Championship League Riders Championship

[IainB]

12 hours ago, Midget said:

Watch cook for a few years now, found his level, in fact if any thing he's on the decline, Rob Lambert has overtaken him now 

Remind us... Where did Lambert come in the GP qualifiers?

[Tigerblade]

Can echo what Bagpuss said about Craig Cook with self belief/confidence, it definitely appears to be his biggest issue.

I know what people have said about GP/Premier Riders, but had we taken all of those out we would have been left with a line up of second strings and reserves, and this is supposed to be the Championship's plum individual event with the cream of the League in! I also don't remember much dissention about Carl Stonehewer racing in the PLRCs when he rode in the GPs either! The only issue I would have with Cook's eligibility is that he has hardly ridden any Glasgow meetings, where there used to be a cut off point for qualification for this meeting.  But the fact this hasn't applied, well this season at least, is not Cookie's fault. 

It was an excellent meeting I thought, how close it was shows by the fact that the top 3 after 20 heats were all on 11!  Ty Proctor may well have been top qualifier had it not been for his crash, I don't think I've ever seen him race Sheffield as well as yesterday (auditioning for 2019 maybe?  )  Both Kyle and Charles started like steam trains but then faded a little, but like Kyle said, "third is better than bottom". 

[Charlieboy]

Must admit I'm not a big cook fan and don't agree with his qualification for the meeting when everybody else has had to be consistent all season.But never the less he won the final with a great ride and deserved to win.Great gesture to donate to Ricky too.Thought the meeting was decent and I've never known 2 points between top and 6 th place,it kept the meeting tense till after heat 20.Well done Cooky.

[Fromafar]

It's not Cooks fault that he was allowed to ride in the meeting they have obviously changed the qualification rules,but to compare it with Stonehewer is wide of the mark as he still rode for Workington all season  in that division when he appeared in it.Well done to Cook.

[Pinny]

No Cook isnt good enough to be in the Grand Prixs and never will be to be honest,  but hes a damned good league rider and thats where he should just settle now.

He wont make it in the leagues abroad , so should just base himself full time in the UK and make hay whilst the sun shines.

 

[Star Lady]

History will show that Craig Cook is a champion. It will also show he was a GP rider. 

How many other riders will history show as both. Not that many.

Well done Cookie.

[allthegearbutnaeidea]

Mind I wish some fans would lighten up and actually cheer on their riders, it was like a funeral every heat that didn’t have a Berwick rider in it. 

[Speedway28]

Was never a huge fan of Cookie before this season, but was delighted when he made the GP's last season meaning two Brits were permanent members of the series. Having followed Cookie over the season and seen the way he has interacted with his fans and given opportunities to those who have helped him has been absolutely superb and people really shouldn't forget that. It's nothing to the riders to give these opportunities to people but for the fans it's a huge memory to treasure. I am gutted for him that it hasn't gone to plan this year and he has struggled. Whilst his self confidence isn't the highest, his lack of track craft and experience have been his downfalls in the Grand Prix and it was a huge shame he didn't secure his place in the run off with Lindback in Germany. Track craft again was a big example of his issues there!

However, moving back to Cookie, what he has also done for his fellow riders is fantastic and he has used his position within the sport as a GP rider admirably and whilst at times he has let himself down this year according to some, the majority of his actions have been superb. I'm all for British riders riding in both leagues personally, there isn't a huge difference between the leagues and if someone wants to ride, let them. I'm sure many fans go to tracks specifically to see Cookie now he's back in the Championship. 

Congratulations to Cookie for the win yesterday and hopefully he can have a good end to the season in the GP's.

[Gavan]

21 minutes ago, Star Lady said:

History will show that Craig Cook is a champion. It will also show he was a GP rider. 

How many other riders will history show as both. Not that many.

Well done Cookie.

It just seems that people want to knock Cook for no real reason.

No he isnt a top line gp rider and will probably never will be , age isnt on his side.

But when he retires he can say he took his talent as far as he could.

People used to mock Harris and Smith but they were in it all the time and by rights as well. There are 15 riders in a gp and most seasons you can always pinpoint the riders that will probably struggle.

Maybe the qualification for the riders championship is flawed but thats not Cooks fault

[Gavan]

1 hour ago, Tigerblade said:

Can echo what Bagpuss said about Craig Cook with self belief/confidence, it definitely appears to be his biggest issue.

I know what people have said about GP/Premier Riders, but had we taken all of those out we would have been left with a line up of second strings and reserves, and this is supposed to be the Championship's plum individual event with the cream of the League in! I also don't remember much dissention about Carl Stonehewer racing in the PLRCs when he rode in the GPs either! The only issue I would have with Cook's eligibility is that he has hardly ridden any Glasgow meetings, where there used to be a cut off point for qualification for this meeting.  But the fact this hasn't applied, well this season at least, is not Cookie's fault. 

