Vince

I'd have thought that the more circular the track the higher the speeds and the more important horsepower becomes. Certainly you can have small tracks that ride 'fast'. Long straights and tight corners make being able to turn hard and find grip more important than horsepower in my opinion, usually gives less racing lines though.

If these bikes aren't found abandoned within a couple of days then it's really bad news as they have no use outside of the speedway/grasstrack community. Hopefully it doesn't become like mx bikes where everybody who owns one has either had one nicked or knows several people who have. The police generally don't even attend any more despite these thefts often being in the tens of thousands of pounds.

Kevin also rode in the Pro class on Sunday and I think finished about 8th or 9th

The Pro and Hooligan races will be streamed live in two 45 min shows on both days at https://www.dirttrackriders.co.uk/

I think it's a valid point to some extent that if you have older lads coming in from other sports they should be able to take advantage of the training on offer or even if you have a lad been around the amateur scene for a while but suddenly makes a breakthrough to NL standard. However if you've been around for several years without breaking into the league it seems unlikely that you will progress much further in all honesty. It's still a fact that time and again I've seen in Speedway that hard work and dedication will make for a better career than natural talent.

I would say that having a lot of lads filling team spots in the top two leagues is far more important than having one reach the GP's or even be World Champion. I firmly believe that having local youngsters in the team is one of the few ways you will attract and keep young spectators. Of course the more people in the PL the more chance that one will develop into a GP rider but the important thing is to allow the youngsters to get as far as they can and enable them to stay in the sport long term.

That applies to every sport and every nationality. Only a few make the grade equivalent to that which will let a Speedway rider have a career and a miniscule percentage reach the top. It is encouraging to me that there is now a decent route into Speedway in the same way Grasstrack used to be. Get enough kids doing circles on bikes and the best will come through and if they are lucky enough to avoid injuries and able to get through the financial difficulties they are the future. It is certainly an improvement on recent years and the first really promising time since Peter Oakes tried in the early 2000's. This time it looks like it has more support from the BSPA so can only be a good thing. I think Philip is spot on though, these kids shouldn't be left to their own devices once they hit NL teams. They need skilled help with their development until they reach the highest level they are capable of. If that's the NL or Championship for the majority then we have to accept those team places need riders too, success in bringing on youngsters shouldn't be measured by the amount of GP stars it produces. Now keep them out of the asset system for a few years (or even better do away with it) and the futeure would look even better.

It's a catch 22 though. When Speedway was a well publicised and popular sports companies would employ riders and give them the time off that they needed. Now that just isn't going to happen, it is very difficult for a youngster to find a job now that allows time off for Speedway. For most it comes down to self employment if possible or working off season. In all fairness very few riders make their living out of Speedway, the majority do something else at least off season.

On a personal level I'm not much of a fan although Tai seems to have matured a bit the past couple of years. However as a rider I think he has all the qualities to be one of the all time greats and clearly has the ability to make the most of the equipment and people he has around him. If I had a lad riding Speedway these days I would welcome the opportunity for him to be taught by Tai, there's lots of kids who can get around a track on a bike OK but very few know how to organise the rest of it. The current UK system appears to be a big improvement and kids are being far better educated on all aspects than previously. For most though it's still dad or Uncle Joe offering advice and help as best they can the majority of the time, whether they actually know what they are doing or not. It will take time for the training to take proper effect so the more good quality instruction that is available the better. Instruction and seat time is where the Aussies, Danes etc are so much better off than the Brits. Massive project having a kid? I would say it's easily the biggest life long commitment most of us will ever make so not an unreasonable statement.

I believe Oliver Brindley, the young British rider who is currently 7th in the GNC singles class after solid results in the first two US rounds is going out to ride his first Mile event at this meeting.

Times of racing for the weekend, going to be a busy one! Sat AM 9.00am - 11.00am Rookies and Youth Senior Practice (This session includes manditory practice for all riders in Pro and Hooligan 10.30-11.00am) Sat Show 1 12.15pm -1.00pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat Show 2 2.30pm - 3.15pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat PM 4pm-5.45pm DTRA Racing Restricted and Minibike Clear pits for speedway by 6pm Sunday Sun AM 9.00am - 11.00am DTRA Racing Vintage and Youth Jnr (This session includes manditory practice for all riders in Pro and Hooligan 10.30-11.00am) Sun Show 1 12.15pm -1.00pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sun Show 2 2.30pm - 3.15pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat PM 4pm-5.45pm DTRA Racing Thunderbike and Youth Inter

I agree that safety fences are there to protect spectators, after all riders would be better served by having nothing or a nice soft pile of people to run into. However given the number of spectator fatalities and injuries I would question that the board track fences were adequate.

That is pure porn!! So good that if I quote it then it will be seen twice. I've got quite a few dream bikes but that is the absolute top of my list.... at the moment anyway

Could it partly be some people going to meetings because they can't get their Speedway fix on TV at the moment?

