Bavarian

The NT Championship is off now - don't know why it does not go ahead

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/sport/15894764.Russell_hoping_Robins_are_on_home_stretch_for_new_stadium/ What kind of a "grandstand" is this ? Looks strange to me. Can't see any seats in front of that building ! Where from would the mentioned 700 people have to watch the racing? From within the building, behind glass windows, and from that small balcony up there? Come on, that may be acceptable for the Greyhound people, but that won't be good enough for watching the speedway ! All this somehow reminds me of the early 90s' ill-fated London Stadium project at Hackney which had a similarly "impressive" grandstand - and that was certainly not good for watching speedway ! I hope Swindon Speedway does not make the same mistake !

Wunderbar !!!

The lower end teams of the Championship would have to go National League then. If the one big league has about sixteen to eighteen teams, that's all right.

The argument of not enough riders to fill all the team places in one big league is not valid. There may not be enough British riders at the moment (due to doubling up) but there are stil plenty of talented riders overseas (Aussis, Kiwis, Yanks, etc), in Scandinavia, and on the Continent, who are just waitng for a chance to ride in the British League.

Not quite, but ... the Northern Territory State Championships - Alice Springs February 17th 2018 More details and confirmation plus supplementary regulations will be made available soon. Not only will a NT State Championship be up for the winner but also the top 3 riders will be eligible for UK tier 2 sport visa applications as recognised Government Body Endorsements (GBE) by the BSPA/UKVI for riders to compete in the UK.

Exactly, it is time to amalgamte the Premiership and Championship. It is 1965 all over again for British Speedway. Why worry about some BIG clubs being able to sign BIG stars. That's fine. It's the same in every sport, Football, Rugby etc. There will always be some bigger clubs then others. It is these BIG clubs who attract the spectators when they come to Your track. It is not so important that there are big names in the League, it is much more important that each club has their own riders, and exclusive to them. Only then will the fans get behind their team and their riders again.

It is the same unpleasant weather here in Bavaria. We had lots of rain in the last few days, and the rivers have high water. Today was supposed to be sunny, but right now it it still grey and foggy outside.

To keep both competitions alive in alternate years seems to be the sensible solution to this. It would be highly unpopular to replace the SWC with the Pairs of Nations, but if we can have the pairs and 4-Team events every other year, I would be happy. Variety is alway good. To have the World Cup tournament only every second year is not a bad thing. But the inaugural Pairs Speedway of Nations should not be staged in Poland this year. The Poles already had the SWC (Leszno) and the World Games Best Pairs (Wroclaw) in 2017 and they will get another Speedway World Cup Final (Gorzow) in Poland in 2019. By the way, are You aware that we already have an annual European Pairs Championship, which is nearly the same competition as a World Pairs, only without the Aussies and Americans. Winners of the European Pairs Championship at Lonigo, Italy, in 2017 were Poland, ahead of Russia. France finished third, ahead of Denmark, Italy, Great Britain, and Latvia. Great Britain was represented by Steven Worrall and Ellis Perks !

Is anyone watching the live stream ?

certainly much better quality than what we have seen from Togliatti last week

very good stream from Kamensk, nearly TV quality

Latest in the SWC saga is that Eskilstuna will now NOT host the Pairs World Cup in 2018. BSI have already had talks with Polish tracks Torun and Leszno, if no other country wants it. But they still hope that England will want to stage it ! Apparently BSI and the FIM plan alternate the World Pairs and Team events each year, staging the Pairs World Cup in the even years (2018, 2020, 2022, etc) and the Team World Cup in the uneven years (2019, 2021, 2023 etc). Gorzow in Poland has a contract to host the SWC in 2019.

Video of the 2017 European 500cc Sidecar Champs in France - the complete Meeting of 12 heats C - B - and A - finals with some truely great racing ! [media] Line-up # 1 - Kevin HÜBSCH & Michael Burger (GERMANY) # 2 - William MATTHIJSEN & Sandra Mollema (NETHERLANDS) # 3 - Mitch GODDEN & Paul Smith (GREAT BRITAIN) # 4 - David CHAMINADE & Stephanie Vedelago (FRANCE) # 5 - Martin BRANDL & Hermann Brandl (GERMANY) # 6 - Christophe GRENIER & Vincent Bertoneche (FRANCE) # 7 - Dave CARVILL & Cameron Gooden (GREAT BRITAIN) # 8 - Markus VENUS & Markus Heiss (GERMANY) # 9 - Shaun HARVEY & Denny Hogg (GREAT BRITAIN) # 10 - Guillaume COMBLON & Chloe Agez (FRANCE) # 11 - Josh GOODWIN & Liam Brown (GREAT BRITAIN) # 12 - Markus BRANDHOFER & Tim Scheunemann (GERMANY) # 13 - Joel SUDNIKEVITS & Johan Paabstel (ESTONIA)

