PRESSURE COOKER

PRESSURE COOKER

Saturday 25th August 2012, 15:18

FIM Fogo British SGP wild card Scott Nicholls admits he faces a real test to produce the goods in Cardiff’s cauldron of noise tonight, but said “it wouldn’t be worth having a GP if it was going to be easy.”

The Coventry rider is set be roared on by a 40,000-plus crowd in the Millennium Stadium from 6pm UK time this evening as he makes his 12th appearance in world speedway’s biggest event.

Nicholls reached the final of the 2008 British SGP, but suffered the agony of ploughing into the tapes.

The Ipswich-born man had made no shortage of starts in his career prior to that night, but in the intensity of the Millennium Stadium, even the most experienced of riders can get it wrong.

Nicholls knows overcoming the atmosphere and 15 of world speedway’s biggest stars won’t be straightforward. But he cannot wait to don the No.16 race jacket and fly the Union flag.

"When you’re on the bike and go around to the start line, it’s not very often at a meeting that you can hear the crowd too much. At Cardiff, there is no way you can avoid it."

- Scott Nicholls

He said: “When it comes down to performing on the night, it’s not easy. But it wouldn’t be worth having a GP if it was going to be easy. They’re there to be hard and it’s hard for a reason.

“The good thing about Cardiff is every rider gets a good reception and I think that’s what makes it very special for all the riders.

“We’re well aware that when a lot of the riders travel to foreign countries, the home riders always get a fabulous reception and the others don’t really get much. In Cardiff, every rider gets a good reception. It’s fair to say the British boys do get a bigger roar. But there’s not a night-and-day difference, which is nice.

“It makes the atmosphere brilliant because every race win is greeted with an electric atmosphere and fantastic noise. It makes it special. When you’re in there, the noise and seeing that sea of red, white and blue is great. Every year it has got bigger.

“I’ve done track walks before and the air horns pretty much follow you around. It gives you goose bumps.

“When you’re on the bike and go around to the start line, it’s not very often at a meeting that you can hear the crowd too much. At Cardiff, there is no way you can avoid it, which is nice. It’s unique and makes this one different to all the others.”

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