It was an excellent meeting I thought, how close it was shows by the fact that the top 3 after 20 heats were all on 11!  Ty Proctor may well have been top qualifier had it not been for his crash, I don't think I've ever seen him race Sheffield as well as yesterday (auditioning for 2019 maybe?  )  Both Kyle and Charles started like steam trains but then faded a little, but like Kyle said, "third is better than bottom". 

Only difference was Stonehewer was full time in the lower league Cook hasnt been. Think also the GP was easier back in Stoneys day with 22 riders ( i think) which meant that there would be around 8 or 9 riders (Andersen, Ferjan, Smith, Walsek, Karger to name a few) that would have all been at the same level as Stoney. Also you could get further in a GP as it was the 2 rides and out system and you could get through race due to a failure of others.

I seem to remember Chris Louis at Coventry in 1999? Came second in his first ride then last then second again (due to a rerun) then last but ultimately got to the final and came second! Under the current format he would have had 4 points from 4 rides.

Cook now is with arguably the bets 15 riders in the world.

He isnt good enough for top ten in the GP but if the gp had 22 riders he would be 15th or 16th i would imagine

[moomin man 76]

13 hours ago, allthegearbutnaeidea said:

Because he’s not against Tero Aarnio, Kevin Doolan and Nico Covatti in the GP’s.

The same Tero Aarnio who ended up the qualifying heats one point behind Craig Cook and was only eliminated from the semi-finals on count back? No bad for a guy whose season appeared to be over on Thursday night courtesy of Ben Barker...

[Steve55]

14 minutes ago, moomin man 76 said:

The same Tero Aarnio who ended up the qualifying heats one point behind Craig Cook and was only eliminated from the semi-finals on count back? No bad for a guy whose season appeared to be over on Thursday night courtesy of Ben Barker...

Aarnio did well yesterday and had a cracking meeting for the Diamonds at Owlerton a few weeks ago. As for you mentioning Barker how the ref made the decision to exclude Proctor from the re-run of heat 15 was unbelievable, Barker came straight across him coming into the third bend and just took him out! In his first two heats Barker looked like he was riding the Redcar track spare bike, but then in his next three he looked rocket powered, but he was struggling to control the bike and was all over the place! Exiting, but dangerous!

[allthegearbutnaeidea]

22 minutes ago, moomin man 76 said:

The same Tero Aarnio who ended up the qualifying heats one point behind Craig Cook and was only eliminated from the semi-finals on count back? No bad for a guy whose season appeared to be over on Thursday night courtesy of Ben Barker...

Exactly, Tero done well, and Craig was struggling against these riders and gave up in one of the races at the back, although did get himself sorted and looked good in semi and final it shows that he is NOT at GP standard, everyone can make the gate once in a while and get a couple points at the level above what you are currently at, which is what Craig is doing in the GP’s.

[jenga]

first of all , congratulations to cookie on his win . although not totally in agreement of how the qualifiers for this event was worked out . ride 4 meetings and get in . there is something wrong with the governing body of the sport . but fair play to Craig , he was chosen to ride by bigger dogs in the town and done what anyone else would have done . well done marra .

even on Saturday night @ workington , he was still giving help to Kyle Bickley on his starts the night before . you cant knock him for that . A NICE LAD AND VERY GOOD @ WHAT HE DOES .

also well done to ty proctor on getting into the semi. almost there , but not quite . a great effort by ty .

hope the dan bewley fund raising is still kicking on and look forward to seeing him next season . 

double header @ worky on Saturday night , 6.30 start . a good deal on entry for these two meetings . hope to see lots of redcar and newcastle fans down for 30 heats of cracking speedway . 

[STEPHEN 333]

Was there myself, it was a good meeting, only thing I have a grudge against is the line up, to be honest  Doolan and Covatti should not have been in the meeting, they are simple not good enough now,  would have preferred Morris and Harris to make it a top field worthy of being called a Riders Championship, poor crowd I thought for the type of meeting it was, the crowd has been bigger in the last few years, but overall it was a good meeting,

As regards Cook's stature of being a Grand Prix Rider, he qualified on merit so should be there, however he has not done himself any favours  in the preparation for the next one on Saturday, rides on Thursday for Belle Vue, then flies out of Heathrow on Friday morning to Vienna, then faces a three hour car journey to the Grand Prix venue, probably misses practice whilst all the other riders are there ready for the meeting on Saturday, preparation I thought was all part of the business.

