British Final 2022

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Last night was another heartbreaking nail in the coffin in my 52 year old love affair with British speedway, we had some rain and the headless chicken came out live on tv, I don’t know what I feel for the sport anymore, it has wore me down, maybe I’m living in the backtrack era looking through my rose tinted specs but what are we doing ? Where are we going as a sport ?

[screm]

Sorry but I haven't seen anything on here that would convince me that Adam Ellis is deserving of this years wild card pick for Cardiff because of something he did last year, irrespective of last nights rain. Surely one of the younger riders has far more to gain, Tom Brennan would be my personal pick, maybe even Leon Flint who has at least had the decency to actually win something this year.

[hammer1969]

Chris Harris on twitter thanked people for all their messages, said he wasn't going to comment further but added it will make a good book one day - I'll look forward to that.

 

[baiden]

18 minutes ago, screm said:

Sorry but I haven't seen anything on here that would convince me that Adam Ellis is deserving of this years wild card pick for Cardiff because of something he did last year, irrespective of last nights rain. Surely one of the younger riders has far more to gain, Tom Brennan would be my personal pick, maybe even Leon Flint who has at least had the decency to actually win something this year.

Adam Ellis has literally got the fourth highest average of all British riders in the Premiership this season (Premiership and League Cup only). Now, while I'm not sure he's 'deserving' of the wildcard spot based on his performance last night, it's hardly an outrage that he's got it - plus at just 26 he's hardly over the hill.

1. Chris Harris (8.43)
2. Steve Worrall (8.05)
3. Charles Wright (7.95)
4. Adam Ellis (7.78)
5. Richie Worrall (7.22)

Edited August 2, 2022 by baiden

[tocha]

12 hours ago, stevehone said:

correct decision made with Ellis, shame it took so long though

It didn't take that long. About 30 minutes elapsed between the end of heat 12 and Steve Brandon's announcement. 

[Gavan]

You do have it laugh at the sheer dumb founding attitude of certain speedway fans on this forum with regards to the Adam Ellis wildcard situation.

This years final has not been completed and there needs to be a wildcard chosen…….it was decided that highest placed non GP rider would get it…. The meeting was abandoned with NO RESULT….. thus meaning NOBODY was highest placed.

I am a huge Tom Brennan fan (especially after his Ipswich guest performance) but to say he should get it over Harris or Nicholls or King or Kerr or Steve Worrall would be a complete farce as all of those guys ( maybe a couple of others) have every right to say they could have made the final … what if Harris or Brennan had an Ef or a fall and finished on 8??……. 
 

So they gave it to Adam Ellis who missed out last year so easily the best option.

All that’s got to happen from now on is that the British Final is always AFTER Cardiff….. thus the 2022 winner is Cardiff wildcard in 2023 and the 2023 winner is the Cardiff wildcard in 2024……. The only issue is if the 2023 British Final is before the 2023 Cardiff GP then who would get the wildcard

Seems to me that people are to bothered by who they love to hate ….. those who can’t stand Bomber want Brennan… those that don’t like Ellis want Bomber or Brennan!!! Fans letting personal choices cloud the reality 

The only issue last night was keeping the fans at the track in the dark … showing the ineptitude of the people running the meeting 

[chris4gillian]

13 minutes ago, tocha said:

It didn't take that long. About 30 minutes elapsed between the end of heat 12 and Steve Brandon's announcement. 

It was a bit longer than that....on the telly broadcast it was much closer to 45 mins.  By that time it looked like a big portion of the crowd had already gone home none the wiser.  Farcical really.

[speedwaysliders]

2 hours ago, someone said:

They never overturned the rule book.

011.1.32 "Match Procedure: Ties in Individual Meetings" says that if count back and head to head "cannot be used the order shall be determined by a ballot"

015.1.3 "British Championship Final: Racing Regulations" says that "The method for deciding the hierarchy will be as per these Regulations. This system will also be used if a meeting is abandoned after the completion of heat 12, and the meeting is not re-staged, the results will stand at the last point when all riders had taken the same number of rides."

The regulations allow restaging the meeting, and that is what they chose to do.  They do not say anything about Cardiff wildcards because that is an FIM issue.

http://www.scbgb.co.uk/regulations

THANKS for that,but it still makes no sence in who is actually making the final call.Cant it pin one person done for gods sake to make that decision depending on the rules.Someone take the bull by the horn and do it,and tell people before hand,ie tv,media ,eactley what will happen,again the same person making the call briefing everyone else!!!

