ImpartialOne

What a great idea! Maybe Billy Hamill, Josh Larsen, Chris Manchester, Doug Nicol, Sam Ermolenko, Ronnie Correy, etc too? I would definitely pay to see some old faces back over here. The Americans might be behind the other big nations at the moment but the old boys seem to run forever! Maybe they could incorporate a tribute to the great Kelly Moran too? England Select v Kelly's All Stars or something. Over to Mr. Evans...!

He was but my understanding of it at the time from people who knew him was that it was not exactly an accident. Forgive me if I'm wrong but that is what I was told at the time.

Thanks Sandie. For some reason it's not opening on my phone but I'll try later, thanks.

What a load of tosh, predictably.

Does anyone have the individual scores from the final round?

I have to disagree. Jerzy Szczakiel was not a worthy World Champion, neither was Egon Muller. Ok they won it and what a thrill for them, but it did nothing for speedway. A second division, or Premier League rider does have a chance to be world champion via the qualification rounds. Carl Stonehewer was a lower league rider when competing, and holding his own in the GPs only some 8 years or so ago. The reason they don't qualify is that generally they aren't good enough to. Not many Division 2 riders made a World Final. Apart from your example I can only think of Jan Staechmann. I was totally against the complete selection method of the mid 2000s which was all about money and if your face fitted. I don't wholly agree with seeding the top 8, I think the top 4 is enough which would make the riders push harder to survive and open up more qualifying places but to say it's rigged is way off the mark. In general we have the best riders in the GP with the possible exception of Hans Andersen this year. I'm not sure what a Premier League rider could bring to the GP that we don't already have.

I think Westo is pretty bang on in saying Crumpy is more hungry when challenging than defending. Last season though you had to admire the guy to do what he did with the injuries he carried. Crump is THE most consistent rider of the last 10 years or so with a GP record that the likes of Mauger and Briggs would be proud of. I think it will be his year in 2011. Every year I predict Hancock will lose his hunger and fade away but every year he astounds me. Last year he looked to be fading but came back strong and I think another top 5 or 6 for Greg this year. Gollob will be top 3 again I fancy but I don't see him winning another title now. Hampel could be Crumps strongest challenger and I predict it will come down to these two in October. Holder seemed to lose his spark after Cardiff and I was surprised to see him only scrape 8th after predicting he would improve with every GP but this year I see him comfortably qualifying around 5th. Harris is probably the hardest to predict this year. If he can start the season on form I think he'll end up pushing the big guns but he could just as easily finish 12th. Holta will be lower than last season, probably mid table. I think Jonsson will realise how lucky he is to be in this series and I expect him to finish high, 4th or 5th. Bjerre surprised me last season but I expected him to tail off and I see a quiet series for him with 2 or 3 finals. Pedersen can only improve but I don't see him challenging the top boys so upper mid table for him. 1. Crump 2. Hampel 3. Gollob 4. Jonsson 5. Holder 6. Hancock 7. Pedersen 8. Bjerre 9. Harris 10. Holta

Absof-lutely!

Can anyone translate this back please... WTF?

Had this been done? I saw mention of it in the top 20 Brits of the 80s but no thread. Anyway, off the top of my head: 1. Hans Nielsen. 2. Erik Gundersen. 3. Bruce Penhall. 4. Shawn Moran. 5. Tommy Knudsen. 6. Sam Ermolenko. 7. Billy Sanders. 8. Dennis Sigalos. 9. Jan O. Pedersen. 10. John Cook. 11. Jan Andersson. 12. Kelly Moran. 13. Bobby Schwartz. 14. Phil Crump. 15. Ole Olsen 16. Lance King. 17. Bo Petersen. 18. Mitch Shirra. 19. Kai Niemi. 20. Egon Muller. Possibles: Jimmy Nilsen, Per Jonsson. John Cook maybe a bit high in the list?

I have that meeting recorded somewhere as it was shown on Screensport. I remember Jan O., Nielsen, Boyce, and possibly Jorgensen, Jonsson, etc. Will have to dig it out.

