Bruiser

I have not seen much of the Winter Olympics but I have no problem at all with Nigel Pearson and Kelvin Tatum…at least they sound enthusiastic and try and promote racing to a casual viewer….and producers want enthusiasm in commentary now, times have changed from old style commentary so if you don’t follow then you are replaced.

I have to be honest and say I used to read BackTrack years ago and really enjoyed it…I have re subscribed after many years and it’s a shadow of what it was…I can skim it in 5 minutes , very disappointed

I must admit I never saw Ravn being a dirty rider, he would lock up on corners sometimes but that was his riding and definitely not deliberate….Evitts was definitely quite dirty at times in my opinion and not an easy rider to ride with as a team mate for me……but I honestly cannot remember that incident with Ravn..I obviously wasn’t there

People seem to know for a fact it’s Belle Vue, or know for a fact is not Belle Vue and it’s Denmark ….I love people who know things as fact before anything happens. !!……..nobody in Perth seems to know so I think we can only wait until anything is announced officially tomorrow and only then will anything be fact

He certainly knows Sheffield really well, Wolves he rode for and I know he likes Kings Lynn and Peterborough….I don’t think he’d have any trouble getting around Ipswich so that’s every track sorted !……barring injuries it should be great for him

I don’t think Eastbourne when they came to Hyde Road and lost 64-14 thought the track was brilliant !!……there were certainly some teams and riders that did struggle there but generally I think it was a track , if you were a proper rider, that riders did really enjoy racing at and the same for the new Belle Vue , although Jason Crump said he really enjoyed the fact not many riders looked forward to coming to Kirky Lane gave him and the team a big home track advantage and that’s something the team doesn’t have now

I have Sky Q and you do get 12 months free of Discovery plus in the apps section…however it is Discovery Plus Entertainment package Sky give for free and not Discovery Plus Entertainment and Sports so you don’t get all the live sport….Discovery Plus website when you log in tells you that your package is provided by Sky and to upgrade you need to contact Sky….that is purely for Sky Q ….I haven’t bothered as there’s nothing on it currently worth watching if I’m honest that would warrant an upgrade

All the five-1 shows are on Spotify…..The Five-1 speedway show in search……the 2 Chris Morton ones are there

Has anybody read the More Tales from the Top Drawer by Kelvin Tatum ? i bought the first one and thought it was pretty good and am thinking about the second one but not sure what more tales he could tell….is it worth me buying ?

Yes , Erik’s average was low in 84 due to tape exclusions, partly due to struggling with the new rules and partly through Cradley lowering their early season averages to strengthen the team after it was decimated by the massive 83 team. !!!!

I certainly remember that cup final against Ipswich…something like 55-23 or something ridiculous…The track looked weird and certainly rode weird, you didn’t need to slide the bike and the times were incredibly fast , but all set by Ipswich riders !….definitely one of the strangest meetings ever. Regarding Andy Campbell and Mark Courtney , they were Stuart Bamforth signings when he wanted young English riders ..Campbell had had a good Exeter season and was obviously great around Exeter but never really got the hang of Hyde Road….I remember being excited about Courtney coming as I thought he looked excellent for Leicester and would be a great signing but another one who never really got going for Belle Vue

I was at the Belle Vue one…didn’t they have the big mudguard on the bikes and a lot of them fell off ?

I only started going in 1978 so probably saw the best of Simmons and worst of Betts as obviously Betts was well on the slide by then….so in my era it was definitely Simmons but I’d like to have seen Betts earlier on

You cannot compare the two…every motorsport is a mile behind Formula 1 in terms of money, sponsorship, fans and media exposure..in fact most sports full stop are way behind it whether people on here actually like it or not

No way should Jan Anderson be in the top 10 in the 80’s……Kenny Carter was excellent but not better than Michael Lee for me but it’s all about opinions I suppose

You wouldn’t pay much to watch that team in the top flight, but sadly I doubt they could get much stronger

Starts back in the day were a joke…it did add to the tension watching riders rolling back and forwards trying to get a flyer…but when you look back on it now it was ridiculous really and starts were completely unfair..watching the old videos now only emphasises that.. i remember the new starting laws coming in around 1984 or so and it took a lot of getting used to and a fair few exclusions but riders adapted and no doubt starts became fairer.. starts are pretty fair now as long as some start marshals ensure all riders are at the tapes and not half a mile away like the Peterborough start marshal in the final so I think it’s fine…..I still don’t mind the gardening before a race though, it all adds to the tension.

Not having seen the book i assume that this is Peter Collins stance on all ex riders being allowed into Belle Vue free . it’s a shame as PC was always welcome free of charge but he demanded every ex rider was also let in free and I assume he still holds those views

Sadly Chris Morton doesn’t have any relationship with PC any more and it’s all a great shame.

No way would you pick up than many questions so quickly. I think it’s time people just enjoyed the racing….the top league could do with 8 teams..8 would be a perfect amount ..it was 18 when I started and that would not be feasible now, 8 would be an ideal number. The racing this year has been as good if not better than many a year, there is a lot to build on …I have no issues about doubling up ..Belle Vue have a lot of double up riders but have kept the same team all season so it doesn’t bother me riders ride for other teams …. I would like supporters to actually start to promote the sport a bit more and actually seemingly enjoy it and it might actually encourage more to attend as most moaners seem to be people who no longer attend and others reading the comments must see them and think what’s the point of attending that….if people turn up I think they would find it’s not actually that bad and there is plenty to build on. incidentally I am a fan from the 70s and stopped going around 1993 and have started attending regularly again this year and I have enjoyed it a lot more than I was doing back in 93….people should give it a go

I love the final as a finish to meeting…speedway is and should be about entertainment and let’s face it this meeting would have been over last night without it…a final keeps it all going to the end and allows a finish like today which was fantastic entertainment regardless on who would have ended up winning…..it was great entertainment…

Well yesterday’s meeting was fantastic regardless of what anybody says…anybody who knows the Belle Vue track knows the racing is better if it’s slicker…..today’s racing not as good but what an ending !

Just watched most of the meeting back on TV after being there….I came out of the stadium thinking I’d just watched a really good meeting and now i have watched it back on TV I still think I have watched a really good meeting.

I couldn’t have said it better myself..I left the meeting today thinking blimey that was good and then I read the forum !….speedway at top level racing wise has actually never been better in my opinion , or at least from the 70’s onwards which is when I have watched from.

So Dan Bewley can ride if Tai can’t tomorrow I hear ?