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Of course. I have been in direct talks with the PZM and have told them in no uncertain terms that the standard of racing this season has been unacceptable. Swalamir Krazprcynski, secretary to the president of PZM has stated that they are doing all they possibly can to rectify the issues “of crap racing” and have apologised to me personally for the sub standard tracks, and efforts put in by certain riders. I have been assured that I will notice a certain rise in standard of racing for the remainder of the season and if I am dissatisfied, can expect a full refund of my subscription to Goldvod..

Speedway in years gone by had personalities and rivalries and these characters and behaviours have long since been banned by the the current establishment. Take a look through the history of the local derbies and for example the shenanigans that took place between Rayleigh, Eastbourne and Canterbury and then throw in the big fuel debate between Rayleigh and Eastbourne, leaping Len entertaining from the Centre Green, Johnnie Hoskins, Dave Lanning kicking verbal wotsit out of each other plus the Romford Bombers in the Essex Gold cup and speedway had a great mix of rivalry with some entertainment thrown into the mix. The same scenario applied to other teams around the country. You had riders who were personalities with the likes of Arthur Price, the Kennett brothers, Ted Hubbard, Brian Foote, Lou Swanson, Peter Moore, and these were in the lower divisions. Move up a league and you had the greats such as Olsen, Mauger, Briggs, etc to name but a few. In the second division added those at number six and seven who were invariably ex grass track and starting off were probably the equivalent standard of riders plying their trade at the IOW and Mildenhall. The sport was entertaining albeit the racing was no more spectacular but these were guys using effectively standard bikes or the track spare who honed their riding skills. Now you have a sanitised watered down form of entertainment that is no longer a raw sport where you support the guy next door who was giving it a go. Today you have the gate and go merchant who throws more money at the equipment then that are likely to earn hence the need for sponsors and treats the punter with contempt, most have zero in terms of personality, little in the way of team rivalry and the belief that as a sport it owes them a living. Professional some may be but as entertainers few make the grade until you move down to the third tier where the riders are willing to give it a go irrespective of the conditions and most of them do it because they want to prove themselves and enjoy riding. Without sponsors those in the upper echelons cannot make a living and is financially unviable hence the sport is now at a crossroads in this country. The third tier will be here long after some of the others have fallen by the wayside.

James Sargeant would get away with nothing in Poland

Another country mile win for Kemp in 18

Nothing wrong with being biased,he's your lad, so it's in the job description, you're justifiably proud of him It doesn't matter if he was first,last or middle of the pack choice for the GB spot. He's been offered and accepted it. At the end of the day its a very strange old season i can see why riders not racing regularly have turned it down. Some riders need 4-5 meetings a week to keep themselves sharp, others can survive on 1-2. But none at all is a hell of a lot of ground to make up for. Say for instance Bomber had been asked, and i don't know if he was, and accepted this forum would be melting down by now. In the wild and wacky way the British work they call for a youngster to be given a chance and then moan when they get given the chance. As far as i'm concerned good luck Adam

It's very interesting to read this because we are fortunate to have many holiday people who come to the speedway perhaps for the first time on the island.... I of course when I welcome everyone, just after 13 mascots of differing ages 7 - 24 have ridden but before the parade, ask the crowd "who is on holiday" to see the hands and shouts... why do it do that because these are a target for me and my team to try to engage with and get them out on the centre green to find out the where you from, have you been to speedway, blah blah. Not to promote the Island but our sport in general (and don’t think for one minute we leave our or visiting fans out of the extra fun treatment). Once I know the answer to my questions above, I always tell them what local to them and where to find it. And the resounding thing that I see time and time again in emails, Facebook messages or posts is that what they see when they go locally isn't half the fun or as entertaining as their experienced with 3rd tier Isle of Wight Warriors. Even more interesting I hear time and time again (and you will again see it written all over) is those who go to speedway but come to us because they are on holiday, want their promotion team to be more like us, our show, our fun packed family night out where we focus more on entertainment than the result, value over speed, a positive note rather than anything else. This why you will read the "Isle of Wight is the blueprint of speedway's future" and other comments all over social media....not by me but by people who have visited us (I guess that’s why we have won so many awards both in and out of speedway) and even more interestingly why clubs, far wealthier than us - (I know we are the poorest club financially in the sport), copy our ideas by the time I have shaken the last visitors hand or switched off the pits lights on the race day we first do it. So, sorry I don’t agree that we have a poor product, we have probably the best product for today’s environment, the best show in speedway, brilliant racing but most of all a very happy, satisfied and entertained crowd who want to come back or visit their local tracks which ultimately, sadly, disappoint.