[E I Addio]

1 hour ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Last night was another heartbreaking nail in the coffin in my 52 year old love affair with British speedway, we had some rain and the headless chicken came out live on tv, I don’t know what I feel for the sport anymore, it has wore me down, maybe I’m living in the backtrack era looking through my rose tinted specs but what are we doing ? Where are we going as a sport ?

Absolutely spot on. I couldn’t have put it better myself.   I went to bed last night feeling that maybe I’ve watched my last speedway meeting. I don’t know. Maybe some of the feeing will come back, Im not .sure. I went to Paradise Park a few weeks ago and just watching Sverre Harrfeldt warm up an immaculately restored JAP sent shivers  down my spine but last night brought it all back to an all time low.

I like Adam Ellis and wish him well Cardiff, and it wasn’t just last nights fiasco , but more the way the sport struggles from one crisis to the next. Like you I feel worn worn down, or perhaps worn out with it. And Godfrey is worse than useless. Always has been always will be.

Edited August 2, 2022 by E I Addio

[tocha]

16 minutes ago, Gavan said:

You do have it laugh at the sheer dumb founding attitude of certain speedway fans on this forum with regards to the Adam Ellis wildcard situation.

This years final has not been completed and there needs to be a wildcard chosen…….it was decided that highest placed non GP rider would get it…. The meeting was abandoned with NO RESULT….. thus meaning NOBODY was highest placed.

I am a huge Tom Brennan fan (especially after his Ipswich guest performance) but to say he should get it over Harris or Nicholls or King or Kerr or Steve Worrall would be a complete farce as all of those guys ( maybe a couple of others) have every right to say they could have made the final … what if Harris or Brennan had an Ef or a fall and finished on 8??……. 
 

So they gave it to Adam Ellis who missed out last year so easily the best option.

All that’s got to happen from now on is that the British Final is always AFTER Cardiff….. thus the 2022 winner is Cardiff wildcard in 2023 and the 2023 winner is the Cardiff wildcard in 2024……. The only issue is if the 2023 British Final is before the 2023 Cardiff GP then who would get the wildcard

Seems to me that people are to bothered by who they love to hate ….. those who can’t stand Bomber want Brennan… those that don’t like Ellis want Bomber or Brennan!!! Fans letting personal choices cloud the reality 

The only issue last night was keeping the fans at the track in the dark … showing the ineptitude of the people running the meeting 

Or keep the final before he Cardiff GP then have a run-off over 3 heats between the winner of this year's re-staging and the winner in 2023.

[IainB]

Don't think Bomber's too happy judging by his face last night and what he's just not said on Twitter

Edited August 2, 2022 by iainb

[baiden]

3 minutes ago, tocha said:

Or keep the final before he Cardiff GP then have a run-off over 3 heats between the winner of this year's re-staging and the winner in 2023.

Or maybe Bewley will win it, and then they can just say there are no prizes for second place.

Edited August 2, 2022 by baiden

[Grachan]

23 minutes ago, Gavan said:

You do have it laugh at the sheer dumb founding attitude of certain speedway fans on this forum with regards to the Adam Ellis wildcard situation.

This years final has not been completed and there needs to be a wildcard chosen…….it was decided that highest placed non GP rider would get it…. The meeting was abandoned with NO RESULT….. thus meaning NOBODY was highest placed.

I am a huge Tom Brennan fan (especially after his Ipswich guest performance) but to say he should get it over Harris or Nicholls or King or Kerr or Steve Worrall would be a complete farce as all of those guys ( maybe a couple of others) have every right to say they could have made the final … what if Harris or Brennan had an Ef or a fall and finished on 8??……. 
 

So they gave it to Adam Ellis who missed out last year so easily the best option.

All that’s got to happen from now on is that the British Final is always AFTER Cardiff….. thus the 2022 winner is Cardiff wildcard in 2023 and the 2023 winner is the Cardiff wildcard in 2024……. The only issue is if the 2023 British Final is before the 2023 Cardiff GP then who would get the wildcard

Seems to me that people are to bothered by who they love to hate ….. those who can’t stand Bomber want Brennan… those that don’t like Ellis want Bomber or Brennan!!! Fans letting personal choices cloud the reality 

The only issue last night was keeping the fans at the track in the dark … showing the ineptitude of the people running the meeting 

What you're missing is the rule that is in place that says that a result can be declared if the meeting is called off after 12 or more heats.. If that was done, then Brennen would probably have been the logical winner based on who had beaten whom at that point.

The decision, presumably, was taken not to declare a winner and go for a re-staging, in which case a result isn't declared. So, there was no winner making Ellis the logical choice. But it wouldn't have been a farce (speedway fans' favourite word) had Brennen been declared the winner.

