Will It Be The Same With Woffy?

[fullbore]

Really?

I wouldn't have thought that he would have got a podium finish.

 

????

 

Tai is averaging more point per round competed than anyone else.

 

Niamh

[pugwash]

????

 

Tai is averaging more point per round competed than anyone else.

 

Niamh

It hasn't been a full strength field in every round, though.

Holder, Ward, Emil and a fully fit Nicki would have had a lot of the points that have been distributed elsewhere.

[Bruiser McHuge]

It hasn't been a full strength field in every round, though.

Holder, Ward, Emil and a fully fit Nicki would have had a lot of the points that have been distributed elsewhere.

 

 

he was ahead of all of those at the time each of them got injured wasn't he ?.....yes it would have been tighter but Woffinden has been the most consistent rider in the series this year and would fully justify being World Champion..

 

For me the lowest key world champ was probably Havelock, despite being British....i think the one off final was well on the wane by then...TV and media reporting was poor and for me Havelock is almost the forgotten world champion.....i remember Lee's win having constant updates every couple of races on the local radio in Manchester and it was a big deal and received plenty of media coverage....Loram's had Sky TV but received much less media coverage than Lee and i fear Woffinden's win will hardly raise a ripple in the national media which would be a great shame.

[BWitcher]

I agree with you it was a shame Mark didn't win a gp that year, although he only missed out by half a wheel in Prague, (Damn you Billy Hamill!). But he was the most consistent and exciting rider so thoroughly deserved to win.

 

Hmm..

 

I'm sure I saw someone once who had worked out in terms of race pts Loram didn't score the most that year.

 

He was fortunate in the system in operation at the time suited him, with 2nd place enough to progress each time.

 

It was an awful system.

 

Also was a contributory factor to some of Rikardssons world titles with him having the heavily favoured Gate 1 (as it was in almost every GP then) in potentially all of his races.

 

I'm not suggesting T-Rick wouldn't have been World Champion in those years, but his job was made a hell of a lot easier.

 

Really?

I wouldn't have thought that he would have got a podium finish.

 

Based upon?

 

Holder was some way behind at the time of his crash.

 

Woffinden has outscored Ward in the GP's they have both contested.

 

Plus he was leading Sayfutdinov at the time of Sayfutdinov's injury.

 

Throw in the fact that Woffy himself suffered a nasty injury at Cardiff which cost him 4 rides, so a potential 8-12 pts.. and he is head and shoulders above the rest of the field this year.

 

It hasn't been a full strength field in every round, though.

Holder, Ward, Emil and a fully fit Nicki would have had a lot of the points that have been distributed elsewhere.

 

So Tai would have won by even more. Not the wisest of arguments you are putting forward.

 

Tai born in England and rides for Great Britain that's good enough for me.

 

I see on oddschecker.com that Tai is already 2-1 favourite bu some bookies for next years title.

 

All those people who doubted him before the GP must have a extremely large amount of egg on their faces now.

 

Tai was 150/1 before the start of the GP season to win - good job I had a bet on him.

 

Funny how all these people are now claiming they backed him. Only a couple of us had the balls to say this at the start of the year.

 

Incidentally, you were robbed if you only had 150/1.

[SCB]

Also was a contributory factor to some of Rikardssons world titles with him having the heavily favoured Gate 1 (as it was in almost every GP then) in potentially all of his races.

Ah but was gate 1 always that much better? Or was it made better because the better riders had it? Sort of chicken and egg. Bit of both no doubt.

 

 

Incidentally, you were robbed if you only had 150/1.

I wish I'd backed him at 150/1! In fact I'd be happy right now with 100/1 or 50/1

[Bruiser McHuge]

the old GP format of the top 2 continuing and the last 2 being elimated was the worst format ever...it was artificially exciting at times but totally unfair and ridiculous and i do remember Rickardsson having 7 rides once, all off gate 1 ...i know he had to actually win the races but it was still a ridiculous format ...i think the current format with all points counting is probably the best and fairest i would say.

