Vince

Sam says he never picked up a shovel in the time he rode Speedway. I can remember him kicking off against Scunthorpe when one of their lads had been instructed to turn hard right on him out of the gate and after the third time Sam kicked off and then loads of people got involved in handbags. Far as I can remember the biggest punishment ended up being for Danny Norton that day but really should have been for the bloke issuing the instructions from the safety of the pits. There was also an incident with Luke Priest where Sam waited for him after being cleaned out then hitting Lukes helmet when he told Sam it was because he was going too slow 😂. Would have all been OK 10 minutes later if it hadn't been for Dave Robinson excluding Sam from the meeting and one of the opposing teams lot running over and trying to hit Sam while everybody had hold of him. The exact opposite happened at Stoke when Sam cleaned Gary Flint out, rode round to apologise but Gary (quite rightly) had the hump and hit him. The Marshall soon broke it up, the ref didn't take any action (it was Margaret Vardy so she probably didn't see it) and 5 minutes later Gary and Sam were having a laugh about it in the pits and are friends to this day. Ms Vardy then did notice that Karlis Ezergalis had the wrong shade of yellow helmet cover and either excluded or fined him (can't remember exactly) she had a politicians sense of priorities 🤣 To this day I think that riders who are pumped up shouldn't be punished for a bit of handbags immediately after an incident, the crowd love it. However anybody except another rider hitting a rider should be banned from the pits for life, there's no excuse for it.

Have to say that much as he used to get angry and wait for somebody I don't remember him picking up a shovel and I just checked with him and you definitly mis- remembered that one 🤣 He was no angel for sure but don't think he needed to 'tool up'.

Not mine for once I should point out 😂

You can also watch all the racing live for free on https://fim-moto.tv You have to register but can then watch the previous rounds as well.

Was a lot of good racing yesterday, the talent level in GP's is incredible. Watching the Moto 2 race it struck me the level of the riders who can't get into the top 10 there let alone into the premier class. Somebody like Tony Arbolino who is an amazing motorcycle rider finishes 17th and is only 12th in the 2nd division Championship just shows how high the standard is. Bezzechi's crash was horrible to see, amazed that he was sitting up after that one. Marquez and Acosta are going to be fun to watch next year, there'll be some tension in that garage. Can't wait for the end of the ride height devices.

Christer Lofqvist was brilliant at last lap passes around Poole (apparently there was a bonus involved) Briggo Bernt Persson Loram Harris Nicki Pederson Another vote for Zmarzlik being at least equal to anybody in any era I've seen.

Dirt Track Riders Asscoation the home of Dirt Track racing in the UK Great bunch of people and out of over 50 years competing on bikes the most fun I've ever had was on flat track. All you need to know about Champions Flat Track School - Champions Flat Track School If you want to just try it out for the day Pete Boast is the man to see. Riding CRF125s is great fun on a small track and you never know who you'll bump into as there are a good number of top class bike racers train there at times.

I think that's the point, he is so accomplished that he can do things most others can't. Doesn't stop them trying to ride the way he does and crashing though.

But also quite a lot less grip until/ unless you get a lot of rubber laid down. I think most Speedway riders are surprised how different it is when they have a go. They expect to be able to turn in like a Speedway bike until they try it (although there are places it can be done). It's a different sport in the same arena but a mistake to think that one takes less bottle than the other especially at the higher levels.

Like Speedway when the racing is good it can be brilliant, when it's bad not so much. There are a few DTRA meetings each year and worth a visit if you are in travelling distance. Entry for spectators is usually free and there are a lot of races from little kids through old blokes on vintage bikes to the Pro class who are seriously fast. Dirt Track Riders Asscoation the home of Dirt Track racing in the UK

I'd disagree, it gets very tight and there is a lot of pushing and shoving at times. 12 riders go into the first corner and sometimes the fastest are starting from 20 yards behind the front guys and have to get through any way they can. It's different to Speedway and brakes are used but that doesn't make it gentle any more than MX is (and yes I've done a fair bit of both and had a go at Speedway even if I wasn't very good)

Well I've been around the flat track scene in the UK for a fair few years and clearly still know sod all! Very impressive result by Ashton Boughen, I honestly didn't believe it was possible to get to that level so quickly coming from Speedway.

Speedway riders generally go pretty well straight away but then have to adapt their style to consistently be at the front against good riders. Good riders use their brake both into and out of corners and the tyres make it very different to riding Speedway. Ashton will need to do very well indeed to be in the top 6 in this competition. There are some very good riders including Sammy Halbert a rider who is still competitive at the top level in the USA but doesn't get it all his own way in the FIM Championship. Ashton will be doing very well to be the 3rd best British rider behind Tim Neave and Jack Bell. Edited to say that I have since read that Gary Birtwhistle is also entered so Ashton will have a great season to be 4th best Brit. All these lads have a lot of experience and while you can be reasonably competitive coming from other motorcycle sport flat track needs specialist skills to be at the top.