One token black man does not necessarily represent the views of 47 million black americans! It is neither pathetic or ignorant to compare flags. The far right in Germany even today claim that they should fly swastikas because it it is their heritage. Calling people out just because they have expressed an opinion which is different to yours does not exactly make you or your opinion any better.

I suppose You know all the family bubbles at Scunthorpe then? I for one would kick out idiots like you who want to destroy any return to normality? What is your name and tell everyone that we are trying to get back to normality without being objective. Jog on or be constructive with your criticism of all and sundry

Kemp won heat 14 by a country mile

Time must be up for Kasprazak surely.

Didn't all the great promoters of the past treat every meeting like a one off event. If you can't big up the product you are trying to sell, what chance do you have. As an IOW regular, i would say that Barry's communication skills go down well with the punters. Keeping the fans involved is a big plus, especially when I'm making a mad dash for the 21.47 ferry. I always remember Johnnie Hoksins greeting every fan as he passed through the turnstiles at Canterbury. That's what you call customer care!

He was my first favourite rider. On the night I first went to speedway, New Cross were racing against Norwich in the Britannia Shield. They had had a poor start to the season. On that night Ove Fundin and Aub Lawson were almost unbeatable. Ove scored an 18 point maximum, while Aub scored 16 paid 17. The only New Cross rider to beat him was Jimmy Gooch. He instantly became my favourite. Especially as he top scored for New Cross and the Rangers won their first match for several weeks. At that time, the final heat was a nominated riders' heat and New Cross nominated Split Waterman and Eric Williams to loud boos from the New Cross supporters who thought the hero of the night, Jimmy Gooch, should be nominated in place of Split. As the race started, Split reared at the start and a re-run was ordered. Split was unable to take part, so, in true poetic justice fashion, Jimmy Gooch replaced him. Although Ove and Aub scored a 5-1, Jimmy came third, beating Eric Williams. He remained my favourite until New Cross closed at the end of 1961....though Reg Luckhurst did run him close when he became a regular Ranger.

Indeed. The connotations in the west have changed however since the Nazi party picked it up. I think the main issue here is more people getting offended on behalf of other people than anything else. Somerset made a smart business move because some people will be offended or complain about it because they need to have something to complain about. Whatever way you want to look at it they’ve saved themselves potential criticism and a headache.

Your avtar is one of Hull Vikings. Slavery was an important part of the Norse economy I those times. Similarly, are we going to ban Poole Pirates because the Barbary Pirates were slave traders ? How far are these analogies going to go ?These are Speedway teams for goodness sake not political rallies. People’s political , religious or racial outlooks are not governed by which speedway team they support.

His last season at 250cc (2018) produced the following Division One record: Matches 8 rides 30 points 90 average 3.00 maximums all the way

I think that is the sports dilemma (over here).. The IOW seem to promote EVERY meeting as if it was a one off event, which with some of their fans on holiday it very well could be their only chance to impress them.. And for their regulars 'something different' regularly will keep it fresh.. Team success (as in winning the league) almost appears secondary to the success of providing their customer base a 'great night out' and given the lack of kudos and financial reward for winning any UK competition, I would suggest it's a very good operating model.. UK Team Speedway is basically a busted flush if you measure success by the numbers who attend, with many who have fallen away over the years basically giving up on the concept, hence no longer bother attending.. (But often still remain as very interested followers of the sport in their several thousands).. Therefore it's dilemma is can it run itself successfully as a 'Team Sport' concept (and bring back some of the lapsed thousands), or does it need to do 'something different'? The old adages though of "always doing what you've always done will only deliver what you've always had" and the definition of insanity being "doing the same thing over and over again and each time expecting a different result" is something that those who run the sport should have written large on their meeting room walls..

