As we begin the preparations for practice there is some more track grading and a little bit of watering, this time much more efficiently dispensed.
But still there is an eerie calmness about everything. The riders make their way up through the tunnel and wander out onto the track accompanied by their mechanics and, in some cases, their managers. But whilst in previous years we have had hoards of people out on the track kicking at the surface and muttering, there is none of that.
When a tractor comes out onto the track I have to get riders etc. off. Tai is there with a group of his supporters and immediately leaves when I ask. As I am closing the gate I spy Tomasz marching towards me. He is very focused and a little bit scary. I tell him that there is no access to the track while the tractors are out. He smiles, says "OK", shakes my hand and, after a cursory glance over the air bag at the track, walks off. Is this the next World Champion. I, for one, would love to see him crowned at the end of this year. Tomasz Gollob in full flight is a magnificent sight to behold.
Track staff duties at the Millennium are shared by the Swindon and Newport track staff teams. This is an historical arrangement dating back to the first year at Cardiff. The Swindon team were there because Terry Russell, the Swindon co owner, was in no small way responsible for the giant leap of faith that was staging the GP inside this magnificent building (you can keep all your Wembleys - this is the home of British speedway now), and because Newport was the nearest speedway club to Cardiff. It would be wrong to say that it is a marriage made in heaven but I like to think that we work well.
Certainly, it has been a pleasure working on the pit gate with Peter and his son Martin over the past 4 years. It was a double pleasure that we should have my son working with us. It actually takes 4 people to successfully manage the pit gate quickly and efficiently. Peter locks and unlocks the pit gate, Martin opens the back gate, I rush through the gap and grab the air bag and pull it open while Dave Holds the other end of the bag in place. As we close the pit gate, I pull the air bag into place, Dave pulls the other end in close to the wall, Martin pulls the back gate into place and Peter locks the back gates in place.
While we go through a quick dummy run soldiers begin a practice run for their belaying (not sure if that's the right word or if it's spelt right) exercise from the roof of the stadium down to the track side on the main straight, some perilously close to the top pf the starting gate. This will form a part of the pre meeting entertainment, which will see gun crews from the Royal Navy taking part in an exercise reminiscent of the old days of the Royal Tournament and a posse of wailers from the X Factor.
Nicki Pedersen is in a determined mood when he appears for a track inspection. He has his team around him including his English mechanic.
They are joined out on the track by Kenneth Bjerre, in a shocking pink T shirt, and his team clad in their yellow Team Bjerre uniforms.
As he leaves the track Kenneth consults with the doctor about a knee injury on his right leg. It is strapped up but he will need some more work doing on it after practice.
Andreas Jonsson is his usual affable self. Always smiling and courteous, he greets us all on pit gate before inspecting the track. Quite why AJ is not doing better is beyond me. If Rune were not in the series I think my allegiances would be with AJ, simply because he is such a nice bloke.
Down by the main scoreboard just inside the area at the bottom of the tunnel, Tomasz Gollob's manager is making a last inspection, no doubt plotting who his man will face and at what time during the meeting.
The bikes are still mostly silent, apart from in the Gollob pit, where a bike suddenly thunders into life before a member of the Clerk of the Course's entourage can get over to tell them to shut it off. There are strict timings to be adhered to and we have yet to reach the one that says that engines can be started. This is a good thing because it means that at least you can talk to people - when the bikes start up this part of the Millennium Stadium becomes a modern day version of Dante's 7th Pit of Hell!
Like all of the other bikes, Rune's are immaculate. Every spoke has been polished, every piece of fibre glass washed. The clutch has been painstakingly put together by Michal and the whole effect is of supreme professionalism, but then we are talking about the finest riders in the world.
Nicki makes last minute adjustments to his throttle and clutch before scuttling off to get changed.
It is our cue to make our way back up the tunnel, which is still wet from the last track watering, and out to the pit gate.
The terraces are beginning to fill up high on the main straight with ticket holders who want to witness the organised mayhem that is a GP practice first hand.
The Sky studio is in one of the boxes up above turn 2. For most of the day it has been dark but with just 20 minutes to go the lights come on and we are able to make out the back drop.
Jarek Hampel puts in his first appearance of the day, briefly checking the consistency of the track by kicking the surface. He is on his own and cuts a solitary figure as he makes his way back down the tunnel.
The track is now in perfect condition. Rune is delighted. "I've never seen the Cardiff track look so good. Please don't let them put any water on it - it looks just perfect as it is. I think it will make for lots of racing lines."
We are all happy at pit gate because once again, Mr Holta has stopped to have a chat with and has acknowledged everyone.
New visitors to the pit gate include a very happy Neil Middleditch and ex Swindon hero Phil Crump. At one moment we actually get a view of three generations of the clan as Phil and Jason stop to talk with grandfather, Neil Street, at the bottom of the tunnel.
Magnus Zetterstrom stops by for a chat, a quick dig at the surface and then departs.
Amongst the last to get changed is Chris Holder, who comes out onto the track with young Darcy Ward. He looks amazingly relaxed - does he know something that the rest of us don't?
As the bikes start up in the depths of hell, ex World Champion, Michael Lee, talks with Speedway Star's Philip Rising, the official GP Press Officer. Michael, like Leigh Adams, Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger and Jeff Scott, has a book to launch / promote at the GP.