Sorry I never saw this post at the time. MotoGP is (like F1) prototype bikes featuring all the latest technology and rider aids available, in my opinion the pit crew are at least as important as the rider or at least the relationship between the two is. WSB are production based Superbikes but with a great deal of tuning to improve perfomance, much cheaper to run than MotoGP . BSB are again production based Superbikes with some tuning to aid performance. However the rider aids are very limited indeed so with the extra power they must be a real handful meaning rider skill is at a premium (not that they are better riders than the other classes just their skills are more 'traditional'). In my opinion the best of the lot.

Add to that how does the average motorbike mad kid know where and when these sessions take place? By contrast they can buy a Trials or MX bike and race or practice every weekend without driving more than an hour from home. In my opinion if you want more Speedway riders the clubs have to associate with Grasstrack clubs and find some fields for kids to go practicing in. Probably a biased view as I'm from the south and all the practice tracks are a long way away but I can't see anybody from my area getting their kids into Grasstrack or Speedway as things are currently.

I did go to Brighton once and it was OK but can't imagine there were too many people there from outside Speedway and not much to attract them.

And just for comparison SGP - FIM Speedway

Arenacross World Tour I think Speedway can run a decent number of events purely because it is a team sport. However I do think they need to run far more at weekends, many more people now seem to work outside of the normal hours so can't make meetings even if they want to. For one I can very rarely go as I work nights so only Saturday and Sunday are possible for me. Somewhere along the line though they need to adapt so that the youngsters want to come, not kids but those in their 20s and early 30s. They will spend money but they need more than 15 races, they need a night out and Speedway stadiums could do that in the main as they have a bar which could be lively enough to make it worth their attending.

Most certainly not, the vast majority of MX events are held in a field with relatives watching and the riders footing the bills. Even the MXGP series is nothing like the Arenacross. However things like the enthusiasm shown by the presenters, the involvement of kids and getting the crowd wound up could be done for next to nothing. I've been to many meetings where the commentator brings every bit of excitement back down to a nice controlled level of boredom. The lightshow etc and pre event promotion would work well for SGP. It is also significant that very few of the riders would have been paid to be there on Saturday, the bulk of them will have paid to enter (or their teams will have)

£59 per seat at what I think was the price for the majority.. I think the cheapest were £44 and the view from anywhere would have been pretty good. The most expensive VIP tickets I didn't look at but imagine somewhere between extortionate and daylight robbery ☺️ Hence why I said bigger events and especially the GPs. They are in it to make money though so these events must be turning a decent profit. As above, but a lot of the enthusiasm shown by the promotion would cost next to nothing and would make for a more exciting night out. I'd guess in that hall you'd be looking at 250m max or maybe 200m with air fences. I went to the Classic car show a few years back at the NEC and as best I can remember some of those halls were bigger and could have a reasonable track built in but would need stands built as well. What the cost of those halls are though I have no idea. I reckon a small track with a few top riders at this time of year and with the same presentation could work well if filled to capacity like the arenacross. Just looked it up and capacity in that hall is 15,600 which would be a better atmosphere than a half full Cardiff.

Just got back from the Arenacross at the NEC Birmingham and thought it worth mentioning a couple of things. Firstly Dan Bewley is a respectable motocross rider, it was only in the whoops which are Supercross specific really that he was losing time in a decent Pro-AM class. Secondly the presentation compared to even the Cardiff GP was so much better. 3 good presenters who ramped up the crowd and kept the interest going between races, probably all a bit shouty for an old bloke like me but the youngsters lapped it up and sport needs the likes of them more than the likes of me for the future. Lots of flashing lights, loud music and freestyle MX/ girls dancing with fire and a guy chucking free kids T shirts randomly into the crowd all accompanied with encouragement for the crowd to make a lot of noise and be involved between races and while the track was graded. (Graded incidentally by the son of Ace of Aces Promoter Ian Barclay) All in all despite decent rather than great racing we came away having had a great time and Speedway could take some lessons from the Promoters of this series. Might not be practical for every meeting but a lot of what they did could be applied to the bigger events and most certainly the GPs.

I'd have thought the big problem for him getting back into Speedway would be finding the money to kit himself out. It's not cheap needing a couple of bikes and a van plus plenty of spares even if his old riding kit is still OK. Sponsors aren't going to be queuing up for him and even with some help it's a big ask for somebody who has had no income for years. It's not exactly a steady income at the best of times. Personally I would think his rehabilitation would be better served by finding employment with a steady monthly income to get his personal life on track. If in 3 years or so he has saved enough to fund a return to racing that would be the time to take the risk.

Bit difficult when they're all self employed.

Gotta say Newport under Tim Stone was another that supported the principles of the league.

I'd imagine controlling a weight limit would be an issue, only solution I can see is a set of scales that riders go over when leaving the track but it's an added expense for promoters who are already struggling. Anything that could stop the fence lifting should be investigated I'd have thought.