Another early start down the M4 for Cardiff. Steffie is working this morning so will catch a train down after lunch. Her place has been taken by my son, David. The motorway is, once again, surprisingly free of hold ups and we make it to the stadium just after 9am, parking in a spot reserved for us in the small car park in front of the building that houses the Collectors' Fayre.
A clear sky brings the prospect of a good day, even though much of it will be spent in the semi darkness of the stadium beneath the roof.
At Gate 4 I meet up with some of the other Swindon track staff who have come down today to volunteer their service. Ernie Poole and his family have stayed overnight in a local hotel; Edwin Hutchison has driven down.
We have to wait at the gate because while I have my pass and the Gold wrist bad that everyone must wear on the Saturday, the passes for everyone else are missing. The steward who allegedly was struck by a rider's vehicle yesterday is on the gate and is still stewing about the incident. We calm him down by concentrating upon all the other people that he has met over the last day and a half. "I tell you," he says, "everyone has been just brilliant. It's just a shame that something like that spoils it."
And still we wait. My attention is caught by an incongruous sign cable tied to the fencing alongside the gate. Printed on 7 sheets of laminated paper is "German Ticket Collection". The amusing element is that someone, probably without any thought, has wedged a small polystyrene container in the bars alongside the notice. If that is where the GP tickets for those unfortunates who went to Germany are to be placed then the sport is in real trouble!
While we wait we watch Nicki Pedersen's right hand man, John Jorgensen, in earnest conversation with another gentleman. An attache case is opened and various pieces of carbon fibre equipment are produced, including a fuel tank for a bike, and scrutinised. It is a distraction for us as we wait for the proper accreditation for the whole team.
Rosco pops down from his hotel to see us and then ventures into the stadium to see if he can sort out the whereabouts of the necessary documentation.
Eventually a box arrives complete with the necessaries and we prepare for the day. But no day working at Cardiff is complete without at least a cup of tea from the cafe upstairs in the old market. We join Keith, Rob, John and Jamie who stayed in Cardiff the previous night, and make our way to our favourite cafe, positioned on the balcony of an indoor market on the main thoroughfare. The place is already full of speedway fans. Sadly the wait for the "eat all you can" breakfast is 30 minutes so we decide on a cup of tea and then a walk back up to the stadium. While we take on refreshments we meet up with Swindon track staff member Derek Hayward, up for the day from Basingstoke.
It is beautifully sunny outside but dark and humid in the stadium. Most of the pit areas are empty of equipment, the teams preferring to lock up valuable machinery in their vans in the adjoining paddock than leave them unattended overnight.
Team Holta is deserted by activity is noted in the areas employed by both Leigh Adams and Jason Crump.
Already the feeling is different from yesterday. There may not be many people around at this time of the morning but there is a tension in the air.
The floors have been dampened to keep down the dust as we make our way passed the interview and draw are and on up the tunnel that in 7 hours time the riders will thunder up, emerging at the top of what is called the "Dragon's Mouth" to the roar of over 40,000 passionate speedway fans and a worldwide audience of God knows how many.
Even this far away from the start of the GP this is a heady moment.
There is a buzz of activity up at pit gate. The track has already been well watered and then packed firmly down. The roof has been partially opened and an area of the back straight is bathed in glorious sunlight. The air is still very moist but at least there is some chance of getting fresh air into the building.
Yesterday we were intrigued by the construction of two black cloth clad areas at each end of the track. Today these are even more intriguing as, hovering above each, is a large white balloon. All we can ascertain from the organisers is that these will be used by a couple of acrobats who will dangle from the balloons as they float around the arena. This prompts speculation as to what might happen should the roof be open. "Beware low flying gymnasts in the Cardiff Airport area!"
But the track looks as good as new. last year it looked fine before the practice but it was quite clear that the damage had been done by GP day and it just couldn't be repaired. An inspection of the surface just on the entrance of turn 1 shows that the small amount of damage done yesterday has now been completely repaired and all is looking good.
The lights in the Sky studio above turn 2 flicker into life as Colin Meredith uses a JCB to scatter top dressing onto the packed base.
The four start line girls appear. It would not be politically correct to pass any further comment here, nor would it be so to repeat comments made by various members of the track staff and officialdom as the four lovely lasses pass by on their way to the centre green where they will spend the next half hour practicing their start line routines. As they do, the giant balloons float back and forth menacingly - the aliens have landed in Cardiff!
