Humphrey Appleby Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 What we need is a proper terrier of an investigative reporter in a tabloid newspaper...that would be fun. It would be for an hour or two, but there's no money in it because no-one actually cares about the sport beyond a declining handful of fans who are happy to blow their air horns once a year at Cardiff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screm Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 The organizers of the Grand Prix want to Tomasz Gollob drove in all of this year's tournament. The crucial talks will take place after the event at the National Stadium. - It is shocking, almost incredible offer - says Tomasz Gollob.- For now, however, I want to stand ready to take off in Warsaw, and then we'll discuss. I want to see how I will go to the National - Gollob added.It's hard to tell what decides Gollob. So far, he said that the Grand Prix is a closed chapter and the tournament in Warsaw will be purely farewell. Tom probably did not expect that he will get a serious offer driving cycle. Now you will have to think about. If it is decided to go with the number 16. Taken from espeedway.pl, is this serious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 I wouldn't be averse to having Mr G in every round, just as long as he put some effort in and didn't just go through the motions, 'a la 2013. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Gollob and the GPs is history. History is best kept in the past. Next we'll have people suggesting wheeling out Ivan Mauger or Ole Olsen. They have had their time, they were great riders but in 2015 none of them should be a in a GP, certainly not if they don't want to be there anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Why take things to ridiculous extremes suggesting Mauger and Olsen? All I'm saying is if Gollob retains half of the ability he had 3 or 4 years ago he would provide more entertainment than most of this years wild cards, who (with a few notable exceptions down the years) don't add much to the meeting. Probably all irrelevant anyway as I can't see it happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 The organizers of the Grand Prix want to Tomasz Gollob drove in all of this year's tournament. The crucial talks will take place after the event at the National Stadium. - It is shocking, almost incredible offer - says Tomasz Gollob. - For now, however, I want to stand ready to take off in Warsaw, and then we'll discuss. I want to see how I will go to the National - Gollob added. It's hard to tell what decides Gollob. So far, he said that the Grand Prix is a closed chapter and the tournament in Warsaw will be purely farewell. Tom probably did not expect that he will get a serious offer driving cycle. Now you will have to think about. If it is decided to go with the number 16. Taken from espeedway.pl, is this serious. WOULD take that with a pinch (shovel) of salt ... would make a mockery of his farewell appearance to start with. Speedway Star and investigative journalism simply do not mix. The whole British speedway media and multimedia scene is one big cartel. If you do what the BSPA / SloSpeed International (Terry Russell) say, and print their press releases, prevent your photos / videos from going onto the Internet, and lick the appropriate backsides, you may belong...if you ask too many questions, dig beneath the surface, expose the soft underbelly of the sport, then you are in trouble. Then you'll be invited to the SCB disciplinary committee for a meeting without tea and biscuits. Your card will be marked and you will be out. Phillip Rising and all at Speedway Star are at an age now where if that magazine were to fold, they would be too old to get jobs anywhere else (other than at B&Q possibly)...they have to keep their jobs at Speedway Star, so they have to keep that magazine running, so they have to be patsies to the authorities, print what the BSPA tell them, and do as they are told, and if that means looking the other way whilst the truth unfolds, so be it. What we need is a proper terrier of an investigative reporter in a tabloid newspaper...that would be fun. WE have virtually no contact with the BSPA so your comment that we do as we are told is completely untrue. Many moons ago the Sunday People had an investigative reporter dig into the sport and it did untold damage no matter what the truth of the allegations. Hardly fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldace Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 WOULD take that with a pinch (shovel) of salt ... would make a mockery of his farewell appearance to start with. WE have virtually no contact with the BSPA so your comment that we do as we are told is completely untrue. Many moons ago the Sunday People had an investigative reporter dig into the sport and it did untold damage no matter what the truth of the allegations. Hardly fun. To be honest I am not sure that Fred Harrisons expose really did untold damage. In truth it just coincided with the dramatic downturn in the sports fortunes. By 1984 the recession was in full swing and speedway crowds were already dwindling. It was the same Fred Harrison who went on to play a big part in getting the moors murderers to admit the 2 unsolved killings and help recover one of the bodies off the Moors 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 To be honest I am not sure that Fred Harrisons expose really did untold damage. In truth it just coincided with the dramatic downturn in the sports fortunes. By 1984 the recession was in full swing and speedway crowds were already dwindling. It was the same Fred Harrison who went on to play a big part in getting the moors murderers to admit the 2 unsolved killings and help recover one of the bodies off the Moors CAN speak from personal experience that post People expose national newspapers, including the Daily Express which I worked off, took a dim view of speedway and it was the thin end of the wedge, along with Danish domination in the major events, that eventually saw them ditch it almost altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldace Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 CAN speak from personal experience that post People expose national newspapers, including the Daily Express which I worked off, took a dim view of speedway and it was the thin end of the wedge, along with Danish domination in the major events, that eventually saw them ditch it almost altogether. If speedway was still of interest to the readership then the media would have stayed interested, Sunday People or no Sunday People. Yes maybe it was a nice scapegoat but there was a lot more to speedways fall from the media than Bruce Penhall paying Jiri Stancl not to beat him in LA !!