Vince

The price of equipment in standard form just isn't a problem - it's very cheap. However to run at anything above (and for some, including) CL level gets more expensive as you move up the ladder. There is an inevitable need to 'keep up with the Jones' so more money has to be spent on better equipment. To be honest it is exactly the same in any motorsport, I would think that finding a way to fund it would be easier than stopping it. I think a standard Jawa engine is about £1300 but to buy something from a tuner that will be competitive in the PL is double that at least. The standard engine would probably do a whole season in the hands of a wobbler between services but the tuned one about 10 meetings at PL level and a more highly tuned version about 6 meetings at EL standard. So it goes on until GP engines are set up and run for the one meeting. But if you look at any motorsport it is much the same - Formula Ford to F1 the spread is far greater. The difference is how much sponsorship is available to F1 and Speedway has to be a better product than that!

I think there is a bit of a misconception that a smaller/ less powerful engine is better for novices or youngsters. Generally a powerful engine that spins easily is much safer. Ask any of the kids who have made the step from 125 to 500 which is easier to ride fast. For sure lowering the compression ratio can make a bike very difficult to ride as it wants to drive all the time, when an engine is set up like that the throttle has to be kept on which is exactly what novices don't want. It is engines set up the same as professional racers that cause the problems. A quick and easy fix would be to make all kids run 12lb of air in the rear tyre or harder rear tyres. The bike would always want to spin and the kids would have to learn throttle control to make it go forwards. It would do away with bikes lifting and the crashes would mainly be harmless lowsides. Ask any motocross rider whether a 250 four stroke is cheaper to run than a 500. The answer is a definite no, all the parts are much the same price but the engine has to work harder so wears more quickly. Smaller engines are really only good on small tracks. The 250 might have been great at Buxton but it wouldn't be so good at Sheffield. I think the perfect answer would be to have tracks of 150 to 200 yards for kids to work through 80 -125 -250 and then step up to a 500 for full size tracks. However as there is a lack of such tracks available I don't think that the current set up of having riders on a 500 when they are capable is at all bad.

Interesting bit from an interview on the Speadwayplus site: So why is Speedway so successful and well attended in Poland? Easy, they keep it simple. All matches are run on a Sunday afternoon, the teams are allowed one foreign rider amongst their side, have two riders under the age of 21 at reserve and most importantly consistently stick by these rules. At the meeting I attended the riders were introduced individually in order of the team line up and allowed three practice laps. Both teams opposite numbered riders took to the track at the same time, fully kitted up, and evaluated the racing surface. This provided the fans with a proper opportunity to assess the opposition riders and was more importantly a subtle and interesting introduction into the match. It also allowed the opposing team to gauge what set up they needed in order to be competitive from the start of the meeting.

When I said it would be more fragile I meant if it were to be used for adult racing as Cinderfella suggested. The first thing any PL or above standard rider would do is tune the thing to death to make it rev harder as that would be the only way to get more power. That would increase costs because the engine would need more maintenance than a 500. I think a 250 would be excellent for youth racing or beginners and certainly a lot better than the usual 125's which I think are pretty dangerous on full size tracks. Aren't they already using this engine quite a lot in America?

I would suggest that it would do exactly the opposite. A small engine would have to be more highly tuned and therefore more fragile.

Practice would only be equivelant to 4 extra races which I think would be a small price to pay for riders having a good set up from the start.

Just had a mail from Peter to say that the meeting has been " cancelled due to circumstances totally beyond our control" It then says there are 4 Academy meetings to be arranged including this one.

I've just phoned Peter Oakes and all he knows is that he has an email from the SCB saying it is off but doesn't yet know the score. He will let the riders know asap and I will then post the outcome on here.

Had an email from Peter Oakes at 2.45 yesterday and it was still on then. Maybe a cock up by teletext and/or BSPA.

There is no CL meeting. The Academy match starts at noon with the STRA meeting following on. Have had this confirmed by Peter Oakes.

Have a practice session before the meeting. It would allow the away riders especially to get set up and make for much closer meetings.

You would if you had a job that required you to travel the mileages that Speedway riders do. The company I work for pay 40p for a car and that is considered a bit tight by some of our staff.