And still Colin spreads top dressing, filling up the bucket of the JCB and then driving round the track at speed agitating material onto the track.
Our main job is to keep as many people off the track as possible although it is hard to work out who is with the firework crew, who the Sky crew and who the pre meeting entertainment.
Riders are conspicuous by their absence. In truth there is not a lot to do or see as the track staff go through their last preparations before the official track walk times for teams and the juniors, who will open proceedings with four races.
Behind in the pit gate area the smart GP backdrops are erected and the space is made for the mats upon which the bikes will sit as riders wait for their race.
On track Ole Olsen has taken to one of the small tractors and is gradually grading and spreading the new material across the track. I get the impression that this ten minute grading is more for his sanity than for the track. At least here he is away from all of the calls that come through to his mobile and the queries and problems posed by media and officials alike. The GP's must take a heavy toll on Ole and his team.
I spend a little time chatting with the three guys who are on the permanent GP staff. One is Ole's ex mechanic from his days at Wolves and Coventry. His wife has come over with him for the Cardiff event from their home in Denmark. She bemoans the fact that she can't find any shoes to suit her in the local shops; he is relieved that she hasn't "maxed" out on his credit card. Another of the team looks so much like a young Arsene Wenger it is creepy. He doesn't speak much English but we get along with gestures and a certain amount of mime. More and more television people march back and forth through the pit gate. Most have a telephone clamped to their ears almost permanently. We joke that their importance can only be measured by the number of telephones they have with them - our Wenger like friend suddenly produces three and marches around the pit gate area mockingly talking into all three at the time. It relieves the tension and helps cement a team feeling amongst us all.
Our friend the big blade driver now brings out a massive roller and packs down the track even more, turning on the compactor as he approaches the inside of turn 1; the whole ground literally vibrates as he does so. With this amount of compaction there is no chance that the track is going to break up - it is rock hard!
While I am called away to deal with a problem over another track pass, Dave is left in charge of the gate. For a 15 year old this is some responsibility but he relishes it, especially when Ole comes up and chats with him, complementing him on the job he is doing. This is a key feature of Ole's management style as far as I can tell. Despite being under enormous pressure, he still has time to thank people for their work and encourage them.
We are now into the time for sound checks. The sound stage has been built for the Queen tribute band and various technicians are checking sound levels. Various parts of national anthems are played together with renditions of Rule Britannia and various other rousing pieces.
We are almost ready for the track walks. My "Wenger" like friend moves around pumping up each of the individual air bas that make up the air fence. Each bag has four valves on top - two are for filling whilst the others are pressure valves, designed to release pressure should temperatures rise and the air inside the bags expand too much. At a recent outdoor GP the morning sun was so hot that the bags ballooned up and rather than pumping air in, they had to rush round to release the air when the valves seized.
While I man the gate, Dave takes off for a walk around the pits and takes the opportunity to fire off a few photographs. He is really on the look out for Rune. Steffie met him on Thursday night at Blunsdon and again on Friday here at Cardiff but Dave hasn't met the man yet and is desperate to do so. Sadly, it is not to be. Rune doesn't appear at the stadium until well into the afternoon, after Dave and his sister have made their ways up to their seats on the back straight. Dave is further frustrated when we find that Rune has had to leave to catch a flight shortly after the GP. Methinks it will take a trip to either Peterborough for the World Cup round or a longer trip to Kumla for him to meet up with Rune.
Anyway, virtually all of the pits are now filled with bikes and the walkway areas are similarly filled with those lucky enough to have got a Paddock pass. These are mainly members of supporters clubs and sponsors. Tomasz Gollob's machines are being worked on feverishly - the atmosphere down at Team Holta is much more restrained and calm.
Chris Harris sits on his bike talking with his mechanics while Ashley Holloway and his team work away on Emil Sayfutdinov's three bikes.
By contrast, Team Nicholls' pit area is strangely empty. Either they are being very laid back about it all or they are preparing the bikes round in the paddock away from the noise and humidity in the stadium.
Our last major physical job is to spread all the unused shale into a ramp of sufficient gradient to allow bikes to be ridden up it and out through the pit gate. This was not an issue during practice but there will be far more people around during the GP so we need as much space as is possible. While others shovel (we've now found two more shovels so have a collection of 4 to choose from) I take up a brush and start to sweep the excess from the floor.
