davidba

Thanks, great news!

Steve,are you going to be coming to a track nearer to London than Plymouth?? I know you cant go into specifics yet,but Plymouth too far to beg a lift to and train prices are already too high for October so i'm praying you will get a meeting somewhere a bit nearer than St Boniface.

I wouldn't be so sure,Bogdanovs and Laguta on their home track are going to be hard to beat.

Should have been on flight to Bydgoszcz now,intsead i'm at home with stinking hangover and screaming kids, and now my wife wants me to go out this afternoon and miss world cup final too!!Anyone know what time its repeated tonight?

So,waiting for official confirmation that Bydgoszcz is off so i can cancel my hotel,though i cant get my flight money back obviously,oh well my look had to run out sometime!

Yeah not the smartest meeting to book,the day after an FIM meeting at Vojens!!

As long as its not in place of Gizatullin or i will scream!

Being lucky enough to go to quite a few meetings abroad the last couple of years i was wondering last night just how many active tracks there are in the world at present? So with Speedway Star world preview issue at hand i went through listing the tracks which had at least 1 meeting listed for 2010. They dont list Aussie,Kiwi tracks, so help on those would be appreciated. I included one offs for GP's and have included Northside,Iwade and Lydd in the Uk. I'm sure there are others i've missed,or some of these that have since closed, but the figures are: UK=32(28 league+Cardiff,Lydd,Iwade+Northside) Poland=22=24 league teams minus Miskolc+Daugvapils-Are there any one off tracks, cant see any listed? Sweden=20-9 elite tracks plus Gothenberg,Mariestad,karlstad,Stockholm,Nykoping,Avesta,Malmo,Eskilstuna,Linkoping,Huddinge,Nassjo. Germany=21-Landshut,Olching,Wolfslake,Brokstedt,Pfaffenhofen,Herxheim,Diedenbergen,Straslund,Gustrow,Teterow,Norden,Ludwigslust,Meissen,Neustadt Donau,Abensberg,Morrwinklesdamm,Haunstetten.Pocking,Berghaupten,Nordhastedt,Dohren Denmark=14-Copenhagen,Holsted,Holstebro,Glumso,Slangerup,Fjelsted,Esbjerg,Vojens,Grindsted,Brovst,Outrup,Vejilby,Skaerbaek,Vissenbjerg USA=14-Batavia,Action park,Marion County,Canton,Wauseon,Costa Mesa,Industry,San Bernardino,Victorville,Perris Raceway,Ridgecrest,Auburn,Vallejo,Osweg(I'm sure i got some of these mixed up?) Czech=10-Prague,Mseno,Slany,Plzen,Pardubice,Divisov,Liberec,Brzeolupy,Svitavy,Chabarovice Norway=7-Oslo,Drammen,Elgane,Riska,Kristiansand,Mjoesa,Kongsberg Italy=6-Lonigo,Teranzano,Serego,Verona,Cialtroni,Giavera Del Montello Finland=6-Lahti,Seinajoki,Pori,Kauhajoki,Kuusankoski,Forssa Russia=5-Balakovo,Vladivostok,Togliatti,Salavat,Oktyabrsky Argentina=8-Bahia Blanca,Daireaux,Carhue,Bolivar,Colonia Baron,Pique,Cordoba,Carlos Caseras Austria=3,Natschbach,Mureck,St Johann Croatia/Slovenia=4-Gorican,Ljubijana,Krsko,Lendava Ukraine=3-Lviv,Rivne,Chervonograd Hungary=2-Miskolc,Gyula Holland=3-Lelystad,Veenord,Blijham France=2-lamothe,Macon Canada=2-Paris,Welland And 1 each from:Romanis-Braila,Belguim-Heusden Zolder,Slovakia-Zarnovica,Latvia-Daugvapils,Bulgaria-Targovrubbishe,South africa-Walkerville=6 So without the Aussie/NZ tracks i make that a cool 190!! Please add/amend etc so that we can get to a proper figure for how many tracks there are in the world at present that are in use. Amended now with your info,not added Debrecen or Wittstock as some doubt over those

Sounds like my cue!! Bryan Yarrow,Tommy Heddon, Bart Bast, Mike Faria, Brad Pappalardo, John Marquez,Phillip Harmutiuk,Rick Valdez,Steve Eussell,Russell Green, Bryce Starks, Alex Marcucci, Ben Essary etc etc ......

Is the Nykoping meeting definately a 2pm start?I'm booked to stay overnight but may fly back that night instead if this is definate? Line up looks good.

I will drop you a Pm before i go with my mobile on it and then we can meet up,before,during or after to discuss world speedway if you like!

