British Final 2024

[False dawn]

3 hours ago, norbold said:

.........Not sure what all that means and how it can be extrapolated to the present time, but I thought it was interesting.

You're always interesting Norbold. That's why we buy your books. 

Unfortunately the nickname "Interesting" was taken years ago by a certain snooker player.
How about "Sage"? Will that do for you?

[False dawn]

3 minutes ago, iainb said:

Something to do with the funding of it I think

I don't think he spells his name with a "G"
Oh, you mean the money, sorry 

[hagonshocker]

5 hours ago, MattB said:

Think that takes a bit away from Brennan to be fair, who was outstanding all night.  Given what Cardiff means to Harris, I'm not so sure he'd give up another chance to get back there for one last time.

I wasn't saying that whatsoever, Tom was brilliant and totally deserved his 3rd, thought he rode incredibly well all night and he was my favourite for the wildcard before the meeting started...just feel Bomber looked less than committed after the first corner that's all 

[False dawn]

10 minutes ago, hagonshocker said:

I wasn't saying that whatsoever, Tom was brilliant and totally deserved his 3rd, thought he rode incredibly well all night and he was my favourite for the wildcard before the meeting started...just feel Bomber looked less than committed after the first corner that's all 

I think there's plenty of folks on here (and lots of recent youtube clips) that would disagree with that analysis.

But each to his own. Live and let live, eh?

Edited June 9 by False dawn

[FishersGate]

1 hour ago, AceBelle said:

What's the point of having a National Speedway Staduim not used for National Events Especially on TV which  produces top Racing not gate & go boring stuff by the the way bewley  was beaten 3 times last night and if was a normal 20 heat meeting brennan would have won the title and they wouldn't  have been much moaning about home advantage then woffinden  had home advantage at wolves for his 3 titles then did he ?? best rider wins on the night simple 

Sorry still going to have to disagree with you when this is Bewleys 3rd title in a row! Plus it's his home track, so my point still stands. It's like the play off system, when you finish top you are the best team in the land over a longer period. Fact. One day of racing doesn't tell the whole picture. It should be spread out over a few different tracks with the last meeting at Belle Vue. That is in my eyes at true reflection of the best rider in Britian.

[FishersGate]

29 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

It’s called the ‘ NATIONAL SPEEDWAY STADIUM’ for a reason.

Who cares what it's called. Belle Vue use it every week. And guess what ? One there best riders uses it every week. So it's a clear and obvious advantage to Bewley. 

[OveFundinFan]

8 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

You worry far too much. Lamberts issues (bar one ride) were clearly mechanical, he will be kitted out far better for the SoN. We have as good a chance as anyone.

My only issue is that we'll be going into the final cold when everyone else has had a semi final to acclimatise.

Thought I heard Lambert say he brought couple Polish engines over.

GB won’t be cold, 4 GB riders were there last night, any 3 of that 4 will be in the final.

[AceBelle]

57 minutes ago, FishersGate said:

Sorry still going to have to disagree with you when this is Bewleys 3rd title in a row! Plus it's his home track, so my point still stands. It's like the play off system, when you finish top you are the best team in the land over a longer period. Fact. One day of racing doesn't tell the whole picture. It should be spread out over a few different tracks with the last meeting at Belle Vue. That is in my eyes at true reflection of the best rider in Britian.

Well it never has been and it's  always been a off final somewhere !! Woffinden won his 3 titles on his home track let's all have a moan about that 

[ch958]

the night before the GP at Cardiff?? Neutral but the racing wd be half as good

[Bagpuss]

49 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

Thought I heard Lambert say he brought couple Polish engines over.

GB won’t be cold, 4 GB riders were there last night, any 3 of that 4 will be in the final.

He did, and said that he brought the wrong one. I think its very difficult to adapt in a one off meeting when you don't race over regularly, which is obviously his choice. SoN will be different with practice available and lots of others in the same boat. 

25 minutes ago, AceBelle said:

Well it never has been and it's  always been a off final somewhere !! Woffinden won his 3 titles on his home track let's all have a moan about that 

I'm sure people probably did moan back then. 

[Rob B]

People says Bewley is full throttle jockey can only do it at Belle Vue etc, so was Cardiff GP win a full throttle track? 

[1stbender]

Really enjoyed last night. Great being a Saturday night and did seem to have a good size crowd especially with the amount of people standing around us in the standing area and looking over the the home straight majority of the stand filled. First few heats of the meeting seemed to go slow then picked up from there some hard quality racing . Brennan I would say is the most improved rider in the last 12 months and if this continues at the same level of consistency you could say he will be right up there next year. Tai somehow pulled it out the bag when it mattered most but was good to see him not having it all his own way showed to me that there is still a little bit in there that can race. Rowe impressed me gave it a good go. I know Bewley won on the night but all three “GP” riders had to work for it nothing came easy for them I would say. 
Worrall scored well which can only be a good thing for Birmingham. Harris - this guy can still go, makes you proud to be British. 
Only criticism from me and trying to be constructive for the product and correct me if I’m wrong and it did happen. 
would of be great to see a “fan zone” meet and great signing with the riders and their merchandise. 
maybe some racing in the afternoon prior to the event (youngsters and females) etc.

interviews on the centre green between heats and grading with past winners 80’s, 90’s, etc 

just my thoughts 

[topaz325]

When will we get this meeting at the right venue that is fair to all riders , make it affordable to all , say £10.00 a ticket and free for kids oh and why not in the afternoon when the weather is more agreeable for the fans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moan, moan, moan.

