TwoMinuteWarning

Don't forget that under the 25-heat 5-rider teams that has been in operation for the last few years, there was no reserve then either! Each of the 5 riders had 5 scheduled rides. So nothing has really changed - we still have no reserves. I'm not saying that's right - it's not - but remember that the reduction in riders from 5 to 4, and the reduction in heats from 25 to 20, is presumably an effort to cut costs by FIM / IMG / BSI (not that they would ever admit it), so the addition of a 5th rider to 4-man teams would defeat the object.

The last time that was tried, a few years ago in Leszno, 3 of the 4 teams had riders who became suddenly injured! It made a mockery of the whole thing. I would like to see 22-heat meetings, 5 riders per team, the number 5 having two scheduled rides against the other number 5's, and up to 3 rides maximum as a reserve for other riders in the team. P.S Love your minimax race cards!

Feed on Premier Sports is excellent Dare I suggest that, on a dodgy track, and 3 days before the next Grand Prix, the GP riders are taking things a tad easy???

This is a VERY tough meeting for GB, I wish them every bit of luck there is. Winner of each semi-final + highest scoring second place team join Poland in the Final Other semi-final is at Abensberg 28 May - Germany v Sweden v Russia v Finland Great Britain Richie Worrall Joe Haines Kyle Howarth Steve Worrall Kyle Newman Australia Sam Masters Alex Davies Nick Morris Darcy Ward Dakota North Denmark Mikkel B Jensen Mikkel Michelsen Thomas Jorgensen Lasse Bjerre Michael Jepsen Jensen Czech Republic Vaclav Milik Eduard Krcmar Roman Cejka Ondrej Veverka Zdenek Holub

Why is there an old British red telephone kiosk in the Norrkoping pits?

Agreed, commentator (anybody have his name?) has obviously done plenty of research, and knows the sport well. And no manic SHOUTING! What a relief. Thank you, Premier Sports. Oops ... what happened to the feed?

USA have certainly got the toughest of the two "semi-finals": Poland v Denmark v Russia v USA (Bydgoszcz July 7) - they need to finish at least 3rd to make the race-off, and Russia are no pushover these days The other semi is: Great Britain v Australia v Czech Republic v Germany (King's Lynn July 9)

Or maybe GSI bought the rights to STOP Polish speedway being shown on UK TV, which could further affect the low attendances at many tracks .... probably not, but just a thought !!

If we can watch live Swedish speedway with English commentary, why not Polish?

WIAKARAKA PARK MEETING CANCELLED http://waikarakafami...index.php?id=19

Everybody seems to have forgotten the very first Polish rider to appear in the UK Max Rech was a fighter pilot in the war, he later settled in Devon or Cornwall, and rode for St Austell in their league teams in the early to mid 1950's.

World title highlights on Motors TV (channel 413) at 2.15pm tomorrow afternoon (Thursday)

According to the Polish press, discussions are underway at the FIM as to whether the SWC (World Cup) should be replaced by the return of the World Pairs Championship. A decision will be made in 2012, with a view to the change, if decided, to happen in 2013. FIM cite the difficulty in finding enough teams to compete in the preliminary rounds, as many countries cannot find 5 riders of a high enough calibre to compete. Countries mentioned include Austria, Holland, Hungary, Croatia and Norway, but these countries are far more likely to be able to find 2 or 3 riders to compete in the World Pairs. Given Terry Russell's comments on the financial implications of the SWC in the current Speedway Star, as well as the resultant loss of a week's Elite League racing at the height of the season, I would suggest that the BSPA would probably support any change. And I understand their reasoning. But personally, I think the SWC generally provides some superb racing, year after year, and I would be very sad to see it go. Plus I don't think that a pairs championship can provide a true reflection of which nation has the best TEAM.

Isn't Ricky Wells a New Zealander by birth?

A 9pm curfew at the track ??? I hope the bars are open later than that !!! Or is everyone in NZ tucked up in bed by 10pm?

Gote was one of my favourites. Remember seeing him riding the white line (at Wimbledon?), sitting still in the saddle, tall and upright, the epitomy of class and style. Roaring around the outside, constantly shifting his body (and centre of gravity), ducking down low behind his handlebars, was little Peter Craven. 2 great riders with very different styles, but both wonderful to watch, though for totally different reasons. One of my most memorable moments watching our great sport. Last saw Gote riding at Poole a few years ago with Briggo, Ove etc.

As I understand it, this was one of the main reasons that Sweden have never staged the finals until now - what sort of a crowd would they get if Sweden didnt qualify? But I think the hosts should be seeded to the Race-Off, not to the Final, if they want a guarantee a decent crowd at the Race-Off.

Well, if they want to make some money Kev, it might be worth shipping half a dozen copies to the UK! Some demand on this list for it!

These were produced by Tony Loader in Australia in the early 1990's, and covered the sport worldwide - they are excellent. I have the 1990 Annual (which covers the 1989 season), 1991 (1990), and 1992 (1991 season) I am now told that a 1993 annual (covering 1992 season) was printed. Can anyone confirm this? Any idea where I could get a copy (apart from eBay)?

f-s-p, yes thanks, would like to see the Tampere details sometime. Much appreciated.

From FIM site today: There has been speculation in sections of the media over the last few days regarding the staging of an FIM Speedway Grand Prix event in New Zealand. It is no secret that BSI Speedway is in negotiations to stage a Grand Prix in New Zealand. As with the staging of any new event, negotiations take time and at present there is no signed contract or official staging date. These discussions are still ongoing and BSI Speedway urge fans not to make travel arrangements until contracts have been signed and the event has been officially confirmed by BSI Speedway. As in previous years, the calendar for the forthcoming FIM Speedway World Championships will be announced at the FIM Congress in October.

Home Riders Final - 1st Leg Crystal Palace 12th Oct & Lea Bridge 19th Oct 2nd Leg Wimbledon 14th Oct postponed until 21st Oct Overseas Rider Final - 1st Leg Wimbledon 16th Sept 2nd Leg Harringay 21st Sept Complete details of every race in every round of the 1929 Star Riders' are in a superb article by Stuart Straite-Aris in the current edition of the excellent Speedway Researcher magazine (Vol.14 No.2 Sept 2011).

Here here. Give the Brit spot to Nick Morris!

No, they are at Leszno for the the Polish Championship Final on Sat 3rd, and at Gorzow for the Polish Under-21 Final on Fri 2nd

Bit of a joke competition now. Sweden and Australia withdraw, Poland decline to compete, so the line-ups for the Final on Sat Sept 3 at Balakovo, Russia are: RUSSIA Vitaly Belousov Alexey Kudryashov Ilya Chalov Vladimir Borodulin Artem Laguta DENMARK Rene Bach Mikkel B Jensen Jonas B Andersen Michael Jepsen Jensen Mikkel Michelsen UKRAINE Kiril Tsukanov Andrey Kobrin Aleksandr Loktaev Vladimir Tejgel Stanislav Ogorodnik CZECH REPUBLIC Michael Hadek Roman Cejka Jan Holub Vaclav Milik Michal Dudek