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 Do you do the GP twitter feed Phil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) CAN speak from personal experience that post People expose national newspapers, including the Daily Express which I worked off, took a dim view of speedway and it was the thin end of the wedge, along with Danish domination in the major events, that eventually saw them ditch it almost altogether. I guess you've never had any ambitions of winning a Pulitzer then? If speedway had been selling newspapers then I doubt it would have been dropped. Newspapers report on football scandals all the time, and cricket coverage was not affected in the least after the Pakistani match fixing scandals a few years ago. Speedway was obviously pretty fragile if the media pulled the plug after what were some pretty tame allegations by today's standards, but we're not talking about digging for scandal anyway. We're talking about perfectly reasonable questions that some people are interested to have answered - who bankrolled the SGP, do the GPs make any money, where does it go, and what's the FIM spending their wedge on? Maybe speedway is in the state it's in today because of the complete lack of transparency and media scrutiny, and because serious sponsors don't want to deal with liquidated 'rights' companies and dodgy used-car salesmen approaches to accounting anymore. They have corporate obligations as well. Edited April 15, 2015 by Humphrey Appleby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted April 15, 2015 Report Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) Do you do the GP twitter feed Phil? NO... I guess you've never had any ambitions of winning a Pulitzer then? If speedway had been selling newspapers then I doubt it would have been dropped. Newspapers report on football scandals all the time, and cricket coverage was not affected in the least after the Pakistani match fixing scandals a few years ago. Speedway was obviously pretty fragile if the media pulled the plug after what were some pretty tame allegations by today's standards, but we're not talking about digging for scandal anyway. We're talking about perfectly reasonable questions that some people are interested to have answered - who bankrolled the SGP, do the GPs make any money, where does it go, and what's the FIM spending their wedge on? Maybe speedway is in the state it's in today because of the complete lack of transparency and media scrutiny, and because serious sponsors don't want to deal with liquidated 'rights' companies and dodgy used-car salesmen approaches to accounting anymore. They have corporate obligations as well. NO one ever suggested that speedway sold newspapers but there was a time (late seventies, early eighties) when I was expected to file a speedway story to the Express nearly every day. Some only saw the light of day in early editions but if I had a decent story it stayed in. Paradoxically in those days sport had far fewer pages in nationals than is now the case. But old-fashioned Sports Editors, like Ken Lawrence at the Daily Express, were prepared to judge a story on its merits. When Michael Lee won his World Final it made the back page lead throughout the evening, through all editions. It was customary to call the office after an event to determine how many paragraphs they required. That number gradually diminished throughout the eighties. I knew the writing was on the wall after one more Danish win (cannot recall which one) when I rang the Express and asked how much they required. "Who won?" came the question. "The Danes," I replied and was promptly told: "Not again, four pars." And that didn't just apply to me but also Graham Baker (Mirror), Keir Radnedge (Daily Mail) and Peter Oakes (Daily Star). Also, speedway lost its household names. I could almost guarantee coverage of any story involving Briggs, Mauger or Penhall. Lawrence used to tell me that stories had to iattract readers other than those just interested in speedway. Ironically as newspapers have devoted more and more space to sport, realising that in a changing world the back end of the paper has a huge impact on sales, there is little interest in minority sports and, of course, domestic speedway does itself no favours either. Edited April 15, 2015 by PHILIPRISING 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 (edited) some photo`s of the track being laid http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/zdjecia/galeria/7377/budowa-toru-zuzlowego-przed-lotto-warsaw-fim-speedway-grand-prix Google translation from Lodz website April 18 all eyes will be on the National Stadium, and already one day later this boat will be able to boast the tournament with an international cast.List of players has already closed, but it will be announced at the next press conference by the President - Witold Skrzydlewskiego. However, we can already tell you that the tournament will be attended by athletes from 10 countries! What is also important for the fans of the Eagle - the tournament will have a major impact on the composition of the match for the match with Gniezno. It all makes the emotions at the highest level will be guaranteed!Admission to the event will showcase the unique luminaire, which will start at 13:30. What is important in our tournament, no one will be a loser. For each provides