In the very final moments Hans Andersen appears in his Belle Vue kevlars, goes out for a kick around (or is he auditioning for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing) and then, having declared himself satisfied, departs, to be replaced by Davey Watt.
Davey is riding in the place of the still injured Emil Sayfutdinov. Piotr Protasiewicz was originally scheduled to replace Sayfutdinov, having qualified as first reserve from the GP Challenge meeting at the end of last year, but he has decided that the logistics of riding in Cardiff and then getting to Poland the following day just don't stack up. Davey gets his place as second reserve, and appears to be relishing the prospect. He's very cheerful and upbeat about the whole thing. "Bring it on!" As with Chris Holder, Darcy Ward is on hand to talk about conditions. The young Aussies are a close knit bunch - even young Justin Sedgmen is around.
At 3pm the first three bikes appear at the top of the tunnel and line up on the coloured wooden bars that have been screwed into the concrete. GP practice is a curious affair, one which puts almost unsustainable pressures upon the track and the track staff.
Tony Olsson lines up the first three riders. Now, because it all happens so fast there are no photographs and I know that we were all surprised that the running order appeared to have been reversed. So excuse me if I get it wrong but the order went something like this :
Nicholls, Barker and King; Andersen, Zetterstrom and Holder; Hampel, Harris and Woffinden.
On his signal the bikes are pushed forward, Peter and Martin open the outer gate and I wrench open the air bag gate. The riders make their way round to the back straight where they line up. One goes off and when he gets as far as turn 4 the next goes off and then when he gets to turn 4 the third takes off. They do a flying lap, sometimes two before returning to the white line painted on the back straight, make another start and then the red light comes on and we open the pit gate and they depart.
Almost immediately the next three come out and the cycle begins again. Then the next three. Then the first three and then we have a track grade. Then the second three come out, the third follow and then the first group appear. After the second threesome finish there is another grade. The third group comes out, followed by the first and then the second and then there is a grading.
Now the other riders come out in the following groupings: Crump, Gollob and Watt; Hancock, Jonsson and Pedersen; Holta, Bjerre and Lindgren.
Once they have all done their cycles there is a major grade and then the whole process is repeated again.
To make life a little more complicated, some riders decide that they already have their set up and don't need to risk engines unnecessarily so we only have two waiting at the stripes. Tony signals "two" to me and I begin to close the gets once the second has come out. The closest I have to disaster is when Hans Andersen bursts unexpectedly out of the tunnel and I just get the gate open as he rushes past. Chris Harris sheds a chain / clutch guard which brings a halt to proceedings but other than that we get through.
So who are the riders to make a real impact and who are those who appear to struggle? Well, no one seems to struggle at all on a track that stands up quite brilliantly. In fact, I have never seen so many riders trying out so many lines during a Cardiff practice. This is largely ascribed to the excellence of the surface - not a rut nor puff of dust in sight.
Jason Crump has us all gasping as he plants his back tyre into the wall on the straight in the same place lap after lap, sending up a plume of shale and blasting him into turn 1. Hampel looks very relaxed and smooth, Woffinden looks quick and emulates Crump's board banging antics while Rune is all flailing legs and wide blasts, showering us with shale.
Gollob doesn't appear to be pushing himself but Holder is right on the mark, quick in all four corners.
Despite the regular track gradings the track takes a fearful battering but no one falls and if anyone got into real difficulty, I didn't see it.
The build of material by the boars is significant and, as the last bike makes its way down the tunnel we set to with shovels and rakes and begin the exhausting process of dragging / digging it all back from the fence so the graders can access it.
All the Swindon crew set about the work, the Newport lads having to go early to cover a National League match at Queensway Meadows on Friday night. But actually, we don't mind the work - it's something we've always done and it means that the Danish track crew can take a bit of a breather - we have a feeling they will be working well into the night.
The ruts on the back straight are deep enough to get your shoe in and will need careful packing before the morning and there will be a need for plenty of new material as top dressing before it can be used as a racing strip fit for a Grand Prix.
One the way back to the pits we stop off to chat with Michal, who is packing up Rune's bikes.
He has tried both "New Flemming" and "Sidney" and was so pleased with the set ups that he didn't bother coming out for his last practice session.
Both bikes will now be stripped down and everything on them will be checked and cleaned. It will be a long night for Team Holta, but then that will be replicated the length and breadth of the pit lane.
We pop round to the Holta race van and chat with Sveinung. Rune has never made a semi final at Cardiff but feels really confident. Sveinung says he has never seen his boy ride as well as in the past two months, a fact bourne out by the statistics that show Rune head and shoulders above his team mates in both Poland and Sweden.
We make our farewells and walk out into the sunshine of an early evening in Cardiff. Dave and I are driving back to Wiltshire, as is Edwin Hutchison. Rob and John Nobbs, Jamie Wiltshire, Keith Johnson, Rex Woodruffe and Michael Hunt are all staying in Cardiff.
Dave and I get home at about 9pm. It's been a long day. I pick Jason for the title, Dave picks Chris Holder; we both cross thumbs for Rune.
It's been a great day, but the best is yet to come!