[Cockney Rebel]

The really important thing is that Tai races wearing Union Jack colours, plus he is a good looking lad and a real reflection of the youth of today, tatoos and all, with the potential to give British speedway racing the biggest boost it has had for a long, long time. If he stays relatively free from injuries he could be looking at a plus ten year spell at the very top of the speedway tree.

 

Totally agree with this. Walk down any street and you will see young people of both sexes sporting tatoos and piercings, not to my taste personally but I do admire the art work in some of the tatoos. The thing is many youngsters will identify with him, for many of them the "family sport image of speedway" may be off putting, did you have the same interest as your parents when you were a teenager? Despite us old fogies recoiling in horror at tatoo, giant earings or a bogie catcher (nose ring) many youngsters think it's cool, so what better for Speedway's image than to have a cool, British World Champion. When Havvy won in 92 he had braids and Ivan Mauger said it was the best thing that could have happened because it made him stand out.

 

As regards his "Nationality", Jason Crump having been born in Bristol was more British than Tai is Aussie yet I don't recall any outcry form our upside down friends doubting his Nationality, perhaps it's just us Brits who like to do our Country down.

 

As a long time Hackney supporter (1963-1996) and a long time Rockets fan (1974-2013) albeit the last 4 years from a distance, I was delight when Loram won it and will be equally delighted if Woffy can hang on. Was still pleased when PC, Lee and Havvy won it though but not quite as much.

[manchesterpaul]

Looks like one thing will be the same with Woffinden as any previous 'English' World Champion and that is scant media coverage.

[Triple.H.]

the old GP format of the top 2 continuing and the last 2 being elimated was the worst format ever...it was artificially exciting at times but totally unfair and ridiculous and i do remember Rickardsson having 7 rides once, all off gate 1 ...i know he had to actually win the races but it was still a ridiculous format ...i think the current format with all points counting is probably the best and fairest i would say.

I'd like to see 4 3 2 1 scoring in the semis and final a little extra reward for getting so far.Would it change previous Championships i don't know but i bet some forum statician knows.

[ProperSport]

Woffie , Woffie , Woffie go on my son ....

[MattK]

Looks like one thing will be the same with Woffinden as any previous 'English' World Champion and that is scant media coverage.

 

I wonder if the BSPA will take out full page ads in all the major national newspapers if he wins?

[manchesterpaul]

I wonder if the BSPA will take out full page ads in all the major national newspapers if he wins?

 

Lol!

 

Although there are a few exceptions most promoters won't pay to advertise their own meetings.

[PHILIPRISING]

I wonder if the BSPA will take out full page ads in all the major national newspapers if he wins?

 

WASN'T like that for Peter Collins and Michael Lee...

 

A BIT off topic but had dinner last week with Peter Collins and two of my long time journo mates, Richard Bott (Sunday and Daily Express) and Richard Frost (Manchester Evening News). Lots of nostalgic chat about the glory days for PC and indeed Belle Vue. Great times for Peter and us journos who were given acres of space in the major newspapers of the time.

 

Sometimes don't think PC is afforded the credit he deserves. Apart from his World title win in 1976, his three successive maximums in World Team Cup Finals ranks as a fantastic achievement. And he never lost his humility. And, judging by his performance in a Chinese restaurant in Ramsbottom on Thursday, nor his appetite!

 

Happy memories of an era when British speedway ruled the world both internationally and domestically. If only we could turn back the clock...

[manchesterpaul]

WASN'T like that for Peter Collins and Michael Lee...

 

....Great times for Peter and us journos who were given acres of space in the major newspapers of the time.

 

Sometimes don't think PC is afforded the credit he deserves. Apart from his World title win in 1976, his three successive maximums in World Team Cup Finals ranks as a fantastic achievement.

 

I think you may be looking back with a little bit of "in the good old days" syndrome?. As is the case today it was often hit and miss if you got to even see speedway results printed. With no internet and only the odd result mentioned when time allowed at the end of the sports bulletin on BBC radio it was often a week long wait for the Speedway Star to find out scores.

