Mr Snackette

I hope to be in Poland for the long weekend 15 - 18 June. Looking to take in the following: - Unia Tarnów - Apator Toruń on Thursay 15th - Stal Rzeszów - Unia Leszno on Sunday 18th. Does anyone know the start times? Thanks in advance.

What a superb meeting. Really enjoyed it. The crowd and atmosphere were fantastic. I think that had Wieslaw Jagus not touched the tapes in heat 14, Torun might just have nicked it. I did like look of Stanislaw Burza, who appears to have some considerable potential. But for me the highlight was seeing Thomasz and Trick lining up in heat 15, evoking very pleasant memories of Ipswich in 1998. The meeting itself helped reinforce my view of just how shoddy Elite League speedway is in the UK, which must now be considered a very poor third to both Poland and Sweden. Hoping that Rzeszów is as good on Sunday, which I understand starts at 6pm. Thank you Champion for you help with start times, much appreciated.

Thank you for that, but I was seeking the start times for the Tarnow / Torun meeting on Thursday, and the Rzeszów / Leszno meeting next Sunday.

Are Polish start times state secrets? Despite emailing the clubs concerned, I've yet to receive any confirmation as to when these two meeetings start. Torun's website, confirms Champion's post and shows a start time of 7 pm. Yet on the Tarnow website I took this at 4pm CET: "Do kolejnego ekstraligowego meczu, tym razem z Toruniem, pozostało już tylko 3 dni i 22 godziny" My Polish isn't that good, but the above appears to suggest that next meeting starts in 3 days and 22 hours time, which by my cacluations makes it 2pm on Thurdsday. Any help with this and / or the Rzeszów meeting would be much appreciated.

Trip now confirmed and looking forward to spending a few days in Krakow. Do any of our Polish friends have confirmed start times for the meetings at Tarnów and Rzeszów?

Who said nostalgia ain't what it used to be??!! It good to see the old Yarmouth question given is annual walk. For those new to the Forum there have been a number of discussions regarding this topic. One of the best replies came from my old chum James Easter who posted this on 25 September 2004: "I can tell you that any hope of a Track at the YARMOUTH RACE TRACK is a 100% NONE RUNNER. The Horse Track is next to loads of housing on 2 sides. Add to that a golf course situated in teh centre of the complex. add to that a huge Caravan site on the East side....More chance of teh Ppe being Jewish. The Stock car track runs 3 nights a week with cars..3 nights a week with Dogs. They do NOT want Speedway...How come...I have tried 3 times. Similar to situation in norwich...not a prayer...Again I tried for about 8 years and the best I got was the bums rush outa the door. Sad, but true is that the last person who made noises did immense harm to the cause.... what a shame as it is still a hot bed of interest" So there you have it. I look forward to reading a similar thread this time next year. Perhaps this could rival reports of the first cuckoo in spring!!

Officially, according to the SWC website, only the Swedish round at Malilla has been confirmed, the other rounds at Rybnik and Reading, are still marked as provisional.

Neither, it'll be the East Anglian Angels, as I'll be there the night before!!!

Hotel accomodation in Daugavpils is certainly going to be a problem. I was speaking to Jimbo who tells me that with over 6 months to go before the Latavian GP the TP tour is virtually full. He is trying to find additional accomodation, to enable him to take additional numbers, but has so far failed to find anything of the quality that his clients quite rightly expect.

As an alternative try Wizz Air. Depart Katowice Mon, 17 Jul @ 20:35 Arrive Stockholm - Skavsta @ 22:15. A 45 minute drive will get you to the delightful town of Lynkoping, and after an overnight stay it's a gentle 2 hour drive to Malilla. On the other hand those that like to travel by road take the 600 km road trip from Rybnik to Gdynia, and then jump aboard the night Stenna ferry from Gdynia to Karlskrona. A tranquil sea crossing entirely stress free!!! From Karlskrona it's just 200km to Malilla. Alternatively park your sofa in front of telly, order a few beers and a pizza and watch it from there!!! The choices are endless

Is there any news yet, as to what fixtures have been moved from Sunday to Monday for the purposes of TV?

It has been the fashion to be very critical of BSI, and their handling of the GP series. On occassions this crticism has been entirely justified, but I think its only fair to heap praise when praise is due. The decision to bring forward by seven days the cardiff GP has proved to be a masterstroke. Following the draw this evening, England's opening World Cup fixture is on June 10th, the date on which most people thought the Cardiff GP would be run. To have run the GP against an England World Cup fixture would have been disasterous. So well done BSI, and lets hope that someone at the BSPA takes note in respect of domestic fixtures.

