Technik

I don't think Plymouth would be allowed a facility for Edward Kennett as he has not ridden for the club & withdrew prior to any official team declaration being made

Good man. I'll be looking forward to the rules & then finding out what all the new averages are.

He has worked with Robins for many years when his racing commitments have allowed but now he has a family & like all of us over the last few years has had to look at his life & reevaluate what is most important. if he has been offered a future proof position within the company then he would be foolish not to accept.

I understand what is being stated above & I agree it is a 40 year old idea. But I must point out that when we were 40 years younger it would be the thing that I wanted to collect each week. I think some of us need to take into consideration that we are the same age as old people. Many things have changed over the years, Who buys photos of riders today when you can have a selfie on your own phone, Match programmes are down because you can print a racesheet off of a website & all the news is on the internet. The one issue I have with the whole idea is each release will be a sheet of stickers so at all times everyone will have the same stickers. There will be no doubles so there will be no swaps with your mates. Which is the best bit of collecting the stickers.

It's funny how things change. Not so many years ago riders were only busy if they rode in more than 25 meetings a month all over Europe & back then there was no Easyjet, Ryanair or any other budget airline it had to be from & to a major airport on national airlines & that was if it were a topline star lesser riders would travel by road. I can remember a Czech rider racing at Oxford on Friday night then driving home for a weekend meeting & back for Reading on Monday.

You have a team with strength in depth but no real fire power in the top two. your team works hard to establish a lead you conceed a 5 - 1 in 13 & then again in 15 the result .... A draw. But wait now lets have a super heat or as we fans like to call it Ht 13 & 15 all over again. Why give the fans yet another negative to talk about after a fantastic meeting. Lets bring back Tac-Subs to give those clubs that don't have a Jason Doyle/ Freddie Lindgren to return an 11.00+ average make the points difference 8 & use unlimited T/S after Ht 4, retain the 3 ride minimum so reserves can only miss one race

My research shows that both riders represented the Russian federation (MFR) in last seasons FIM events & were on the SGP site as MFR again for this season. This would indicate that they are Russian & hold a Russian approved FIM licence & therefore would require permission from MFR to race in another countries territory & as the FIM currently doe's not recognise the MFR who would the PZM apply to. As was established earlier this week by Roy Humphrey (ACU President) when he announced that all Russians would be barred from any activity in all disciplines of motorcycle sport on ACU territory it may not be the individuals fault the this invasion is happening but it is not ours either.

I think its fair to say that what ever he said Vladimir Vladmirovich Putin didn't like it.

I wonder if the Russian riders scores & positions will be removed or weather the FIM will allow them to take any medal they might win. I remember in the World Speedway final of 1990 when Per Jonsson won with Shawn Moran second & Todd Wiltshire third Moran was removed from second for (I believe) a drug related offence but Wiltshire was not advanced from third so officially there was no silver medalist

Whilst I believe the FIM have made the correct decision to stop all Russian nationals entering their events this is not aimed at the two named riders but the Russian nation. We have to remember that there are more than a few Russians involved in the Ice racing & the SEC events then there are the qualifying rounds for all the World Championships. I really think that Artem Laguta & Emil Sayfutinov would have withdrawn from this season prior to the start because of the adverse reaction of the public domain against the actions of Mr Putin in Ukraine. I believe them to be good honest sportsmen caught up in a political fight they have no control over.

A very nice man. A great loss to Scottish speedway. I remember him helping son Ross in the pits when he was racing for the Monarchs. Best wishes to family & friends at this sad time

I don't honestly think anyone is blaming the two riders for the events in Ukraine. I believe that the two are held as the standard bearers for Russian speedway. Last season the finished first & third in the SGP but only as representitives of MFR not their nation of birth as the IOC have declared Russia is not to be represented. Whilst this is headlined " Sayfutinov & Laguta " it is more than that it will concern any Russian that would compete in the SGP qualification rounds all the way to the GP challange at Glasgow or the U21 riders & any of the SEC events. We need to look beyond these two. I understand the FIM are having a meeting regarding the Ice Racers which we all know to be dominated by the Russians & after this we may know a lot more

This is going to be a very tough decision for the FIM but even harder for the CCP as the only Russians competeing in any form of motorcycle sport at present are the Ice racers, We have a while longer to make a decision on the Speedway riders but with the IOC forcing the Russian team out of the Paralympics & not even allowing them to stand under the Olympic flag. I think the safest way forward for the FIM is to suspend all Russian nationals from competing outside of the MFR territory at this point.

It most certainly doe's not say anything of the sort within the IOC statement. Post's like yours are the type that cause the arguements. none of the points made in your post appear in the linked statement that was posted by Grachan.

