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Born 30 December 1934 in Christchurch, New Zealand, Barry Briggs, four times World Champion, is 85 today. Many happy returns. http://www.briggo.net/

Surely riding for the Devils is abroad? I'll get my coat

Might not do the sale of season tickets much good if they were announced!

Panthers in the brown stuff in the big heats, if they are still in the contest at that point, but less stewards needed as they can close of half the stand

You could probably ask, all the teams he has ridden for and you might get a clue.

Think he has changed a his riding style this year There was no over riding and his racing had greatly improved having watched him in nearly every nl match this year him and Ellis perks were pretty unstoppable ther was no daft dive bombing wreck less passing he used his head more than the throttle think he deserves a spot

Tbf i think many speedway fans plan thier annual leave around speedway fixtures. I have done for years.

Oh look you disagree so you retaliate by being offensive . Just accept people have different views and opinions .

Could be that he's thrown too many toys out of his pram. Not really a great team man I'm told. Don't think the Pirates need another one of those!!

Surely not another Brit?! This is Poole we are talking about??!! We could still finish up with another 2 x4 point Aussies alongside Josh Mac?!

It's easy to say that now

No question Ronnie was up there with the best and those Wimbledon teams back then dominated like no other team has before or since. You can look it up. Are you an archaeologist Celticman? You've dug up more really old threads than any other forum member I know.

Whaaat? Says the girl who produced 2,384 different team variants* in December alone? I havr tried booking holidays around speedway fixtures. It has never worked! TG *not including bank holidays

We’ve seen risks taken on ex-motocross and they pay off and I think that’s what we’re seeing here. Rather than looking at who’s the best in the MDL and signing them up.

Thanks Dave Need to decide when I go on holiday... And yes, some people might think I'm sad for arranging my holidays around who the Diamonds are against... But they're my team and I support them, don't want to miss a meeting, although that happens far too often Plenty of football fans are like that, but as soon as a speedway fan is, they're shot down and called sad... No wonder we're dying, we're all pessimistic and miserable

Pathetic attitude typical of a 60+ year old speedway fan . If you disagree be offensive . No wonder the sport is dying with this attitude .

I think not good luck then if that is what you you believe Hume last year was one of the few pace wise at his best could beat and be on the pace with Ellis Perks.Good luck with Jack ( not that he deserves a chance straight away he quit!! this year Hume is in a different league maybe you need specs GiveusaB.?

The Belle Vue stock car promotion, Startrax, have stated that they are not even considering the NSS as a possible replacement. Living in London I am far more concerned that during my lifetime I have seen cars and/or bikes at Wimbledon, West Ham, Harringay, Walthamstow, Romford, Crayford, Hackney, White City, Earls Court 2, Rayleigh, New Cross, Staines and Arena Essex. They have all been redeveloped meaning the local population increased while the amount of local entertainment decreased which is almost as stupid as railway lines being closed in the 1960's just as big new housing estates were built around the now closed stations and then the politicians wondered why there was so much traffic causing grid lock.

Initially i plan to upload to YouTube and share the link around facebook and here. So it should be as simple as clicking a link once it's done.

Having watched him last season, he will improve and he is a great entertainer, could do worse

Yes , never going to happen as in a lock up in Wales(allegedly)

Will also get his Brit nl reduction

He certainly looked on the pace this year and broke the hoodoo and had a injury free year which reflected in his scores.

