salty

The thing that struck me watching that meeting again was how awful the starts were. Green light and go, with rider after rider getting a flyer.

I remember Mike Letch riding second halves at Cradley in 1970, as did Mal Carmichael who sadly lost his life at Lokeren. Remember seeing a photo of Mike in one of the Websters annuals watching the racing at Hackney in his wheelchair.

Can't wait to read that interview, and yes Tony Cradley fans won't hear a bad word said about our Bernie. I would like to hear from Bernie how he felt riding for the Heathens when Dan McCormick was in charge and he ended up being sacked. You have to remember that Bernie was not excluded following the Briggo crash, though having watched it again recently that is definitely a questionable decision. Bernie was my hero from when he joined the Heathens in 1969, particularly when you remember how the loyal Heathens fans had to endure season after season of disappointment. As many Cradley memories as possible please!

I saw Cradley beat Halifax 64-14 in 1980 I think. Pretty certain the Cradley rider who missed out was none other than Erik Gundersen in about Heat 9 or 10. Extremely dull meeting from the racing point of view, only interest being whether the max could be achieved.

Just to clarify DeWayne Keeter's British career.He was introduced at Leicester for the 1969 season (when he was the only American to ride here). After understandably slow start using borrowed machinary he improved throughout the season to finish on a creditable 4.87 average having ridden in all fixtures. Who knows what he might have achieved if he had come back the following season. Of others mentioned on this thread I always thought Mike Caruso was a perfectly respectable second string and I find it hard to see Lance King as a failure when he finished on a World Final rostrum. While I take your point that he could have done so much more, then you could say the same about a lot of riders. Particularly, in relation to this topic to the Moran brothers who were seen as supremely talented but never reached the absolute pinnacle of the sport. On a personal level I found Brad Oxley to be a frustrating rider, because after a perfectly acceptable first year with the Dons he never kicked on in his second year and left the British scene behind.

When Bruce Penhall walked out on Cradley in 1982 he left a massive hole, both in terms of points scoring ability and personality. That Simon Wigg was able to fill that void (in both categories) when he rode full time in 1983 is a testament to the qualities of the man. He just had one of the best smiles didn't he?

I guess what it all boils down to is that the system used by the powers that be is (as is often the case in Speedway) wrong. Seemingly only the decision makers can't see that hand picking 7 of the 15 competitors for a World Championship is soooooo wrong. At the very least numbers 9-15 in this years GP's should be racing in a GP challenge against 9 other riders (preferably ones who have qualified for such a meeting) or at worst been nominated. Top 7 qualify simple as that. I'm sure there would be hard luck stories, riders who are injured or have hard luck stories on the day, but at least they get to try again next year. This to is the nature of sport and it's attraction. Trouble is you could then get the "Andy Smith" scenario whereby one unwanted rider keeps getting through the challenge year after year. Much more preferable to the followers of the sport then the current farce.

I think if you look at form in the Swedish and Polish leagues then Rune Holta is the best rider not already chosen. Add in the fact that he finished 7th in the GP's in 2003 and only missed out in 2004 because of a debilitating shoulder injury that hampered him in the first few GP's and he should be the pick. Having said that he might miss out because of his nationality problems - he's a Pole but not really a Pole etc,etc. If its done on riding ability he should be in - no question.

Bert Harkins always had very distinctive leathers in the early 70's. as far as team leathers go I liked the late 60's Leicester Lions, much better than the 1972 Cradley dark brown!!! Always used to like Jan Andersson's Halvarsson leathers of the early 80's.

The crowd figure was widely reported as 32,000 which I wouldn't describe as poor. Would imagine that costs were sky high and I can't see any other promoter having the balls to give it a go considering the losses incurred first time round.

