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Kings Lynn 1985 was when it all started for me the Martin Rogers days, we were the whipping boys of the league without a recognized heat leader in the whole team but crowds as a whole were okay and the excitement of when we would nearly get a win but get clobbered in the final heat. We were that bad Colin Pratt wanted us chucked out of the league, then Bill Barker and Simmo took over, the first season we had a powerhouse team King, Peterson, Davis & Knight four Lynn specialists by the end of the season we were dreadful again. King picked up to many injuries, John Davis was more suited to longtrack than Speedway as he could only ride the boards, Knight did his job and Peterson went from unbeatable round Lynn when he used to visit to terrible when he signed for us. Bill then went with youth and got Loram and Henka Gustaffson in those were my fave days two of the most incredible racers I have ever seen , Bill and Simmo fell out and Bill carried on alone struggling more each season all ending when someone from memory stole all the gate takings at one meeting which was the end for him. I would have been late teens and went every week with one of my best friends, stopped going early 90's when I discovered nightclubs and women but hugely fond memories and have followed the sport from afar (like ten's of thousands of others) ever since.

Surely this is something Phil Morris should be encouraging ?, instead he now seems to be a part of the BSPL and that in itself means being stuck in the same old same old, Phil himself is now part of the problem and not a new broom bringing in new ideas.

I think Poole are favourites , very strong at home and usually do well away , plus have good reserves compared to Glasgow. Glasgow need to keep the deficit to 10 pts as a minimum to keep this tie alive .

Only have to look at the top motorcycle racers in the world in moto gp,moto 2 and 3,all ultra fit and very lean,think someone posted on here hans neilson advice to any young rider wanting to go faster "lose 5lbs"

No for me The recent play off which between RR for a second string and tacticals enabled a team to use the 3 top riders in 20 of 30 heats across the 2 legs doesn't sit well with me

Marcin Nowak to Łódź

While I agree with all of that it had no real bearing on the decline of the popularly of the sport, 95% of the fan base past and present couldn't tell the difference between a jap and a offset GM let alone how many valves it had, what changed was the riders and teams and the bond with them by the fans, it became them and us instead of one of us

theyre probably just as well sticking with Perry and Hodder again, two years experience in the championship, both should raise there averages next year in theory.

That is out there... Ryan Reynolds not so much though 😁

neither of which have pulled up any trees really. Neila is spot on, only have to look at the current world champion.

They still come is various shapes and sizes. Obviously it helps to be shorter for balance etc but you would not call Adam Ellis short or Anders Rowe.

May be bonus points should be the deciding factor, rather than heat wins. Afterall in a Golden Heat second and third outweighs a first place. Just a thought

could be good or embarrassing for speedway

I can't quite agree with that statement as we ultimately withdrew all our sponsorship in the sport as a result of the spiralling costs which over a very short time just became ridiculous . In the sport we went from half a dozen riders using Japs with the rest on two valve Jawas all of which could be home serviced by the average( Journey man) rider or an informed individual .You had Ivan & Co on works engines but to a large extent the rest of the riders operated at an affordable level . Enter first the two valve Piper Conversion ( not a huge cost ) then the Street conversion ( half the cost of a new engine from memory ) Weslake ,four valve Jawa and Godden in the mix as well all in a matter of a few years . Riders being as we know are influenced very easily chopped and changed at a whime ,we spent upwards of over 25k( on engines alone ) in three yrs and this was in the seventies . Imo that period is when the dynamics of the sport changed the riders took control to a large extent part of their reasoning was the inceased cost of being competitive .Up until this point the average rider didn't have a tuner lucky to have two bikes and went to a primary job the next morning .This was when the the sport was at it's peak now it has all but dropped of a cliff your and your average rider wants to make a full time living out of it !

The team that started my love of speedway was Bradford Northern at Odsal stadium. My dad used to take me from the age of 6 onwards. We used to stand on the first bend and got splattered by the shale on every lap. And that smell !!! Nothing like it . My team included Alan Knapkin, Dave Baugh , Alf Wells . Robin Adlington , Dave Schofield, Alan Bridgett, Sid Sheldrick ( in his white leathers) as well as others . Also the mercurial and sadly missed Gary Petersen. Wonderful days that started it off. Still love the sport now though that’s tested a lot more these days but that’s a different discussion.

Yes As long as we don’t adopt their program lay out

Here is an out there scenario, think of Ryan gosling taking over Wrexham football Club and having it filmed and a documentary made by Netflix. Harry redknapp taking over a speedway club (Northampton) and having it filmed for a documentary series on Netflix bringing in much needed revenue and exposure for the sport, a bit too out there ??

Another reason why Ipswich is well run, all riders very social with the fans and will stop and chat and take photos after meetings, not just in the van and go. Even Doyle and Emil who are too boys give a lot of time to fans. When Ipswich won the title I would bet if you speak to a lot of fans it was so positive because it’s like a family club and everyone has time for each other, win together and lose together.

Not when you can name somebody in your top five and not give them a ride.

The riders in the past did, big Arthur Browning is another, or little Steve Schofield, but the modern day riders are a very different shape/size

Absolutely correct, speedway riders come in all shapes and sizes, you dont have to be Dan Bewley size to become a decent speedway rider.

I like the Polish scope for race line up changes but I'm not keen on the 2 nominateds at the end of the meeting I prefer our heat 15 nominees... so yes and no 😁

Simple Question.Yes or No Personally, I like it much more for Team Manager to get involved and think about.Can help keep the match in the balance and interesting.

Who is Nigel?

You're contradicting yourself. If it's OK to rank a football team higher in a 3-3 draw because the team who are about to miss out will hypothetically play harder at the end to get a goal and make more entertainment, then the same thing applies in Speedway. If the riders are about to tie on 9 points, then the guy who hasn't had a race win will ride harder to get an extra point, and create more entertainment. You defeated your own point. The fairest result for any drawn contest is always a draw. But when we need an actual winner we have to invent a tie-break to split two competetors who by all other standards are exactly equal. It's the same whether it's football away goals, speedway race wins, or Shirley Ballas getting an extra vote. What was more unfair than Italy winning football's Euros after only being in the final by virtue of winning a dressing room coin toss with Russia?