As I’ve said elsewhere, a big issue here is that we insist on running the leagues to a higher standard than the riders that are available. If we cut cloth to measure people would complain that the product is being “watered down.” The other excuse is that there “aren’t enough riders.” There are enough riders, just not enough willing to ride here who are of the unrealistic standard British Speedway is trying to run at. Look at the top tier teams due to race this season. Realistically I would say there are five riders we would definitely lose from that league should we cut our cloth to measure. Ironically they’re five who don’t need to double down to make the sport pay, Doyle, Pedersen, Iversen, B. Kurtz and Kildemand. The main issue I guess is that landlords are still going to want the same rent from their tenants whether the sport is part time or not. However without so much money going out on wages it wouldn’t be an insurmountable hurdle. The die hards will attend whatever is served up. They’re pretty much all we have left in terms of boots on the ground in stadiums anyway, so to suggest a league of a more realistic standard wouldn’t work due to fan numbers is a lazy excuse. It wouldn’t be that hard to reset Speedway on a better path here but nobody is seemingly interested in doing so. To do so we need to take a step back, instead we keep trying to build a palace on the sand. But at least each Premiership track would have got to see Nicki Pedersen twice across the year eh.

I actually think that an amalgam of the 2nd and 3rd divisions could be the way forward for the sport.. Whether it will attract many overseas riders I am not sure given the money on offer will need to be relative to the standard of rider.... But, for British Speedway, and the oportunities it would create for British riders, and their development, it might not be a bad thing.. It would also mean a fixture list being driven by customer availability, and run to a timetable when they can get there, and not when riders can get there when it suits their global agenda.. My team get decent crowds for 3rd tier Speedway and if a team made up of 2nd/3rd Div riders was the only team they had to watch, I would suggest crowds would be pretty much on a par that the 'first team' get now.. And much cheaper to run obviously.. UK Speedway is pretty much down to its die hards who go and watch 'any speedway', and hardly any 'crowd puling top names' ride here so there is a minimal amount of fans who only go to the see 'the names'... And when (if) this bloody pandemic ever finishes, every sport should get a 'bounce boost' at the turnstiles when it returns. . So, if there ever was a time to restructure from the bottom up to build a better future then surely it is now?

