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Rob Godfrey has had to use his high status figure head to finally find a rider to replace Jake Allen although, it has restrictions in place. The said rider is J Garrity which will not go down with some on here, but it is with the proviso that he travels from his "home", tagged & with a guard in a standard vehicle. All his operational gear will be maintained at the club & will travel from the EWR , when required. His attendance is based on him being able to travel "home" before midnight. On the proviso where this is not possible, IIR can & may be used. Another option which was looked in to was the possibility of signing Maksym Drabik, as he is still unable to ride to ride in Poland due to the use of a banned substance. This, however, is still under review as it was an IV drip given & authorised by his club doctor. As far as we are aware, under ACU rules, he can still ride in another country but under their Governing Body. Note; IIR translates to irate inmate replacement

Ashfield is not far from H.M.P. Barlinnie, maybe they could arrange a guest booking.

I can't believe anyone on here secretly wants speedway to die. However, I think many of us are frustrated and sad that speedway is dying, especially as many of us saw the rot setting in years ago, but we were slapped down for being negative, if we voiced our opinion.

Would be the only way to ensure he actually arrives for a match at Edinburgh .......

He manufactures mobile telephones.

Today wouldve been perfect to announce Josh Bates as the rising star. - PR opportunity missed

Irrespective of age I think that there are dangers caused by ridiculously bright headlights now being permitted especially in new tall SUV type vehicles bearing down on us mere mortals in our Polos etc.

The delays are a killer for speedway. Meetings that start late, excessive tractor grading, double R/R, the list goes on. Most sports, with the exception of cricket run like clockwork. A slicker show would definitely encourage more people to go, but the majority of promoters don't see it.

The sad thing is that this is more sensible than some suggestions already put forward on 'normal' days

I knew Bryan quite well. Lakesides General Manager , Alan Sargeant used to drive him around most of the time, but occasionally he would need a lift to somewhere like Rye House, and living in Erith he would need to get a train into London then back out to Lakeside where someone would pick him up so it would mean travelling the best part of two hours to be picked up about a mile as the crow flies from his home, then still had another hour or so to get to Rye House. That’s what you call a speedway fan !

Well, I am 7 days short of being 76 years of age. I gave up driving a couple of months ago now because I felt my concentration is not what it used to be. I did not want to hurt anyone else, or myself, for that matter, and decided the time had come for me to give up. So I did, and have no real regrets about my decision. It's an individual thing, some should pack it in early or some can go on to a hundred if all is well with them. I believe the time was right for me.

All stadiums with glass enclosed grandstands, must be expecting vastly reduced capacity limits to be imposed. It will soon be make your mind up time for some clubs.

No secrecy from me. If?? The people running British Speedway have consistently failed the sport for 20+ years. The fans are not the problem here, footfall through the turnstiles is all the proof needed. There's been no "I told you so" from any of us that no longer go. We want this sport to be the best (which it can be) but the promoter's have zero ambition to do so. Their way to keep the money coming in is simply, as the crowd numbers fall, admission prices go up to make up the shortfall. British Speedway's business model is run in an absolutely appalling way.

Rugby Union and Cricket run their leagues with the best players expected to be missing for a good portion of the season.. What they both have going for them though is the fact that internationally both sports have done "pretty well" over the past couple of decades which then allows their domestic games to feed off their success.. And media coverage and sponsorship filter down to their level too... A very successful "Great Britain" in Speedway is really the only way the sport domestically will get interest and prosper again..

But if they had a good point at the time, but some on here wanted to believe all was rosy, when things were not, surely they have a right to point out 'I told you so'.

Well it is April 1st

Same as now, everyone is at home, just in the 70’s they were all on strike.

These days a lot of tracks aren't accessible by public transport, we used to have loads around Yorkshire and Lancashire, you could visit several meetings every week.

I think that is absolutely right, I spend the majority of my working life driving in the dark and it is very clear that many drivers struggle to see where they are going. Then again I would say that regular testing of all drivers should be compulsory too. Not like the standard driving test with it's ridiculous emphasis on stuff that isn't very important but just a quick round the block with an emergency stop thrown in and a few questions(first one should be what lane do you use on the motorway if you aren't overtaking!) to make sure that drivers have the basic abilities and reactions to be reasonably safe. My grandfather was still an excellent driver at 85 and I have an uncle of 80 who still drives his camper all over mainland Europe every year perfectly well. On the other hand my mother at 61 was dying of cancer and driving around full of morphine until I stopped her as the doctors wouldn't and I have a 19 year old niece who passed her test 3rd time but shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a car.

WE will switch you back to RM

Especially as access to toilets will increase the footfall though the entrance and exits to these enclosed grandstands.

Brilliant news Missed my trips to the wild west.

I agree with this to an extent, the only way we will get main stream media coverage in this country is with either a winning international team or individual. Tai had some good exposure on TV and media like Talk sport but the problem now is if we do well at international level, neither Tai or Lambert race in the UK so punters can't go and watch them live in this country. If we can get exposure with our top stars we can hardly promote them with a "riding this week at insert club here" as they won't be riding here anytime soon..