After reading this statement from the IOC I don't think the FIM have any option but to exclude Sayfutinov & Laguta & all other Russians from any of their events. I would also assume they will issue a directive to all member federations to exclude any competitor or official from any events within their territory. I understand this is a tough call on the riders but it is my opinion that we are in a forced position that we must treat all Russian nationals in the same manner. Of course there are good & bad in all aspects of life & I bere no ill will to those mentioned but we must stand united against the actions of Mr Putin.

I do know a little bit about Simon Wigg & the reason he raced on a Dutch licence. Simon at the time was in dispute with the ACU. At the time he was the World Long Track Champion & wanted to race in all the major events in the European calender. THE ACU insisted that Simon must race in the British grasstrack championship for which he would have been happy to do, however as he had missed the previous seasons championship he would need to ride in a minimum of 6 club events then the qualifing round before the British final & if he didn't do this then the ACU would not enter him in the Long track Championship. Simon was not prepared to give up 8 weeks racing as the champion & found a loophole. That loophole was to race under a Dutch licence, Their only stipulation was that he would race for the Dutch speedway team also. Ironicly another rider was also having issues with his own federation at the same time. The Italian Armando Castanga & both riders represented the Dutch national team in a pairs event in Russia.

They are not racing under the Russian flag nor is the Russian anthem being played at any sporting event This is nothing to do with the current situation in Ukraine but issues with drugs over a long period. Emil Sayfutinov & Artum Laguta were representing the Russian federation (MFR) in international events last season & are due to represent them again. My opinion is that The FIM should remove all Russian's from their events whilst the current hostile situation exists. I understand that Emil holds a Polish passport & Like Gleb Chugenov (Russian) & Rune Holta (Norwegian) could possibly represent Poland.

Szkocjasid you seem to have made a very big jump from want to demand. Please check my post again. I think you will find the word "want" but not "demand" I was pointing out how patient fans were before social media & modern technology changed how people think. Back in the day we would meet once a week & discuss in our small groups which riders we would like to be our team for the coming season. Move forward to 2022 the small group have now expanded to the world of the internet & waiting at our hand on a small device all the imformation is there. The main difference is it might not be the correct imformation just an uninformed one from an impatient poster in another land. I repeat relax & be patient. There will be 7 riders on track for the first meeting all wearing a big red B on their chest.

I remember the good old days before mobile phones, computers & social media when the first we knew of the seasons lineup was when we turn up for P & P day & they were sent out one by one. Now everyone wants the next seasons lineup released on November 2nd. Just relax I'm sure it will all be in place for the first meeting.

At this stage I'm starting to be a little concerned about the make up of the Birmingham squad. Whilst there is more than a month till the tapes rise all other teams have declared their proposed starting lineup & Brum still have to name a top three. I can't see any riders left that would fill those voids unless as yet unknown to British speedway Euro stars are to come in. I guess there are some young Swedes & Danes that might come but at what cost. I hope it will be resolved soon.

I would contact Adam Ellis. It's where he lives.

It was OK all things considered I think attendance of both public & stall holders was down on previous years but with the issues of having to get tickets on-line prior to the event then the Covid & finally the weather warnings. It was looking reasonable at 9:30 but the weather went downhill quite quickly. We left just after 1:00PM happy that we had been but also happy to be on the way home before the next storm hit. No doubt we will be back there next year rain or shine

He is Steve Johnstons godson not that it counts for anything with UKBA. I will assume given all that we know he is entitled to hold a British passport & therefore able to lineup in the NDL

For Great VFM I'd recomend the Golden Helmet weekend in Pardubice, Czech Republic. in 2022 they will host the final round of the SEC on the Friday, On Saturday there will be the FIM Flat Track GP round & their U21 Golden Helmet event followed on Sunday with The Golden Helmet. That will be around 80 speedway stars from around the World on show + the Flat Track riders all taking part in over 100 races over three days. All on the same track. If that is still not enough On the Monday night you can get to Prague for the Lubos Tomicek Memorial meeting. This will normally feature many SGP stars + some that will have ridden in the previous events in Pardubice.

The working enviroment for most of us has changed so much, Where I was working when I used to go all over to watch Speedway there were 12 to 15 blokes on the floor so if I wanted to shoot off early to a speedway track there was cover as long as I stepped in when they wanted to get away early, Now there are only 4 blokes & 2 of them are drivers so the cover is not there. Then there is the cost of fuel now at record prices. But the biggest issue is plain & simple the timing & the VFM I used to go & expect to see the first race at 7:30 with the parade 15 minutes earlier then there would be a whole meeting 13/15 races, To the bar for a pint & a chat & watch 6/8 second half races & I could leave happy at 9:30 latest. For speedway to save it's self & encourage people like Steve Roberts back as regulars it needs to be run in a manner that gives the paying public any chance to believe they are getting VFM