fatface

No chance. The last one killed me....and millions of others. Honest.

Yep, definitely the late 80s were a great era for the National League and Gordon Kennett at the absolute forefront of that. Not just Eastbourne, but clubs like Mildenhall, Middlesbrough, Hackney, Wimbledon, Poole all in the mix too. A great mix of gnarly vets like Kennett, Les Collins, Simmo, Jessup, Wyer and rising stars like Dugard, Silver, Havelock, Loram. Scottish tours, Southern tours, lots of local derbies. It would be easy to say that Gordon Kennett was easing down in his career, but couldn't be further from the truth. He was always fully committed on any track on any given day. Also one of the great inside line riders..

A further thought...when he dropped into the National League in 1985, that coincided with the NL actually becoming a more entertaining league than the BL. Much more teams, less predictable, it's own stars and their own big occasions like the NLRC, Fours and Pairs packing them in. Gordon Kennett was probably the biggest NL star of that era.

That’s sad news. Always gave full value wherever and whenever he rode.

I also think Bruce Penhall was on it. I think they did quite well too. Again, shows that fitness is a real factor in speedway. Really liked Superstars and what a theme tune! But like a lot of older shows, when you watch them back on YouTube, they are never as good as you remember them.

I tell you now I would love to see that again. Love it

True. But I wouldn't fancy Lance Armstrong's chances in the world's strongest man either... There's a nice wee anecdote around 1970s British Athletics which saw Geoff Capes and Brendan Foster (5k/10k runner) having a race over 200m. You'd probably favour the runner, but Capes won because he had the explosive power.

I agree. You need strength to ride a speedway bike. So, the stronger and fitter you are, the easier it is to ride a bike. So if folk are gaining strength through performance enhancing drugs, that's giving them an unfair advantage. That's why Mike's post is wrong. Furthermore, even in sports where being athletic is not the be all and end all, overall fitness and strength is still a factor. The better physical condition you are in, the sharper you will be mentally and less likely to fatigue. It's no coincidence that when Tiger Woods* was dominating golf, he was also the fittest bloke on the course or Ronnie O'Sullivan's passion for running has kept him at the peak of the game for longer than we might have predicted. *that said, I wouldn't be amazed if Tiger Woods had dabbled in a few PEDs back in the day

Was at a sports conference this week and I got talking to some guys from British Fencing....and I said that they would have more luck engaging kids if they called it sword-fighting. Anyway, got me thinking about the names of sports and I don't remember ever actually hearing how speedway got its name. Why is is not called dirt-track racing? I prefer the name 'speedway', but just curious....

I'd have the Emirates, Spurs and Twickenham all above it. Many also prefer the Olympic Stadium...and it certainly has a better shape for speedway.

Absolutely. Too much romanticism on this thread. As for Wembley having great transport links....well, laughable to be honest. Any Londoner or anyone who has been to an event of any size there and been stuck in a huge funnel of people trying to get to a train station or on the tube afterwards knows that. God forbid, there might be some Welsh men in the same funnel. Wembley is a good stadium, but er, that's it. It's pretty underwhelming for a national stadium. It might sneak into the top 5 of London stadiums, but that's it.

I hope those dreadful Welsh men were not using such language. Awful primitive people. You deserve the mocking, your really do. The sentiments are almost stereotypically SO pearl-clutching middle England it's untrue. It's exactly why Celts and many others ridicule us English. At times, it's utterly deserved.

Yes, I wouldn't have thought so. Not in England. Not among some English men.

Two things about this story... 1. Peter Oakes has a nose for a story and is still highly effective at shoe horning speedway into the tabloids. Top work 2. It's absolute balderdash. Speedway will not be returning to Wembley. We (speedway fans) are a dying breed. It would do well to get 40,000 into Wembley. The crowds are shrinking and the average age of the crowd is rising. The numbers don't add up. Wembley gets repurposed to put on days and days of Harry Styles/Ed Sheeran/Adele type gigs and gets 80k turning up night after night. It's low risk, high return. Does anyone seriously believe they would repurpose Wembley, including laying of a track for one night of speedway? There might have been a chance when the new Wembey opened around 2007 and they were desperate to recoup money. Not anymore. The Principality is as good as it will get for speedway in the UK.

