About the Author

I am from Birmingham, England, and I am a fan of many sports, including F1, snooker and cricket. I don't much care for "soccer".

My name is not of British decent, but of Ukrainian decent. My grandfather was from Lvov, a town in Western Ukraine. During the Second World War, he ended up in Britain.

I am the reigning ArmchairGM Pool and Chess Champion, and I hope to retain my Pool trophy in 2008.

More By Alex Holowczak

2009 World Snooker Championship Review

11 votes, 3 comments

Was the traditionally English game of cricket founded in Belgium?

5 votes, 2 comments

2009 Masters Final Videos

3 votes, 0 comments

View All

Other recent voters

If you like the article, vote for it.

2008 Speedway World Championship - Preview and Simulation

by Alex Holowczak

created March 21, 2008, last edited July 11, 2008

Vote

The 2008 Speedway Grand Prix season is upcoming shortly, and as a preview, I thought I'd do a simulation.

For many months, friends of mine designed a little game that enabled simulation of speedway races, and then meetings, so that I could use it to simulate meetings. It's purely "for fun."

The current system is a 11 race series, with races all over Europe. There are 15 permanent riders on the series, and 1 wildcard. The top 8 qualify for the following year's series, along with 3 other qualifiers, and 4 nominated riders by the series promoters. In 2008, those riders will be:

Whilst this series is fair, it's a shadow of what the Speedway World Championship used to be. For every year until 1994, there was a series of meetings. It started with national championships, and you worked your way up through ever more global rounds, until you eventually got to the World Final.

The tree was as follows:

Round 1

Overseas Final - leading riders from Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and United States
Scandinavian Final - leading riders from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark
Continental Semi Finals - riders from the rest of continental Europe

Round 2

Intercontinental Final - top 8 from both the Overseas Final and Scandinavian Final
Continental Final - top 8 from the Continental Semi Finals

Round 3

World Final - top 11 from the Intercontinental Final, and top 5 from the Continental Final

Drama built up throughout the year, and culminating in a one meeting World Final lead to great drama.

So, I embarked on the challenge of recreating this World Championship, as a means of getting to the all-important World Final. I simmed a few nations meetings, and then went through the rounds to get to the following lineup for the World Final. The 16 qualifiers are in a random order.

There were a few shocks in the Continental Final. With only five qualifiers, Saifitudinov surprised Kasprzak in a run-off for 5th place at the end. Hefenbrock came in fourth in front of a home crowd to go through. Dryml won the Continental Final, with the fancied Poles struggling, Gollob came through in third place behind Hampel. Rune Holta, another GP rider, managed to only finish in 9th in the Polish Final, which immediately eliminated him. In the Intercontinental Final, Bjarne Pedersen had a nightmare, scoring only 1 point, and finishing in last place. The non-GP rider that allowed through was Ryan Sullivan, a former GP rider from Australia.

Other shocks included 2007 GP rider Matej Zagar, who didn't even make the Continental Final. There were three Russians in that final, and they colluded to help Saifitudinov advance. A dirty tactic, but a tactic.

So, we reach the World Final. It is held at a fictitous Wembley Stadium, a track that was called "long", to help certain riders. I simulated it, and took notes of what happened. Here is the meeting, with written commentary. Rider names are listed from inside to outside.

The tables below are a bit dodgy due to the narrow page. Click here if you want to view them in all their splendour.

Heat 1

Hancock made the start as Harris was left. Lindgren made a good start. After the first lap, Hancock led from Lindgren and Hampel, but then Harris started to fight his way through from the back. He got past Hampel, but was unable to get to Lindgren, who was challenging Hancock for the lead. But Hancock was able to edge the youngster on the line, and the 1997 World Champion was off to a great start.
Result: Hancock, Lindgren, Harris, Hampel

Heat 2

On paper, an easy start for Pedersen. It turned out to be that way. But behind him, Hefenbrock and Saifitudinov had a battle royale for second place. Saifitudinov overtook the German on the last corner to take the place. Sullivan was disappointing.
Result: Pedersen, Saifitudinov, Hefenbrock, Sullivan

Heat 3

Gollob and Adams are two favourites for the title, but Nicholls is on home dirt. At the tapes, it was Adams that jumped out in front, with Nicholls just behind him. Nicholls overtook Adams at the start of the second lap, but Adams switched underneath Nicholls to retake the place on the back straight. Neither Gollob nor Dryml could catch them, and Gollob ended third behind Adams and Nicholls.
Result: Adams, Nicholls, Gollob, Dryml

