Vince

If they didn't intend paying any money that may or may not be outstanding wouldn't they have bankrupted the company? There's a whole lot of speculation based on very little knowledge here. Before anybody says they should have all the facts many companies have problems and don't advise all their customers of the financial issues. If you are personally owed money then you've every right to contact them and ask questions but otherwise while you may be greatly disappointed the details aren't really relevant. I'm sure more detail will come out in time but I can't see paying a few quid every week or as with most asking questions sitting at a computer and never putting a penny into the coffers entitles us to know the ins and outs of promoters or riders finances. Like riders wages when they are discussed a lot of the guesswork is out of the country let alone the ballpark.

I also think it was very unfair on Philip, however there is a huge difference between him and Rob McCaffrey who, however good his intentions, is abusive and has no respect for any opinion other than his own as far as I can see.

If you do away with averages far from getting a huge crowd when the 'big' clubs turn up you will decimate your fan base the rest of the year and even if crowds increase by 20% for the big club it will be a poor turnout. One proven fact with Speedway (like most team sports) is that winning at home brings the best crowds so you have to do that the majority of the time. As much as I'm in favour of producing tracks that provide good, fair racing if I were a Promoter in need of as much income as possible I'd be providing my riders with whatever they asked for in order to win at home!

I'm sure I've posted this before but as far as getting new people into Speedway the big names don't really matter much. When Weymouth first re-opened David mason was top man there and I was asked by a new fan how come he wasn't racing in the World Championship he'd seen on the TV. Of course if you move up a league then drop back down people will understand the difference in quality of riders and probably be disappointed. When it comes to getting them through the gate in the first place it really doesn't count for much. In my opinion what counts far more is fans feeling connected with riders in the long term. I have long advocated average allowances for retaining riders year on year, I would add to that another allowance for tracks which provide training that brings riders through and doing away with the asset system. I'd be willing to bet that a good local rider brings in as many fans as regular outings from a GP star. Also individual meetings featuring the GP stars would be a much bigger draw if you only get to see them a couple of times a year. Guests are a necessary evil in a sport which has such a high injury count, given that they should make the most of it by telling everybody repeatedly just how dangerous it is. Fans are definitely fickle, seems like there are a good few on here who were all in favour of fixed race nights who now condemn it. As for Rye House I really hope something can be worked out that keeps the track open for the sake of Speedway and for the selfish reason that it's the nearest place I get to ride my bike whether practicing or racing.

Wasn't that the point I was making? You have to wait until there is something factual to report. Not a clue what you think I said!

They've released the relevant information, the match has been postponed. Everything else is gossip and while it may or may not be the whole or part of the truth there's no point fuelling gossip until you can provide definitive answers.

As a new promotion did they even get a vote?

I think it's a valid point that modern bikes are more prone to spitting riders off even if I disagree with the reasons for it being like that.

Can't see that either to be honest, if upright engines were still used they would be tuned just like the laydowns, in fact the laydowns are apparently more forgiving. I can't say I have ridden a laydown fast enough to know in all honesty but the leading link forks appear far more stable.

Can't see it myself, at most you are talking about the difference between falling off at 50 instead of 55mph for arguments sake and it's not going to make any difference. IF there are more crashes these days and IF it is because of the bikes it is down to engines with light flywheels being less easy to ride in my opinion.

Completely disagree, the racing today is at least as good as it has been any time since I first went in about 1967. What has changed, not just for Speedway, is the huge variety of things people have the opportunity to do with their money these days. Like Aces51 I think the only way to grow the sport is to change the way people on the outside perceive it. It is mad, bad and dangerous so the authorities should be encouraging that side of the sport to be seen by the fans not trying to rule it out. Slowing bikes down wouldn't hurt the sport but neither is it going to bring in any new people through the gate. Preparing tracks for fair racing seems logical and personally I'm all in favour of it, however the big problem is that it is proven that a team winning at home on a 'trick' track attracts more fans than one losing on a great racing strip.

Reckon you need to have another look as his wheel wasn't on the grass, doesn't even touch the white line.

In this case I can't see a single thing Doyle could have done to avoid the accident, he was on a decent line and the bike is settled and stable. If anybody was at fault it was Pawlicki as he was the one changing line and who was into the back of Woffinden. However in truth I don't think he did anything wrong either it was a pure racing incident and a case where all 4 should be allowed in the re-run in my opinion. Front wheel going over the white line is just another technique in my opinion, one that some do better than others and is no more or less dangerous than running people wide when going for the dirt.

I thought it started off pretty poorly but as the track deteriorated the racing improved and ended up with some very tough races which only this standard of rider can really do. Cook didn't have a good night but wasn't far off, it'll be a learning year for him and while I don't see Craig being the same talent we should remember Tai's first GP year. Doyle's race 1 exclusion reinforced the idea that sometimes you shouldn't have to exclude anybody for me.

I like the Star, to me it's been in a far better state than the sport for years. The improvements look good to me, on a purely personal level I would like more technical articles about the machines and tracks but realise most wouldn't. The balance at the moment is probably about right for the majority, few , if any, other minority sports get anything near as good as the Speedway Star. Can't understand the gripes about too much Grasstrack or overseas coverage, it's not like you can't just flip past those pages if you have no interest and those who do have an interest appreciate it.

I was there a couple of weekends ago and have to say I didn't notice any problems with watching the practice from the stands. That's not to say that there won't be from some places but I suspect it's nowhere near as bad as people are imagining. Certainly there is no problem with it obstructing vision when riding.

And look at the weather

Apart from crowd levels I think one of the things that actually was better in the 'good old days' was Speedway starting on Good Friday and finishing in mid September. March and October are too prone to bad weather for Speedway in my opinion and perhaps a shorter season would encourage clubs to have a more regular schedule.

Hasn't there just been a law bought in that prevents people complaining about something that was there before they were?

Good bloke all around, will be very much missed in the south.

The only time Sam was ever owed money it was only a small amount for a CL guest booking and I was told by everybody to just forget about it as it would cause him problems. Everybody except Tim Stone who said chase it up, I tried to contact the promoter several times with no luck so wrote to the SCB saying that it was a matter of principal and I would put it through the small claims court if I hadn't received the money in 30 days. Cheque in the post within the week! I do think riders don't chase money as they should because they fear that word will get around and they won't get rides in future. I would suggest the only promoters who wouldn't employ a rider because he asked for his due money wouldn't be worth riding for anyway. On the other hand you have riders who will sign for clubs who are known to pay late for extra points money over those who do pay on the nail, makes no sense to me but it happens. It is interesting that the promoters who are accused of being too tight with their money by the fans are often the ones who settle the wage bill.

Id disagree with that 100%, in my opinion the riding standard today is the highest I have seen since I first watched in the 60's. Modern day riders do things on the bike that their forebears couldn't have imagined doing, some of that is down to bikes and tracks but they still have to be the ones doing it. Not only the that but the commitment of the majority riders to each race is higher as well in my opinion.

Not much to do with deliveries and everything to do with panic buying if there are more than 3 snowflakes fall in an hour!!

Something about Speedway along the lines of the flat track sections of On Any Sunday would make a fantastic documentary I always thought.

Trials tyres have been tubeless and run at even lower pressures for a while now. Different to speedway admittedly but they take some serious abuse