waiheke1

I dont think it's that simple. Bartosz goes through the inside, round the outside, through gaps that seem impossible. At Prague yes he could be blocked like that, but on a racing track he can pass on so many different lines. Of the multi-world champs of my era, he's the most spectacular to watch imo.

That for sure would be a book I would buy (though, tbh, I'd likely buy regardless of which rider from that era it was). Hard to believe he is now 65

Will these be available on kindle, or only hardcopy? Suspect I will want a "real" version of the PC one, but depending on the other rider, I may prefer ebook for that one. Hoping it's Andy Smith, Larry Ross or Shawn Moran! Though judging by the "plenty of reaction" comment Nicki P or Darcy? (even if they are not really the Backtrack era).

He's a racing tart. Put him on a track where passing is impossible, and the rest of the line up have a decent chsnce against him.... Possibly the worst GP I've seen, partly compensated by the good performances by Tai and Dan. Pretty disappointing to see people writing Lambert off, he's young and certainly one of the top 15 riders in the world.

That's good news. Have always enjoyed the books/dvds from you - the Kenny Carter book ofcourse stands out, and you have both always been super helpful whenever I've emailed. Wish you all the best, and look forward to next year's new book!

Oh FFS, not this again. People have a go at you because you act like a tw@t. If multiple people call you out for your behaviour, that's not bullying - perhaps you could reflect on why it is and take on board the feedback.

Set of Aces home programmes from 1982 - my favourite speedway season. And the 1983 world final programme.

Any chsnce that the back issues could be made available for purchase in an online format.? Even a simple scanned pdf document? I have a few back issues, but never subscribed due to the cost of postage to NZ/SG.

Tbf, you could just increase the points limit accordingly. While I can understand the logic used for the rolling averages within a season (phased reduction of number of meetings), I would think for the following season using the last 20 (10/10) would be better. The more meetings, the more you dilute the impact of any thrown points.

Attention seeking cockwomble?

Excellent racing for first gp of the season. Zmarzlik again looked superb- one of the great riders of the modern era, and fantastic to watch. Lambert looked a title contender for two rides, then like Chris Harris for the next ones...Bewley held his own..Tai was disappointing but I wouldn't write him off yet.

Nonsense. I have a lot of colleagues in the Ukraine, hard as you may find it to believe I haven't seen any of them blame the BSF (or the British government) for the situation...maybe they are too busy trying to stay alive to spend time looking at conspiracy sites...

Woffy more 50 Lambert more 50 Lindgren more 50 Janowski less 50

I always enjoyed my trips to both, but my recollection is of Odsal being the better race track. I remember the steep banking of the Shay, and Kenny Carter being nigh on unbeatable. Of the two, I probably have fonder memory of the Shay, but don't recall that the racing was brilliant, and the dvds I have of meetings there seem to support that.

I was at that meeting. Were you an Aces fan or a Robins fan?

Right. Like all the riders boycott the world champs in the 81 when PC wasnt allowed to participate, or 84 with Lee... its all because of snowflake society....

Not without precedent. In the early-mid 80s they only had Jan Andersson. England had only Harris for a few years. USA have noone. NZ have had noone of world class for close to 35 years. Australia had noone in the late 80s after Crump retired. The Poles had noone for over a decade until Gollob emerged. It happens

Just utterly bizarre, and the footage doesn't really tell the full story. Agree Ravn wasn't generally dirty, though just watched a YouTube clip of him taking out Andy smith in a 1985 test, where Ravn simply didn't turn left into the first turn and cleaned Andy out. In this instance not sure if it was brain freeze or he genuinely had issues getting the bike off the track, though you suspect if the latter red flags would have gone up and/or track staff running to help.

On the first lap, out of camera, Ravn must have either had an engine failure or slid off his bike on the third bend, as only three riders completed the first lap. However he seemingly then made no effort to clear the track, and as Evitts came round the third bend on the second lap, all of a sudden there was Ravn standing with his bike in Evitts line. Evitts smashed into Ravn's bike pretty horribly, and I was surprised when he was able to come out for the rerun (he ended up losing to Ravn in a run off for the world final reserve slot). Someone who was there, or seen better footage, might be able to add more.

Agree. Rated him from first seeing him round Hyde Rd as a Brummies reserve in 82. In 86 he started the season in genuinely world class form, faded a little as the season went on - iirc some injury problems, possibly from a clash with Andy smith- but still made the world final, and won the heat which put paid to Eric's hopes of a third consecutive world title. But never hit those heights again. I saw that 87 crash for the first time just the other day. Never seen anything like it before. Was Ravn ever punished for that collision?

84/85 King was truly world class - I went to the overseas finals both years (I'm sure you probably did too) and he won 9 out of 10 heats for a first and third. Could have been world champ in 84 had he won his last ride in the final. But after that, he never kicked on, and in fact went backwards - dont think he made another world final.

86 Bradford Dukes? Carter, King Evitts, supported by Ross and Willmot, with Graves and Whittaker as the two reserves. Obviously the events of May chsnged thst...

That Long Eaton team looks really average on paper. I guess they were helped by Newcastle, Exeter and Oxford making the move up to BL? That KL team looks solid, albeit lacking a true number 1, and were Davis and Petersen still true heat leader quality at that stage?

Aces 87? At the start of the year I expected Mort (9.5+) to be supported by three other heat leaders averaging 8+ (Ravn, Blackbird,Thorp), with backing from a couple of solid second strings (McKinna and a returning from injury Smith). I thought they were title winners, but they ended mid-table. Ultimately Blackbird and McKinna dropping their averages significantly was the main factor.

I mentioned Kenny Carter and Hyde Rd? And Shawn Moran and Ipswich