Nicholls, Kerr, King or Worrall don't even enter the equation. It would have been between Brennen, Bewley and Harris, who were tied on 8, if a result was declared after 12 heats.

[baiden]

6 minutes ago, Grachan said:

What you're missing is the rule that is in place that says that a result can be declared if the meeting is called off after 12 or more heats.. If that was done, then Brennen would probably have been the logical winner based on who had beaten whom at that point.

If the meeting had been declared after 12 heats, how can you possibly say that Tom Brennan would have been the logical winner? So, he beat Dan Bewley, but he didn't beat Chris Harris. Fine remove Bewley from the reckoning if you want, but the meeting would have to have been declared as joint winners (not the first time this would have happened in history). But that certainly wouldn't solve the Cardiff issue.

[Grachan]

17 minutes ago, baiden said:

If the meeting had been declared after 12 heats, how can you possibly say that Tom Brennan would have been the logical winner? So, he beat Dan Bewley, but he didn't beat Chris Harris. Fine remove Bewley from the reckoning if you want, but the meeting would have to have been declared as joint winners (not the first time this would have happened in history). But that certainly wouldn't solve the Cardiff issue.

Having not raced Harris does blur the issue, it's true. The way I saw it was Harris didn't beat either Bewley or Brennen so Brennen takes it, but it is not totally clear cut.

Personally, I reckon they had time to make a quick decision to have a 3 man run off with Bewley, Brennen and Harris to decide the winner. The track still seemed raceable for a short while.

[baiden]

2 minutes ago, Grachan said:

Having not raced Harris does blur the issue, it's true. The way I saw it was Harris didn't beat either Bewley or Brennen so Brennen takes it, but it is not totally clear cut.

Personally, I reckon they had time to make a quick decision to have a 3 man run off with Bewley, Brennen and Harris to decide the winner. The track still seemed raceable for a short while.

Yeah, but Harris beat Worrall, and Worrall beat Brennan. But then Brennan beat Nicholls and Harris didn't, it could go on forever.

Couldn't agree more about the run-off, though. Would have been the perfect outcome, but I suspect the riders spent so long arguing over it in that little room that the track soon become too wet and it couldn't happen.

[Grachan]

3 minutes ago, baiden said:

Yeah, but Harris beat Worrall, and Worrall beat Brennan. But then Brennan beat Nicholls and Harris didn't, it could go on forever.

Couldn't agree more about the run-off, though. Would have been the perfect outcome, but I suspect the riders spent so long arguing over it in that little room that the track soon become too wet and it couldn't happen.

It would just be countback between the 3. Anyone else is irrelevant.

For me, in terms of hierarchy, it would go Brennen over Bewley, with Harris third having not raced either (through no fault of his own), but I admit it would be contentious. That just seems the logical order in my mind.

[baiden]

2 minutes ago, Grachan said:

It would just be countback between the 3. Anyone else is irrelevant.

For me, in terms of hierarchy, it would go Brennen over Bewley, with Harris third having not raced either (through no fault of his own), but I admit it would be contentious. That just seems the logical order in my mind.

So you're saying Chris Harris would have finished THIRD because didn't race either of them? I've heard it all now.

[mc131]

59 minutes ago, tocha said:

Or keep the final before he Cardiff GP then have a run-off over 3 heats between the winner of this year's re-staging and the winner in 2023.

Much easier after Cardiff, to many coming up with ifs and buts as long as this year's winner rightly gets his place next year then it carrys on like tht all is good 

Edited August 2, 2022 by mc131

[AndyPresley]

6 minutes ago, Grachan said:

It would just be countback between the 3. Anyone else is irrelevant.

For me, in terms of hierarchy, it would go Brennen over Bewley, with Harris third having not raced either (through no fault of his own), but I admit it would be contentious. That just seems the logical order in my mind.

This seems the opposite of logical to me. You say Harris never beat any of the other two, but at the same time he was also unbeaten by the other two riders. To make a decision based on Hierarchy would have been a impossible and an awful idea.

I don't agree with Ellis being given the wildcard, but I do understand the logic in a situation where there was no ideal solution. GPs are supposed to showcase the very best riders in the world, with the wildcard being the best rider from the staging country who is not already in the GPs. The solution of giving it to Ellis was fair to him, but as a paying punter I want to see the best rider on this years form, not the best from last year. 

This all comes down to poor planning. Why was an event like this held so close to the GP with no plan B? A conversation in the changing rooms after the very likely event of a rain off isn't good enough!