As far as I've always been aware a maximum is when a rider is unbeaten by an opponent in any meeting regardless of rides taken. The CMA over 4 rides is irrelevant as 3 wins out of 3, or 2 out of 2 is still a 12.00 average. The only reason I can think that this would not be the case is if a rider failed to take his place in a race for some reason. So if Justin Ellins had 2+1 in his first race but then didn't take his place due to his bike not starting (he is surely one of the most mechanically unprepared riders ever!) that would count as 2+1, NS = 2+1. If a rider wins two races and is replaced by the team manager and takes no further part he is still unbeaten and it is recorded as a maximum 3,3 = 6. The programmed rides don't count for anything in terms of a maximum as an on form rider may be switched to suit and be taken out of a programmed ride and take another rider's place in another race. Also if a meeting is abandoned and the result stands, a rider may have only taken 2 of 4 programmed rides and won both. This is still a maximum. It's basically the maximum points a rider can score from rides taken.

Fair enough, I think probably a lot of people were under the impression that SGP owned it before and someone else took over and wanted to charge. I understand it takes time and money to do these things and I guess it still doesn't pay greatly so fair play for that. I always wondered what Apples cut was. That's almost a pound gone to start with! Thanks for your comments.

Great post. Be interesting to see his response as I also feel it is a bit misleading to call it a free app and then charge £2.99 (most apps cost 59p) for the useful content. I would also be interested to know how many have paid for it. Probably not that many. But I think most people would pay 59p so he would cover his costs far better that way. Also, why Snow Funk? It's the worst name for a speedway app and does nothing to draw you to it.

I'm not an aces fan! Personally, I don't feel that riders should be penalised in this list for only being around for some of the decade. Yes, Chris Morton was around for most of it which gives the impression that he is more worthy of being at the top, but in my view, guys like Wigg, Tatum, etc. did a lot for British Speedway in the late 80s and it isn't their fault they weren't around for the whole 10 years. In the case of Michael Lee and Kenny Carter for example, it could be argued that it was their own actions that prevented them from continuing longer, but again i think we have to look at it more broadly than just "he won 12 titles, he only won 1", etc., although achievements do have to be taken into consideration. So here is my top 20: 1. Simon Wigg A great ambassador for the sport, World No.2 in 89, twice British Champion, sole World Finalist in 84, a solid England performer throughout. 2. Kelvin Tatum Probably the most dependable rider England had in the second half of the decade, World No.3 in 86, twice British Champion, sole World Finalist in 85 and a respectable first final under a lot of hype. 3. Kenny Carter I have no doubt in my mind that, although his World Final record reads as modest, he would have gone on to be World Champion. Had terrible luck with injuries in 84 and 85. A perfect example of my philosophy above, he was only around for the first half of the 80s and his results at the very top don't do his talent, courage and passion justice. His performance on a slimy night at Coventry in the British Final alone, with a broken leg in 1984 emphasise just what he was prepared to do to reach his ultimate goal, when the majority of the perfectly fit field wanted to pack up and go home. For England he was a class act, and again, another two times British Champion. 4. Chris Morton British Champion in 83, solid England performer and World Pairs Champion in 84 with PC. Never knew when he was beaten. 5. Michael Lee World Champion of course at the start of the decade, World No.3 in 83. From 84 it all went wrong for him but he is still there in the Elite list of riders to have ever been the World No.1 and always will be. 6. Peter Collins As previously posted, was not the force he was in the 70s but still a World Champion in 84 with Mort in the World Pairs and a quality England rider. 7. Jeremy Doncaster World No.3 in 89, Mr. Dependable at international level, Donkey was never spectacular but another quality rider that England/GB would kill for these days. 8. Neil Evitts British Champion and World Finalist in 86, easily his best year but an almost automatic choice for England in the late 80s. Pretty sure injuries hampered him a little at times which may have prevented him from adding to his achievements. 9. Alan Grahame As someone mentioned, came in as reserve in the 84 World Final, his only appearance and dropped just the one point in his 2 rides. Was a solid team man at Cradley and a reliable England International. 10. Phil Collins I was surprised when he quit Britain after the 1986 season and felt he had lots more to offer. An exciting rider to watch and another rider who regularly "picked himself" when it came to test matches. 11. Marvyn Cox World Finalist in 86, and was both British U-21 Champion and European Under-21 Champion (pre-World U-21 Championship) in 1984. Again a rider of quality but never quite made the headlines after that. 12. Dave Jessup DJ was, like PC, in the latter stages of his career but was in the early 80s a regular World Finalist and World No.2 in 1980. Suffered more than most when it came to luck, but it has to be said that carbs should not fall off in a World Final! 13. John Davis Never World Champion material but a seasoned International right up to the mid 80s and was still in the pink by the turn of the 90s! 14. Les Collins 1982 was easily his best, winning the Intercontinental Final on his way to becoming World No.2 in LA. That apart though, from memory he was never in the same vein as the riders above. 15. Paul Thorp Burst onto the scene in 86 with a terrific run in the World Championship whilst still in the lower division, almost making the World Final. A regular England man in the late 80s and played a big part in England's victory in the WTC Final at Bradford. 16. Andy Grahame. British Champion 1982 and an altogether reliable points scorer. 17. Simon Cross Regular International in the mid to late 80s, Overseas Champion in 1988 and World Finalist in 87. 18. Gary Havelock British Under-21 Champion in 1986, European Under-21 Champion (pre-World Under-21) 1987. A 1 year ban in 1989 prevented him from possibly adding to his honours during the 80s. 19. Richard Knight Made steady progress, making his England debut in 1984 and becoming a key part of the England team in the late 80s. 20. Andy Smith Although he probably had his best years during the 90s, Smudger began his career in 1982 and by 1985 was mixing it with the best at International level at the age of 19. Made his World Final debut in 1989.

