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rusky

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Posts posted by rusky

  1. Posted

    So sorry to hear this. I didn’t really know Dave during his racing days, but did get to know him in his after racing days when he was a dammed good jet ski rider, and had a shop in Ipswich selling jet ski bits, and clothing. He was always a true gentleman to talk to, and a genuine nice guy.

     

     

    RIP Dave, it’s been a pleasure to know you.

  2. Posted

    I cant be certain on the state now, but when I was involved ion the sport it was the case that if a non-county ambulance took riders to hospital it effectively went to the back of the queue for admission to A&E, as priority was always given to county (i.e. NHS) ambulances, so there would be a significant delay in the rider (or indeed member of the public)  being seen at A&E

  3. Posted

    Last night was the first time I have attended at Lynn for some time. There were a few things that stood out for me.

    • The crowd seemed pretty big, and there was a fair mixture of young and old, including a few faces I hadn't seen for a while - I'm looking at you Telboy
    • Car Park was fairly muddy.
    • The programme was a marked improvement on previous years I would suggest. Well produced, and good value at £3
    • Presentation of the meeting as a whole was slick, and seemed to progress at a reasonable pace. Not too much tractor racing.
    • Track looked pretty good, and there was some racing for those brave enough.
    • Robert Lambert seems to be developing a good racing brain, and was obviously thinking races through instead of just charging in.
    • Lewis Kerr was very lucky that Jack Holder dropped it so quickly. That could of been nasty.

    I'm more than a little surprised by some of the comments around traffic to get out. When you arrive, drive past the works compound with lots of equipment & activity, don't be surprised that Roadworks appear. Those roadworks were by the Highways agency, and they really could make the BSPA look very organised & efficient. I live quite close to the A1 & A14 where as many of you know there are major roadworks. They release daily bulletins on closures & diversions etc. However, they are never accurate. A common feature is that they announce roads will be closed at 21:00 > 06:00 on specific stretches. You never know what time they will close them though, sometimes at 20:00. Now that does confuse people. Any queries to their website, twitter or facebook are met with deafening silence. I really don't think the promoters would of been able to arrange anything with them based on our experiences around here.

    • Like 1

  5. Posted

    EXCELLENT meeting and a sell-out crowd there this year. Young Ondrasik has made great improvements to the track. But they have always relied on support from the city which undoubtedly benefits from the influx of speedway fans although they are still only a drop in the ocean compared with all the other tourists.

     

    Would be a big lose as it is a very popular place to visit.

    Who is it who made the improvements to the track Phil... I think you will find its a team there that work on the track, but primarily Tomas Topinka.

  7. Posted

    Just got back from Stockholm, got to say I was very disappointed with the turn out at the Friends Arena, hardly any Polish fans there, not many brits either, the Stadium was very barely half full, the full top tier was not used, and if the rumours about Stockholm are true about it not been on the venue's list for 2018 are true, I can believe that, mind you also have to say that Stockholm is not the cheapest place to go to either, £7 a pint, nearly went teetotal for the weekend when I got charged that, the GP itself did not live up to the expectations of myself, so am really expecting the GP to be axed in 2018 in Stockholm for somewhere more economical, travel to the stadium is more than easy, Solna station is just five minutes walk away, and the shopping centre next door is more than inviting, plenty of shops and bars, but the prices are again quite severe.

     

    Well done Matty Zagar, but thought Chris Holder was a little bit harshly done by, the incident with Kildemand happened right in front of me, thought it was a little bit even to be honest, not seen the video yet, will watch it Monday, but as for the title, its now Doyle's to lose, but that said Woffy is now out of the title run in.

     

    Bumped into Kelvin and Nigel in Stockholm airport on Sunday morning, around 8am, I think you will have to go some to find anyone better at presenting their views, Kelvin even had a little part to play in the programme notes on each rider, do rate him to be honest, if you have anyone in mind who can do a better job than him I would love to know who that is.

