Vince

That's because they were Olle's bikes plus with two riders half a lap apart it shouldn't be necessary. Those schools of his must have been the start of many a Speedway career.

Trouble is that there is a world of difference knowing you have to lay the bike down and then doing it at the right time when you don't even get chance to think about it. I think all riders who go round a dirt oval eventually get to the stage where they lay the bike down automatically it's at the novice level it's often a problem and I doubt it's something you can actually teach in reality. I think that all that sliding out when learning takes away the fear of a lowside crash so laying it down becomes less of a mental block with time.

That flick was caused by a bit more throttle to point the bike down the straight, I don't see any way in which he deliberately did that to hit Lyons. He didn't know exactly where he was for starters. As for the Phil Morris incident it's been done to death but I don't see that as anything other than a racing incident either, two riders rode lines that converged on the exit. I agree totally with that, I think there are very few deliberately dirty moves in Speedway. The higher the level the harder moves can be without disastrous consequences but at the end of the day it is a very small world and riders deliberately riding dirty will soon be getting retaliation from all angles. Having said that I do think the one thing that you see, mostly at lower levels, that should always result in disqualification whether it results in an accident or not is turning right. The move can and does cause the type of accidents that will often result in serious injury and there is no sensible reason for it. Luckily it's not common but I have seen a couple of riders who have used it as a blocking move and possibly not even realised how dangerous it is.

Not really they are just the words of a bigot.

Only those of very limited capabilities think they can describe the opinions of 17m people with two words.

I'll bet not a single vote was cast to get rid of the red tape imposing limitations on credit card charges! The way is now clear for the UK government to to as they wish with regard to that and for people to campaign for what they want. Despite the percentage headlines and predictions of disaster it is a small thing for the vast majority of people with the possibility to look around and get a better deal.

Was notified the other day that I can get an ATA boomerang carnet for £175. As for the checks considering the number of stolen bikes leaving the UK I'm all for it. Way more than half the people I know with off road bikes have had one or more stolen. Its a massive international business and anything that makes it more difficult can only be good. The past few years driving a van full of bikes across Europe has been easy. Unfortunately just as easy for criminals as racers.

I'm all for that with the exception of the concrete start which can't work in my opinion. I'd settle for the 2 minute warning being the time to tapes up though so they can garden if they get there early enough.

I would imagine a GP series run outside of FIM authorisation but paying well would gain much support and like the ACU here it has been proven time and again that they cannot revoke riders license for riding under a different authority. However it might stumble at the paying well bit unless you get the right people involved to bring in sponsorship. just yesterday we heard that one of the many ACU alternatives, the MCF are shutting their doors after many years but to be fair they bought about a lot of change for the good in their time, especially for riders.

That's all I remember him doing and I also thought he was very good at it. Got across the respect I've found that racers from other motorcycle disciplines have for Speedway, it's only their fans talk about 'going around in circles, the riders understand the skills required. Don't see how as a very knowledgeable and experienced Speedway rider his views are irrelevant. His comedic value was much appreciated when he was behind the microphone, in my house anyway. That's probably a good point, it would be a risk!

I think Kelvin Tatum and David Norris would be the dream ticket! However seemingly unlike most I do think that Nigel Pearson and Kelvin Tatum are excellent, I also think Keith Heuwen was very good and David Rowe is good too, unfortunately Sam Ermolenko, as knowledgeable as he is, in my opinion is awful on commentary.

I would think so!

As far as drugs improving performance on a bike there was a grass track rider who suddenly improved his performances with the aid of amphetamines for most of a season. Certainly gave him a much bigger set of balls than he had without it, once people caught on and started suggesting he get tested he stopped riding. I think one of the reasons so many sports people go off the rails is that they miss out on going a bit wild in their teenage years and try to make up for it when they retire as they are still relatively young. I know two very good pro MX riders who did very well out of the sport in the 80's, probably earning more than their counterparts do now who have nothing left due to taking up drinking and partying with all the dedication they once had for their sport.

He'll be bottom of the pile wherever he goes so hopefully his 3 1/2 years or whatever will be bloody awful.