An earlier post suggested that the 2006 fixtures were due for release Friday 9 December. Anyone have any news?

Have just this moment spoken to Jimbo is in Latvia doing a rekky for next season. The track is some 3 hours from Riga by car, and if that's based on Mr Easter's driving then it's probably 4 hours for anyone else!!! Jimbo tells me that deals have been done and accomodation booked. So if you're looking for a hassle free trip to Latvia, give Jimbo a ring at Travel Plus on 01473 730000.

Do any of our Polish friends know when we can expect the Polish League fixtures to be officially released?

On the question of dates was having a natter with my old chum Mr Easter who tells me that he's been keeping his ear close to the ground (not an easy achievement, as anyone who knows him will testify!!), and apparently all the dates have now been finalised and these are all expected to be released from BSI / FIM by next weekend. At the moment the Old Boy is working flat out on the 2006 TP brochure which will be going out with the Speedway Star second week of Jan. Looks like there's going to be some exciting new additions to the brochure, including an early season Swedish tour to take in some league meetings as well the GP. I am going with James next week to visit a new location in Slovenia where he is thinking on basing the Krsko tour. Looks like a cracking 2006.

Bob, this is no time for smugness!!!!

See that the GP dates have now been posted: 22nd April SLOVENIA KRSKO CONFIRMED 6th May POLAND WROCLAW CONFIRMED 20th May SWEDEN ESKILSTUNA CONFIRMED 3rd June GREAT BRITAIN CARDIFF CONFIRMED 24th June DENMARK COPENHAGEN CONFIRMED 29th July TBC TBC PROVISIONAL 12th August SWEDEN TBC PROVISIONAL 26th August CZECH REPUBLIC PRAGUE CONFIRMED 9th September TBC TBC PROVISIONAL 23rd September TBC TBC PROVISIONAL So it looks like we await confirmation on Bydgoszcz, Mallila, Lonigo, and a possible new venue.

Whilst I would concede that the Pre GP World Championship, at least provided the opportunity for any rider to be crowned world champ, it was rarity, if ever, that the Final itself had the best 16 riders on show. Certainly the talk of reintroducing the GP Challenge should be encouraged.

Travel Plus tours will be there, and at every other GP for that matter. Jimbo tells me that after a couple of years basing the tour in Zagreb, for 2006 he plans a return to Ljubljana. Brochure should be out early new year, but you can always give him a ring on his new office number 01473 730000.

I don't think for one second that anyone would suggest that Richardson deserves his place on merit, but it's just a commercial fact of life. Accepting that this is business, and one needs to take this into account the decision to axe Andersen was logical. There is a need to freshen up the series. To bring in Iversen or Bjerre is a positive move and it's what the Danes wanted. In real terms Zagar replaces Flying Ryan, Pepe replaces Tomasz Chrzanowski, and a young Dane replaces a slightly older one. Andersen has only one person to blame for his non inclusion and that's himself. Had he finished in the Top 8 he would have qualified as of right, but he didn't of course, and he finished 12th. So for him to say that he meets the criteria, is clearly wrong. The fact that he may on paper be regarded as a better rider than those nominated is irrelevant. As he finished outside the Top 8 he failed to qualify, and therefore his destiny was now in the hands of others. If they choose to freshen it up then good on 'em. As an aside it's interesting to note that Scott Nicholls and Lee Richardson the no hope Brits who turned out for their clubs the Thursday before the Bydgoszcz GP, have been included. Perhaps loyalty in the end does earn it's reward!!! I'm glad that the debate is continuing on this Forum as over on the Witches Forum we have told to move on, as we ( and me in particular) appear "stuck into the groove". I certainly don't want to fall foul of the new "Trolley Bus" regs!!!

I'm rarely seen with any thing else days! Problem is people think I'm a Dane and a Hans Andersen fan too boot. Reports that I lost my cool at Gydinia have been greatly exaggerated!!!

I'll be there with the Travel Plus group. Currently 200+ clients, and we will all be staying up in "The Lakes".

Whilst I accept that Chris is not the best at Blunsdon, your comment that he's "crap everywhere bar Ipswich" does not stand up to scrutiny. Current away averages: Simon Stead 6.92 Joe Screen 6.77 Chris Louis 6.76 Chris Harris 6.07 So statistically the contenders for a spot in the World Cup team are very much of a muchness. Pity Lango that you don't engage brain before making totally facile comments. But the that's always assuming......!!!!

Yes indeed. Look forward to meeting you next week.