I'd have loved to have seen this live, proper pioneer stuff. 100mph plus on tyres you wouldn't trust on a bicycle and clothing suitable for a brisk walk. https://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/beverly-hills-board-track-racing-1921

Round two of the DTRA Championship takes place at Peterborough showground as part of the Motorcycle News festival on 13th & 14th of May. Expecting it to be a full entry in almost all classes. Not sure of timings for all the classes yet but do know that the Pro and Hooligan classes are racing from12:15 each day as the headline event on the Speedway track. Speedway on the Saturday night as well with Newcastle the visitors so could make a good day out!

'Twas me, winning the B final just means you didn't qualify in the top 10 to go direct to the A so not as good as it sounds, think I actually qualified 13th after some very poor decisions in the heats! Eventually finished 11th in the main (because somebody fell off ) so it wasn't a great day but OK for an old fart, it is getting tough to get to the A final at all these days. Wish I had got the holeshot and led the whole race, led into turn 1 but was 2nd coming off turn 4 and stayed there for about 5 laps until I managed to get underneath Gary Birtwistle with a pretty 'robust' move. After all 11th or 12th gate pick in the A final is worth dying for

Like the 4,3,2 system but don't like the idea of somebody judging effort affecting the score

I think the move to narrow the gap between the top leagues is a good start as is the single average. It's very difficult to do but I think tracks need to be prepped for good racing rather than home advantage BUT fans want home wins more than good racing it seems so I'm sure promoters would disagree. Like a lot of what Danny Smith says, the laser lighting, good music, WiFi and apps are all things that would be attractive to younger newcomers (I guess!). I would add in that needle among riders creates atmosphere and should be encouraged. Even the odd punch up shouldn't be punished as long as it stays between riders. Anybody else at all who hits a rider, mechanic, track staff, anybody should be banned from the pits for life though. Moving meetings along smartly can only be good. However I would rather a meeting lasted 20 minutes longer if that time is needed to keep moisture in the track or other maintenance to give good racing. Do away with the family friendly image and make a big issue of just how dangerous Speedway is. Unlike most sports it wouldn't need to be exaggerated and again might get people through the gate. I would keep doubling up to British licence holders who have to give preference to our leagues. However stuff like the doubling up and tactical points makes not one bit of difference to getting new people in the gate and in my opinion that is where we should be concentrating. Get them in the gate, make sure it's as exciting as possible and try and create a good atmosphere for starters. They can be on the forum moaning about the details six months down the line but if the atmosphere was good they'll still go and watch.

This Sunday, April 9th sees the opening round of the DTRA Championship at Rye House. The meeting will be split into two halves. The morning meeting will consist of Minibikes, Rookies, Restricted (Intermediate) and Junior youth groups. Starting at 11am it will be approximately 30 races including finals. The second part will follow on from this, I would estimate it starting about 2pm. The groups will be Pro, Thunderbike, Vintage and Youth Inters and seniors. Again just over 30 races including the finals I think. Each rider has 3 heats, starting from each of the 3 rows in 12 man races. Points scored decide who qualifies for the finals and where they start from. Entry is free for spectators, come along with an open mind rather than expecting to see Speedway and you should have a good time and see some competitive racing. 12 bikes on a Speedway track can get pretty interesting at times. As ever if you go come and say hi to No95 in the pm meeting

For youngsters a job that allows them time off for racing!

Rich has been on the case and there is indeed a flat track class to be run at the Bristol clubs meeting in May. Will be good to see if there is interest from the riders, I will be entering for sure and know a few others who have expressed an interest so hopefully it will make for an interesting add on to the meeting.

It looks like a building site because it is, surely the fact that they underway with such a revamp can only be good. Seating was going in under the bar on Wednesday. It might not be finished but they are working on improving the things we read on here are needed to bring the sport up to date. Surprised nobody mentioned the big track changes, bends 3&4 are now more banked 4 especially and combined with the off camber the other end having already gone should improve the racing a good deal I think.

I think that's just clever use of wording by the council to muddy the issue. Sounds like a brickie being held responsible for the footings collapsing to me. If somebody is contracted to supply a base built to a certain standard and using specific materials and when you check it out all looks fine then you would be right to assume they had delivered what was agreed. If things later change because that, now hidden, base is unsatisfactory it can hardly be the fault of the track curator who specialises in the shale surface.

I use leathers because I think they offer better protection in small crashes and rarely ride more than once in a week so have plenty of time to look after them. There is a bit of a hole in the leg where they touch the exhaust! However I would wear kevlars and an undersuit with no problems at all if I were riding more often as they are much more practical to look after. Especially with this armour http://www.d-starracewear.co.uk/covecbodyarmour.html underneath I believe they offer protection as good as more restrictive and harder to maintain leathers in the vast majority of instances.