Prior to the last two seasons, it has been widely regarded that a speedway rider would be in the twilight of his career when he reached his late thirties; however, maybe it can now be considered the prime, and the twilight will be pushed back until they are in their mid-forties to late fifties. Looking upon the final standings of this year's series there is only one man in the top five under thirty, and even he (Jarek Hampel) is 29. A couple of years ago Sky Sports promoted the Grand Prix' as the Old Guard against the Young Pretenders, which is exactly what new challengers have simply been. In his first year Emil Sayfutdinov managed a spectacularly impressive bronze medal. Last year he relied on a wildcard purely based on injury; he came into this year fit, and finished sixth. Respectable as this may be, he hasn't lit up the series as all fans would have hoped. Similarly, Chris Holder has been a steady performer, occasionally showing flashes of the potential World Champion that certainly lies within, but has only managed two successive eighth places, which have served to keep his much needed place, without competing for the medal positions. Why have the younger riders failed to deliver?
A major shift in mechanics happened over the winter: new silencers. Whilst people in Britain were in outrage about the possible non-inclusion of Coventry and Peterborough; elsewhere on the continent, Poland refused to use the new silencer, and then backed down to comply with the previous agreement they had committed to. It is apparent that a vast majority of riders took a long time to adapt to the new silencers, especially some of the younger riders from the Grand Prix' to the domestic leagues. Was it simply a case of the older riders getting to grips quicker? Possibly. They have more experience riding their bikes, so were able to adapt much quicker.
Conversely, Tomasz Gollob won the previous year's World Championship on the old silencers with the likes of Jason Crump and Greg Hancock in and around him. So what is the defining reason for success this late in a career? Focus. In an interview conducted by Paul Burbidge, Greg admitted that in previous years he wasn't focused on the sole aim of being World Champion again. His turning point was finding himself out of the top eight last year. From that point he went on to rack up points finishing fifth overall. With a renewed hunger, desire and focus he returned this year hell bent on winning his second World Championship, which ultimately he achieved. This suggests that the younger riders lack this focus, which I feel is true. Maybe it is only directed towards finishing in the top eight, or the top four? Whatever the reason, to become a World Champion they need to be blinkered to the new trophy.
Returning for another shot at Grand Prix glory are ex-regulars Piotr Protasiewicz and Bjarne Pedersen; inspired by the past two winners that they themselves could live out their ambitions of a World Championship gold medal. Coming through the Grand Prix Challenge is enough of an indicator that they can still beat the best of the competition outside of the series. Another interesting addition is that of Darcy Ward. Easily the best rider in the Elite League this year steps onto the world stage after a successful introduction through the improved wild card system. This, coupled with a Grand Prix in New Zealand already has me excited about the 2012 series. I wait with interest.
No comments:
Post a Comment