iris123 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) I do seem to recall one or two years when a decent dane was dropped for the sake of another lesser rider from another nation.....this was over a decade ago. It happened then and it will happen again. I was also present when Lubod Tomicek failed by the skin of his teeth to qualify from Vojens There will always be moans and groans with wild card picks or riders who have managed to qualify But it has always been and always will be that decisions made for money will happen in our sport. It happens in most sports, even and especially so in football, which is bathing in money, but still can't get enough. I remember one disgusted Danish fan saying to me that Iversen is only in because of his sponsor........ Edited October 3, 2023 by iris123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therefused Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 I think theres quite a big over reaction, you bascially have Zmarzlik, then another 7/8 riders top riders, and then probably the next 20 there isnt even that much in it. Gives the series a bit of a refresh and hopefully some of the new riders will take the experience on board and potentially crack the top 6 before the likes of Fricke, Magic etc. are back in for 2025. Also gives those riders a bit of a kick to actually push on and not rely on a wildcard pick. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPNY Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) Sadly this is what we have now. When Discovery came in and spent all that money I assumed they really had mega plans and they were going to take the series all over the world, well it turns out all they want is content. It is cheaper for them to buy the series and put it on their platforms then buy the viewing rights to other sports. So getting riders from as many countries if far more important to them then having the best riders. Sad, but that's what we have going forwards. Unless viewing figures both on tv/stream and at the gate go down enough. Discovery are brilliant at presenting and with the social media stuff. And they are all very nice people. However literally none of them have any Speedway background, they are all new to it. So what they think is important and what the fans want will be very different. I guess they want to grow it and have their own ideas. Perhaps they are right. I just think this a disastrously weak field and BZ will keep winning till he gets bored. Edited October 3, 2023 by RPNY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazS Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 i think huckenbeck , will surprise few, his race win from the back was classic. i will miss Fricke. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 As long as they continue to block the Russians it's pretty much invalid as a World Championship as far as I'm concerned. I wonder if they should put in some sort of legal challenge against this, seeing as Russian competitors are able to tale part in other individual sports under a neutral flag. Look at tennis, for example. The recent US open had a Russian in the men's final and a Belarussian in the women's final. Even Wimbledon relented this year and allowed them back in after their points were removed from the World ranking the previous year.. I even remember a statement being made by the Russian federation a couple of years ago stating that they had banned Laguta from competing for Russia due to comments made about Putin. There is no valid reason to exclude them any more than there would have been to exclude Hancock and Loram because of the Iraq war. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DazS Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 dont talk common sense its been banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 3 hours ago, JoeW436 said: No way is that the best 15 riders in the world, dreadful. It's not meant to be. It's a serious which needs to sell, attracting not only fans from many nations but also the venues. I think it mixed it up and so much better than just picking the 3/4 riders below from the top 6. Dude & Janowski have had enough chances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzie4388 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 I like the line-up personally with a few different faces in, Surely Woffinden is in last chance now too? If he doesn't get Top 6 in 2024 that should be him done. I personally think the Wildcards should be scrapped full stop and all riders should have to qualify on merit for the GP Series. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeW436 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 27 minutes ago, Grachan said: As long as they continue to block the Russians it's pretty much invalid as a World Championship as far as I'm concerned. I wonder if they should put in some sort of legal challenge against this, seeing as Russian competitors are able to tale part in other individual sports under a neutral flag. Look at tennis, for example. The recent US open had a Russian in the men's final and a Belarussian in the women's final. Even Wimbledon relented this year and allowed them back in after their points were removed from the World ranking the previous year.. I even remember a statement being made by the Russian federation a couple of years ago stating that they had banned Laguta from competing for Russia due to comments made about Putin. There is no valid reason to exclude them any more than there would have been to exclude Hancock and Loram because of the Iraq war. Haven’t they both got Polish passports? Even the year Laguta won it he was competing under ‘MFR’ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 2 hours ago, BluPanther said: I think my days of staying at home on a SGP night are well and truly over. How boring and predictable... I take the opposite view, I was bored stiff with the same riders all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fullmax Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 Previous years wildcard entries have always been criticised for being the same old selections year after year . The first time it's changed drastically (which is what everyone wanted) and everyone is complaining its the worst selection ever ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPNY Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 A change of riders is good if its the correct riders.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 3 minutes ago, RPNY said: A change of riders is good if its the correct riders.. It is, Prague sorted, Teterow sorted, Riga sorted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPNY Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 (edited) We'll see hey. I'm not overly enthused about what lies ahead but we shall see hey. Hopefully its a good series. Edited October 3, 2023 by RPNY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
severnsider Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 15 minutes ago, JoeW436 said: Haven’t they both got Polish passports? Even the year Laguta won it he was competing under ‘MFR’ Yes they have Polish passports and have lived in Poland for a number of years (even before the invasion) They rode on MRF licenses back then but both now have Polish licenses as I understand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
False dawn Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 I'm told that there is nothing to stop Artem or Emil entering the qualifiers next year and joining the series in 2024 (which they certainly would). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB252 Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 5 minutes ago, False dawn said: I'm told that there is nothing to stop Artem or Emil entering the qualifiers next year and joining the series in 2024 (which they certainly would). But how will they enter the qualifiers? Who will put them forward? Their federation is the PZM, but the Poles nominate their SGP and SEC qualifying berths based on the result of the Golden Helmet I believe, and there's no way in the world the PZM will let proud Russians enter a prestigious Polish qualifying event? So how do they get into the qualifiers? They can't just send a postcard in and ask the FIM to let them ride in a qualifier? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
False dawn Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 Just now, CB252 said: But how will they enter the qualifiers? Who will put them forward? Their federation is the PZM, but the Poles nominate their SGP and SEC qualifying berths based on the result of the Golden Helmet I believe, and there's no way in the world the PZM will let proud Russians enter a prestigious Polish qualifying event? So how do they get into the qualifiers? They can't just send a postcard in and ask the FIM to let them ride in a qualifier? Fair comment. Ignore my rubbish comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 Pathetic selections Huckenbech and Lebedevs over Fricke and Janowski .sad no Emil or Artem. Smarzlik must be happy with that line up.Will cruise to Semi finals even easier next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted October 3, 2023 Report Share Posted October 3, 2023 2 hours ago, bigcatdiary said: It appears to me that the FIM want all of the riders to go through the WC qualifiers and to be fair if they did it would make for a better quality field and avoid this sort of scenario of riders in the series that haven’t really got a hope, Lebedevs, Huckenbeck and Kvech are well out of their depth at this level. The Gp qualifiers were very lopsided need to seed it better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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