Liverpool street i think.

It says in the speedway star this week it will be some sort of open meeting.

Especially when the operating and business model that they have ran now for so long was/is so clearly, glaringly unfit for purpose if you want to make a success of the sport..

May 17th was supposed to be against Peterborough

True but maybe they can't a practice day in , so a open meeting would give the riders a practice after being so long off racing , instead of going straight into a league meeting?

Think that's because may 17th maybe a open meeting?

Gulp On the basis of the gents toilet in the bar at Monmore it might be single figures.... Somebody better get some portakabins on order....

I've seen wider parking spaces for women in Germany. Maybe they should have them for pensioners too.

I have to admit things have been far too quiet regarding Spooner for him to not be fixed up somewhere so makes sense

I thought Matt marson has either stopped riding or gone back to Australia? Alex spooner also fits

same, but the cost was unreal

My Dad became a driving instructor to top up his pension after he retired at age 65. He was 66 when he passed his advanced driving test and carried on as a driving instructor until he was about 72 or 73. He had the patience that comes with age and built a terrific reputation for getting so called “hopeless cases “ through the Driving Test”. There were a number who had failed 4or 5 tests with other driving schools so the school he worked for gave them to him and as far as I recall he got them all through first time with him. It’s not that he was a better teacher than anyone else but he fifty years experience behind him and he got his pupils to relax behind the wheel and really passed on all the little hints and tips that come with a lifetimes driving. So I think when we talk about older drivers, if their eyesight is good and they have a reasonable degree of common sense, what they lack with reactions perhaps not being what they used to be they usually make for in experience. As you say, the highest insurance risk group is for men and women under 25, when really their eyesight and reactions should be at their peak.

You never know with Ben

Live here at 3pm

If I remember speedway journalist and all round enthusiast Bryn Willliams used to travel around the country via public transport or lifts from colleagues because he never could drive. That's dedication for you but there's no way I would have relied upon public transport to get to matches personally...how he managed it is beyond me?

Not sure if the council has said they can't host meetings, a think it's more than likely that they've said that the expected crowd capacity is reduced further than was expected.

Care to expand on that?

Good luck Connor!

Whilst again I don't disagree I think it's becoming more common place. If you look at cricket someone like Jos Buttler will be able to name a half dozen teams he plays for in different competitions around the world. But he's entertainment and the competitions are viewed as distinct separate brands that mostly don't run concurrently. So he's in the Big Bash for a month, then at the IPL for another month, the Hundred at another point and domestic T20 some other time. Whilst the big names are a massive part of these competitions it's also the experience which is being sold.

In the free world of the United Kingdom, I would like to think that people have a choice when or not to drive their vehicle. Age certainly isn't the only issue as to whether you should be driving at night. By all means introduce a compulsory eyesght test for ALL drivers periodically , rather than the present honesty system, but a blanket ban based on age alone is surely not justified. (and probably illegal under "human rights" legislation !!)

Interesting to note that the person who started this thread has not taken part in the discussion.

And you never hear boat race fans complaining about how boring it is that Oxford and Cambridge have reached the final again....

Thing is the growth has to start somewhere and many tracks back in the day were in the middle of fields with poor access and the sites build and develop slowly as you progress... Rob Godfrey has developed Scunthorpe over the years into a good venue now and that didn't happen over night and remember back to when they first took over that site... it was pretty basic to say the least... The question is would the discerning fans of Workington be happy (at first hopefully) watching an NDL side perform along the lines of how Mildenhall or the Isle of Wight have done as we all know in this sport numbers are critical for running a successful team... there is always a break even point... Last time I had a look down just before the Christmas lock down there were tons of muck piled around the place that had been excavated out and just as many piles of shale from the old DP site ready I assume to go back down and it looked like a moon scape! well even more like a moon scape than it usually does if you could get gypsies and travellers on the moon!!! Good luck to them and if/when it comes back all they will need are fans through the turnstiles... the other thing is if they don't run a league team of some description there will be a fantastic training track down there to bring the young kids on... so a win win for Workington for me... Regards THJ

Yes Belle Vue/Redcar So slightly smaller than Belle Vue but same shape No it belongs to the council Yes there is the site itself is huge; they aren't using the Northside track its marked out separate from that one

I personally think Craig Cook will come back in the best shape he has ever been and hungry for success and will be #1 with a bit to spare

If we were to keep the current 1 to 7 (which is never going to happen) I would be disappointed if the Lions weren't play off finalists. Bates needs to grow up and race but not chase lost causes as he ends up getting injured.As has been pointed out by another poster, he is fifth in the team averages and may be difficult to cover if we had to use R/R. Should either or both of the twins kick on at reserve, I don't see us dropping anything at home. If they can match their opposite numbers away, we really are in business. Let's not get too picky though eh? As long as we get to smell some methanol, we'll take whatever comes!