Regards your first paragraph... you should really read some reviews or attend it.... our presentation is good for speedway and is objectively good. Track Staff are smart - all dressed the same thanks to our sponsors Sydenhams. Are they polite.... read ANYWHERE about the welcome people are given on the Island and you will read just how polite, welcoming, helpful, engaging, interpersonal all our staff are - you see we view every person as equally as important as the next... who do you view the most important person on race day...? Actually for me there are 2 The carpark team (our carpark is free so they are purely there to welcome and direct) and then the team on the gate... why because they are the first people anyone who comes meets... if they are smart, polite, trained, and knowledgable its the right start... then also its what a visitor takes away with them... the thrill of the last heat, great food at the right price, seeing the kids on the track in the running race or our riders signing tareoffs to give away at halftime... is it their visit to the pits, the drink in the bar, our clean toilets or using our baby changing facility, maybe it was the visit to the centre green, or the old boys on the JAPs after the meeting, could be our brilliant programme, or the videos on the TVs in the stand... could be me interviewing as I go live before the meeting starts..or it could be the tractors grading or just perhaps they have really enjoyed their night with us... Sorry I got carried away.. to continue... is it tidy? Oh my we have probably the most beautiful stadium before race day, after race day and any day... it is always clean.. ask anyone who has been every air fence panel (all of which are sponsored by the way) are cleaned for every one of the 20 weekly meetings we stage, the grass is alway on point, our toilets are clean, with flowers most weeks, and painted every off season, our stands are clean, our bins are emptied, our weeds are... oh we dont have weeds in the stands of course, or that main spectator area, or the picnic area, or the pits.. but there are a few where no one goes on race day until they are outgrown by blackberries which we encourage fans to come and pick (wash before you eat them), are we sign posted? Yes we are and we have banners across the island, pop ups in cinemas, and other attractions, can we improve this bit.. of course we can. Is the PA system good.. ,we have a great PA, a two mic presentation (fixed and mobile) but it wasnt always perfect but as soon as it was reported guess what ... it was fixed. Is the parade good... OK our meetings go like this... firstly our MASCOTs are introduced to the crowd..normally 13 every week they go off into the crowd (signing autographs and inspiring others).. then the riders decend through the crowd high fiving the kids on to the track.. the brilliant Rob Dyer introduces them one by one, giving an overview of any recent news about the rider (he knows his stuff) and when the final rider has been introduced do we allow riders to go off... although if we have our second team the Wizards in the main event we have them on parade too to be introduced in front of the crowd... so yep I think its good but we always look to improve. I guess we always try to be different, we know we will be copied, we know we must innovate to maintain our sponsors, we know we have to work hard but the most interesting thing is we are all a team... I am the promoter, toilet cleaner, tractor driver, drain cleaner, painter, joker, receptionist, car part attendant, burger flipper, drink supplier, raker, trainer, confident, accountant, marketing manager, My First Skid coordinator, track watering specialist, roving mic, sponsorship coordinator and anyone of our volunteers could be exactly the same.. they are all equal and all so very important to us.. I think the only difference is that they look to Martin and I for leadership and direction... Our reputation is pretty much known outside the UK too... we staged the first ever NICE meeting - now when I was in Poland I could have lied and said we had gates of 2000, we were loaded we had every possible machine.. but I didnt I told the truth.... when the Poles arrived the night before (from Bydgoszcz) to look at the stadium, I was watering the track - by a hose pipe..... at first they thought I was crazy...then they helped me.... look at the feedback of the riders, fans, NICE management of how we presented the NICE Challenge... no one has done better, no one. As for racing I just dont believe the racing is better... it may be faster but it never better... I dont care if the track record gets broken... what I believe fans want is action, passes, elbows, characters, appreciation from riders, interaction.... not flat out first bend new track record..... we are maybe lucky in that most of our meetings are last 3 heats deciders... and this of course adds to the tension and suspence.... but ask anyone who travels all over and watches all three leagues the entertainment value of the 3rd tier is by far the better... Now i am not saying there are processional races or thrashings of a side... but this is in every league... By the way I really enjoy this type of thread and I learn from it...normally I read more than I comment but for sure we are super proud of our product.

Lublin the best team to watch, Laguta and Michelsen are proper racers. Pity the track didn’t have a little more grip.

Sorry but there was lots of social distancing. I suppose you personally know all the groups of friends and relatives that can legitimately stand together? A good proportion of supporters (presumably more at risk folk ) were also wearing masks. Certain clubs are trying hard to give supporters some form of Speedway, give them credit ,rather than just knocking their efforts.

Must be something up with Emil, you don't go from good to bad in a meeting without a reason But well done Lublin turned out a better meeting than expected

Lublin making Leszno look decidedly ordinary. Emil having a very rare off-night.

Martin Yeates was superlative when riding for Oxford in 1977 but struggled when he missed the gate which wasn't very often!

He'd backed Sayfutdinov

Maybe I should have put "generally attributed to"!

One of the things I noticed watching the SEC was that Lambert may not often have been first into the first bend, but he regularly was coming out of the second bend. I always thought that was a characteristic of Woffinden at his best.

What is going on with kasprazak , we all know he can be hit or miss but his body language on the bike says he doesn’t want to be there

One of my all time greats- always a popular visitor to Somerton Park with Oxford, and then O joy! he joined Newport in 1967. Was privileged to see him appear in his only World Final in 1965- guess he was 37 then-what seemed an ancient age to me. Didn't he famously have a punch up with Ove at Norwich?

Gleb Chugunov is the wildcard for both Wroclaw GP`s.

Shouldn’t have taken those years away from the GP when he was arguably the best rider in the world.

He is the rider the Ove Fundin mentioned in recent SS article,he has spent £130,000 for this season.!!!

