Cardiff Gp

[RobMcCaffery]

People as usual here prattle about 'facts', apart from paranoid Poles who have as much understanding of the sport as a wood louse. Here's four:

 

Red/Gate 1 59 points

Blue/Gate 2 34 points

White/Gate 3 23 points

Yellow/Gate 4 22 points

 

And following those, here's a few opinions:

 

That gate bias is not acceptable.

Despite this we got some good racing, but mainly for the minor positions behind red.

Tai and NKI's racing in the closing stages was quite superb and NKI's overcoming having gate 4 twice and gate 3 in the final really made him a very worthy winner.

I've seen far worse speedway and the track held up well but the gate in which a rider started was just far too important for a genuine sport, rather than a heavily hyped fan get together with plenty of booze and shouting, oh yes plus a bit of speedway, some of which was interesting.

 

I'm just glad I didn't pay those prices.....

[waiheke1]

the only meeting I can recall with similar a gate bias was the 2013 NZ GP, when 15/23 winners were off gate 1, had 55 points scored (including a last place of gate one for Jason Bunyan. Next highest gate 3 with 38 points) . The racing at Cardiff was much better though than at Western Springs.

 

Going back through time, the 1985 world final had I believe 10 of the opening heats won off gate1, though the advantage faded after the interval, which iff anything exacerbated the unfairness (Sam Ermolenko was the key beneficiary, having two gate 1s before the interval). And the other extreme, at Gothenburg in 1980 I believe only 19 points were scored off gate3. Red hot pre meeting favourite Dave Jessup drew that gate twice, managing two seconds, as he finished runer up to Mike Lee.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed the meeting, even if it was somewhat marred by the gate advantage. Superb ride by Tai in heat 19. Not sure I'd say it is the best ever meeting on a temporary track as one earlier poster claimed (I'd say Western Springs 2014 was better for one), but the racing WAS good - certainly can't understand people saying they were disapointed, there was good racing, good performances by the Brits, debut GP appearances for two young Brits, Nicki P picking up an exclusion, good refereeing, decent crowd - all in all an excellent advertisement for speedway.

[g13webb]

People as usual here prattle about 'facts', apart from paranoid Poles who have as much understanding of the sport as a wood louse. Here's four:

 

Red/Gate 1 59 points

Blue/Gate 2 34 points

White/Gate 3 23 points

Yellow/Gate 4 22 points

 

And following those, here's a few opinions:

 

That gate bias is not acceptable.

Despite this we got some good racing, but mainly for the minor positions behind red.

Tai and NKI's racing in the closing stages was quite superb and NKI's overcoming having gate 4 twice and gate 3 in the final really made him a very worthy winner.

I've seen far worse speedway and the track held up well but the gate in which a rider started was just far too important for a genuine sport, rather than a heavily hyped fan get together with plenty of booze and shouting, oh yes plus a bit of speedway, some of which was interesting.

 

I'm just glad I didn't pay those prices.....

 

We had the top 16 riders in the world on show, but even the best gaters couldn't make gate 4 work. Never seen such gate biasness before, and as I previously said, it took the shine off the meeting. Never before has such importance been put on the gate selection order for the semi and final.

 

Just so pleased the meeting wasn't determined by that advantage. NKI, proving a worthy winner, coming from gate 3. .

[Gavan]

You in your original post did mention the bias of the gates but you said it was unfair that Hoĺder (through his own efforts getting 2 of them )getting 4 gate 1s

If you don't cheer when your team gains an unfair advantage I congratulate you though you must be of a special breed to not cheer

 

Lambert left a gap Garrity went for it his back wheel hit Lambert side on and Lambert fell off nothing like a T bone.

IMO a T bone is when you hit a rider at a right angle not when you're parallel with them as if that was the case in heat 20 Bomber was T boned twice by Kildemand on the back straight.

Lambert left a gap!!

 

Mate im an Ipswich fan, Kings Lynn are out bitter rivals, but that was just reckless. He rode into the side of him there was no gap at all, just desperation not to come last from Garrity!

 

If riders left 'that sort of gap' and riders did what Garrity did there would be about 10 falls a meeting!

[Iggy]

Not had chance to read through the pages yet, but as you can imagine, well pleased with the result of the SGP. I thought the meeting was OK. the track was the best I've seen, but to me the preferences of the gate positions really spoiled the meeting. For the first 16 heats, It appeared gate 1 guaranteed a win.. There were many minor positional changes, but usually, when you got to the front you were home and dry.... It showed up on the screen after 20 races, 16 from gate1 2 from Gates 2 and 3, and if you were on the outside you had no chance. and that to me is so unfair....... Holder actually had 4 gate1's in 7 races, whereas some only had 1,

 

Kildemand went down in my estimation. In one instance, he twice going to ground so easily just to get the rerun. Seeing some of the angles he achieves when he rides he, more than most could have tried to recover instead of pulling a fast one. and then he later he tries to fence Magic down the home straight. really showed him up in a good light, what a nice man...

