BriG

Great, great rider always a joy to watch when Newcastle visted Weymouth in the early 80s, some of his battles with Martin Yeates were simply superb. Bri G

Here's a link to the Open / Intermediate Final (Heat 49) from sunday the clip starts to play after about 8 seconds so be patient while it loads: http://www.v2vangling.co.uk/strafinal091108.html Well done to young Rhys Naylor great pass in the final and well done to Chris Widman who was faultless in the four qualifying races. The way Rhys and Chris had ridden I thought Oli might get 3rd at best so he wasn't unhappy with 2nd in the end. Brian Gay

Imagine it the announcer says as the bikes are pushed off for the final race "Well the four riders have just made a gentleman's agreement to share the 60K evenly no matter what the outcome of this race!". Would there have been the same atmosphere knowing that all were guaranteed an equal share? Would there have been a fans revolt, walkout or would eveyone happily lap it all up? Steve Shovlar's comments are spot on. It happens you can't stop it but the biggest mistake is making it public. Again it sets a dangerous precedent because if one rider says no to the 'agreement' and the others effectively race against him then it no longer remains an individual race and that certainly raises the question of race fixing and speedway's suitability for: i) betting ii) being accepted by a wider audience as a truly professional competitive sport or as a theatrical show akin to wrestling Another thing..what a gesture it would have been to have won it and then turned round to the other riders and offer them a share. I agree that you can't really stop the winner doing what he wants with his winnings after he's got them...splitting big pots is a common thing in many sports, in match fishing in the UK there are at least two fishing contests a year where up to 24 finalists fish for a £25,000 winner take all pot. Team mates often both reach the final and agree a share but you'd never get all finalists agreeing to a share together. The sponsors continue to put the money up in that sport despite knowing that winners will most of the time be going shares with someone. However fishing has more luck influencing the outcome than a speedway race and therein lies the danger that agreeing pacts before a race is denying the paying spectators of a true race. As for the tax situation I'm not all that sure that prize money is treated in the same way as normal earned income, I am aware of some pro anglers who have had various meetings with IR about competition winnings. Most top flight riders are VAT registered and earnings they are paid from their employers also have to include vat - not sure about the prize money score though. However what often happens when big prize money is paid out in sporting events is that the cheques are only for show for the pics the transfer is by direct from bank account to bank account some days after an event. This could be an area where those offering the prize could place an embargo on agreements to split - the clause giving them the right to decline or delay the payments in such an instance. In this case I feel it would have been more palatable if the riders had agreed to whoever came first had half and the other three split the rest at least that would have created something to actually race for as opposed to 'race' for. Brian Gay

All that advertising and hype about a winner take all final. If they were gonna do it they should have kept it quiet and dealt with it among themselves. What will happen with the final GP now will the four riders be tempted to share that pot? Kind of pees in the pot of not only the promoters but also the riders themselves cos no one will believe it again will they? So the punters are unlikely to roll up in their droves again and the riders could find that that is the end of speedway prize money attempting to go down the snooker route. What would have happened if one bloke had said no if I win it's mine, if two or more of the other three decided to split you could have ended up with a farcical situation of pseudo team riding - 3 against 1! I also agree that it will probably do speedway / bookie relationship no good. Thinking about it now to outsiders it's making speedway look like WWF wrestling. Brian Gay

The weather on the day might have been fine but surely you must take into account the two weeks of wet weather preceeding the event. The track was always going to end up spongy in places and with riders giving it their all spills are going to happen on that sort of surface. Some Elite league may be superior but the vast majority of what I saw at various tracks (not just on TV) last year was dull and processional with far too big a gulf between the GP riders, third HLs, second strings and the reserves to be frank. £15 for that could be why so many of the EL crowds are so poor nowadays. I agree its been a problem that seems to be a permanent fixture at Nport during the winter. Shame cos the whol place could become a bit special with a bit of TLC.

Wonder if Fryer will invite another ex rebel GC? Could be interesting!

For new tracks to have a realistic chance of opening up in well populated areas more work needs to be done at the BSPA / SCB level to develop a uniform strategy for noise reduction and implementation of the appropriate measures. In this day and age the technology exists it's all down to costs and when individual promoters are left to fund all that it takes to 'soundproof' a speedway stadium it just isn't going to happen. The only way I can see it happening is if funding was made available to build stadiums to a blueprint in terms of environmental issues. The concept of soundproofed indoor tracks has been discussed elsewhere and it could be achieved if the funding were available. They don't have to be grand affairs like the Millenium stadium but more modest with say 5-10,000 capacity. Some of the smaller circuits alreaduy in league speedway would be swallowed up inside some of the modern industrial structures or old aircraft hangers. If I win the lottery I kn ow what I'd do.

That summer Readie signed for Somerset he was the saviour of their season IMO. If you were there that for his debut meeting you know what i mean when i say you will will never forget it!

Dan only took two rides - crashed on last lap of his first ride while 2nd and on lap two of his second while a long way in front and then had to be withdrawn with a shoulder injury. Fotunately he was back on song at Scunny yesterday in the competitive training session with four wins and a second in the races. BriG

i sincerely hope George makes a full recovery without too much discomfort. With two sons racing, one aged 15 one 17 I have thought long and hard about the danger side of the sport. It does raise the question as to whether the young riders have been thoroughly tested on ability to react and put a bike down quickly when needed, it also raises the question as to whether it is right to put minors (and lets face it that's what they legally are) in danger in the first place by letting them race when they are not legally old enough to make their own mind up and truly understand the consequences. Plating and pinning young bones is not an ideal start to a potential career. It was also very scary when I heard of another young rider injured recently with a leg broken so badly broken that doctors considered amputating, I don't know how I would cope with that if it happend to one of mine. It does raise the question in my mind as to who we as parents and adults are satisfying bringing these youngsters to the shale, our own egos or theirs and I would suggest each parent of an under 15 asks themselves that question. BriG

You cannot sign to become an asset of a club until you are 16. Only PL and EL clubs can have assets. BriG

Great performance from young Brendan Johnson at Somerset last night winning all three of his races and only 4 seconds off the premier League times. It looks like he's got a great future in the sport. For those of you who weren't there Bren and Dan Kirkman were having a great battle in heat one until Dan clipped Bren's back wheel exiting turn two on lap three. Bren stayed on but Dan was catapulted at high speed into the back straight fence, his bike written off but thanfully he was able to walk away if a little dazed and confused. Anyone who has witnessed the races between George Piper, Bren and Dan will know the competitiveness between them and the entertainment they have given this season, they are great mates but trouble is they don't wanna give an inch when they race each other! It was also good to see Ben Hopwood riding well and to see Bob Charles back in action after his nasty injury last year. A nice gesture after the final race from the Somerset management was to present each of the four lads with a new tyre - Dan just needs the rest of the bike now! To see the damage to Dan's bike visit bossracing.org and go to the Latest News - Lucky Escape BriG

Place taken Ben Hopwood is racing. Brian

Ray Dickson is looking for just one more under 15 rider to compete at Somerset this Friday in the second half where there will be three programmed races alongside Dan Kirkman, Brendan Johnson and George Piper. Its a great opportunity to race at one of the countries finest circuits. Each rider will have a choice of free fuel or oil for the night, it will be first come first served so call me (Brian Gay) on 07768612872 or email me at Brian62@mac.com Regards Brian