He was still improving. If he hadn't retired, I reckon he would've peaked in his early sixties.

Yet again complete and utterly inaccurate generalisation. Go ready what Barry Bishop has said. Go to places like I did last season like Swindon, Birmingham, Eastbourne, Redcar, Somerset. There are others i'm sure Lots of kids, lots of things organised for kids, lots of new faces and families being welcomed. The old timers who are in denial are the ones perversely most likely to moan about the kids. A new family appeared next to me at PB last summer, well behaved and friendly and excited, some die-hards moaned as they had to move a few feet from the "place I've stood for years". It was embarrassing and undoes what some Promoters are actually doing.

He did Tellboy. We collected them on our trips. It’s worth mentioning they were all empty by the time they got onto the shelves on his wall

Yes i think he did

Fans are to be allowed into the World Snooker Championship final this weekend. Possibly 300 out of a capacity of 980. With more pilot events to be announced shortly.

The Gollob v Boyce punch up was tremendous entertainment!

Honestly CITY you have totally knocked it on the head spot on,.I i have only been to, Cardiff four times .I don't want to go anymore well overrated. OVERPRICED fans being ripped off certainy track wise Forget Cardiff.!!!

Bangs looks a great prospect, he reminds me of Mark Loram when he first started out.

I will put the links up later but watch it here http://spedway.ucoz.lv/

I am impressed with Hellstrom- Bangs whenever i see him ride- he`s only young.

For many of you who attend Saddlebow Road regularly you will know Merv Beckett. He has sadly passed away after a battle with cancer. The Lynn news are running piece on him tomorrow, and I figured you may be interested in the article https://www.lynnnews.co.uk/news/tributes-to-much-loved-kings-lynn-scout-leader-a-friend-to-everyone-9119484/

I doubt it. Adam is 24 and these days most riders peak between 26 and 32. The number peaking before that (Batchelor, Karol Zabik, Ed Kennett) is small. I fully expect Ellis to continue improving for another 3-4 years and under the circumstances his seeding seems justified. He's not ready for the GP series yet, but in three years he just might be and the Challenge will be good experience for him.

Change the Channel.

You've been told many times that other than similar symptoms the flu and Covid act in different ways. That is why one has reduced in numbers and the other hasn't. When are you going to accept this?

What horror? It ended months ago. It's just the government, scaremongering media and idiots who think everyone is dropping dead still that prolong it. You've just presented the entire reason why the current restrictions are in place.. not because they are necessary.. but to drive you to a vaccine.

I think EIA needs a reminder of what was going on around that time.Ford was unhappy that Coventry had managed to keep Shamek at reserve for so long, IMO they used the very same criteria that Ford himself used many times (ie they played Ford at his own game)and he didn't like it .Pawlicki's 16 +1 did for Poole on the second leg meeting and Ford reacted by taking in his firework display, turning off the hot water to the visitors shower room & removing the Champagne from the bar area. Hardly the reaction expected from a mature person. Then came the sudden rapidly arranged meeting by a select few who connived a change in the conversion factor for lower league riders moving up, effectively screwing up bees deals for two riders already in place. I've seen comments that the teams shouldn't be selected before the AGM but we all know that it was the accepted way of doing things for years ,and probably stilll is now. We also had the re assessment of Pawlicki's average, another very unfair decision. Despite all the protests to the contrary it seems blatantly obvious that Ford was the Prime Mover in all that went on in the winter of discontent, & to add insult to injury he then proceded to register Kildemand as a poole rider whilst the bees were in the middle of a team shuffle mid season 2011. Kildemand went public and stated that he had no knowledge of his transfer to Poole as he hadn't even spoken to Ford. But it did have the desired effect as it stopped Coventry using him again.Those are just some of the moves of a very underhanded & bitter man.

So it takes 7-8 years to develop a vaccine to prove theres no side effects etc and you think its OK for the Government to force people to be vaccinated with something not fully tested

What I was really trying to say was that I don't believe there is any difference between trying to attract any different ethnicity to speedway than there is with trying to attract white people. If people are interested they will come. If the evening out is a good one they will come again.