Heat 4

Crump made the start brilliantly from the inside, and was followed around the outside by Jonsson. Andersen and Iversen were squabbling at the back, but Iversen came out ahead of him in third place. Jonsson soon caught Crump, and tried to overtake him around the outside. At the start of the last lap, Jonsson ran wide and got the drive, and overtook him down the back straight. Jonsson held on to win the best heat of the World Final so far.
Result: Jonsson, Crump, Iversen, Andersen

Standings

After Heat 4

Rank	Rider	1	2	3	4	Points
1	Greg Hancock	3				3
	Nicki Pedersen		3			3
	Leigh Adams			3		3
	Andreas Jonsson				3	3
5	Fredrik Lindgren	2				2
	Emil Saifitudinov		2			2
	Scott Nicholls			2		2
	Jason Crump				2	2
9	Chris Harris	1				1
	Christian Hefenbrock		1			1
	Tomasz Gollob			1		1
	Niels Kristian Iversen				1	1
13	Jaroslaw Hampel	0				0
	Ryan Sullivan		0			0
	Lukas Dryml			0		0
	Hans Andersen				0	0

e: retired or mechanical failure
m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance
t: exclusion for touching the tapes
x: other exclusion
f: fell
ns: non-starter
nc: non-classify

Early leaders include the 38 year old American, Greg Hancock, reigning World Champion Nicki Pedersen, the eccentric Andreas Jonsson, and the perennial runner-up, Leigh Adams. Among the favourties, Crump and Gollob will rue bad starts, Gollob's meeting may be already run. Great start for the young Russian.

Heat 5

Harris yet again missed the start, and lay third behind Dryml and Saifitudinov, who was in the lead. Harris soon passed Harris, and was closing in on Saifitudinov at the end of the second lap. Iversen then pulled up with a mechanical failure, but this did not deter Harris, who went through on the inside of the last corner to take the lead. Harris was able to hold on and win the heat.
Result: Harris, Saifitudinov, Dryml, Iversen (e)

Heat 6

With 4 out of 5 wins so far from gate 2, Gollob must have fancied his chances, but again it was Hancock who started in the lead. Hans Andersen was second, as he went past Gollob, who ran wide at the first corner. Hefenbrock was dropped at the back, and Andersen was under pressure from Gollob, which he was able to cope with as he held on for second place, with Hancock surprising many as he recorded his second win of the night.
Result: Hancock, Andersen, Gollob, Hefenbrock

Heat 7

The top three from 2007 all in the same heat! It was Crump who made the start along with Pedersen, and the two were side by side at turn one. Adams tried to cut back underneath both of them but Pedersen shut the door. At the start of the second lap, Pedersen went through on the inside of Crump. Adams tried to follow him, but could only push Crump out wider. The two were side by side at the start of the third lap, but Pedersen drifted wide, allowing Crump to cut through underneath him and take the lead. Adams fell back into third place, with only Lindgren behind him. Crump held on for the race victory, and Adams almost lost out to Lindgren on the line for third place.
Result: Crump, Pedersen, Adams, Lindgren

Heat 8

Jonsson made a great start around the outside of the first corner. Nicholls followed him into second, but from there he couldn't catch him. Hampel edged out Sullivan for third in a fairly processional heat compared to Heat 7.
Result: Jonsson, Nicholls, Hampel, Sullivan

Standings

After Heat 8

Rank	Rider	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Points
1	Greg Hancock	3					3			6
	Andreas Jonsson				3				3	6
3	Nicki Pedersen		3					2		5
	Jason Crump				2			3		5
5	Leigh Adams			3				1		4
	Emil Saifitudinov		2			2				4
	Scott Nicholls			2					2	4
	Chris Harris	1				3				4
9	Fredrik Lindgren	2						0		2
	Tomasz Gollob			1			1			2
	Hans Andersen				0		2			2
12	Christian Hefenbrock		1				0			1
	Niels Kristian Iversen				1	e				1
	Jaroslaw Hampel	0							1	1
	Lukas Dryml			0		1				1
16	Ryan Sullivan		0						0	0

e: retired or mechanical failure
m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance
t: exclusion for touching the tapes
x: other exclusion
f: fell
ns: non-starter
nc: non-classify

Hancock still has a surprise lead, with the eccentric Andreas Jonsson level with him. Pedersen and Crump are far from out of it, but the riders on 4 points will probably have to win a runoff for the title. Adams will be fighting hard to make that happen. Gollob is out of it completely.