Glad you are a pendant and not a pedant !!! Unless you are pending of course

Actually I invented the science of archaeology shortly after I popularized the idea of history. The egg came before the chicken on this one. I was going to have the user name Father Time but for the sake of brevity settled on Celticman. Is it too late to change it? I was an avid Speedway fan in the UK from 1955 to 1967 and of course living within walking distance of the all-conquering Wimbledon Dons were my team. The Dons Cyril Brine was a good friend of my father. When I was 14 I would sometimes meet Cyril at Plough Lane in off hours and learn about bikes while he worked on his machines. Cyril taught me how to ride bikes. I started by just cruising around the track on one of his old bikes and one of the mechanics brought an old BSA C11 OHV 250 which I drove around the empty parking lot. It certainly felt better with brakes on the 250 vs the speedway bike. I ended up buying the BSA. I notice that you have an affinity for sidecar racing. One of the bikes that owned before I left for Canada was a big old Norton with a Watsonian sidecar. Bike riders that have never operated a sidecar usually are quite surprised at the different riding skills involved. Cyril helped me on a life long passion for bikes. I have owned a bike or two continually for nearly 60 years and currently have a Suzuki S3 1400 and Suzuki Hyabusa 1300. I left the UK for Canada in 1967 and still live in Toronto. Alas Speedway was left behind except for my treasured memories. I have only discovered this website. I find it amazing how much I remember as I browse through the Years Gone By section. As you have observed I started on page 185 and have worked forward LOL. I noticed your affinity for Leicester. Commiserations J

Kamikazes? Time to get my coat, again!

If we have signed Cook, can you name me a rider of a known standard and guaranteed to score points on about a 4.5 average. You won't find a great deal. And I'm not having a go it's a fact. I would rather them take a gamble on someone like Kvech.

Very sad news. Doug Templeton was one of the first Provincial League riders I saw. He rode in the 1960 World Championship Qualifying Round at New Cross, scoring four points. I have always loved the story Stan Stevens told me once about the time he raced Doug Templeton up in Edinburgh: "We [Rayleigh] were away against Edinburgh in the Provincial League in 1961. We were one of the favourites for the title that year as we had a strong heat leader trio of Reg Reeves, Harry Edwards and me, so we were expected to beat Edinburgh. But with one heat to go, the scores were level and I was out in the last heat with the unbeaten Reg Reeves, against George Hunter and Doug Templeton. George very soon got the better of Reg, but we were both comfortably ahead of Doug and it looked for all the world as though it would be a 3-3 and a draw. But I can still vividly recall what happened then. As I rode into the fourth bend on the last lap, thinking we had the draw, I could see the whole crowd in the main stand rise to their feet as one and it was because of this that I knew that Doug had got me. He had made an amazing manoeuvre to cut through on the inside of me. Although I came last and in effect lost the match for my team, I will never forget the sight of that crowd rising as one to cheer their own rider home."

Given that we still have a day and a half left, I'm confident dandelion can hit the 2500 target this month despite the two bank holidays...

may be a solution is Northern DL e.g having 500cc and 250 / 125 cc races so a "Development Team" can include riders of different ages / different bike Class all racing under a "Development Team banner" so creating a conveyor belt over 3-5 years.

Fair comment. But how do you explain the continued success of the Olympique at Wolverhampton?

Other 15 year olds for 2020 include Mickie Simpson, Alex Goldsborough, Archie Freeman, Gregor Millar all of a standard for a proper development league were more competitive track time would benefit them all. 2021 will be a fairly sparse year with only a few present riders turning 15 with the outstanding talent being Sam Mcgurk 2019 was an exceptional year for the number of young riders coming through and the numbers probably won’t be matched until 2022 as there’s a good crop of 12 year old riders who will turn 15 then so let’s hope we have a development league for them to ride in .

Jack Scott rode for Southampton in the National League (1959 to 1961) and rode for Plymouth in the Provincial League in 1961, when he was one of the leading riders at that level. He had about half a season at Cradley Heath in 1967, when he was the reigning Australian Champion, but after a series of problems with equipment he returned to Australia. Interestingly, the Speedway Researcher website has his career record listed under Jack ('Bluey') Scott, which is incorrect. Bluey Scott started with Motherwell in 1951 and finished his British career with Glasgow in 1966. One internet site has Bluey's given name as Eric.