    The crowd this year was I am told up on the previous year, and close to the break even figure. The Friends Arena team have to be applauded by realising that high ticket costs are not the answer. There were standing tickets on the 3rd / 4th bends this year at 99Kr, so around £10 - cheaper than league matches in the UK, and I believe they sold around 1000 of those. The stadium itself is ideally situated from a travel perspective, being 35 minutes from Arlanda airport by train, and 15 minutes from Stockholm city centre. Hotels in the area are quite good, There is a good quality hotel attached to the stadium which is reasonably priced given the location & standard (about 2/3 the cost of similar hotels in Cardiff). Around 15 - 20 minutes walk away are 3 other hotels that are all competitively priced (Read very cheap compared to Cardiff) right by the bus stop for the airport buses that server both Arlanda and Stockholm City.

    Some of the restaurants in the area are a little expensive, but again not that different than Cardiff for similar quality. Drinks tended to be a little on the expensive side though. The actual stadium itself is superb, and the seating is more spacious and comfortable than Cardiff I feel. It was good to have a sound system where you could actually hear what the announcer was saying clearly, and the choice of music I thought was very good - Particularly like the 'Where Eagles Dare' them for the final.

     

    So why doesn't Stockholm work in the same way that Cardiff does in terms of gathering a crowd ? It really does seem to have everything going for it, Its a really nice stadium, it has a roof, the location is nigh on perfect. The city of Stockholm is an incredibly pretty place, and worth a visit at any time. Personally, I don't think that BSI do Stockholm any favours at all with Stockholm coming only 6 weeks after Malilla. Can you imagine the uproar here if we had 2 SGP here, one in Cardiff and one say at the NSS but that close together ? That makes it pretty expensive to go to both meetings if you were ' a local', even with the cheap tickets on offer. I for one hope that Stockholm is on the Calendar in years to come,

    • Like 2

  8. Posted

    poor meeting over all i think . holder touched kildermand chris a little unlucky but that speedway . anyway doyley nearly their he deserves it after last year

     

     

    Chris Holder certainly was the cause of the stoppage. The incident took Kildemands chain off. It was also very clear down the back straight that holder New he had taken Kildemand down, his head was quite literally in his hands.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    I was considering going but I am a student and I've spent almost £60 the past couple of weeks on seeing Smederna

    during their post season success (they've reached the finals) and there is one more meeting remaining (the final)

    so I kinda spend the money on that instead of the GP.

     

     

    Not even for the 99 kr tickets Ghostie ? For those in the UK that's a standing ticket on the 3/4 bends and less than a tenner.....Adult price.

  10. Posted

    I can certainly remember that night club,bit scary really when you look back at it.Although we must have had a few by then so we may had been feeling a bit braver than we normally would have been.

    Brilliant times,enjoyed my weekend trips to Gronigen for the Assen Ice Speedway.Remember beer mat flipping once with M.Loram in Tramps bar,i think it was called(Rusky will know).Was the hotel called the Dohlen(another one for Rusky).Great times and memories from some great trips abroad all thanks to the organisation and driving of our old friend Rusky.

    Yep the hotel was called the Hotel De Doelen, on the market square in Groningen. And yet again absolutely right Tellboy it was Tramps bar. Its a few years since I was there last but Tramps bar was closed then. Do you remember as well that Marky Boy was treated as a hero in some of the bars that we went in - remember him very well on the shoulders of some extremely tall Dutch lads (basketball team ?) in a bar with a very low timbered ceiling. Also remember he didn't see too much of the Sunday racing. I do remind him of that on the occassions that I see him.. :lol:

     

    Of course currently there is no ice stadium at Assen, but i believe they are building a new one there.

     

    And less of the old Tellboy..... just more experienced

  11. Posted

    Ken was a very fine photographer, technically very good - he even taught photography at college where he lived in Sheffield. It was because of the superb quality images he produced and the reliable service he provided that we took the plunge and decided to add full colour, glossy covers to Speedway Mail in 1987.

     

    But what I loved about Ken, too, was his humility and lack of ego - unlike one or two snappers who think they are God's gift. He always remembered that the riders were the 'stars' and he was just there to photograph them.

     

    In his trademark hat, he snapped away for the Mail from 1982 until the mid-90s. Quiet, unassuming and simply doing his job.

     

    He and his wife emigrated to one of the Greek islands some years back but he still keeps in touch.

     

    And I'm delighted to say, his brilliant photography still adorns the pages of Backtrack and most books we publish at Retro Speedway.