Heat 9

A "must win" heat for Adams! At the tapes, Adams made the start and took the lead, as did Jonsson, pushing Harris into third place. Jonsson soon caught the Aussie though, and on the second lap he went around the outside to take the lead. Harris then forced his way up the inside of Adams going down the home straight into lap 3, but Adams cut back underneath the Brit to retake second place. Going into the first corner of the final lap, Jonsson ran wide, allowing Adams to close right in. With the World title fading away, Adams had a lunge up the inside into the last corner, and Jonsson was forced wide. But he still had plenty of room for the victory.
Result: Jonsson, Adams, Harris, Hefenbrock

Heat 10

Hancock has been the surprise package so far! Recent good results from the outside encouraged him. At the start however, it was Crump who led the way, with Nicholls behind him in second place. Nicholls tried to pass Crump around the outside, but he ended up turning back and ending up on top of him. Both riders hit the dirt. The race was stopped, and Nicholls was excluded.

Heat 10 Rerun

This time it was Hancock who took the lead from the start, but Crump was right on his tail. Going into the second lap, Crump went wide looking for the dirt, and got the drive out of the corner to take the lead. Hancock couldn't recatch the Australian, who reignited his World Final hopes.
Result: Crump, Hancock, Saifitudinov, Nicholls (x)

Heat 11

None of these were title challangers. Andersen made the start from the outside, where there was definitely increasing grip. Sullivan tucked in behind him. Lindgren battled hard to keep Dryml behind him, but in the end, the Czech passed him on the third lap. Sullivan caught Andersen, but the Dane had enough to win going over the line.
Result: Andersen, Sullivan, Dryml, Lindgren

Heat 12

Poland v Denmark in Heat 12. Pedersen made a great start from the outside, and was followed by Iversen. The two Danes then worked as a team to keep the two Poles behind them, with Gollob beating Hampel to the chequered flag. The rest of the riders don't like it, but the Danes did what they needed to do to help Pedersen.
Result: Pedersen, Iversen, Gollob, Hampel

Standings

After Heat 12

Rank	Rider	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Points
1	Andreas Jonsson				3				3	3				9
2	Greg Hancock	3					3				2			8
	Nicki Pedersen		3					2					3	8
	Jason Crump				2			3			3			8
5	Leigh Adams			3				1		2				6
6	Emil Saifitudinov		2			2					1			5
	Chris Harris	1				3				1				5
	Hans Andersen				0		2					3		5
9	Scott Nicholls			2					2		x			4
10	Tomasz Gollob			1			1						1	3
	Niels Kristian Iversen				1	e							2	3
12	Fredrik Lindgren	2						0				0		2
	Lukas Dryml			0		1						1		2
	Ryan Sullivan		0						0			2		2
15	Christian Hefenbrock		1				0			0				1
	Jaroslaw Hampel	0							1				0	1

e: retired or mechanical failure
m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance
t: exclusion for touching the tapes
x: other exclusion
f: fell
ns: non-starter
nc: non-classify

Three out of five rides for each rider complete, and Jonsson leads the pack for Sweden. Pedersen and Hancock are still in the battle, and Crump is level with them. Then there's a gap to Leigh Adams, but he is surely out of the winning hunt now. Saifitudinov has been great, but Gollob has been poor.

Heat 13

Great Britain v Denmark, the Danes could employ the tactics they used against Gollob and Hampel. At the tapes, Harris missed the start, but Nicholls made it for the Brits. Pedersen in second place. At the end of the opening lap, Harris passed Andersen for third, and then closed in on Pedersen. The two then closed in on Nicholls so they were almost three wide. Pedersen managed to get into the lead though. The British duo tried to close the gap but could not. At the end, Nicholls conceded second place to Harris, to help him with a chance of a medal.
Result: Pedersen, Harris, Nicholls, Andersen