Both the Russians and the Germans emerged with credit from their respective rounds. The youth of the German squad augers well for the future and it would be great if the sport could take off in that country. Similarly the sport in Russia appears on the upturn, with 2 teams appearing in the Polish leagues this year. Also the "new" money in Russia has allowed some Russian teams to offer contracts to foreign riders for the first time. As I said on another thread it was pity that Povazhny didn't get a ride, I just hope that Gafurov and other younger riders get a chance to ride over here on a more permanent basis.

What a fantastic race!!! Every year the WTC seems to throw up these classics. Hats off to Adams, Gollob and Smolinski for providing some brilliant entertainment. Sky should use that when they advertise Speedway in the future.

The problem I have with the ref is the inconsistency. I don't really have problem with having an all 4 back for the Ricko incident, but he should have done the same for the Holta incident. A lot of ref's however would have put on the red light for an unsatisfactory start in the last heat so I guess we should be thankful he didn't because it was a race to savour.

Listening to Rune's interview tonight it would appear that one of the main motivations for him is to try and ensure he stays on the radar as far as BSI are concerned. Given that they have done away with qualifying for GP series, this is obviously one of the best ways for Rune to make sure that he stays in their thoughts for a permanent slot for next year. As to why the Poles have picked him... on league form in Sweden and Poland he is one of their top 5 riders simple as that.

This is quite a thorny subject, but I guess riders have to do what they think is right for themselves. The Matej Ferjan situation is based around the fact that Matej has had long running problems with the Slovenian authorities and hasn't riden under the Slovenian banner for a long time. Therefore if the rules allow it why should he not be able to ride for another country once he has passed their immigration restrictions? Currently Roman Povazhny rides under a Polish licence (I think) which means he avoids been called back to Russia for any number of meetings allowing him to be more freely available for Arena meetings (compared to Darkin and Gafurov). Consequently he wasn't in the Russian team for the WTC. I have a lot of time for Rune Holta as a rider and I think he deserves a lot of credit for becoming such a successful rider from a country where Speedway has such a low profile. I would assume he must have a Polish passport and as such is eligible to represent them and good luck to him. He is not the first person to have followed that route as it is commonplace in sports such as Athletics and Cricket (Kevin Pietersen being a very topical example).

No odds yet, but I would guess Betandwin will have something on offer.

Never reached his full potential because of injury. Without that he would probably given Hans and Erik a run for their money in the late 80's.

Thanks for that, shame though he isn't riding for the Russians they might just have had a squeek for 3rd.

Anyone know why Roman is not riding? He rode in the qualifier and would have been a decent spoiler round Blunsdon.

I agree, I think it is an unfair reputation which stemmed from Andersen spouting off at Cardiff last year. Hope Rune gets back in the GP's for next year.

I think the point being made was that Andersen is a hypocrite. Last year he complained that Holta came off easy and yet he did the same himself this year.

Think you'll find that the ref for the Hancock/Pedersen incident was Posslethwaite

Do a search in E-Bay. There is a seller calling himself "NutsaboutSpeedway" who has got a good supply of DVD's copied from videos covering Speedway from the 70's and 80's. I have bought 3 or 4 off him and they certainly bring the memories flooding back. I know he is selling one currently that has a couple of Hyde Road meeting on from 1982.

Given that Bjerre has had a couple of rounds the Danish wild card should be a choice between Charlie and Neils. The way he performed at the Parken last year it's gotta be Neils. I would have said Holta should be a certainty for the Scandanavian spot, but as he was picked for the Swedish then I would go with Freddie (is it at is home track?) Poland - Miskowiak Czech - Ales Italy - Sanchez or Zagar Looking ahead for next season (I know its a bit early) but Richardson,Jonsson and Chrzanowski are going to have to improve some to stay in and justify a seeding spot. Brits could be down to just one representative (if that).

My impression was that they made "light" of it because it's become so common place for Pedersen to ride in such a manner. You have to bear in mind that at some point this season they too might be on the outside of Pedersen entering a bend, so maybe there's an element of self-preservation involved in them being fairly light in their criticism.