Chris Harris: Surprise winner in 2007

Cardiff is, without question, the most high-profile meeting in the calendar. The noise, the atmosphere - you can almost touch it. And the riders respond to that.

Kelvin Tatum
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It's an exciting time of the year - the countdown to the British Grand Prix. Cardiff is always extra special and I'm really looking forward to it.

The Cardiff track is quite similar to Copenhagen but, without question, it is the most high-profile meeting in the calendar.

The Millennium Stadium has a large part to play in the atmosphere of the night. It's quite a cosy stadium, it holds a decent capacity and the design of it, with its steep side terracing, means that you feel close to the action and you get an excellent view of the track.

The noise, the atmosphere - you can almost touch it. And the riders respond to that. They get very motivated.

The media attention on this meeting is huge, too. It's certainly the jewel in the speedway crown for us here at Sky Sports, and that attention all adds to the occasion and gives it an extra-special significance.

More and more people are becoming aware of the British Grand Prix and the television audiences are ever-increasing - anyone who goes to Cardiff can't fail to enjoy it.

It's nice to be able to say that our grand prix is at the Millennium Stadium because before the rebirth of Wembley, it was the number one stadium in the UK. It's a fantastic venue and it has helped bring the sport to a wider audience.

Keeping occupied

The riders will have their own routines in the run-up to a meeting like this. Some tend to go off and do something completely different like play nine holes of golf in the morning!

You have to wait until the end of the day to race so you've got time to kill. The mechanics will obviously be busy cleaning up from the practice the day before but the riders have to try and keep themselves occupied.

You don't want to be kicking your heels all day worrying about the meeting. You will have done the testing the day before and you will have decided which bike you want to start the meeting on, and which is going to be your spare one.

After those decisions have been made, up until the middle of the afternoon when you have to be back at the track, you don't want to be dwelling on the meeting too much.

If you allow your mind to run riot, it can become more difficult than it needs to be.

Expectation

Chris Harris triumphed here in a nail-biting finale last year but unfortunately for him, he hasn't been in the same form this season.

That's understandable to a degree because the weight of expectation on him has been significantly heavier since he won his home grand prix.

I'd love it if he could manage to do the same again but the reality is that he'll be better off once this meeting is over because the question of whether can he do it again will have gone. If he doesn't, then he can focus on the rest of the season.

Obviously Nicki Pedersen will be lurking but I do like the way Jason Crump is riding at the moment. Talking to him on Monday night at Belle Vue, he definitely seems to have found some renewed confidence.

He's had four maximums on the spin at home at Belle Vue and he won a big meeting - the Jancarz Memorial - last Saturday in Poland against a lot of the grand prix riders, including Pedersen.

Crump has gone back to basics a bit with his equipment and it seems to be working for him so he'll be right up for it.

Big performance

Tomasz Gollob is very excited about his World Championship campaign after he unexpectedly won in Copenhagen last time out. He'll be charging hard, as will people like Greg Hancock, who has won previously in Cardiff.

But of course, we haven't got a runaway leader this year. Pedersen leads the Championship but he hasn't managed to win a grand prix so it only take a win or a big performance from one of those guys behind him and all of a sudden, the standings will change quite significantly.

Scott Nicholls has certainly been in good form. He's been scoring plenty of points and will be desperate to do well in Cardiff because he hasn't done well in a Grand Prix so far this year. I think he'll put on a good display.

He's been working very hard to try and turn his season around and he seems to have found some form recently - he's been boosted, I think, by winning the British Championship.

As for the wildcard entry, Edward Kennett, this is a wonderful opportunity for him to show his talent on the bigger stage and I think the track will suit his style.

Kelvin's tip

Ace commander: I'm going with Jason Crump. He's a proven winner - twice World Champion - and, talking to him, he seems right up for trying to win back the title.