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Thanks for listening tonight everyone. I will admit, my head was all over the place during Sunday's broadcasts and I struggled a lot, but tonight for me went 100% better.

do i miss speedway?what is their to miss?walking to derwent park with my sons and grandkids,saying hi to people who are their early like us,standing by the pits chatting to dez the machine examiner who i went to school with and who rode for the comets ,standing listening to the roar of 14 bikes getting that special smell only they make laughing at others putting their hands over ears as they walk past,walking to our special spot on the first corner near the burger van standing with people who like us have stood their for years,being pestered by the grandkids for some money for a burger which they will never eat because they had tea before coming out,clapping and shouting as 2 teams are announced by michael max or hoggy with the tones of john walch in the box,shouting at a well know referee from scotland who once again had got a decision wrong,going home after a look at the track from the pits gate saying hi to chris the pits marshall, telling my mother how well we did or why we didnt win,taking boys home and looking on the pc how other teams had done that night,going on the forum to see what other comets fans thought about the team that night.YES i do miss my speedway seeing it live from 3rd april 1970 missing work sometimes to get my fix,remembering the girls i took their some still speak to me now a couple dont but their loss eh ,so again i do miss my speedway its good to go to glasgow, newcastle, redcar. and even edinburgh but its not the same,so if u can go when this is all over DO go or like me and a few more from comets land u might not have some to go back too.HAPPY DAYS.

Graham Drury in the Speedway Star (another excellent issue), talks about how he loved his time promoting in the NL, "riders just rode, no flights, accommodation, or transport requests". And when he rode 2nd Division how it was mainly 'part time' with riders having jobs, unlike today where so many have salary expectations to allow them to be 'pro' speedway riders in that league... So, we actually know 'what can work', and we also know 'what used to work' (pretty much the old 2nd Division NL).. Therefore that surely has to be the target to get back too? It does also make me wonder how much of my admission cost goes into the riders' own personal agendas through their salary from the clubs. By that I mean their own individual aspirations... I've said before, so much money comes into Speedway through fans attendance and individual sponsorship, yet so much of what gets paid out doesn't postively impact the domestic leagues in any way shape or form, but instead, goes to fund riders wanting to be full time pros and help support their own ambitions on the wider global individual stage.. No disrespect but any current GB rider winning the World Individual title won't put bums on seats over here every week. This was a pipe dream mantra from a long time ago, ie a belief a GB World Champ would be like finding The Holy Grail for the sport in the UK.. Havelock, Loram and Woffy (3 times) subsequently proved that wasn't correct. (Even when Tai rode here).. Therefore, the UK should just cut its cloth accordingly, putting the clubs first... In short, if charging £18 isn't bringing in enough punters through the doors as they tell you that you are too expensive, then listen to them and drop your prices... And if you can't drop your prices as you say your costs won't allow it, then reduce your costs so you can... I can guarantee that the many punters who no longer attend due to them not seeing £18-£20 as an acceptable or affordable price point, wont wake up one morning and suddenly then decide that it is and rock up in their droves.. And this absent, silent majority, are the ones that need 'listening' to..

What Money

Just caught up through YouTube. Decent meeting. Nice track Grudiadz. Heat 15 was a tough one. Hope Lebedev is ok. Lambert was running for the kerb going into turn 1, maybe he came in a little to soon but Lebedev had no awareness and Robert spent the race 2nd guessing him. Lebedev had been at that all night. Good speed for Robert though. Those FGM pulling well and he looks quick. He’s a quality rider is Robert, probably took on a bit too much last season, hopefully he’s back to his 2018 form. I do think he’s in the top 16 riders in the world, and is consistent on the continent. Has a nice style and he actually reminds me of Tai a little. Very competitive. Good to see from a Brit, been a while since we’ve had this type of quality aside from Wofinden. High hopes for him.

Rider safety comes first is a contradiction in itself ,if it came first then the sport would make riders use a more adaptable engine, the engine used today is power and nothing else, safety doesn’t even come into it ,speedway is dangerous, if you don’t like it don’t ride

You sound like one of the many CleverDicks who know exactly how to promote Speedway but have never had to guts to do it.

From what I have read a 'guest' over there is a DU equivalent over here, and has only been brought it to support the current challenges with Covid 19, eg possible sudden adhoc quarantine changes in other countries that mean riders can't get back into Poland should they relax the rules etc.. Meaning Holder for example can only ride for Wroclaw this season in the top league. . He won't be riding for 'all and sundry' on an ad hoc meeting by meeting basis like a rider can over here... The Polish fans wouldn't allow that kind of situation to occur anyway I would suggest.. Imagine Emil coming in for Wroclaw and scoring nil? The fans (when back) would rip the place apart, and he would need a police escort out of the town..!! So much of Polish Speedway's success is based on that raw, tribal emotion that you get following a team sport, so I am sure they will want to maintain that, and sharing the same riders around on a weekly basis within the same league would destroy that completely and lose thousands from their fanbase... And as you say, in contrast... So much of British Speedway's demise is based on the complete lack of that raw, tribal emotion you get following a team sport...

I have thought that was the way forward for a long time, I'd even consider withdrawing from FIM events in time and just run our own competitions.

You’ve done a good job Dave in difficult circumstances. You’ve been up against some serious delays with no co commentator whilst sat in your front room no doubt. I certainly don’t envy that! Keep up the good work.

