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To GP or not to GP, that is the question!
By Steve Haire
There's always been a debate as to which is best, the one off World Final whose supporters will say generates more excitement or the GP supporter who will say it gives a more worthy champion.
As with the league title the one off World Crown was determined by who scored the most points. The one off final had been going for nigh on seventy years with the top 16 riders qualifying for the World Final.
The GPs have changed the formats over the years. Firstly you had the twenty heats, four finals, A final the top four scores, B final second top scores etc. and they were awarded points for finishing order.
That was followed by a knockout formula where an additional eight riders joined in at the start, a third and/or a last and you were out. Both these formats meant top eight points scores qualified for next year's GPs.
It then changed to the format where you have twenty heats, top eight in semi finals, top two from each semi through to final and points were accumulated from each race. This meant that GP winner was not necessarily top scorer but all points went to determine the champion at the end of the series. Out of interest 2000 champion Mark Loram never won a GP that year but made every semi.
With the premiership you can finish fourth out of seven but still be crowned league champions, the GP format now means you can finish tenth in the meeting but still win the GP and get twenty points, and when you consider the number of nominated, seeded/wild cards in my opinion has devalued the competition.
The big debating point however is who in the one off world finals would have been World Champion had they had they competed in the GPs. No doubt the likes of your Craven's, Moore's, Briggs's, Mauger's, Fundin's etc would have become World Champions in a GP format, but what about your one off champions such as Jerzy Szczakiel, Egon Muller, Per Jonsson etc. Hans Nielsen and Tony Richardsson (last winner of the one off) are the only two to win both individual and GP champions titles.
I'm in favour of the GPs. When you consider the number of bad luck stories in the one off final that has robbed riders of becoming world champion the GP system allows for some bad luck. What do you think, One off or GP?
This article was first published on 8th June 2025
"Great article, I attended the thrilling 1975 WF-great days"
"Hi Steve, very much enjoyed that, thanks. I'm a World Final fan but only because of the era I come from. There were 49 World Finals and when the GP took over, I was pretty deflated. Over 30 years later, I have sort of got used to it.
As for Jerzy Szczakiel, Egon Muller and Per Jonsson, they all rode magnificently on World Final night and 100% deserved their Gold Medals. Could they have done it over a GP series? Jonsson for sure. Szczakiel and Muller, maybe not but that in no way takes any shine from their well earned World Title's.
Looking at 2K, yes, Mark Loram made 3 Finals and 3 Consolation Finals. His consistency in all made him World Champion. It wasn't that he did not try to win each Final, the way it turned out, he did not need to. I see that Billy Hamill also made 3 Finals. Winning two and a second. But he made just the solitary Consolation Final. Hamill fans may not have enjoyed that outcome at all. But I guess already having been World Champion helped soften that blow.
For me, the World Final had the 'Big Top' fun of the fair but GP fans will have their own unique passion. My only plea is not to let it become woke nonsense like the horrible SON event. I'm looking forward to other comments as I enjoy a good debate. Thanks again for for the spark. "