It is slow work and the heat and humidity don't help. Someone suggests that we could use a tractor with a small blade to speed up the job. Colin obliges but actually spreads more material back onto the area I have swept. We resign ourselves to another 15 minutes of shoveling before packing it all down with a whacker plate.
With the ramp ready the four coloured mats are put down before the riders and officials depart for their briefing. The instruction now is that no one is to go out onto the track until 1pm. We lock the pit gate and stand guard. Most of those around us now are those with paddock passes. They pose for photographs by the track itself. A group of Polish visitors spot that Dave and I are both wearing green Boll hats, presented to us by Team Holta. This starts off much good humoured banter. The Polish fans do help add to the atmosphere at GP's - they know how to enjoy themselves and are always bedecked in their red and white. This friendliness is in stark contrast to what happens at football matches and even some rugby fixtures. I chat with one of the stadium officials who is astounded that rival groups get on so well with each other. Needless to say, there is not a single policeman in sight. During a brief break for fresh air later on I happen across a charity collector near the stadium. She is amazed at how friendly (and noisy) the area outside the stadium is. Apparently they no longer collect on match days for football and rugby because it's not safe; she feels completely relaxed with the speedway fraternity though!
With one o'clock fast approaching the great and the good of the FIM and the media meet up on the track. Christer Bergstrom (FIM Jury President) appears. I met him last when he came to give Blunsdon the once over last year. Clerk of the Course, Paul Applin and his assistant Fred Parkin join the crowd out on the track. Ole chats with Formula 1's Mark Webber, a great speedway fan and the man who helped Jason Crump get a lucrative and highly prestigious Red Bull sponsorship. Friendly and with a hand shake like a vice, he assures me that he wouldn't miss this event for the world and will be squarely in the corner of his Aussie compatriots Messrs Crump and Adams.
The actual time for track walks comes and goes with little real attention form the riders. Jason casts a cursory eye over the track, asks if it has been watered, nods when I tell him has, and wanders off. Tomasz appears, walks out onto the track, kicks a bit of dirt and then walks back to the pits.
It's now time for Dave to meet up with his sister, who has come down on the train, and together they go round to gate 7 where they will enter the stadium and take up their seats high above the back straight.
It is shockingly bright outside. My friend Paul, who I met last year at the stadium, is on duty at Gate 4 checking passes and the gold wrist bands. He's looking forward to getting into the stadium if only to get out of the heat. The noise and the crowds outside ramp up the atmosphere and the tension even more.
The roof has now been closed and the stadium falls into a state of semi darkness as the start marshalls put up the tapes and last minute preparations are made.
With people streaming in through the turnstiles it is time for the juniors to enjoy their slice of the action. Their practice yesterday was curtailed by a crash and we all hope that they will get their full allocation of two rides each. Four are from the 250cc class and aged between 10 and 13, while the others are on full 500cc machines and aged 14 and 15.
The smallest rider on show is 10 year old Reece Downes. He is really tiny. Sadly, either through nerves or mechanical problems, he touches the tapes and is excluded. We all feel that this is a little harsh on the poor lad, who returns to the pits in floods of tears. Given that we are up against time perhaps it would have been better to have sent him off 15 metres. Anyway the race is run and the 500cc juniors emerge through the pit gate. Their race is cut short when one high sides coming out of turn 2. Initially he seems OK but soon collapses back onto the track. The medics from St Johns rush to him and the ambulance is called for. Peter Oakes, who oversees the juniors is anxious on the pit wall, as is Ole who must be acutely aware of the pressures of keeping to a tight time schedule. After a significant delay the lad is loaded into the ambulance and taken away. Tragically, especially for young Reece, the delay has been of such a magnitude that the other two junior races are cancelled - there just isn't enough time.
The track is graded and the riders are given just 5 minutes to have a look at the track. We are told to ask them not to kick and to confine themselves to the area around the pit gate. We ask but few take any notice - who can blame them. They are now in racing mode and extremely focused. Rune stops for a chat with us but as the music pounds out from the speakers all around he departs.
