Chris116

A second Mike Parker, I fear!

First chance for Eagles fans to see Ed Kennett in action at Arlington will be on Saturday 26th January when he is racing in the Bangers Champion of Champions event. Wish he would build a Superstox or 1300cc Stock Car as he was always good in the Rookie Rods when he raced them and has proved how good he is in contact racing over the years in the Bangers.

The two sets of fans loved each other!

During the 1960's the Wimbledon fans in some parts of the stands would get very hostile with any visiting fans. With me being a Ronnie Moore fan and my mother a Peter Craven fan visits from Belle Vue could get a little interesting!

I agree that those in the know can find the website of any club very easily without going through the BSPA website. The problem is that someone who wants to find out about the sport and thinks there may be a team near them in either Eastbourne or Birmingham could look at the list of teams in each league on the BSPA website and conclude that the club had closed down. Having done that they could then meet up with friends at a pub and mention that they had been thinking of going to a Speedway meeting after seeing how good it was on TV but sadly the local track has closed and we now have even more people who think the sport is finished. The BSPA website should in my opinion have both Eastbourne and Birmingham links with a note that they are planning to move up from the National league to the Championship but that the move cannot be confirmed until all the paperwork is finished. That way the BSPA are promoting the sport not making potential new fans think that clubs have closed. Yes, I know if you check the stories you would find the details but the potential new fan is unlikely to dig very deep if it appears the track they might visit has closed.

I fully accept that teams have to meet the requirements of the league but removing all mention of the club Websites strikes me as counter productive to promoting the sport. I do not have a problem with some heading saying that the team have not yet completed all the formalities of moving up from the National league.

Don't worry about the red ink! I can understand the BSPA having a note against the two teams saying they have not completed the entry requirements but removing all links to both clubs seems rather harsh. How come Peterborough and Ipswich are not having to jump through hoops?

Not only do any news items on the BSPA website have the disclaimer but it is not possible to get to the club website as Eastbourne and Birmingham don't exist according to the list of teams in the league. If I was of a suspicious nature I would be thinking that someone wanted to sabotage their entries and if I was in charge at either club I would tell the BSPA that either the links are restored or I would be moving back to the National League which might ruffle a few feathers that need ruffling big time. The fact that both teams who moved from Championship to Premiership appeared immediately makes you wonder how they got accepted so quickly! Does the BSPA want to make Speedway grow or are they determined to ruin the sport?

Not only do any news items on the BSPA website have the disclaimer but it is not possible to get to the club website as Eastbourne and Birmingham don't exist according to the list of teams in the league. If I was of a suspicious nature I would be thinking that someone wanted to sabotage their entries and if I was in charge at either club I would tell the BSPA that either the links are restored or I would be moving back to the National League which might ruffle a few feathers that need ruffling big time. The fact that both teams who moved from Championship to Premiership appeared immediately makes you wonder how they got accepted so quickly! Does the BSPA want to make Speedway grow or are they determined to ruin the sport?

That is possible but then there is the question of how soon the BSPA were advised of the situation and how long was it before they took action. If Chris Harris has not been paid for nine meetings then that should also be true for all the other riders. So how many meetings did the bond cover? In other words was it that the riders were not paid for fifteen meetings and the bond has been used to pay six meetings? Could the BSPA confirm that all fees were paid up to date or was some of the bond used for that purpose? I understand that the team sheet given to the referee at each meeting has to be signed by the team captains to the effect that riders have been paid up to date. When did the Rye House captain refuse to sign that information? Too many unanswered questions sadly.

I have to ask where the bond all promotions are supposed to lodge with the BSPA went? If it was used up with payments to the BSPA before the riders were paid then it is a disgrace which the BSPA should be ashamed of and the riders should take action to rectify the situation.

What counts as London has changed over the years. I now regard the M25 as the boundary, even if not strictly accurate. Which means Romford and Crayford are London tracks but Rye House and Arena Essex are/were not.

I love Stock Cars and Speedway but hate Bangers. However, AFC Wimbledon could make me love Figure of Eight Banger racing if it is on their pitch! AFC have been conned into helping Galliard destroy the stadium with the help of Merton Council.

Thank you for those fabulous photos. Sadly the Wimbledon one of how it is now is already out of date as none of the stands exist, the whole area having been flattened. At least I have the wonderful memories of Ronnie Moore, Stan Ingle, Trevor Frost, Reg Luckhurst, Steve Monk and all the other riders and drivers who entertained me from 1957 until the final meeting on 26th March 2017.

Thank you for the photo. I saw racing there and that concrete wall was the safety fence, bikes on one side crowd on the other with just the wall between! Added to that was the very narrow track which meant starts could get very interesting if any riders had the long handlebars that were popular at the time.