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Fancy not being able to write something about such a tragic event without prefixing it by "I wasn't a fan..etc" Nobody cares either pay your respects or just scroll past

Who was that masked man you say? well it certainly wasn't the Lone Ranger Take a bow Steve Lawson who has been ably assisted by the main man himself with the brains (and brawn and finance) behind it all Andrew Bain; also Neil "Boozer" Bewley (yes his Dad) Stuart Jenkinson; Paul and Brad Haughin; Old Ted? David Payne one or two others whose names I have forgot (sincere apologies) and of course the legend that is Alan (Unlucky for Some #13) Windbush... The effort these guys are putting in on weekends at this track is nothing short of heroic... kudos chaps and keep up the good work... Think Steve Lawson is preparing a GP track never mind a Championship one or dare I say it a one fit to host Premiership meetings on... Ooh a cant say that on here can I... oops to late... Regards THJ

Another Friday night to drool over greatness as the Tigers bring total speedway to their adoring fans . This week's support act are Berwick Bandits , who themselves look a decent outfit this year . But how will they cope against the Championship's Galacticos ? Well they have 4 ex Tigers in their ranks . 2011 title winner Theo Pijper , 2007 GP winner Chris Harris , last year's Tiger Ricky Wells and Kyle Bickley . Add to that Jye Etheridge , Leon Flint and Ty Proctor . Can they raise their game a few levels to stem the flow of home 5-1's , that's the task facing the Bandits to try and stay in the meeting as long as they can . So its along to the Stadium of Speed for another couple of hours of pure entertainment on Friday

Reflecting on this now having absorbed all the tributes and comments, it's clear that speedway, in the modern age, has lost its greatest ever promoter. I can't recall such an outpouring of grief and admiration for someone involved in speedway who wasn't a rider. Nigel spent years promoting nothing but positivity in so many aspects of speedway that his contributions were quite extraordinary and surely without precedent. Crikey, he even ghost wrote Kelvin's recent book(s)! This really is a case of you don't know what you've got until its gone. A truly tragic loss.

Those who criticise his style of commentary need to wait and see what the alternative might be. God save us from Sudden Sam. Be careful for what you wish for.

Not saying it because he's no longer with us, always loved his commentary. Sky Sports in general had that tendancy to be over the top in their presentation and Nige certainly was of that ilk. As previously said on here, speedway commentary where there are long gaps to fill, followed by quick bursts of action, is a thankless task and he did it with absolute aplomb. Due to my friendship with Phil Rising I had the pleasure of a night on the Guiness with he, Nigel, kelv and a few others. Nige was as enthusiatic in the boozer as he was in the commentry booth. But more importantly , super polite, respectful and just a lovely guy. Speedway has lost a very hard working ally, but the world has lost a bloody decent bloke. Rest east Nige, enjoy having the best seat in the house for all futre GPs.

Awww man Ruff am getting the hang of this now... Northside coming on a treat; and getting wider by the visit... Regards THJ

The poor chap has died before his time , sod his type of commentary, let your hearts go out to wife and family. Everything other is obseen

40 ??????? Seriously ? We cant allow that I'm afraid . We take our foot of the gas and let you get 40 , well it only encourages everyone else to think they have a chance at the Stadium of Speed when we all know that's just wishful thinking . No you might be better than the dodgy Diamonds , but 34 is a more realistic outcome .

Yeah what from afar says, say it wasn't cost effective using QTV again n don't think could get the people or infrastructure in place to do it in house. Quite disappointed myself, seems backwards step when more and more clubs offering it

Here we go; latest shot from Northside and I done my first white line ever on Saturday Like them Politicians I have finally had to admit to it... Took some painting in but total satisfaction for me and Brad Haughin... A can see how them Politicians and Footballers like doing them white lines its very calming for the soul... Regards THJ

Lublin v Czestochowa Sunday April 17th https://vk.com/video/@shestakovspeedway?z=video-81427162_456239161%2Fclub81427162%2Fpl_-81427162_-2 Fantastic racing- do not miss !!

I never like him as a broadcaster but that does not mean its not tragic or i cant show respect for someone who put a lot of his life into speedway or for his family who have lost there Dad -Husband etc So nothing to do with hypocracy at all .

Twins and Rowe surely did what was expected tonight? Top 4 that let you down IMO

They never had to ask him why turn money down

Some really encouraging signs yesterday, apart from Lewis having an off day everybody contributed considerably. We will be weaker once Iversen leaves of course whether he's replaced by Kildemand or somebody else but the way the team rode and were up for it under Brady's influence was good to see.

Hoping for a Plymouth win

On another note, yesterday was the first time I watched Josh Pickering live. Lynn fans are in for a treat this year, what an entertainer!

Especially in the circumstances of the present rider shortage, this analysis is spot on. As regards Newcastle, there have been decent crowds so far but also healthy away followings from Redcar and Edinburgh within them. Given that it became all too plain last season that the hard core support (the "through thick and thin" brigade) is not enough to keep the club's head above water, as I see it if there is any doubt about BWD's long term fitness and/or commitment and that GC will start to at least beat opposing reserves at home, then - funds permitting - hard decisions should be considered, and sooner rather than later, to give the team a better chance of achieving the home wins that might attract the less committed among the supporter base.

Maybe could call it rider replacement, oh......

Was very impressed by Jack yesterday. Showed good composure when in front of Palin and had a nice style. Hope he has a successful season.