And so to the pre match entertainment. The lights go down and the two balloons take on an eerie aspect, one illuminated in red, the other in blue. They soar up pulling two young gymnasts with them. Each is controlled by two technicians with wire harnesses who pull them around the stadium and allow them to drift alarmingly up towards the roof and the electronic scoreboards. In time to the music, the exotically clad gymnasts rotate on the bar and move rhythmically to the beat of the music. It is entertaining for a time and bizarre in the way that the infamous stick insects were in one of the early Cardiff GP. But we are all waiting for the action to begin.
I have to admit that the Queen tribute band took me a little by surprise. We were getting the area cleared and I just thought it was a co-incidence that the tannoy kept on playing Queen numbers, until someone pointed out it was actually live music.
This stage of the proceedings is the worst - there is nothing more that you can do but you can never really be prepared. I went off to sign in for my overalls for the event. Designed by the devil, they are difficult to put on and very heavy duty. Consequently, you get hot very quickly indeed!
It struck me that the crowd was a little sparse at this stage. In the end numbers were up but it did seem as if a substantial number of people chose to delay their entrance into the stadium for as long as possible and make best use of the wonderful weather outside.
The trikes that will carry the riders round on the parade lap have already had an early morning rehearsal. They are bizarre pieces of equipment, lovingly maintained by their owners. The one that broke down during rehearsal does not seem to be there when they eventually come out.
The band leave the stage and the time is with us. Sky producers rush around with stop watches in their hands - everything must be exactly to time. We prepare to open the gate, waiting on the timing of one technician as the trikes roar at the bottom of the slope.
With the thumbs up we open the pit gates wide open, the lights go down and the trikes trundle up the tunnel and onto the track. The noise is staggering. Even after all of the Cardiff GP's that I've been to, you just can't get used to the sheer wall of sound that batters down around us.
The riders are deposited at the start line and we open up the gates to let the trikes off. Once again we are in the hands of the producers. Two of the start line girls are at the wrong end of the line. Instructions are passed to a technician on the centre green to get them on the right side. Delilah belts out, words on the screen to help those amongst us who just can't resist a sing along. Let's face it, the noise is so great that no one will be able to hear you anyway. Then come the anthems and we are off.
As the riders are introduced they make their way across the track and down the players entrance which takes them down to the other end of the pits. For Nicki Pedersen it is a rush because he has to run the length of the pits to get to his pit area and ready himself for heat 1 and the much anticipated clash with Sayfutdinov.
Each rider brings two bikes to the pit gate area. The main one is placed on the correct coloured mat while the other is revved up behind us. Ole gives the instruction and we open the gates and let the first four out onto track: Sayfutdinov, Pedersen, Bjerre and Holta. For the GP itself we hold the gate open until the last mechanic has departed the track and then only close it firmly when all four are round at the tapes.
Everyone wants to see this, not only for the spectacle of Pedersen and Sayfutdinov but also see how the track rides. I miss most of the race trying to keep everyone back behind the safety line that has been drawn out on the shale. There is a gasp and I turn to find that Rune has gone down in an untidy heap on turn 4. He is excluded. Michal, his mechanic, curses, shrugs his shoulders and runs out to help. It is a desperate start. In the re-run all three get round reasonably safely.
It is difficult to see what is going on all the time. The area is jam packed with people and there are at least two Sky cameras poking around looking for anyone showing a reaction.
The rest of the first round of races go off without much further ado. Greg Hancock turns around and rides back to the pit gate for last minute adjustments from his mechanic (he did this every single race) but other than that we got the gate open and closed in good time without hindering any of the action.
After four heats we open up both gates to allow the tractors out for grading. Once again we are controlled by Ole and a posse of television officials, all with stop watches and head microphones. The riders for heat 5 are already up in the pit gate area but adv erts on the television mean that they cannot be allowed out until the feed is ready.
No one, me certainly, expected what was going to happen next, and I'm still not sure.
With two Brits in the race the noise was always going to significant - put Sayfutdinov in as well and you've got a tasty looking heat, certainly for the crowd. In fact it was Seba Ulamek who blasted away but his victory over Chris Harris will forever be overshadowed by what transpired at the back.
