mikebv

Correct.. The 192 does mean a walk of about 400m or so, the 203 a bit less.. And you get to see our new bus station too....!! Sorry, I mean public transport connection hub.... The 192 route is, I believe, the busiest outside London, so buses every 5 mins.. A train to Belle Vue from Piccadilly Station runs, with Picc being 5 mins from Stockport, but the service to Belle Vue doesn't run frequently daily.. Simon Calder....

What a ride..... And what a response from the crowd on his lap of honour... The Poles should take Speedway a bit more seriously....

Another tactical fall...... His race was pretty much over when his team mate pushed him out..

Red or Yellow... Who goes? Edit. Red. Not like a Pawlicki to drop the bike...

Ivan Mauger... He even ended up going back home to NZ when first over here as he wasn't good enough to get a team place...!!!! Before coming back and giving it another go.. And turning out "quite good" in the end....

Maybe more recently... When I used to go there, there was some fantastic racing given its small size but wide bends..

The US have small tracks that give great entertainment... Mildenhall in particular over here stands out as a small track that delivers good racing... And to think, some Plymouth fans take the pee out of Poole's track...

Bobby Ott... Came over and rode at reserve for the Aces on borrowed engines and was "not good" with plenty of Aces fans wondering why he had been selected... Gradually improved, as his equipment did, and in 1993 won the "winner takes all" last heat decider at Wolverhampton to win the Aces the title. A truly top level talent on a Speedway bike, and, in my top seven all time Aces septet such was his natural ability.. I once watched him slide to the ground, so technically,"fell off" and, in one movement, flip the bike up whilst still being sat on it, and carry on without the bike's engine stopping... Unfortunately the rider following laid his bike down to avoid hitting Bobby, and then procrastinated on track to the ref's box, as Bobby rode off into the distance, and the race was stopped.... With Bobby excluded!! He wasn't happy... I remember him saying that this was something he actually practiced so was particularly miffed that the race got stopped... He used to practice his balance on a uni cycle as he felt it helped him on a Speedway bike... Watched him ride for the USA in several Tests,, and top score in a team full of true World Class talent at the time... A sad day when he left the Aces, as he was truly "box office on a bike" given his riding style..

In such a tiny sport where the result wont resonate past a few thousand at best, the entertainment factor is paramount.. "He pulled away from fhe tapes, he should be excluded, hooray he is!! Great! That's that race knackered"...

If I had paid to get in I would have been a bit cheesed off... Two of the best riders in the league now not going head to head in heat one.. With the ref actually delaying the start of the meeting more than Cook did...!! Still, they risk their lives reffing for our entertainment dont they?

Woodenski Spoonski.....

Far too big of a jump.. When launched, (no disrespect), 2nd Div HL's made up the majority of Div One HL berths, through doubling up, so it wasn't such a huge gap, as 2nd Strings were obviously not as strong as today too... Now truly World Class riders are in every team, with some of the old No1's being 3rd HL's., or lower... Div 2 is now the place for them...

And that is something that baffles me.. Some will complain that "he let us down", yet the sport is very small with maybe 40,000 followers at best, with around 20,000 watching each week.. So it makes little difference if he did, or he didnt... Hope the season goes well for him, but, if he feels he needs to take a step away at any time, then it wont mean the end of the world will it. ?

Should either of the two lads who pulled out of the meeting miss any matches in Poland, "they" wont be happy two of "their riders" got injured over here...

Next week then, I presume? Loved watching him at BV, always gave his all, and a great lad to talk too.. Hope he has a great season.. If he does, come SON, and any of the "big 3" are injured, he would be the best option to replace any of them..

No, its for the ill fitting Led Zep T shirts.....

I must confess, I don't see too many major issues facing the sport... Developers shutting tracks, granted, isn't great, but clubs cannont control that so no point worrying.. The actual on track product is very solid indeed from a "entertaning night out" perspective, and covid did the sport a favour as its admission fee, which was too high, is now on par with other sports which also have some of the worlds best in action, as other sports have put prices up.. Don't get me wrong, you still can't take it too seriously given the operating model, but for around twenty quid, the racing delivers more often than not, which represents decent value for money.. I think the size of the sport now is just where it needs to be currently, as even one more team in either league would be difficult to fill with riders.. Phil Morris will know he needs to work as much off the track as on, given that being taken seriously by the more mainstream media will make a huge difference... The future of the sport is never going to be "Poland like", however, given the raw product to deal with, someone with some vision, and who can persuade others to come on board, can do a lot of good for relatively little outlay... UK Speedway is truly a huge opportunity for growth given its ultra low starting point, and Phil seems clued up enough, and politically savvy enough, to make the most of these opportunities...

At least those helping should surely be wearing jeans that fit them...? Far too much arse crack on display for my liking...

But those potential "new" fans wont know that at the time.. They will obviously quickly find out if they attend granted .. What they should see though is the "brand" of each club, and the BSP, on show clearly portraying a professional image.. What they shouldn't see is a rag tag selection of "allsorts", who look just like spectators, (which many may even be)... The kevlars, the bikes, and the riders, look ultra professional these days, therefore the rest of the "UK Speedway Brand" needs to look just as professional... I would think you could kit the mechanics and team managers out similar to Poland, for a lot less than £1000... And even probably get it paid for by sponsors who get their names on every T shirt, fleece, coat etc, every time any shot of the pits, or managers gets shown..

Could make some reversible to keep the costs down though..?

Bombers mechanics would need a whole wardrobe of team attire for the whole of both leagues........

Victor more than four... Printing money... Couldn't believe Lidsey and Kurtz passed him...

800 or so in total?

And yet F1 does so well? First corner, race over... Unless the tyre fitters can come up trumps...

He must "bite his tongue" so many times when listening to some promoters discuss the sport in meetings... Playing the long game I would suggest, slowly ensuring enough support from the modern thinkers to progress the sport forward, and make it credible enough to bring in some big sponsorship...