[nw42]

49 minutes ago, topaz325 said:

When will we get this meeting at the right venue that is fair to all riders , make it affordable to all , say £10.00 a ticket and free for kids oh and why not in the afternoon when the weather is more agreeable for the fans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moan, moan, moan.

Yeah and fancy having it in Manchester where it might have rained, just ridiculous.

As for the home advantage, Bewley won it in 2022 when he wasn't a Belle Vue rider, just sayin...

[AceBelle]

2 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

He did, and said that he brought the wrong one. I think its very difficult to adapt in a one off meeting when you don't race over regularly, which is obviously his choice. SoN will be different with practice available and lots of others in the same boat. 

I'm sure people probably did moan back then. 

Yeah I'm still moaning about it now 

[Endeavour]

5 hours ago, r8gdp said:

Bewley does have home track advantage but it is what it is someone will at most tracks .I thought there was some good racing 

feel for Brennan ,I am old school he finished top in the 20 heats so should be champion don t like these one off finals but again it is what it is 

Bewley is crowed British Champion but does it mean he s the best British rider out there

To change track slightly. We have a Polish world champion.More than one GP held in Poland.

[DaveWayne]

10 hours ago, TheReturn said:

We don’t have to have ridden to recognise world class and just ‘good’ riders you muppet. 

We watch speedway so we are entitled to our opinions, doesn’t make us keyboard warriors. 

The fact is, Team GB bar two maybe three doesn’t have world class riders, that British final was full of average riders, with 3 exceptions and one of those is a fading star. 

Would that be the fading star who finished second yesterday ? Did you listen to his interview mid-meeting ? The reason his 2nd and 3rd heats were not so good is that he used the same tyre, unturned, for the first 3 races. He then turned it and won his 4th (beating Bewley) before slipping back in his 5th. This left him a brand new tyre for the semi and the final, giving him a brand new leading edge for both races. Admittedly, he has lost some speed, but tactically he is still very astute. His influence on Team GB has been immense to get us to the position where we won the SON in 2021. He is also still a very talented team rider. Look at some of his rides alongside Kerr for Sheffield last season. 

[E I Addio]

7 hours ago, iainb said:

Bewley currently has a home average of 8.40 and away of 7.47, I'm not going to search through every rider but I'd bet you could count the number on one hand of those with a higher away average than home, if any at all... so the answer is yes. 

Do you think Bewley would have won on any other track? Possibly, would he have beaten Robert Lambert around King's Lynn?

The top 3 brits in the "away" averages are

1. Scott Nicholls 

2. Tai Woffinden 

3. Dan Bewley 

I am not saying that there is NO home track advantage, but I question whether there really is much in the point particular at high level, bearing in mind the number of other factors that come into play, one of which, we now know, choosing when to change tyres. Track conditions change as the evening wears on and even if the riders knows the track he still has to adapt as conditions change.  For example in heat 8 Howarth rode the best race of the evening up to that point, the beat Woffinden, so he obviously knew the track well. Then there was a track grade so when Howarth came out for heat 9 it was a completely different track and he was last all the way, and that was off gate two which had been by far the most successful gate position up to that point. Hero to zero in two races. 

Then look at gate positions in the final . Bewley the “ track specialist” picked gate one but got a dreadful start, which really shows how fickle track conditions can be. Bewleys pass of Woffinden in the final was IMO a fine piece of riding, not track conditions.

As far discrepancies between  Home and Away league performances any track curator worth his salt would be able to prepare a track to suit 7 specific riders in his home team but as far as I know, and I hope, it doesn’t go on in individual meetings, particularly at championship level

 

[IainB]

27 minutes ago, E I Addio said:

I am not saying that there is NO home track advantage, but I question whether there really is much in the point particular at high level, bearing in mind the number of other factors that come into play, one of which, we now know, choosing when to change tyres. Track conditions change as the evening wears on and even if the riders knows the track he still has to adapt as conditions change.  For example in heat 8 Howarth rode the best race of the evening up to that point, the beat Woffinden, so he obviously knew the track well. Then there was a track grade so when Howarth came out for heat 9 it was a completely different track and he was last all the way, and that was off gate two which had been by far the most successful gate position up to that point. Hero to zero in two races. 

Then look at gate positions in the final . Bewley the “ track specialist” picked gate one but got a dreadful start, which really shows how fickle track conditions can be. Bewleys pass of Woffinden in the final was IMO a fine piece of riding, not track conditions.

As far discrepancies between  Home and Away league performances any track curator worth his salt would be able to prepare a track to suit 7 specific riders in his home team but as far as I know, and I hope, it doesn’t go on in individual meetings, particularly at championship level

 

I think you're also more likely to see a home winner under the current format of semi and final than under the old 20 heat top scorer wins method. If the home hero has a stinker in one of his rides he can still pick up the pieces.

But then there is always the Andy Smith paradox that completely disproves that theory 

Edited June 9 by iainb

[E I Addio]

1 minute ago, iainb said:

I think you're also more likely to see a home winner under the current format of semi and final than under the old 20 heat top scorer wins method. If the home hero has a stinker in one of his rides he can still pick up the pieces.

Personally I would prefer the 20 heat formula but even that has its downside because four riders get the worst gate twice with no second chance of a semi final. However the nature of speedway is that you need a slice of luck to win anything, and that’s the way it goes.