Heat 14

Will Sullivan help Adams? Adams made a flyer, and took the lead, but Hancock got ahead of Sullivan. Iversen soon passed him too, leaving Iversen to go in chase of Hancock. Adams was away and gone at the front of the pack, and Hancock and Iversen were neck and neck as the race wore on. Into the final corner, Iversen ran wide to try and get the run to the line, but Hancock moved wide to cover him, and he took second place. This should help Hancock medal, but his chances of being champion are much diminished.
Result: Adams, Hancock, Iversen, Sullivan

Heat 15

Jonsson will undoubtedly get the help from Lindgren in Heat 15. However, at the start, the Swedish pair were left, as Gollob took the lead from Saifitudinov. Jonsson was third and went around the outside to try and pass Saifitudinov. But he reaped limited rewards, as he couldn't close on the Russian. At the end of the second lap, Jonsson pulled level around the outside of the first corner, but turned in on Saifitudinov. The two fell to the ground. Jonsson was excluded, and possibly lost any chance of winning the world title. It looked 50-50, but Jonsson got the blame pinned to him.

Heat 15 Rerun

Jonsson was bitterly disappointed, but the race carried on without him. Gollob this time took the lead, and as he disappeared into the distance, the two youngsters, Lindgren and Saifitudinov battled for second place. Lindgren took it with a brave overtake on the third lap.
Result: Gollob, Lindgren, Saifitudinov, Jonsson (x)

Heat 16

Crump made a poor start, as Hampel took the lead. Dryml and Hefenbrock collided on the first corner. No blame was attached, and there was a rerun.

Heat 16 Rerun

This time, Crump got away perfectly, and Hefenbrock followed him into second place. Hampel was third, but at the end of the second lap, he passed the German to take second place. Dryml was disappointing at the back.
Result: Crump, Hampel, Hefenbrock, Dryml

Standings

After Heat 16

Rank	Rider	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points
1	Nicki Pedersen		3					2					3	3				11
	Jason Crump				2			3			3						3	11
3	Greg Hancock	3					3				2				2			10
4	Andreas Jonsson				3				3	3						x		9
	Leigh Adams			3				1		2					3			9
6	Chris Harris	1				3				1				2				7
7	Emil Saifitudinov		2			2					1					1		6
	Tomasz Gollob			1			1						1			3		6
9	Hans Andersen				0		2					3		0				5
	Scott Nicholls			2					2		x			1				5
11	Niels Kristian Iversen				1	e							2		1			4
	Fredrik Lindgren	2						0				0				2		4
13	Jaroslaw Hampel	0							1				0				2	3
14	Lukas Dryml			0		1						1					0	2
	Ryan Sullivan		0						0			2			0			2
	Christian Hefenbrock		1				0			0							1	2

e: retired or mechanical failure
m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance
t: exclusion for touching the tapes
x: other exclusion
f: fell
ns: non-starter
nc: non-classify

After the fall of Jonsson, Pedersen and Crump are now favourites to take the title. Hancock is in third, and still in with a chance. Mathematically, Adams and Jonsson have a chance, but realistically, they haven't a prayer. Jonsson will need to beat Pedersen and Hancock to have a chance - they meet in Heat 18.

Heat 17

Sullivan may opt to help Crump, here. As the tapes rose, it was Harris in the lead! For the first time in the meeting, Harris leads from the start, but Crump is second, ahead of Gollob, with Sullivan at the back. At the end of the first lap, Crump squeezed through underneath Harris to take the lead. Gollob tried to follow through, but ended up losing control of his bike. He managed to hold on to third place, however. Going into the last lap, Harris went wide of Crump, and down the back straight he got infront of the Aussie. On the last corner, Crump was on the inside, but Harris carried speed around the outside, and he went on to win the heat from Crump. Crump was livid.
Result: Harris, Crump, Gollob, Sullivan

Heat 18

This heat will decide it, if Pedersen wins he will be champion. If Hancock wins, there will be a runoff. Jonsson is out of it. At the start, it was Jonsson that took the lead from the outside, ahead of Pedersen and Hancock. Jonsson ran wide once again though, and let Pedersen through into the lead, and dropped him into Hancock's path. Hancock soon overtook him to move into second place. Hancock had to pass Pedersen to have a chance of the title, but he couldn't do it, and the World Championship would be going to Denmark, in the hands of Nicki Pedersen.
Result: Pedersen, Hancock, Jonsson, Dryml