Well I thought I was but seems the council put pressure on the track owner to cancel because of covid

Out on the horses at least 4 times a week all through lockdown, one of them needs the exercise or will not be here long worked all through as well.. Popped up the road to watch a pre 85 mx last weekend but best of all going racing next weekend in Wales for 2 days and get to try out the Norton finally

I think the job market has changed so much since those days that working and racing is a lot more difficult. In the past the vast majority of jobs finished at 5pm which would allow riders to make home meetings after work or with a couple of hours off. Now with more and more jobs being run over a 24 hour rota hours are all over the place and it's very much more difficult to find a job that fits in. Also in the past Speedway was a much bigger sport and many employers were happy to help riders in their career allowing for time off and injuries, that just wouldn't happen now. Weekend racing would help a lot but is not possible for a lot of tracks and even that is becoming difficult with ever more 7 day working. Plenty of riders do work running their own business or part time during the season and there aren't so many that could really say they are making a good living out of Speedway, most will have to work at least the off season. At the end of the day it has to be remembered that the likes of Briggo had businesses to run because they used their Speedway income to set them up not the other way around. Certainly in comparison the money paid to riders in the past was a whole lot more than it is now.

I always thought it was ACU policy to take away the race licence of anybody convicted of riding off road illegally anyway. As usual with the ACU they completely miss the point that 99% of illegal riding is done by the low-lifes that steal the bikes from their members not guys who spend all their money racing legally. However they do like to make sure they feel important in any given situation. Can you tell I'm not a fan of the ACU? My opinion is undoubtedly biased.

It's funny how the vast majority of Speedway fans say they hate seeing crashes and yet crashes and cock ups DVD's outsell all the others by a wide margin. I'm quite happy to put my hand up and say that I like watching crashes if nobody is seriously hurt and that includes my own and those of my kids! Good to see one from a different angle!

Good to see riders out and about making a living, shows that they aren't earning like some think so they don't have money to spare for a crisis. I always found it strange that some slaughtered Tim Stone for driving a Tesco van rather than take wages out of the Speedway.

The other thing that really surprised me when my lad started riding Speedway was that hardly anybody did their own servicing any more, not even the most basic stuff. In the NL at least most riders could easily buy a standard engine and maintain it for the season themselves with perhaps one full rebuild by a good specialist between seasons after all engines don't get much more simple. The problem only comes because the odd lad in the league has money to throw at the sport and turns up with better equipment than most PL riders, then the others have to try and compete with that. How much difference it actually makes to points scored is debatable but if somebody has better bikes than you then you'll always be convinced that's why he beat you! Jason Doyle and Anders Rowe per meeting costs will be very similar for sure. Semi- pro racing is so much more difficult in this 24/7 era than it was for previous generations, at least for those who aren't self employed.

I think some sort of engine cost reduction is desirable but not uprights or two valves really because of the need for everybodys engines to become obsolete overnight. The cost reduction of having 2 valves v 4 is minimal in my opinion and changing to uprights would achieve nothing more than making the rest of the bike obsolete as well. As I've said before just the rev limiter set at a low level would make most of the expensive parts unnecessary on it's own. It has to be remembered that unlike just about every other motorsport having a less powerful engine will often make it more difficult to ride and in many ways harder to set up. I like the idea of a minimum stroke as well but not sure if you can get that with short stroke cases, however it seems that over time less revs would mean riders going back to longer stroke engines anyway. Sticking to laydown chassis also means that if engine rules are different for divisions or leagues you could quickly fit a different engine into your existing equipment or possibly even just different rev limiters. As for the standard of racing being the most important thing it seems entirely logical but what just about every promoter will tell you is that home wins produce the best crowds.

But also even for spectator sports the post war years were a boom time despite it being financially difficult for business and life generally. It seems that when life gets difficult for people entertainment assumes a more important role.

I'm not sure, it has often been the case that sports do well in difficult financial times.

Might not be relevant to league Speedway but possibly to the GP's. The American Supercross series was half way through when lockdown was instigated there and being stadium events looked unlikely to be finalised. However they are now seriously discussing holding all the remaining events in a short space of time in one stadium with no spectators, changing the track between events. It is said they will only allow riders, a mechanic and officials in the stadium all of who will have their temperatures taken on arrival each day. None of the technicians and crew that normally surround these events. The idea is that via TV coverage, expected to be huge with no other events going on, they will meet the needs of sponsors rather than lose them for the following year. Lots still to be decided but it is certainly more than just an idea. Could it be that a limited Speedway GP series could follow a similar pattern? Possibly even a very limited PL knockout or something to keep BT happy.