i knew someone would spot it! well deserved though

This is amazing, lady. i have now seen you blossom from an idiot into an imbecile. No, you find the spelling of the country you are from. Hang on don't tell me, when you go to Lidl, oh sorry Leeeeeeeeedl, you suddenly start speaking to the British store assistants in German? i have to admit though, Sweden for instance, is a funny one. I never know whether to spell it the English way (Sweden), Swedish way (Sverige) or the Korean way (서전 / 스웨덴)

Yet more insane ramblings from Ladyluck. Are you seriously trying to tell us that you should spell a name by the way it sounds or are you on a wind up? Laguta doesn't have the slash through it, not according to his website Laguta Racing (and even if it did it's not a bleeding W) If that was the case, why did you not spell Ulamek as Uwamek, as that is the one name that does have a slashed L. Also, just to correct you lady, I thought you might like to jot down the correct spellings of the following: Tomuss Gappinskee (POL)) Janus Kowodchay (POL) Romun Povashnee (RUS) Kriss Harris (GBR) Simun Stedd (GBR) Tommuss H Yonussun (SWE) Gregorz Valacheck (POL) Jeezus Kriste.

not really, £29 a ticket compared to about £200+ for F1 where you get to see about 5% of the action. Hotels are half the price they were last year

Corr, easy Rikki..calm down a bit, etc

oh i know what you mean, im always getting 82 and 100 mixed up

Baahaaahaaaaaa! This isn't a Peter Kay Tour you know! i'll pick mine up on the day as there will be plenty left.

well to clear up the mystery here, i know for a fact that Speedway Crazy was banned from ebay for selling these DVDs, presumably because a copyright owner reported him. that is why he is selling them on BSF as it is less risky than ebay i would think. having said that, i personally think that if it was broadcast on World of Sport in 70s or 80s, it is unlikely ITV will want to use the footage again so i don't see that as a big deal. However, if it belongs to a company such as Re-Run or somebody similar, they may well want to sell these themselves and so i consider that theft. yes its all theft technically, but its whether it is useable to the owners that matters in my opinion. i may be wrong.