 

Garrity 'Tee-Bone' on Lambert was ruthless in the extreme, But Doyle and Pedersen on Killer, were just brushing 50/50 racing incidents, with no intent. They're expected in this sport...... Ref's need to look at that rule.... When riders bale out, there should be other options instead of automatic blame....

 

Good night, Plenty noise, Plenty drinks, Lots of cocktails. even the surprised Winner in Niels, added to the accession, all adding to a wonderful weekend........

 

Expensive though!!!!!!!

 

Great summary of it from my POV too. Tai and NKI passes at the end were worth the admission fee alone.

 

I agree completely about Kildemand. Soft exclusions, and when you see how NKI passed Pedersen (who stayed on), that is what racing is all about.

 

I also backed NKI at 14/1 before the meet too so that pretty much paid for the weekend!!

[Dodger Blue]

You in your original post did mention the bias of the gates but you said it was unfair that Hoĺder (through his own efforts getting 2 of them )getting 4 gate 1s

If you don't cheer when your team gains an unfair advantage I congratulate you though you must be of a special breed to not cheer

 

Lambert left a gap Garrity went for it his back wheel hit Lambert side on and Lambert fell off nothing like a T bone.

IMO a T bone is when you hit a rider at a right angle not when you're parallel with them as if that was the case in heat 20 Bomber was T boned twice by Kildemand on the back straight.

That was the same gap Nicki always goes for!!

[Eglese 19]

Enjoyed the GP, wasn't the best but some good racing. Like most the gate bias irritated me a lot though NKI made me look foolish in the final with that win from 3. Having been to Tampere both times I'd rather suffer gate bias than watch a narrow dead track, that said, be nice to have everything perfect!

[severnsider]

Though gate advantages are annoying to say the least it is not just on temporary tracks.

 

Lonigo in the past have been just as much to the inside. Sec in Germany last year was a big advantage to the outside and this year's pairs the gates didn't go up even all meeting.

 

Been to a few league meetings in Poland with hardly any overtaking, maostly at Wroclaw, and Grudziadz the other week had no passing at all.

[SpecialOne]

I can only apologise for not treating a post on the BSF in the same way as a dissertation

# there should be a smilie there but my mobile device and BSF don't seem to communicate lol#

 

I wouldn't worry, i don't expect people take much notice of people who find speedway to be boring unless there is a sufficient level of crashes and injuries.

[Trees]

10 years ......

[mudflaps]

Garrity once again proves what a wreckless rider he is....

[PHILIPRISING]

POSSIBLE explanation for gate 1 advantage at the Millennium ... as at Western Springs in 2013 the track was slightly higher on the outside than inside and moisture naturally gravitated to the inside providing more grip, which was critical on a track with short a such a short run from tapes to first corner.. Plus the fact that during races riders continually go over the outside gates rather than those on the inside, thus compacting them more.

 

Had three telephone calls this morning (none of which were primarily anything to with Cardiff) from Barry Briggs, Hans Nielsen and Kelvin Tatum and put that point to each of them and all more or less concurred.

[Gavan]

Im a bit confused how people compare the Kildemand falls going down to easy , and Nicki and NKI?

 

Kildemand was clipped both times and there was contact. When going round the corner , if the wheel is touched, it knocks the wheel out of line thus making it much harder to stay on.

 

NKI and Nicki clashed elbows and the bike of Iversen hit the side of Nickis bike not the wheel therefore good old fashioned elbows. No rider in the world would have gone down in the NKI and Nicki incident

Every single one of them would have gone down like Kildemand did

[chris4gillian]

Overall I enjoyed the meeting even though gate 1 held a huge advantage.

 

However, where was the pre-meeting entertainment? Ticket prices are increasing year on year and we're getting less for our money. I would also strongly suggest that the lack of pre-meeting entertainment was the reason for the delay in opening the doors until 4pm.

 

And before somebody tells me "it doesn't matter as the entertainment is usually rubbish" I would like to state that, that's not the point. Some years it's been bobbins (X Factor, Chas N Dave etc) but others it's been great (Xtreme stunt bikes and that bloke last year was pretty good too!).