     

    Another part-time snapper, who could also churn out many words for the Mail, was Coventry-based Bruce Grainger, who sadly died of a sudden heart attack at home in the 90s. Bruce liked to puff on his pipe and had a laconic, unflappable way about him.

    So true about Ken and his ego Tony. A true gentleman, and it was always a pleasure to be in the pits when he was around, and you are so correct about one or two who thought they were gods gift..... lol

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    Agree with you on that.Loved watching Henka from the first time i saw him at the World Final at Bradford in 1990.I seem to recall seeing Buster saying to us after the meeting very excitedly we've signed we've bloody signed him(sure it was Buster).

    I think Trees is right in what she says too,that most people will say/think that they have seen the most exciting/best riders when they(the fan) are in their younger years.

    It was quite funny at the 1990 final where all of the pits staff were telling me that without doubt I should keep an eye on Henka as Ole Olsen had done a deal for him to ride at Coventry (Most of the pits staff were from Coventry.....). Having spent quite a bit of time in Sweden that summer I knew that wasn't the case, and it wasn't too long before I was meeting Henka and his family off of the ferry at Harwich ........ I did remind one or two of the Coventry pits staff (Who I got on well with) of that fact when I saw them next.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    Totally agree, Cardiff takes some beating as a venue for the British SGP. Having done Stockholm there was no evidence in the city centre that a GP was in town,not the case in Cardiff. In Stockholm similar to London you would have to take a train miles away from the city centre. Cardiff may not be perfect for everyone to get to but where is,might get a few more from overseas in London, but a lack of roof cancels that as advance ticket sales would be hit. Cardiff is a great city with all the attractions but small enough to feel like an event in a small town ,keep it there. Only downside is lack of hotels which inflates the cost of those that are there. Not sure if there is any way round that as its supply and demand and there are plenty who are prepared to pay the price on offer

    Certainly in 2015 there were numerous posters in Stockholm City Centre on the Saturday, with many around Central Station. However, by the Sunday they were all down and replaced with poster for a concert....

     

    Remember that in Stockholm the big shopping Mall next door is open now, and that will add an extra dimension

  18. Posted

    Yes Cardiff- He said that and I have no reason to think there won`t be a new contract- however I`m pretty certain the last contract had Welsh tourist board money included- so until the contract is agreed and signed no date for 2017- and they must still be negotiating because they would have not been slow in announcing the new contract.

    We were talking to the manager in our hotel and he seems to think from emails they have had, that the preferred date is the the 8th July but there are some queries around some Wales football matched planned for dates around then.

  22. Posted

    I cannot emphasise how much fading stuff in and out and sliding onto the screen is a ballache and people will hate it.

     

    People expect a website to load as quick as possible. By including them gimmicks you slow it down, intentionally. It's one thing to use it for stuff that doesn't matter but for important content (like the actual content and the menu!) DONT DO IT! Moving stuff is a PITA and people seem to like to do it to show, "our stuff is static, look how lever we are", wrong attitude, it should be how easily and quickly can we allow people to navigate our site and get to what they want.

     

     

    Completely agree with SCB. The concept of the site is very good, but the performance is appalling, and on many occasions is downright unusable. If you can sort these issues it will be a useful resource.

  23. Posted

    For what its worth, I firmly believe that speedway in the UK desperately needs to get back to having a high number of Friday > Sunday tracks. There is a desperate need to get youngsters interested in watching live speedway. My daughter loves speedway but hardly ever gets to see it live, as being 12 years old she can't go to speedway on a school night. The local track to where she lives only operates on a Wednesday night, and annoyingly there are never local Bank Holiday meetings nowadays either so we really are limited to school holiday times, or indeed Cardiff for the GP

    • Like 4

  24. Posted · Edited by rusky

    Sad to hear that Violet Littlechild, former co-promoter and owner of King's Lynn Speedway, has passed away in a nursing home, aged 97.

     

    After her husband Maurice died in 1972, Vi continued (with Cyril Crane) to keep the Stars shining brightly in Norfolk for many seasons.

     

    Full respect to the 'First Lady of King's Lynn' and sincere condolences to her family and friends.

    Have to agree with you there Tony. It was a pleasure to have known Vi over the years. Thoughts are with all members of the Littlechild family at this time...

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