Looking forward to the new season but would like to know if the promotion has considered replacing the stand (tent) roof on the home straight? I know it's only been missing for over a season, but it might just rain again sometime over the course of the next season. Pardon the sarcasm but it is difficult to defend the club on this matter.

The Hi-Edge Raceway is a tarmac oval but Kirkmanshulme Lane is a shale track so transferring fixtures would not be to Hi-Edge but another shale track and the Hi-Edge promotion would not allow the Belle Vue promotion to run on the Buxton Speedway track even if the Buxton Speedway wanted to have the cars on their track.

Talking about a sports event hundreds of miles away live and with no co-commentator and the need to cover long periods where no action is taking place unfortunately requires a great deal of 'filler'. Well-researched background information can only go so far. At least with the broadcast arrangements having changed in Sweden this year Dave didn't have to cope with lengthy shots from a static camera while domestic Swedish viewers got interviews and discussions in their own language as in the pas.. I've done enough commentary of my own in the distant past to understand why Dave relies on social media to fill the gap.The thing is, you can't just read out anything 'juicy' you see on social media. If its inaccurate or defamatory you share the blame and guilt. You have to play safe so sadly it's the rather simplistic comments that get through. Dave from Reading may think Dackarna are going to beat Lejonen by ten points. Personally I'd rather just watch the match and find out for myself, Perhaps the problem lies in the content that people are putting online? There's the challenge. If you care about this then why not raise the standard yourself. Put something interesting, informative and essentially legal or broadcastable online. Why don't I? I've done more than my share in the past... It's time for others. Given the restraints he works under, Dave does an excellent job and thoroughly deserves his award again.

Today I started a new venture. Kent Speedway Fans TV, will initially be a pre recorded show but if it takes off I hope to broadcast live ala speedway tavern (but a lot more amateur lol). Fellow fans Glenn Collins and Wayne Raines joined me to discuss the 2019 season and look forward to 2020 season. And we were joined by Dan Gilkes who was "live from the sofa" and he talks about his speedway history, reviews his 2019 season and looks ahead to his championship debut in 2020. Hopefully it will be ready to put out on new years day.

Definitely a what,

Don’t believe it was suggested it did have any relevance in the uk... so what’s your point? Although, Jack Holder will be a Sheffield rider next season, so it is of relevance to Sheffield supporters... and as most of us live in the UK, it does have some relevance here...

A wonderful film about speedway on the island. Taking the bikes by crane off the boat. And one or two great Swedish riders of the time including Olle Nygren and Ove Fundin

Greyhoundp - would you prefer the Labour alternative? Salma Yaqoob - who famously turned her back on British soldiers parading through Birmingham before leaving the Labour Party to join George Galloway's Respect Party?

Well enough clubs have signed him

Ablitt is the better rider just now did really well last I year think if he had done a few more meetings his ave would have went up quite a bit so stopped at the right time hagon will come good but will be a season of learning this year but will be defo one for the future

On the travelling front (not sure kent have confirmed night for NL racing yet) but potentially with sensible fixture planning you could do Kent weds, IOW thurs Plymouth friday and maybe even Leicester on the Saturday (although I d try get BV on a friday, leicester on the sat, and Mildenhall on the sunday. Can cover all 6 away fixtures in two weekends away, tough on man and machines but also potentially saving a fortune on fuel Bill's, and probably get some travelling fans taking in a southern tour.

100% Fact and true and for the record Andy Street is doing a pretty decent job in his role of major of west midlands.

Not half as much as I would have spoilt it if I had been there Honest... Regards THJ

I heard Joe Lawler rides the track well would be my pick at no 5

Plus with both family connections in Hagon & Dugard he’s got the right people around him

I disagree. The handicap meeting at IOW was among the best I saw last season anywhere, and that includes the NSS. It might be called a gimmick, but if it is going to improve the quality of the spectacle (and I think it will) I am all for it.

But just think of the joy on their faces when the pigeon carrying it turns up!