[RobMcCaffery]

 

We had the top 16 riders in the world on show, but even the best gaters couldn't make gate 4 work. Never seen such gate biasness before, and as I previously said, it took the shine off the meeting. Never before has such importance been put on the gate selection order for the semi and final.

 

Just so pleased the meeting wasn't determined by that advantage. NKI, proving a worthy winner, coming from gate 3. .

Yes, it spoiled the meeting but thankfully didn't ruin it and as you say the one who overcame the handicap best was a worthy winner. Better a meeting spoiled by gate bias than what happened at Warsaw. I did feel again though that these Cardiff events reminded me of Wembley........................Arena. I know that's unkind but to me it's not real speedway as we would see on the great Polish and Swedish tracks, and I pray at the new Belle Vue. Maybe I watched too many meetings at Hackney (pre-Kestrels).....

 

I suspect the cost of the meeting soared with the extra time and effort needed to lay a worthy track over the pitch as opposed to instead of. I know plenty enjoyed it but give me a good close league match any time over atmosphere and hyped spectacle, but that's just my personal preference. I'm not surprised the cost of the pre-meeting entertainment had to go though.

 

So, BSI saved their necks after Poland but I suspect it was at a high cost. We're mid-season and the GPs are only a third of the way through. Let's hope some momentum can now be gained on the proper speedway tracks. The sport needs a great World Championship as its shop window.

 

I was elsewhere in Wales on Saturday and bought a copy of the Welsh national newspaper, the Western Mail. About six pages from the back there's a less than quarter page piece on the meeting, chiefly reassuring its rugby-mad readers that their pitch would not be ruined. Apart from mentioning how the GP is the second-longest staged event at the Millennium Stadium, that's it. We still have such a very long road to go.

[foreverblue]

Im a bit confused how people compare the Kildemand falls going down to easy , and Nicki and NKI?

 

Kildemand was clipped both times and there was contact. When going round the corner , if the wheel is touched, it knocks the wheel out of line thus making it much harder to stay on.

 

NKI and Nicki clashed elbows and the bike of Iversen hit the side of Nickis bike not the wheel therefore good old fashioned elbows. No rider in the world would have gone down in the NKI and Nicki incident

Every single one of them would have gone down like Kildemand did

Absolutely correct, the legend Dirty Nicki rode across kildermand and took his front wheel, granted it isn't the worst move i have seen him do at Cardiff but he had to go, obviously i hoped for that to happen as i had a a fair bit of cash each way on Kildermand, my son backed Nicki despite the fact he doesn't like him! and obviously he wasn't happy he got excluded! So happy for Niels when Nicki tried to stop him coming through the gap after Nicki had made a couple of uncharacteristic errors, he certainly moved off line when he saw Niels coming, again opinions divided in my house! was pleased for Niels winning as he is a favourite of mine and although i had a good bet on Tai i was still happy for him. As for Garrity he was out of control over riding most of his race and an accident waiting to happen, surprised Lambert didn't have words.

Edited July 6, 2015 by foreverblue

[Red Panda]

Can I also say a big thank you to the Belle Vue fans who let us share a taxi with them from the campsite to Cardiff and the King'sLynn/Peterborough fans who we shared one back with..............hope you all had a great time..............

 

RP

[Starman2006]

Lambert left a gap!!

 

Mate im an Ipswich fan, Kings Lynn are out bitter rivals, but that was just reckless. He rode into the side of him there was no gap at all, just desperation not to come last from Garrity!

 

If riders left 'that sort of gap' and riders did what Garrity did there would be about 10 falls a meeting!

Glad you admit it..

[Paulco]

Back home this morning and that's it over for another year . We hype ourselves for this every year and nearly every year it never fails to disappoint .

Yes the whole day is brilliant , meeting friends old and new , the atmosphere of the occasion , the wonderful stadium and the way they present the whole thing and we had brilliant seats this year . But the racing was mediocre at best .

You were getting to the stage that you could fill "3" next to the rider in red , ok maybe not Harris , in your programme before the race even started .

And the poor bloke in yellow would have been better served nipping across the road to the Prince of Wales for a pint , than hauling his bike round for four laps in the hope of getting a point . Even the blessed Tai couldn't do nothing from gate 4 .

The relentless booing of poor Nikki obviously had something to do with what happened with Saint Greg the other week , but his exclusion was harsh as Kildemand went down very easily .

But it was really mundane fare , the only thing that kept me awake was having to get up every two minutes to allow two annoying Poles in and out of the row we were in .

But no doubt i'll be back next year as the whole day is brilliant , but here's hoping for a fairer track

[Trees]

Ole has 10 years to perfect the starts, only took 15 to make the track ruttless!