Heard a podcast where he was quite honest about the mistakes he made not venturing further. He definitely had a load of talent. As well as that GP win, he was also brilliant in the 92 World Team Cup Final which was absolutely loaded with top, top riders. As well as not making the move to a bigger track or really testing himself overseas, he also seemed to get embroiled in too many petty spats. Don't know if he was trying to prove he was a tough guy or what...but it's not the sort of stuff serious professionals would get involved in.

Thanks Steve. That's a kind and classy post to make

That's true. But frankly the horse has long bolted and it was entirely avoidable with tact, sensitivity and a little foresight. I have long made the case that this project should not have seen the light of day. I am very much on the periphery of the sport, but even I was aware of the open secret that since his brain haemorrhage PC is not the man he used to be. Tony and Retro Speedway, being way more connected with the sport for decades and the many surrounding individuals would have been much more aware of it than I. PC is still a name in the sport, so this always had the potential to be a money maker, but also morally questionable. The former has trumped the latter in this calculation. You can take the financial benefit or the moral highground, but in this case you can't have both. You can't bemoan PC's unsavoury grievances being made public when you created the platform for them to become public. I have been pretty heavily castigated in this thread for making these points and plenty have weighed in to support that. I hope some will reflect now on previous assertions and assumptions. All that said, nothing is ever black and white and no-one needs to grab their pitch forks quite yet.... To reiterate, Retro Speedway and Tony have made a really, really positive overall contribution to the sport. Their books are a welcome presence on my bookshelf. This one will not join them and is a project that was - I believe - a bit naughty. I don't believe Peter Collins to be a bad guy. It is certainly never a reputation he had in the sport in his heyday and beyond - and as a young fan, he was always approachable and happy to sign a programme and interact with supporters. Some of his recent behaviour, I believe, is more medically related and - I hope - doesn't taint what should still be legendary status. Steve Casey I had the fortune to meet on a few occasions. A really positive, easy to talk to, likeable and inoffessive fella. He lived and breathed the sport. He is a sad loss to all those who knew and loved him. I wonder if a way to salvage some of this is a donation from the book's profits to a cancer charity?

WWE is hardly dripping with credibility. I am being a tad facetious of course. I accept speedway's lack of credibility is an issue. But its not the biggest issue. If you had a time machine and brought 70s and 80s British Speedway back to the modern day and presented that to a 2023 audience, it would still be badly struggling.

I think it goes deeper than marketing. We have to be really honest and say the overall product isn't up to the mark. And I don't mean the racing, I think the pure sport is actually pretty good compared with some more successful sports. Then again, I am biased. I mean the overall experience of going to speedway in the UK. Catering, spectator facilities, entertainment, crowd interaction, presentation..its all light years behind what other sports and other attractions offer in 2023. I'm sure there's plenty on here like me that have had that awful uncomfortable experience of taking newbies to speedway and seeing it through their eyes. All the things you have come to accept - dirty terraces, bars in portakabins, poor presentation, standing around waiting between races - is so very dated to people outside the sport.

I apologise for not being on here every day to respond to every miniscule point. I've got priorities Steve! You'll have to look to different posters for that level of commitment (or lack of?). Seems like a fair point that paid referees shouldn't get free access. Was that in PC's book? Or not? Steve, your posts are generally good, courteous and constructive. But you are misguided on this one. No business can plausibly give free lifetime access to former employees. Furthermore, have one of those well-paid employees (sporting legend or not) have the say-so on who gets free passes. ...and I wonder how many turned up on the off-chance of meeting a journeyman county cricketer or boxer from the 1970s? Sports that never would have been considered as competitors to speedway 30-40 years ago have moved so far ahead of the sport its probably beyond retrieveable. You can add women's football, darts, MMA to the list too.

You know, that' not a bad idea and that's why it will never happen in speedway. The sport is run like a failing pub that panders to its shrinking hardcore regulars. Unfortunately, the sport's core following is those who bemoan its demise, whilst decrying anything that would take into the modern day. The experience of going to speedway in the UK is pretty much the same as it was in the 70s and 80s, that's why it can't reach new audiences and the few who do attend are broadly 50+ and were around then. Cricket, rugby, horse racing, netball, boxing have all upped their game, moved with the times and replenished their crowds. Speedway has not...and worse, will not.