financial rewards, as well as souvenirs. What is interesting in the club almost constantly ringing phones. Lodz after GP in Warsaw selected many fans. Not only those of Polish. Together let us show that the inhabitants of Lodz are able to play with a black sport!Ticket prices remain unchanged compared to league games. The presale, which will begin on Wednesday, tickets will be available at florists H. Skrzydlewska costs 30 ZL. Then the person who purchased the ticket at the stadium before the program will receive the event.On the day of the tournament tickets will be available at the stadium for the price of 35 ZL. Our club is once again a policy of pro-family! Women, young people under the age of 18 and seniors over 70 years watch competitions for free. Families are welcome to visit the stadium on Sunday afternoon! start list Oliver Berntzon Roland Benko Emil Grondal Eduard Krcmar Vitali Belousov Joonas Kylmakorpi Jasper Sogaard Mads Korneliussen Ziga Kovacic Mariusz Puszakowski Valentin Grobauer Rohan Tungate Krzysztof Buczkowski Jakub Jamróg Patryk Dolny Kamil Adamczewski Edited April 16, 2015 by racers and royals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 I knew the writing was on the wall after one more Danish win (cannot recall which one) when I rang the Express and asked how much they required. "Who won?" came the question. "The Danes," I replied and was promptly told: "Not again, four pars." Also, speedway lost its household names. I could almost guarantee coverage of any story involving Briggs, Mauger or Penhall. Lawrence used to tell me that stories had to iattract readers other than those just interested in speedway. Surely it's cause-and-effect. Why did speedway lose its household names as Briggs, Mauger and Penhall were hardly British, and that someone in a national newspaper had to ask the result of a major speedway meeting surely demonstrates a lack of promotion on the part of the speedway authorities to start with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Surely it's cause-and-effect. Why did speedway lose its household names as Briggs, Mauger and Penhall were hardly British, and that someone in a national newspaper had to ask the result of a major speedway meeting surely demonstrates a lack of promotion on the part of the speedway authorities to start with? THE whole point of the telephone call at the conclusion of a meeting was to tell the office the result ... how else would they know?They would then determine how many words/pars would be required. JUST arrived at the Narodowy Stadium here in Warsaw ... what a sight. Truly spectacular and very different to the Millennium, especially the roof. Nice touch is that banners all round the first tier record the venues and years of all Tomasz Gollob's GP wins. It is going to be awesome with over 50,000 fans inside on Saturday. And, it's true, there isn't a ticket to be had at face value ... the touts will be having a field day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 short video in which the track shape is shown completed http://speedwaytv.sportowefakty.pl/14664/jaki-tor-na-narodowym-mysle-ze-bedzie-dobry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 HAD a tour of the media facilities ... fantastic. They had 900 media accreditations for the European Championship games (soccer)... 200 on Saturday out of 385 applications. Unlike Cardiff, the roof is transparent so light comes through and easy to see why it is such a complex and time consuming exercise to shut/open and why they were caught napping when England came for the opening against Poland and rain saturated the pitch to such an extent that it was called off ... doesn't just happen in speedway! Personally would fancy sitting in the very top rows but there are no pillars so an uninterrupted view for everyone. Pits situated inside along the back straight. Less practice this year ... four runs per rider instead of six (hoorah) and a two-minute clock for the draw which will be started by the Race Director. Any rider not at the draw within that time loses his turn. Not sure what would happen if all four were late! All in all, very impressive ... and that's before the crowd arrives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted April 16, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 HAD a tour of the media facilities ... fantastic. They had 900 media accreditations for the European Championship games (soccer)... 200 on Saturday out of 385 applications. Unlike Cardiff, the roof is transparent so light comes through and easy to see why it is such a complex and time consuming exercise to shut/open and why they were caught napping when England came for the opening against Poland and rain saturated the pitch to such an extent that it was called off ... doesn't just happen in speedway! Personally would fancy sitting in the very top rows but there are no pillars so an uninterrupted view for everyone. Pits situated inside along the back straight. Less practice this year ... four runs per rider instead of six (hoorah) and a two-minute clock for the draw which will be started by the Race Director. Any rider not at the draw within that time loses his turn. Not sure what would happen if all four were late! All in all, very impressive ... and that's before the crowd arrives. So did 185 people try to blag their way in ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iris123 Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 So did 185 people try to blag their way in ? Probably 50 saying they work for Bahnsport Aktuel..... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchGrasstrack Posted April 16, 2015 Report Share Posted April 16, 2015 Latest photo's courtesy of Sportowefakty: http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/zdjecia/galeria/7386/stadion-narodowy-gotowy-na-lotto-fim-warsaw-speedway-grand-prix-polski/3-331048#photo-start Looks fantastic! Can't wait to fly out to Warsaw, including 4 of my mates, tomorrow :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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