I opened up the gate as normal but was looking down the track at Ulamek on his celebratory lap when one of my colleagues tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to Nicholls and Sayfutdinov exchanging points of view coming back in from turn 2. When they started to push and shove it was clear that they weren't both going to get through the gap that I'd left. As I pulled the gate panel back even further they clashed again and rode, locked together, into the air fence panel. I stepped back. I really didn't fancy being run over by a couple of bikes. Suddenly all hell broke loose. Sayfutdinov's bike was kicked over, spilling oil and methanol at my feet and then they were at it. The two lads from Newport grabbed them both and hauled them apart while I tried to get between them. But with flaying fists in protective gloves, and kicking feet with steel shoes, I still kept a distance. While Scott was hauled off two of us kept Emil back. He was mad - wild with anger. I didn't see the spat with Ashley Holloway and Scott in the mouth of the tunnel but the whole area was plunged into mayhem.
Ole spoke with all three of us on the pit gate afterwards but so much happened so quickly and with such fury that it was difficult to work out what you saw and what you imagined you'd seen. It's not an incident that I reflect upon with any degree of satisfaction, especially when my mother in law saw the photograph in The Daily Mail on Monday.
Rune ran a third in his next ride and Krzysztof, Michal and I watched on glumly from the mouth of the tunnel. All the talk was about the fight though, which was a real shame because there was some brilliant racing, especially from the peerless Jason Crump, who just looked awesome.
When Rune swept past Greg Hancock in his third ride for a win I have to admit that my enthusiasm got the better of me (and I apologise for that). Punching the air and shouting with Michal I was suddenly aware of a Sky camera pointing at me - they creep up on you unsuspecting. With possibly the smallest crew on display, Team Holta were hard to find for the cameras and so they focused on me. Not good.
The cameraman was there when Rune was launched off the bike in his fourth ride, hitting a hole in the dirt line out wide coming into turn 3. As he ran up the main straight and through the pit gate he shrugged his shoulders - it looked like being another barren night.
Everything at the pit gate was going smoothly - we had it worked out and were well into our routine. The trouble is that there is so much going on around you that it's difficult to get a real sense of the meeting. I knew that Jason was unbeaten but wasn't sure about anyone else.
Holta's last ride victory sent us again into raptures of delight and another visitation from a cameraman eager to search out any supporter of Rune. A big thumbs up to me as he passed through the gate showed that he was happy with that heat and looked, with 7 points, including two wins, from just three completed rides, as if he could sneak in. That he didn't was a real shame - he certainly had the speed and the daring to pass riders on the inside and outside.
Of the exclusions, Andreas took his philosophically, while Nicki just laughed. I have to say that from where I was standing it was a clear nudge that took him off - all 4 back or possibly even Hans excluded.
Some amusing wag plays "Who let the dogs out?" over the speaker system when the girls emerge from the tunnel after the draw. Let's hope they see the funny side of it; we certainly did!
And so to the semi finals and the final. It would have been a travesty if Jason hadn't won - he had looked the class act from the first lap of practice. I had Team Andersen / Sayfutdinov around me when Hans drove around Greg for 3rd place.
The riders took their bikes onto the centre green, the interviews were carried out, the anthem played and the champagne sprayed. Once again we waited for the instruction from the producers to let the trikes out on to the track for the parade lap.
And then it was down to the fireworks. I missed them all as I struggled to get out of my seat soaked overalls and sign them back in.
By the time I had got back to the pit gate it was all over and it was just a case of collecting everything up, waiting for Steffie and Dave to make it down from their seats and cooling down.
The stadium empties quickly, disgorging people out into a beautifully sunny June evening. The earlier starting time means that it is still very light outside when we leave.
The guys meet me and we make our way back out to the Holta van. Krzys and Michal have invited us round. Rune has already gone but he has left his cap for Steffie. The UK Holta FAn Club now boast three hats. The van is packed tightly as they prepare for a marathon 2,600 km drive to Sweden and Rospiggarna in the north on Tuesday night. At least Rune's meeting in Poland on Sunday afternoon has been postponed. They are a smashing couple of guys and we are sad to see them go. Next year, perhaps!
Out in the paddock Mark Webber is celebrating by Jason's motor home while Hans Andersen is still clutching his bottle of champagne.
But the evening belongs to a physically and emotionally drained Jason Crump. A brilliant display from a man who many now feel is on the cusp of yet another World Championship.
Thanks must go to Terry Russell (for sorting out problems with passes); all the people who worked back stage and prepared a brilliant track (well done Colin and Co.); the especially nice people from Denmark who came over to help set the place up; the track staffs from Swindon and Newport; and, of course, Rune and his team for just being really nice people.
Blog done - time for a lie down in a darkened room.