I was one of the riders that mr Rees left without money during his flirt with speedway promoting and along with the other 6 had to be bailed out by the bspa, I can still remember Richard Juul storming down the ramp at stoke to literally rip the blokes head from his shoulders cause of his bouncing cheques, IMO he should be let nowhere near speedway again but that won’t be the case as the sport has a history of forgiving “less than honourable” people back in the sport

It’s time they did - like most teams used to Saturday night is speedway night

No pucking interest in that

Poland should be pleased with themselves. How can you blame them for looking after themselves. They lead the way on crowds, pay, TV coverage. Rather than be upset other countries should attept to match. Watch some Polish speedway its very good. Cutting your own nose off by missing out.

With everything that’s going on in the world and it’s been a while since I’ve seen any speedway I kind of forgot how much some modern riders are prima donnas where there is a bit of rain around

No, it’s a recording of a future meeting

They'll never get a crowd on a Monday night. .

As soon as riders stand around they go into non race mode and don’t fancy it. Seen it so many times. One or two can sway it for the majority.

Mine arrived yesterday. Congratulations again to the entire Speedway Star team on yet another brilliant effort. Loving the new features which are a great read and some strong news lines on the British clubs. Keep up the good work everyone at Speedway Star, long may it survive, it is a national sporting treasure, get behind it!

Thought the match was pretty much 'standard fayre' for the Poiish Speedway I've watched the past three years.. And suitably represented why it is so good to watch.. Several heats late on were pretty much 'dead rubbers' from a match score perspective yet produced some of the fiercest, most committed racing you will see anywhere.. Lambert, I think, just got it wrong rather than anything 'naughty', and turned into the corner too early... He had though just gone through three laps of having Lebedevs all shapes underneath him so probably decided to take ownership of the inside himself when he got presented with the opportunity by his outside run. Rather than having another lap worrying about three riders rather than two!! It really is 'proper, hard racing' and you can see why riders who do it weekly can either go on to the top of the tree, or fail, get replaced and drift away to become one of the large pack of 'average riders'.. The reserves in particular have to learn very quickly, and it really is a huge opportunity for them given the rewards on offer if they come through their 'apprenticeship'. They also know that another rider currently behind them in the pecking order would love to take their position, and this shows massively in their racing, where very few allow themselves to be passed without a struggle... It truly can be a 'once in a lifetime' chance for many of them. As Polands dominance of the 'proper' SWC shows, growing up with all that intensity, hard (ruthless?) riding, 100% commitment needed and pressure on your place, in EVERY race, EVERY match, must help them massively when they reach World level racing.. Let's hope we can get a few more British lads to sample it and develop upwards to the highest level..

How having 3/5/6 rounds in Poland have any less integrity than a one off World Final?

Honestly I should have been n Prague last week watching a GP but that didn't happen obviously so I had a drunken weekend from the Thursday to the Monday (well I had booked the time off before Christmas) and as this week has been a bit of a write off I am blowing it off tomorrow as well... Two more stone on in lock down... you just don't realise how many calories there are in Beer, Wine and Spirits... Doh!!! oh and carry outs... honestly who wants to cook when stodge (curry (Indian not Chinese as they started this carry on) pizza chips kebabs) is this cheap and delivered to the door? So as I was missing last week here are some lighter notes to hopefully make you smile in eternal lock down... A ship wrecks onto a deserted island. Two guys and a girl survive. Since they don't have anything to do all day besides eating and sleeping, they just have sex. Eventually the girl gets sick and dies. The two men don't know what to do with themselves anymore, so they keep having sex. After a few days of sex, they feel guilty about what they've been doing... so they bury her. A guy goes to a psychiatrist. "Doc, I keep having these alternating recurring dreams. First I'm a tepee, then I'm a wigwam, then I'm a tepee, then I'm a wigwam. It's driving me crazy. What's wrong with me?" The doctor replies, "It's very simple. You're two tents." A moth goes to a physiotherapist I am so tense I am over thinking everything I do; I am in a total quandary The Physio say’s “you need a psychiatrist mate I’m a physiotherapist what you come in here for” The moth said “you were the only one with a light on” A physicist, an engineer, and a mathematician are all locked in separate burning buildings. The physicist runs to a chalkboard, calculates exactly how much water he will need to put out the fire, runs and finds that amount, puts out the fire, and survives. The engineer pulls out a calculator, calculates exactly how much water he will need to put out the fire, runs and finds 10 times that amount, puts out the fire, and survives. The mathematician runs to a chalkboard, calculates exactly how much water he will need to put out the fire, declares, "There IS a solution!", and then burns to death. Boom Boom Stay Safe; Stay Well and here's hoping if we do get some Speedway all your home meetings are 49-41 and all you away meetings are 44-46... By the way staying on a Speedway note I have really enjoyed the Rewind/Rerun meetings on the various platforms and it just shows (to me anyway) how well suited Speedway is to being televised; I watched that Man City/Arsenal match last night and it was awful with no crowd the atmosphere was "crepe" even when you don't see the crowd on the TV the noise of the bikes builds on the entertainment; Footballers (even well paid ones) shouting "Over here mate" and "Pass the ball" just doesn't do it for me. Pity Speedway couldn't get a better buy in from terrestrial television because crowd or no crowd it doesn't take away from the entertainment (for me anyway)... Just a thought... Regards THJ

Mute. You have furloghed Dave.

There is so much more on offer when you compare Polish speedway to British speedway - and the whole spectacle you mention is exactly right. Going to a big stadium with a great atmosphere would make it an enjoyable experience even for someone who wasn’t a fan. When you compare that to riders going round on a clapped out pick up truck in Britain with a track in a field and 80s music being played through tinny speakers, it’s just not anywhere near the same experience. That’s before you even get into the speedway itself on offer. A lot boils down to the money on offer but Poland have nailed it and is the absolute pinnacle of team speedway. British speedway now just has to do what it can to get by.