Vince

For me the racing is almost everything, I've no real interest in the rules (apart from the ones about machinery), don't care much about teams, actually prefer individual meetings and never fill in a programme. Was a bit different when I was a kid in that I had a team but now although I usually want one team to win more than the other I'd prefer good racing to the right team winning every time. The only reason it's almost and not all is that I also have an interest in the machinery and the way it's set up. 4 blokes with big balls on a good track is unbeatable entertainment in my view.

Personally I think that Sayfutdinov is a brilliant rider and still has the potential to be World Champion. However I'm not going to suggest that somebody lacks knowledge of the sport because they happen to have a different opinion. Until he rides in the GP's again it's all opinion and absolutely nothing to do with facts or Speedway knowledge.

The Friday night racing is now on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ObAgHApQ7Y

Presumably tomorrow as part of the dirt quake event as I didn't see him tonight. That's not being streamed as far as I know

The next round of the British Flat track Championship from Kings Lynn will be available on a Live Stream from 5.30pm on Friday 15/7/16. Racing starts at 6pm and there are over 100 bikes racing in different classes so plenty of racing with 3 races each plus finals. http://www.dirttrackriders.co.uk/ and the link will be live from 5.30.

I don't agree with that at all. How is it that I can't think swearing in front of your best customers and on live TV is wrong without being labelled a Tai hater? I'm a fan of his riding and most of what he does but that's the second time he's done this on TV and personally I don't think it's acceptable. That's not hating him but hating something he did.

I have defended Tai on the other thread but there was no excuse for what he did on Saturday. On the TV you could clearly see that he thought he was being clever by swearing. Like some 12 year old in the playground it was completely unnecessary and brings our sport down to the level many of it's detractors expect. Tai's sponsors may accept it but many others will not want to be associated with a sport where that might happen at it's biggest event. He has the opportunity to be an all time great, fantastic rider but needs to find some maturity from somewhere as he should be many years past that stage by now.

It's the sort of big overhaul that most have been saying the sport needs. It is being properly planned and trialled, not bought in on a whim as many say is usually the case. I applaud the effort and hope it succeeds. Now if they can just promote the sport as mad, bad and dangerous we might see a revival

Rather than them being a mainstream part of the sport where the noise is an important factor (although I'd disagree that Speedway bikes are anything like quiet with the current regulations) I could see them having a really important place in training riders. Do away with the noise aspect and surely there is nothing to stop youngsters using tracks anywhere at almost anytime for training. The one thing British lads lack in comparison to other nations is seat time and electric Speedway bikes could resolve that overnight.

Don't the riders contracted to ride in Poland have good equipment based there to take part in the matches the day after GP's?

Seems a bit harsh that this signing is blocked for a team that has no older riders passing on their experience. If there was already an old hand in place it would make sense but this doesn't seem logical.

If it is so important that a British World Champion rides in the British Final then he should have been seeded direct and even if not the semi's should have been scheduled with an eye on the GP's. Nobody ever became World Champion without being single minded and dedicated to that aim above all others but now he's supposed to put that aside to compete in a meeting to keep those fans who accuse him of not being British happy.

For team speedway I would really like whichever team is behind given the choice of gates 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. Then do away with tactical rides, tax subs or anything on those lines. Obviously tax subs are like tac subs but for Eu riders!!

Draw a picture of an infield start and see how tight the first corner is going to be, then consider where the big pile of dirt will be when they come around for lap 2.

As I said before those ruts are in the direction the bikes travel the concrete would be at 90 degrees so a completely different proposition

I rode at Peterborough the weekend on a flat track bike that is a lot more forgiving than a Speedway bike and if there had been a concrete start pad I would have put the bike back in the van before even starting it. You barely get the bike upright around there and the idea of the grip level changing back and forward just after and just before a corner is, quite frankly, completely nuts. Where you get the idea that flat track combines dirt and concrete I have no idea. No matter how smooth the lip there will be A: a huge difference in grip levels not only when racing but at sometime immediately after gating. Not so much of an issue (although as has been said there were issues) with a 40hp or less long wheelbase bike of the past but with nearly double the power output to deal with hugely dangerous today. B: because you get ripples and ruts in dirt surfaces there will be a lip in at least some spots. I have an idea you could strap a couple of pieces of shaped plywood to your arms and fly. Would you care to jump off a cliff to try it for me because I happen to think it's a good idea?

Going onto concrete from shale every lap and back again would just be stupidly dangerous especially on smaller tracks or those where the bikes aren't upright hardly at all.

He's British that's a fact, whether he sees the country he spent the majority of his life in as home is completely immaterial. He's qualified to ride for GB for which we should be very grateful as he's head and shoulders above anybody else who qualifies at this time. Not only that he's highly motivated to win and has the knowledge and drive to help the rest of the team do better so makes the perfect captain. I'm British and like many other countries, there's even some I could quite happily live in but I'd still be British. To me he seems less arrogant and more likeable since his success than he was in his younger days and there aren't many World class sportsmen who aren't exceedingly confident and who can come across as arrogant.

How could his father possibly know more than some random bloke behind a computer. Had a spell of being told what my lad was earning and where he was riding and strangely enough it never came from anybody who had any idea!

It's never going to be free, tracks, insurance, permits and first aid all cost money. Give the lad credit for trying to bring some extra experience to youngsters starting out their career. Tai was obviously taught well by his dad and seems like he would be able to pass his knowledge on. He is doing something positive but some people will never give him any credit, he's British and on top of the World so obviously many of his countrymen will be wanting to knock him down. It's nothing to compare with bringing over bikes and mechanics for two meetings where if he doesn't win he'll be accused of not giving 100% by the same posters anyway.

Norris and Parker would be heavily fined and quite possibly thrown out of the meetings these days. Nothing to do with riders only being interested in the pay check and everything to do with the rules.

Why is it that people can't like the positive side and enjoy Speedway without being accused of burying their head in the sand and thinking everything is brilliant? I still think Speedway is a fantastic sport and in the 45+ years I've been going believe the racing now is as good as it's ever been and the overall skill level of the riders better. That doesn't mean I think that nothing can be improved or that everything is wonderful. It does mean that I think way too many people have rose tinted spectacles about how good the racing was during their favourite era, which usually coincides with their first years of watching Speedway. The current crowd levels really don't help the atmosphere but I don't believe that's because of lack of effort or knowledge from the majority of promoters. I might think I know ways to improve things but like the majority on here I don't stand to lose a small fortune experimenting. The sport has major problems but none of the solutions are easy to identify or fund.

Watch it again and especially the view from behind and think about just how long he had to slow down or lay it down. There is not a man alive or any past rider who could've done either, you could put brakes on the bike and he wouldn't have had time to touch them. There are times you can lay a bike down quickly but you have to know it needs doing, he had probably less than half a second between seeing Dudek and hitting him. You don't get to Kildemands level without having laid a bike down to avoid accidents dozens of times and while it might be a good idea to demonstrate willingness to do so when starting out once any rider has got to PL standard or above he's going to be a lot better than somebody who did it once when waiting for the hanky to be waved.

Quite obvious that being able to use titanium has made the sport safer.