Looking forward to this, haven't seen a league match since we (Swindon) put our licence ''on hold', I have been to Poland, the British Final (Adam's win) & GB's SON Gold since so not entirely without a speedway fix'. I'm not interested who wins but am looking forward to the racing which by the looks of it was decent last week.

Aye qualifying for sgp2 is fast and loose. Made a mess of that one haven't you. Suppose Tom Brennan was playing fast and loose when was winning world cup too eh?

Even you thought something along the same lines and at least i did say IF Hokey Cokey , That was another trophy the Panthers won during the wilderness years of the Ipswich Witches isnt it

It is beyond comprehension that the track was prepared in a way that did not suit home riders or at the very least they did no know it was being prepared that way

Yep looking good and looks like Redcar a little bit.Be nice if they could get a team in the top league to watch as nothing as far as Manchester.Be nice to have a few trips over to Workington again.Keep up the good work.

Oh hokey cokey , oh hokey cokey cokey

Apart from having the worst team manager, can anyone explain why Fricke was in heat 15 ?

He wasn't that bad on a bike an he's proving to be a Wiz on a tractor... Regards THJ

Really starting to look the part Regards THJ

Horley can't see the tapes malfunction directly in front of her but can spot a tiny red light on a phone on bend 3.

All this discussion about the Leagues is mainly been brought up about because Newcastle made a mess of their Team building.We all know Speedway in UK is not in good shape ,but restructuring the League because Newcastle fans are not happy will never happen.

If they do go for R/R Lawson wouldn’t be able to take one of the rides since MPT is third in the averages. This is despite him being the current number one for the league champions in the ‘superior’ Premiership. Try and explain that one to someone who doesn’t follow the sport.

Leszno v Gorzow Sunday April 17th https://vk.com/video-81427162_456239160?list=b05a986140b90fa45f&fbclid=IwAR0iI-yQCRcL8ep1kcQ7UFEMCoKKjPdalOdqPZSjeic4X1Ky7KqurPmCozo Great meeting do not miss !!

He wasn't entirely my cup of tea for various reasons, but you could never doubt his commitment to speedway. I think commentary, and particularly speedway commentary where there are long gaps to fill, followed by quick bursts of action, is a thankless task and fair play to him for not only stepping up but anchoring the role for a long time. His passing at just 52 is of course also very sad for all those around him. RIP

Fair comment. The team was built with a strong top three. At home, visitors will do well to gain a point. Away, the big guns need to score well to keep things tight going into the final three races, where two big hitters will get you over the line or look to at least salvage a point. Lions have now been spanked away by two teams who many will see as being borderline play off contenders. Having watched the stream the track appeared to be slick and dusty which no doubt accounted for the lack of passing. As disappointed as I was with my track observations (which grates when I read of the constant criticism of the Lions track), the score margin cannot be excused. With the clubs expectation of a play off spot as an absolute minimum, the obvious imbalance of home and away performances ( to date) would suggest that it would be very difficult to overcome another top six team over two legs.

I know still early in the season but Leicester aren't going to win anything if they don't sort out their away form. 20 point loss and a 30 point loss with the team they have? Shouldn't be happening imo. But well done Plymouth on their win, very good performance from them. Gating and passing they didn't put a foot wrong.

I'm confident Jake's season is about to get started this week and we'll see an upwards curve starting

I may hold the forum record for the YOUNGEST speedway fan; I was three weeks old when I first went to Plough Lane in August 1962...

You can please all of the people some of the time, some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time. (Something like that anyway).

We welcome Ipswich’s and Poole’s Danny King to the NSSC this Thursday, 21st April, start time 8pm. Everybody is welcome to all our events, entry is £4 for non-members and annual membership is open to all. Our venue, the Brandon Club, is just down the road from the stadium and has a good bar, featuring a nice pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Wye Valley’s Butty Bach amongst all the regular fare and hot drinks too. All proceeds are for GB Youth Speedway. This year we have donated £2000 to help Britain’s U16 & U19 riders.

Really should by in neutral garb.

Clearly a track walk is different to actually riding it. Whether the afternoon start and sun made a difference to normal conditions or the track man prepared it that way is open to conjecture but it was totally different to the Ipswich home meeting. Lynn deserved to win as I said earlier. I have known Horley for years and to my knowledge she has never been on the ball, on the retired list would be better.

Wouldn’t read too much in to comments made by riders when they don’t get rides at other clubs. When I spoke to him at the end of last year he seemed very happy and was hoping to return. If we’d have stuck a contract under his nose early doors who knows? Wasn’t all about him anyway was it. Wasn’t a case of Cook and being bang on the points limit, or no Cook and being 2.10 under. Back to this meeting, what a wasted opportunity. Such a healthy crowd, the biggest non bank holiday crowd I can remember for many a year. Such a shame we couldn’t put on a performance to entice the majority back. Let’s hope the limp performance and poor track conditions haven’t done too much damage.

some of the 'first division' riders are going through the motions in the second division when you look at the scores, taking the pi** really

Liked The Lion Sleeps Tonight... a wimbaway a wimbaway

Not my cup of tea as a commentator but obviously a well liked, knowledgeable and dedicated fan of the sport. His loss will be felt through many facets of speedway as he had his fingers in so many pies. Always looking for new ways to push the sport and drag it into the digital / satellite age and offer help and advice along the way. Condolences to his family, friends, colleagues and all who felt a connection to him as one part of the shouty brothers. I think we’ll find just how good he was now that he’s no longer here. If we can find someone with even half of his talent and enthusiasm then we should be ok. rest in peace sir.