With regard to 80cc bikes in Denmark at least I think you will find that the tracks are specially built very small to suit the bikes. According to Kristian Lund you can also go and practice on most of the tracks 7 days a week at a cost of about £8 a day. With the current facilities in this country that would be an impossibility and I just don't think there is potential for investment to build relatively expensive Speedway tracks. This is why I think practice Grass tracks could be the way to go, small bikes on cheap tracks that can be set up within other motorcycle facilities quickly and easily. By the time the kids graduate to Speedway they already have enough experience to be in control of a more powerful bike. It might not be the ideal situation but I think it is fairly practical.

Maybe the answer is to invest in youth Grass track rather than Speedway. The infrastructure for an amatuer sport covered by insurance is already in place and tracks are cheaply and quickly built. If a link could be forged so that each club had weekly access to a practice track (maybe try and combine with MX practice tracks which are plentiful) then the kids would have opportunities to both practice and compete on a regular basis. They could then automatically qualify for a 500 Speedway licence at, for arguments sake 14 if they have held a grass track licence for 2 years. This would enable one year of practice before entering the CL. We found there were plenty of practice tracks open in the off-season but less so in the season. If I had known Sam might develop an interest in Speedway I would certainly have taken him via Grass track rather than Motocross. I'm not so sure that 80's or 125's are the answer on Speedway unless you have tracks built especially for them (i.e. very small) where on the Grass track the kids can ride smaller bikes to learn the basics no matter the track size.

It's certain that Sam won't be there now I believe Tim Webster will be taking his place with Shane Waldren at 1. Don't underestimate Shane, although he has been out for a long while he should still be able to give a good account of himself.

First I have heard of this meeting - I have agreed to work Friday night and probably won't be able to get Sam there. Will have to find out in the morning and talk to Peter but I have to say Sam is doubtful. Tim, you ought to enter that crash photo from Newport into the forum photo competition.

Depends when you bought them, just about nobody knew about the yellow covers until after the start of this season. The first couple of meetings we did we all thought it was a silly rumour, then we found out it was just silly! I know for sure that includes Max (Pegasus) as I told him after the season had started. Max will also sell you a single yellow cover.

Carp, you are right, it is clearly stated in the rule book. However I think that many of us feel that there are more important things to worry about. There was absolutely no benefit to riders or spectators in enforcing the rule. How the hell can you threaten to fine a rider who isn't being paid? As Morganbike says at Poole they were warned for using green (as per the rules). Sometimes it seems that the refs need to be issued with a rule book as well!

There is a very good reason for them being fussy about helmet colours. If you are in the pits pratting about with helmets you can't be watching the crap decisions they make about less important things like racing and safety

Can't email as i am at work but if you haven't sorted anything by Saturday give me a call on 07808 568717 and I will bring one along to borrow for the meeting.

Sean may well have offered advice to several of the lads but as far as I could see most of his time was spent with Josh.

I'm not so sure that it is as silly as it first sounds. With modern power outputs and tyre technology it must be possible to find a combination that would make broadsiding quicker than 2 wheeling round. The main problem that I can foresee is making a track that has more than one line but with careful attention to the camber I reckon that would also be possible. Maybe there is some sort of coating that could be applied that would offer more grip in certain areas of the track or different types of tarmac could be used to the same effect. The only trouble is that it could take years of experimentation to get it working.

You got any idea how hard it is to work on a bike without bending over Maybe Dan Greenwood is replacing Chris then. You'll be fine Jamie - bit like Reading TT.

Just realised that Lewis Bridger, George Piper and Monkeyboy are all in the same team at their home track (well, as near to a home track as they get). I think Sam is the only one that has any real experience of the track on the other team - and if he does the same as at Poole on Wednesday he won't be any help

Monkeyboy, I am going to have to give you a slap, I am just sat here typing the list out and then I see you have already done it Last I knew James Humby was still having trouble with his shoulder and I know Dan Greenwoods dad said on the other post that he is guesting but he doesn't know who for. Sam and Lewis are going to be busy as they are both riding in the CL match first.