Heat 19

None of these can medal, so this is a bit of fun. Nicholls made the start and led, with Iversen and Lindgren, the Wolverhampton Wolves pair battling for second place. Iversen, with more long track expertise, was able to catch and pass the Swede, and take second place. Nicholls won the heat comfortably.
Result: Nicholls, Iversen, Lindgren, Hefenbrock

Heat 20

Adams needs a win to runoff against Hancock for bronze. At the start though, it was Andersen who led, with Adams behind Hampel in third. Saifitudinov struggled at the back, and lost ground on his more illustrious opponents. At the front, Andersen held on in a fairly processional heat. Adams tried in vein to get past Hampel, but he couldn't do it, and he missed out on the chance to claim a medal. Saifitudinov was nonetheless delighted with his World Final.
Result: Andersen, Hampel, Adams, Saifitudinov

Standings

After Heat 20

Rank	Rider	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Points
1	Nicki Pedersen		3					2					3	3					3			14
2	Jason Crump				2			3			3						3	2				13
3	Greg Hancock	3					3				2				2				2			12
4	Andreas Jonsson				3				3	3						x			1			10
	Leigh Adams			3				1		2					3						1	10
	Chris Harris	1				3				1				2				3				10
7	Hans Andersen				0		2					3		0							3	8
	Scott Nicholls			2					2		x			1						3		8
9	Tomasz Gollob			1			1						1			3		1				7
10	Emil Saifitudinov		2			2					1					1					0	6
	Niels Kristian Iversen				1	e							2		1					2		6
12	Fredrik Lindgren	2						0				0				2				1		5
	Jaroslaw Hampel	0							1				0				2				2	5
14	Lukas Dryml			0		1						1					0		0			2
	Ryan Sullivan		0						0			2			0			0				2
	Christian Hefenbrock		1				0			0							1			0		2

e: retired or mechanical failure
m: exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance
t: exclusion for touching the tapes
x: other exclusion
f: fell
ns: non-starter
nc: non-classify

So, Pedersen wins the World Championship of 2008, with Crump in second place, and veteran American, Greg Hancock, in third place.

I hope you enjoyed this, I may do something similar for the Speedway World Cup in the next day or two, which is a team version of this event.

Enable Comment Auto-Refresher

Tyrone BriggsHall of Famer

621 days ago

Score 1

Very cool tables. Well done Alex.

Permalink | Reply

Davis21wylieMVP

621 days ago

Score 2

Simulating sporting events? You're a man after my own heart, Alex!

Permalink | Reply

RomiezzoLegend

621 days ago

Score 1

Wow, Alex! I can't imagine how much work you put to do this. Nicely done!

Permalink | Reply

Taytay 24All-American

620 days ago

Score 0

There were some speedway highlights (from last season, I think) on TV a few weeks ago. Crump was unbeatable.

Permalink | Reply

Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

620 days ago

Score 1

Is that individual or team based? I don't know how it works in Australia, does it have the club style like in Europe, or the individual style like the USA?

Permalink

Taytay 24All-American

620 days ago

Score 1

It was individual. There was a bigtime pommie who came down for the circuit, but I don't remember who it was. I also remember them making a big deal out of the final being at Homebush in Sydney, out at Olympic Park. It was a big deal because the stadium there is more or less perfectly round, so no straights on the laps. It was a bit strange to watch--not your typical speedway race.

Permalink

Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

619 days ago

Score 1

Hmmm... Absolutely. Big time pommie? Do these names jog your memory... Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Gary Havelock, David Howe, Simon Stead, Olly Allen, Lewis Bridger, Tai Woffinden, Lee Richardson, Edward Kennett? Any of those guys? But no straights! Very interesting. At a local track, Monmore Green, it's the other extreme, basically two short straights with a hairpin at each end.

Permalink

Taytay 24All-American

619 days ago

Score 0

I don't recall, but he was a bit older and wore neon green. Maybe with lightning bolts? Does that help?

Permalink

Alex HolowczakHall of Famer

619 days ago

Score 1

Hmmm... Not especially. Clothing varies wildly, riders can wear anything they like in individual meetings. What competition were you actually watching?

Permalink

Taytay 24All-American

619 days ago

Score 0

Now you've done it Alex: you made me go do a little research. I'm fairly certain it was Joe Screen, and it was the Linddales Australian Championship Series. A teammate of Crump's in England, no?

Permalink