I'm really not sure if folk actually read my whole post or are trying to find a way to be affronted. It seems more to me that we agree on riders like Barry Ayres. So, we will leave that at that. I understand that raising the brain injury is uncomfortable. But it is an unavoidable factor in this project. I'm no expert and no-one on here is. But brain haemorrhages are known to change people's personalities - not in all cases - but in some they can result in symptoms of memory loss, paranoia, irritability, anxiety, depression and so on. I have seen this in people I know who have suffered. There are plenty of first hand accounts that suggest that PC also has been adversely effected in one or more of these areas. That's why I question the validity of his take on events and indeed that they should go into print, on the record as it were, without the takes from previous and current BV management or indeed Angela Collins. Given the circumstance and PC's status in the sport, I think this whole area should be handled more sensitively and diplomatically. It hasn't. Hence, I think Tony has been naughty. On your other points around on track injuries, particularly the 1977 incident. Yes, there is great validity to them. Different times of course, life pre-health and safety rules wasn't all golden. Very pleased to hear you have made such a great recovery. I'm quite comfortable being the minority view on this. My over-riding concern is that both PC's nor Belle Vue's reputations aren't unnecessarily and unfairly sullied from unfortunate circumstances. My points are perfectly valid and I've yet to hear a convincing challenge to them.

Hmm. I think you are being a tad disingenuous. To be really clear, I'm talking about you making a few quid in not ideal circumstances. Not PC. Look, I think your contribution to the nostalgia speedway market has been very good and I've been a happy customer. I think the Kenny Carter and John Berry books stand up against any speedway book ever. And Backtrack had some good stuff before running out of steam. But, I also think the use of a lot of footage in the DVDs is a bit naughty....I assume ITV Sport and BBC Sport haven't handed over distribution rights to these? I think producing a PC book is also a bit naughty post-brain injury. As a consequence, sadly, I don't think he is a reliable source and his words against others should not be put into print unchallenged. The Belle Vue management past and present are really in a no-win situation, there is nothing to be gained for them coming out against PC, a bona-fide club legend. Equally, for this particular issue of all ex-riders getting free admission, how can any speedway club operating on fine margins (in realty loss making) start ushering 200+ folk through the gate for free each week. I have long worked in PR and there aint any mileage out of Barry Ayres* heading in free every week. It means very little to the 50+ year olds who might remember him....and literally nothing to any new crowds they need to draw in. I'm not surprised a PC book has been rolled out. He is a name that still means something to people, hence this thread. But given the health circumstances, I don't agree with it. * sorry to Barry Ayres if he reads this! He had a crack, fair play. But wasn't up to it. I could have chosen from many others.

Sorry Tony, I can't buy that. Unless we have the exact number and names between Wee Eck's 180 and your "tiny handful" it's pure conjecture. I also can't go with the notion of riders "putting their neck on the line". I have admiration for anyone who gets their head above the parapet and goes for it in life, particularly if that is something dangerous like speedway or stepping into the boxing ring. But let's not pretend they are risking their lives for some greater noble cause and sacrifice. These are not volunteers marching off to war. They are sports people in it primarily for selfish reasons, personal glory and remuneration. Without those, they wouldn't be doing it. In PC's case, often very well remunerated, squeezing out as much as he could get from BV in his latter seasons. And fair play to him too...it's a short and dangerous career. What makes me uncomfortable about this book is that it is a one sided take from someone who has had a brain injury. This has had an effect and as such, his interpretations are questionable at least. And, to be really, really honest, it's only been published because there is a few quid in it. We can't take it as some sort of historical document without the views of all other parties involved be they past and current BV management. You can't have your cake and eat it. I was a big fan of PC and I've enjoyed lots of your output over the years. But let's say this as it is.

Interesting, I don't agree though. Chris was always bound for better things than Dave. Even being 2-3 years younger, he had reached a World Final and won the British under 21 title. Dave hadn't. I do think Dave could have been better though were it not for bad injuries,