[allthegearbutnaeidea]

2 minutes ago, STEPHEN 333 said:

Was there myself, it was a good meeting, only thing I have a grudge against is the line up, to be honest  Doolan and Covatti should not have been in the meeting, they are simple not good enough now,  would have preferred Morris and Harris to make it a top field worthy of being called a Riders Championship, poor crowd I thought for the type of meeting it was, the crowd has been bigger in the last few years, but overall it was a good meeting,

As regards Cook's stature of being a Grand Prix Rider, he qualified on merit so should be there, however he has not done himself any favours  in the preparation for the next one on Saturday, rides on Thursday for Belle Vue, then flies out of Heathrow on Friday morning to Vienna, then faces a three hour car journey to the Grand Prix venue, probably misses practice whilst all the other riders are there ready for the meeting on Saturday, preparation I thought was all part of the business.

Well Doolan was also there on merit... Berwick’s number 1 at the cut off point. Simple. Covatti is Ipswich’s number 1 fit rider as well due to Schlein and King being injured! 

[SharpenRake]

6 minutes ago, STEPHEN 333 said:

Was there myself, it was a good meeting, only thing I have a grudge against is the line up, to be honest  Doolan and Covatti should not have been in the meeting, they are simple not good enough now,  would have preferred Morris and Harris to make it a top field worthy of being called a Riders Championship, poor crowd I thought for the type of meeting it was, the crowd has been bigger in the last few years, but overall it was a good meeting,

As regards Cook's stature of being a Grand Prix Rider, he qualified on merit so should be there, however he has not done himself any favours  in the preparation for the next one on Saturday, rides on Thursday for Belle Vue, then flies out of Heathrow on Friday morning to Vienna, then faces a three hour car journey to the Grand Prix venue, probably misses practice whilst all the other riders are there ready for the meeting on Saturday, preparation I thought was all part of the business.

I take it you would rather he didn't ride for belle Vue on Thursday so that he can prepare 'properly' for the Grand prix. 50% or more of the posts on here are about the lack of commitment and loyalty shown by riders to UK teams. yet when a rider tries to treat his team and there fans with respect he still gets slagged of. give me strength.

 

PS well done Cookie and thanks for the way you've performed in Tigers colours

Edited September 3, 2018 by SharpenRake

[4thbender]

13 hours ago, keepturningleft said:

 

There seemed to be a hell of a sling shot effect coming out of turn 2 on the outside!

Numerous death defying overtakes at that point of the track.

As others have said, that was a superb, and hugely entertaining meeting.

Well done Craig Cook and great to see him jumping the fence and acknowledging the travelling Glasgow fans.

So glad that someone mentioned the "bend 2 sling-shot," which I have made reference to in previous postings. This is a high-speed manoeuvre which involves a death-or-glory drive round the bend 2 air-fence, carrying momentum into the back straight. It is heart-stopping to watch and is invariably a devastating overtaking tactic. The move was perfected three or four years ago by Simon Stead when he was at the height of his pomp around Owlerton. I suspect he taught it to other Sheffield riders because, throughout the 2017 season and the first half of 2018, it was deployed by others, notably Josh Bates, Kyle Howarth and Lasse Bjerre. In 2018 the "sling-shot club" was joined by Charles Wright and latterly Todd Kurtz.

However, for some reason which I cannot explain, the manoeuvre became absent from Sheffield's track-craft half way through the 2018 season and immediately Sheffield went into the pattern of losing matches at home (failing to win any of the final 5 home matches). Maybe it was a result of a slicker track, less dirt or whatever, but the sling-shot manoeuvre was noticeably absent after June.... until yesterday, when it was used to good effect by several riders.

I can't help but believe it was the demise of the sling-shot that led to Sheffield's loss of home form. Faster-gating opponents were able to hang onto their leads in situations where previously the likes of Howarth, Bjerre and Wright would have been past them on the second bend like a rat up a drainpipe. I hope that whatever factors have done away with the sling-shot will be put right before March 2019.

[Normski]

51 minutes ago, allthegearbutnaeidea said:

Well Doolan was also there on merit... Berwick’s number 1 at the cut off point. Simple. Covatti is Ipswich’s number 1 fit rider as well due to Schlein and King being injured! 

Exactly Doolan Number 1 at the cut off date plus in his defence has not ridden for over 2 weeks due to Berwick completing their home fixtures in good time.

[cinderfella]

1 hour ago, jenga said:

 there is something wrong with the governing body of the sport .

That is statement of the century. Only folk that disagree are the BSPA and SCB. The only way British speedway is ever going to move forward is once a totally independent ruling administration is put in place.