 

I know the northern edition of the Daily Mirror did Peter proud by printing a photograph of him on the victory rostrum on the left hand side of the FRONT page. However, at a time when attendances were way bigger than today and Rugby League hadn't taken off, the column space the sport received was not 'acres'. Some of the newspapers sponsored meetings and series but it wasn't an expanse of coverage.

 

Unless of course your comparison is against today's newspapers? I haven't purchased a printed newspaper for many years so i can't judge myself on that score.

 

As for Peter Collins, i addition to his international featse, he regulary gave the most scintillating entertainment and displays of very brave racing in countless domestic meetings over the years. A true speedway racer.

Edited September 16, 2013 by manchesterpaul

[PHILIPRISING]

AS someone who covered speedway for the Daily Express I beg to differ. Along with Graham Baker (Daily MIrror), Keir Radnedge (Daily Mail), Dave Lanning (Sun) and Peter Oakes (Daily Star) we were actually sent to all the major speedway events at home and abroad and afforded plenty of space even though the size of the sports sections then as against today were minimal.

 

League results were hit and miss because by the time they were available several editions were already being printed.

 

Provisional newspapers were also much more speedway orientated. I help organised a Press trip to the 1979 World Final in Katowice (won by Ivan Mauger) and still have the list ... there were 29 authentic British journos on that trip!

[manchesterpaul]

AS someone who covered speedway for the Daily Express I beg to differ. Along with Graham Baker (Daily MIrror), Keir Radnedge (Daily Mail), Dave Lanning (Sun) and Peter Oakes (Daily Star) we were actually sent to all the major speedway events at home and abroad and afforded plenty of space even though the size of the sports sections then as against today were minimal.

 

League results were hit and miss because by the time they were available several editions were already being printed.

 

Provisional newspapers were also much more speedway orientated. I help organised a Press trip to the 1979 World Final in Katowice (won by Ivan Mauger) and still have the list ... there were 29 authentic British journos on that trip!

 

I'll bow to your probable superior memory then. But a note on the results, and i was going to pre-emptively mention it my post, that detailed match reports on football matches that carried on past the end of speedway meetings were abundant. MInd you i doubt there was a centralized source where results could be gathered from and it possibly relied on individual tracks phoning in results???

 

Pulling back to the topic have you had any feedback as to whether Tai will be getting acres of coverage?

Edited September 17, 2013 by manchesterpaul

[BWitcher]

Ah but was gate 1 always that much better? Or was it made better because the better riders had it? Sort of chicken and egg. Bit of both no doubt.

 

 

I agree it was exaggerated, but in Ole Olsen's track preparing days, Gate 1 was almost always superior regardless of the format.

[PHILIPRISING]

WAS asked to do 300 words from Slovenia by the Daily Telegraph Deputy Sports Editor but, sadly, it never saw the light of day. Hopefully they will include something from Stockholm ... but national papers in general are not terribly pro motorcycle racing in general.

 

Peter Oakes supplies copy to a host of nationals and maybe they will start to take notice but not expecting back page leads as was the case with Lee in 1980.

 

You are right that years ago there wasn't a central source supplying papers with speedway results which I know from personal experience frustrated the Express. They were hardly going to hold back a late edition waiting for a speedway result ...

[orion]

If we were honest I don't think we will feel the same thou Tai was born in the uk I think a lot of fans don't look at him as a True Brit a bit Like Lenox Lewis etc thats just the way we brits think ...There also can be doubt that Tai would never have got the chance to be World Champ this year if had not been a brit and got the wildcard but also having that Aussie mindset has no doubt been a big help to him as well . Fair to him most never even gave him a chance of being in the top 8 let alone winning it and I think he has been a deserved winner.

[stratton]

Going back over the years in sport,the likes of Greig,Denness,Hick,D'oliveira,Lewis,Bugner, (ex) the British public never took to them.