FAST GATER

RIP sad loss to the sport

Spot on that is exactly what i meant !

Most of the starting rules are there to try and even things out and give riders with inferior starting skills a better chance Chris Harris would almost never out gate Hancock ,one is a gater the other is a passer and always will be .I think it is unfair for the likes of Hancock to have the Ref and Harris to compete against ,the last thing we need is robotic starts ,nothing better than seeing a rider cut back and take the lead through his own skill rather than upteen restarts or warnings to riders .

I am bemused at times why there is an obsession with equal starts when there is so much else wrong with the sport , there have always been gaters( Mauger&co) and passers ( Mort&co) some riders just can't gate for toffee.I witnessed Hancock being wrongly penalised on Saturday and he lost at least 2or 3 points, if the tapes are not touched,the rider is within 75 mm or broken them let it go .Nine times out of ten times the best rider will win and these percentages should not be manipulated to give inferior riders a better chance . Cream will always float to the top by trying to stop this all you will get is a ridiculous amount of restarts !

Doyle's own fault IMO if he had done that to the likes of Hancock he may have backed off but a young "buck " is not intimidated in the same way if you live by the sword as they say .Doyle was a worthy Champ last year but I think that most riders are aware of his robust style now and deal with it which IMO has lead to his poor position this season in the GP'S .

You have the "world champ "in your team as well !

Have we finally put FRN " to bed " they will not help the sport in this country , just "KILL" it off more quickly IMO more weekend meetings would be the answer but we have the GP circus to thank for that not happening !

Have always thought FRN will do nothing to bring back the so called big names reduce R/R or Guests and may even inflict further damage to the sport in this country ,the best way is with MONEY which is sadly in short supply as well !

The very first speedway race I ever saw had Cyril in at Ellesmere Port May 1972 against Berwick ( if my memory sevres me right replacing Ken Moss in the team ) he was my first s/way hero and even though he was nearly at the end of his career .I spent quite a bit of time talking to him and he had rubbed shoulders with all the greats of the 60's but was extremely modest about his own achievements yet I believe that he was a team rider through and through . RIP Cyril and my condolences to his family .

RIP to me he was IMO the greatest rider of all time and changed the way riders went about their trade .a true trailbazer who has left his mark on our sport for ever .I hope that there will be some form of lasting recognition for him for future generations to remember the great man by .

Remember seeing him at the start of his career at Elle Port (sporting orange leathers )knew he was the real deal then great little racer never stopped trying . I for one hope he comes back to the sport and it should embrace him with open arms ,we would not have the National Stadium had it not been for his efforts .saw him at Cardiff (working his socks off) selling bricks to get the thing built ,I have nothing but admiration for him as a former rider , promoter and the founder of one of the finest stadium for our sport to be raced at .

Just wondered if Paul Hurry had retired from s/way again or might come in if there are injuries during the season ?

Tony Atkin turning out yet again must be the oldest active league rider by now ,what role model to all those youngsters

It was always a pleasure for me to watch a rider who performed at the highest level and made it look easy , he was making a living at one of the most dangerous sport in the world at the same time as well.

IMO he was the biggest influence on the sport from any one rider he had it all and was the complete package ,no other rider has struck me like that although may have been exceptional riders in certain ways it was had to fault him in any department as it were.