all part which is followed by the knock-out part.

 

http://en.wikipedia....obin_tournament

http://en.wikipedia....tion_tournament

 

 

Also I definitely agree with your final line.

Edited by Ghostwalker
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He does have some strange ideas. How on earth is it any fairer for a rider finishing top of the points to possibly get the worst gate of the night for a knockout heat?

 

Olsen seems to want the SGP to be a lottery, whether it's his knockout format or random gate positions... :rolleyes:

 

Yes - 'It's a Knockout' - that's the way the Sport is going these days. :angry: :angry:

 

More Ole nonsense. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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So, the rider who gets into the semi-finals on seven points and count back draws the inside gate on a track with a single line, and strolls into the final where, courtesy of his win in the semi-final, he gets gate pick in the final, takes the inside gate, and wins the GP, collecting more points in two heats than he managed in the previous five!

 

So many things broken in speedway, and they change a bit that works!

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Honestly......get the bloody tracks right,not muck around with this sort of thing!!!!! Let's hope Prague is sorted as we have been told for a year or two....Everything was going quite well as f-s-p say's and then they have to fiddle with the system again.Like a few ohers i found the semi draw dragged out,but figured the tv companies wanted it like that

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There's nothing much else to add to this other than there is no other sport that is as unfair as speedway is. The way you meet your opponents in different heats from different gates in changing weather and track moisture has nothing to do with fair.

 

Maybe Ole could hijack the new UEM championship, test his ideas there and then forget about them and let SGP prosper, as much as it prospers.

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