2ndBender

I've said many times, on this forum and elsewhere, two things need to happen before the Cardiff attendance increases; 1) we need a real racetrack, 2) we need a British winner. Neither is likely to happen in the near future.

Cavalcade of Sport events were held at quite a few tracks up until the mid sixties. I can remember them at Wolves, Cradley, Newport (on, I think, a Bank Holiday Monday), and one at Middlesbrough, which I don't think included Speedway. They usually did though, together with Athletics, Soccer and all manner of other sports.

I think "Barry Lindsay" was Ken Sharples, who had loads of experience at the highest level and was still (I think) riding for Belle Vue in the National League.

I have a programme in which Wells rode at Victorville in July 2006, finishing second to Eddie Castro in the Scratch Main and in front of the Facchini brothers.

Anyone got a full list of scorers from that Wembley match at Newport in '71? I can't remember why I wasn't there, (I was in Art College at the time so that probably had something to do with it!), and I know the score, but my copy of the programme is completely blank.

No, but judging by his scores in three meetings I saw him in the week before last, he should soon try his luck here.

Please. NO.........! You'll be tempting Craig Taylor out of retirement next...!!!

I think Simon Wigg rode for Togliatti in the early '90s. He arranged to take an Exeter team there as a present for the club presidents birthday, (Mark Loram was also in the team). The night before the match the guy was assassinated, which made Wiggy and the Falcons pretty nervous, as you can imagine!

I'll be there...doing the Travel Plus 4 Cities Tour.

Not a chance....not to another rubbish one~off track in one of the most expensive cities in Europe! Save your money for Prague and Bydgoszcz....REAL Speedway tracks and value for money prices. I imagine Latvia will be good value too.

Many thanks Iris123! So quick too!

Does anyone have the results from the International Best Pairs meeting staged at Neustadt on April 30?

Are you serious? If established tracks like Wroclaw and Eskilstuna were slick, you can bet your life this one will be. Ole's not gonna put any dirt on it, and there's no banking anyway. So just have a few beers and enjoy the sense of occasion, but don't expect good Speedway.

OK, now I know where you are and unfortunately you're a good distance from the Hayley Stadium, (maybe about 18 miles). Basically, the kennels are just off the A470, a major, busy dual carriageway trunk road, which you get to by leaving the M4 at Junction 32 and heading North. To get back, take the A470 to J32, take the M4 (East) to J24, then the A455 in the general direction of the Stadium. If you decide you have time and want to do this, let me know and I'll give you more detailed directions once you get on the A455 - it's pretty straightforward.

She will be staying at Gedrys Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery at Gwaelod-Y-Garth. I've done it all on the internet so I'm hoping it's a nice place as I have never put any of my dogs in kennels before. Jemma has always stayed in the hotel with us in Cathedral Road and the plan was to leave Molly at home with my daughter, but since the G.P. was moved forward a week we will already be on holiday in North Wales so she will be with us. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Ummm, sorry Gemini, I don't know that place at all, and I'm Newport born and bred - our two stay at a place on the A48 halfway between Newport and Chepstow, and it's great. Do you have a town or village name after Gwaelod -Y-Garth in the postal address, because I can't find it in my A to Z. If you can be more specific, I might still be able to guide you into Newport.

Which kennels is she staying in? If it's the same place my cats stay at, I can give you specific directions to the stadium from there. It's quite straightforward and should take no more than 15 minutes.

You can fly to Gdansk with the Polish budget airline Wizzair from Luton and the stadium is within walking distance of the city centre. We did it last Summer and really enjoyed Gdansk - Sopot, the Baltic coast seaside resort is easy to get to by train, and there's plenty to see in Gdansk itself. It was also in the 80's when we were there, which added to the holiday atmosphere. I can recommend Gdansk, but Krakow and Torun are also really nice.

OK....my response to Kevin's query was made on the asumption that he wanted to know what the quickest time around Odsal was at the time of it's closure in 1997. Just for the record, the track record at Greenfield Stadium, (at the time of it's closure), was 70.2, by Tommy Roper on 12.07.62. An entirely different stadium, of course. You may be right about the track at Odsal still being usable, theoretically - I haven't seen the place since the last meeting on 10.10.97, (The Elite League Riders Championship), but I can't ever see the place realistically being used again.

It can't ever be broken, can it? My understanding is that the Rugby club have built on the third and fourth bends at Odsal, so Speedway will never take place there again. Mind you, that was some going at a big track....I used to love the place, especially the first and second bend terracing!

58.2, Joe Screen, 19.07.97

Another telling factor in the potential decline of the event is the fact that we're still no closer to producing a British winner. Until that happens we're never going to elevate the thing to the level we all want - the crowd won't increase and the non-Speedway media won't take it seriously. I probably wouldn't bother if I had to stop over, or face a long journey home.

I'm lucky in that I live in Newport, so I'll be going again, catching a train home for 3/4 quid and grabbing a curry before turning in! But I think you're right about the crowd being down, although I don't think it's just the accommodation prices. No matter how much we try to kid ourselves, the racing is usually pretty poor, and always will be on a one-off surface. The novelty has worn off for lots of fans and these price hikes will maybe convince more people to spend their money watching some REAL racing. Give me Bydgoszcz any day.....!

That's a great help! Thanks very much, TwoMinuteWarning! If anyone else knows the Swedish scorers I'd be well pleased!