Blazeaway Posted March 11, 2013 Report Share Posted March 11, 2013 Love how so many people are writing Tai off before he's even got going. I'm not suggesting he'll challenge for the honours but if Chris Harris can make the top 8 then i believe Tai can easily. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Easily? Name me the seven riders he will finish above then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Nice to see this back on thread after the bickering. Here's my views: Main contenders - Holder & Pedersen Holder has progressed year on year and I see no reason why that won't continue in 2013. There's no chinks in his armour, I don't think he's yet reached his peak and he won't give up the title easily. Niki P is no longer quite the same force he was in 2007 & 2008, but he found his "mojo" again in 2012 and came very close to taking title no.4. With strong machinery and pit crew he could finish 2013 at the top of the pile. Best of the rest – Lindback, Sayfutdinov, Hampel Lindback seems to be getting his career back on track and won two GP's in a strong finish to 2012. One of the few riders in the field with potential for big improvement – already has speed & talent, just needs to find consistency. Maybe not (yet) world champion, but certainly a rostrum contender After a meteoric start to his SGP career and an injury-wrecked 2010 Sayfutdinov seems to have got stuck as a top 5 contender without looking like challenging for the title. If he can re-discover his 2009 form, there'll be no stopping him. Rostrum? Hampel is a classy and consistent rider who should finish well up the field, but I don't see him as a world champion. Seems to lack a little determination - when it really matters he'll be the rider who is passed, rather than the rider who does the passing. Top five. Improvers & Unpredictables – Ward, Vaculik, Iversen How good is Darcy Ward? I guess we'll find out this year. I expect him to make a big impact on the SGP, but likely to lose out by trying to win every race instead of taking the safe points. One thing for sure – he'll be good to watch! Top 8 for sure, probably better. World Champ 2013? For speedway and Darcy's sake, I hope not... Vaculik did well in his 6 GP's last year and should continue where he left off. The SGP series needs the newcomers to be challengers, not also-rans. Top 10. Iversen is difficult to predict. Had a great 2012, question is whether he can bring that form into the SGP. Previous history suggests not. Outside the top 8. On the wane – Hancock, Gollob Hancock started 2012 looking like he'd keep his title with ease but his will to win seemed to fade towards the end of the year. I expect him to make a few finals in 2013 and finish in the top 8, but how much longer can he stay motivated? There's no better sight than Gollob in full flight, but his best days are now behind him. He'll still win races in breathtaking style and quite possibly a GP, but not often enough to finish higher than midfield in 2013. Also-rans – Jonsson, Lindgren, Kasprzak, Woffinden, Zagar Jonsson & Lindgren should be in the top 10, but Kasprzak & Zagar I doubt will make much impact. Woffinden has potential to improve, but he may be out of his depth in this field. Pretty good assessment, but I think your a bit harsh On Lindgren and Kasprzak. Think they should have been Improvers & Unpredictables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man in black Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Pretty good assessment, but I think your a bit harsh On Lindgren and Kasprzak. Think they should have been Improvers & Unpredictables. Thanks for the comment GRW, but I'll stand by my assessment. Lindgren has ridden 5 (I think) full GP seasons and only made the top 8 for automatic qualification last year. Sorry, but I think he's reached his peak. Same applies to KK - 14th in his only full GP season (2008) and I don't think he's a better rider now than he was then. I can assure you I'd be happy for either to prove me wrong, because the more riders genuinely competing for the title, the better the series will become. I'm a big fan of the SGP - you can be sure that every rider will give 100% in every race. It's not just another "pay day - who cares?" league match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostwalker Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Thanks for the comment GRW, but I'll stand by my assessment. Lindgren has ridden 5 (I think) full GP seasons and only made the top 8 for automatic qualification last year. Sorry, but I think he's reached his peak. Same applies to KK - 14th in his only full GP season (2008) and I don't think he's a better rider now than he was then. I can assure you I'd be happy for either to prove me wrong, because the more riders genuinely competing for the title, the better the series will become. I'm a big fan of the SGP - you can be sure that every rider will give 100% in every race. It's not just another "pay day - who cares?" league match. I think Gollob and Greg have showed that peaks can come pretty late in the career and Lindgren will be 28 and KK 29 this year. So I think that claiming that they already have reached their peak is a little too early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedwaysliders Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 1st nikki P 2ND C Holder 3rd M Zager Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzo Posted March 12, 2013 Report Share Posted March 12, 2013 Love how so many people are writing Tai off before he's even got going. I'm not suggesting he'll challenge for the honours but if Chris Harris can make the top 8 then i believe Tai can easily. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. As much as I'd like to see Tai do well, I keep looking at the list of riders and can't see who will score less than him over the course of the championship. He seems to be taking a more disciplined approach to the season so I hope it pays off for him. It would be nice to have a Brit who didn't need to rely on a wildcard selection. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man in black Posted March 13, 2013 Report Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) I think Gollob and Greg have showed that peaks can come pretty late in the career and Lindgren will be 28 and KK 29 this year. So I think that claiming that they already have reached their peak is a little too early. Point taken, but I don't believe Greg or Tomasz peaked late in their career at all. Greg was World Champion at the age of 27 (1997) and in his late 20's Gollob was winning GPs for fun. What sets these two apart is that they maintained that level of performance for an extraordinary length of time and took World titles at a very late stage in their career. (...still don't think Freddie or KK are going to improve) Edited March 13, 2013 by Man in black Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiheke1 Posted March 22, 2013 Report Share Posted March 22, 2013 ok my prediction for the season holder emil pedersen ward hampel hancock gollob lindback jonsson nki vaculik lindgren kk tai zagar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackhammer Posted March 23, 2013 Report Share Posted March 23, 2013 Tai was superb today. Good to watch a Brit actually challenging for race wins instead of the odd 3rd place 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluPanther Posted March 24, 2013 Report Share Posted March 24, 2013 Hampel or Ward for me, but Gollob will be in the race if he stays fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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