I think i'm recovered enough from a bug/sunstroke i picked up in Poznan and will be able to fly out again this Sunday for the short hop from Poznan to Gneizno.So as usual i will ask if anyone has been there before but also any tips on whats worth doing in Gniezno,seems to have some pretty old churches/buildings? I'm staying there in the Starej Kamienicy Hotel(Couldnt get into the one on the track). Really looking forward to seeing Daugvapils in action with their 3 under 21 finalists A.Laguta,Bogdanovs and Tarsaenko on show as well as my favourite madmen Laguta senior!So no injuries at Gdansk the night before please.Both teams doing well so should be good racing,looked ok when i saw the streamed meetings from there earlier this season.

Gniezno 49 Daugavapils 41: Great meeting,so glad i ignored the terrible weather forecasts and dragged myself out of bed Sunday morning for this. When i reached the stadium there was no sight of the promised rain and the track was being heavily watered. The meeting was full of action,real panto villain stuff with the home crowd judging both Laguta's to be at fault for Kacper Gomolski's 2 exclusions and lots of plastic bottles thrown at both. As a neutral i thought both decisions were correct,but after's on the track added to the drama and i've rarely seen a meeting where the bikes were used so aggressively,thrown at opponents at each turn, it really mattered out there! Young Tarasenko couldn't live up to the hype and only got 2 paid 3,but was rarely off the pace.Bogdanovs started like he left off on Saturday, but seemed to tire.Greg Laguta was great entertainment again, though mad as ever, if he's in the GP's next year i gotta go! Artem showed his class but with Povazhny starting slowly and Puodzhuks and Gieruckis struggling the home sides solidity started to show as the meeting progressed. Both Jablonski's were better than i remember them and Ljung and Szczepaniak both showed some class and with both Gomolski's chipping in they edged it though got nowhere near the important bonus point. Started to rain a bit in heat 12 till the end but by then i didn't care, i'd seen a really good meeting when i'd travelled expecting to be dissapointed. Gniezno itself a nice town and also nicer weather today to wonder round Poznan more.All in all a really nice trip.Next stop;Bydgoszcz 1st August!

Whats happening over there fellas??

Looking more like i need to cancel that taxi to Luton Airport tomorrow! What time can they go on till?It's nearly 9pm there and only 5 heats completed?

Why the hold up for heat 6?

If this is postponed will it mess up tomorrows fixtures in Poland?Daugvapils have 3 riders due at Gniezno tomorrow and most of the other ride for some Polish team.Early yet i know but would it be rescheduled for tomorrow?

Weather forecasts seem to be getting worse for tomorrow!I'm seriously wondering if its worth dragging my ailing body to Luton Airport early tomorrow morning! Does the Gniezno track hold up well to rain, have good drainage?Seems like a few inches of rain will fall sometime between now and 6pm tomorrow? Any reliable weather news appreciated.

Thanks Rico,though i've just looked at about 10 weather sites and they are all predicting some amount of rain on Sunday,so it's squeaky bum time!Will lady luck finally desert me on my travels?Please behave weather i've looked forward to this one more than most!

If Hackney Wick still stood i'd almost be able to see it from my window!I dream of having a track i can see from where i live, nearest one is 16 miles for lakeside and 21 miles for Rye House!

Though not so pictureesque after you've walked 5km out from the nearest town because there are no buses!!

So you reckon the final pre play off meeting on 1st August v Czechostowa will be a warm up for the relegation decider? Hope it's a good atmosphere for my first trip to the mecca of speedway, and Gizatullin + Szombierski better ride!!

Sorry for the continuing smugness,but i am off to Poznan on Sunday for what should be a close meeting near the top of the Polish first division(2nd tier).Has anyone been to this track?I know it's a big near 400 metre track,but does it produce good racing? I'm so desperate to go as i haven't been to a meeting now anywhere for nearly a month due to my back operation(Which seems to have gone well,though it's still too early to be 100% sure). Injury doubts on Skornicki for Poznan and Richardson for Rzeszow, anyone know if they will be fit by then? Will let you know how it went on Monday/Tuesday.Supposed to be 36C there!

Well that was the hottest i've ever been at a speedway meeting,far too bleedin' hot for a Notherner like me! Wasn't the best of meetings as it was clear from early on that Rzeszow were going to win comfortably which obviously quietened the home crowd.Miskowiak was excellant for Poznan,Kosciuch was ok as was young Szewczykowski, but with Skornicki looking well off the pace after his injury and Proctor et al struggling, they were always up against it against a very strong Marma side. Chris and Lee both rode well,Okionowski looked excellant until heat 15 and Mikeal Max, Ludvig lindgren and Lampart all rode well. The racing wasn't great, though it had it's moments.though apart from the heat i had managed to poke myself in my left eye with my sunglasses earlier so i did watch the action with a swollen eye,looked like a sweaty pink pirate!! On to Gniezno next weekend, please let it cool down a bit there before then(Was 35C yesterday).Though the ice cool Tyskies tasted extra nice while watching the world cup final after wards! After the footie finished i flicked through the channels and found a channel (WTK i think?) which was showing heats from Poznan v Gniezno, but suddenly ended after heat 7??Is this normal, do they show old meetings in parts on TV?

yeah but they wont hide my drooling tongue!!