Tonight, Saturday, July 8, 2017, four (plus one reserve) British Sidecars compete for the European 500cc title at Tayac in the South West of France 1 - Kevin HÜBSCH (& Michael Burger) - GERMANY 2 - William MATTHIJSEN (& Sandra Mollema) - NETHERLANDS 3 - Mitch GODDEN (& Paul Smith) - GREAT BRITAIN 4 - David CHAMINADE (& Stephanie Vedelago) - FRANCE 5 - Martin BRANDL (& Hermann Brandl) - GERMANY 6 - Christophe GRENIER (& Vincent Bertoneche) - FRANCE 7 - Dave CARVILL (& Cameron Gooden) - GREAT BRITAIN 8 - Markus VENUS (& Markus Heiß) - GERMANY 9 - Shaun HARVEY (& Danny Hogg) - GREAT BRITAIN 10- Guillaume COMBLON (& Chloe Agez) - FRANCE 11- Josh GOODWIN (& Liam Brown) - GREAT BRITAIN 12- Markus BRANDHOFER (& Tim Scheunemann) - GERMANY 13- Barrie BENNETT (& Eifion Hughes) - GREAT BRITAIN 14- Joel SUDNIKEVITS (& Johan Paabstel) - ESTONIA

Very disappointing that the NZ SOLO CHAMPIONSHIP has only eleven entries this year. Only three riders from the North Island prepare to make the trip to the South Island for the meeting at Moore Park next Saturday. Competitors: 1nz Bradley Wilson-Dean, 7i Sam Taylor, 10c Sean Cox, 11i Jake Gillespie, 17c Georgia Elvin, 18b Jason McKay, 23c Andrew Aldridge, 46i Jimmy Hannan, 72c Wayne Drake, 99c George Congreve, Ryan Terry-Daly https://www.facebook.com/Mooreparkmotorcylespeedway/photos/a.326160430857854.1073741860.319524861521411/1059374684203088/?type=3&theater

Here in Bavaria back in the 1970s I remember seeing Jon Ödegaard and Edgar Stangeland as Norway's outstanding long-track riders.

Those were great times when International speedway teams were touring Australia One of the most amazing tours ever was in 1990-91 the visit of the USSR national speedway team. They rode mostly against Australian State sides, and with great success. Here You can find all the results of this tour http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/ausvsu.htm After their first seven matches in Queensland and the Northern Territory the Russians were still undefeated with six wins and a draw, when tehy came to face New South Wales at the Newcastle Motodrome. This meeting is on YouTube and You may follow the link below to watch all the action (60 minutes) of this 15 Heat International Challenge. [media] NEW SOUTH WALES v U.S.S.R. 1990 International Solo Speedway Teams Challenge Newcastle Motodrome, NSW, Australia Line-ups NEW SOUTH WALES 1 - Todd WILTSHIRE 2 - Sean WILLMOTT 3 - Mick POOLE 4 - Craig BOYCE 5 - Stephen DAVIES 6 - Chris WATSON 7 - Darren ETHERIDGE U.S.S.R. 1 - Rif SAITGAREEV 2 - Mikhail STAROSTIN 3 - Vladimir TROFIMOV 4 - Viktor GAJDYM 5 - Rene AAS 6 - Oleg KURGUZKIN 7 - Rinat MARDANSHIN I really enjoyed this historic piece of Australian speedway coverage - what a shame that we don't get to see such International tours and challenge matches any more.

This would make Dinar Valeev the new Russian Champion - what a surprise

so far there is more music than racing

Not very impressive so far ! I know that Stadium in Togliatti is quite big, but I can't hardly see any spectators? There can't be much more than a few hundreds in there! Even given that the weather isn't very inviting, this is a rather poor crowd for their national championship event in the world's leading ice speedway nation! Now let's hope that the racing will be worth watching

Many Argentineans have Italian, or Spanish roots (grandparents etc), just like many Aussies and Kiwis have British forefathers. There were many Italians who emigrated to North and South America in the 19th and early 20th century. Sanchez, Covatti, and others, are all born and raised in Argentina and are pure Argentineans (even speaking Sapnish as their first language), but have Italian ancestry, which allows them to apply for dual nationality when they come to Italy and so can get passports from two different nations. Many do this because it makes it so much easier for them to live and work in the EU.

Any News from Maryborough of tonight's Queensland State title meeting?

Is it true that the Danish squad will go on a one week holiday to Gran Canaria? I read this but its hard to believe! Nice trip for the guys, if it is true and all payed for by the DMU ! It is sad to say this but ever since Hans Nielsen has become Danish Team Manager, performances and results have taken a downward dip. Last year Denmark had their worst ever result in the SWC. Riders refusing to ride in the Denmark Team or being left out of the squad can't be right.

It's rumored here in Germany that Abensberg is one of the tracks to host a round of the Speedway of Nations - September 23 is given as the date - which is quite late in the season - not sure if it is going to be a final or a qualifying round? When will the FIM let us know?