nw42

Why the insults, he played the joker at 6points down, if he hadn't played it then and we cut the Poles lead in that race he may not have got the chance again, it transpired that he would have had other opportunities but it wasn't a given. Whatever your opinions about him as manager you are being unfair with those comments, then again it seems to be the norm on here these days for posters to throw insults from the safety of their front rooms. Very boring meeting you say, well it is all about opinions but seriously, did you find that boring, or are you just disappointed in the outcome? I thought it was a decent nights entertainment from the safety of my front room.

Not sure about that, the changes the Russians can make shouldn't really bother the British lads, as long as Sayfutdinov is out of the picture, a more competetive first bend (ie 4 riders) will give the Brits a better chance of being in the mix. I think we provided 9 race winners tonight, the Poles 12 or 13, without the mishaps we would have been closer to them. Either way, putting aside the disappointment of GB not winning the meeting I thought it was decent nights entertainment, the track didn't seem as good as last year but it still provided some close racing, passing and plenty of incident, to me thats what speedway has always been about, thrills & spills. Ben Barker showed he can do the job, can't think of anyone I would consider replacing him with, I reckon he deserves to ride on Thursday. Kennett did all that could be asked of him, Nicholls had a bad night at the office but along with Harris will be relied on heavily on Thursday, Woffinden did ok too apart from the obvious, he and Barker are just young lads, I like their spirit, obviously they get carried away sometimes but both are good enough to be part of the team. I hope Thursday & Saturday serve up more of the same.

thanks for checking it out, oh well Geoff's memory has held up better than mine, although I know I've always thought it was him so it's clearly of a case of mistaken identity on my part. As for Graham Plant, maybe but assuming he was riding that night he would have had leathers on, this character didn't, probably just a mate or brother of one of the riders, come to think of it back then the riders viewing area was always pretty full @ Hyde Rd, plenty of blokes got in with pit passes etc, my dad managed it a couple of times. Anyway, thanks for clearing it up, makes me wonder just what else I have misremembered, did the Aces really win 3 league titles in a row back then or was it just the way I saw it?

thanks for the response. I'm sure it is just something that has stuck with me rather than anyone else, including those involved. I remember seeing the pictures in the Star & News the following week, it was news at the time. Anyway, thanks for the link, I have previously enjoyed an hour or two on your website and you are right in that there is plenty of intresting content. I have left you a message there. thanks again.

Apologies if this has already been posted on here but I haven't come across it before and it's well worth a viewing if anyone hasn't seen it before. It's in 5 parts and the links to the others are on the right of the screen. http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/circuits-of-gold-1987

Well I stand corrected on the year but I was unsure anyway, as for Geoff not riding, agreed on that, he was wearing civvies at the time, but he was there in the pits, probably spannering for Chris. Either way they were both entertainers and the type of characters speedway could well do with today. TeamBouchard, my cousin had a spell @ Station Rd, Jon Roberts, have you chased him up for your publication yet? Is "Trackin' Down" available online anywhere, if so I'd be happy to pay for a read.

Thanks Tony, looking forward to this one, I'm sure I will enjoy reading the article on Chris (RIP) & Geoff, I wonder if Geoff will mention the Leicester incident @ Hyde Rd in 73(?), I was 13 at the time but if I close my eyes I can still see him jumping the fence from the riders viewing area and piling in along a good few other riders. It was the first and last proper brawl I saw at a speedway track. Other than that I have many memories of watching them both ride, mainly Chris, he was always good value for money and seemed to be able to team ride with any of his team mates. He was also always happy to sign my autograph books. Keep up the good work with Backtrack, I have subscribed from the start and have no plans to stop. Please pass my regards to Suzie, always helpful when I have ordered books or DVDs.

Moxey thanks for the pm, unable to reply for some reason, the message says 'not allowed'. I have emailed the mods to clarify but either way I will get back to you. Think I've noticed you on the BV forum, will try to reply via there if thats ok.

You are welcome Dornier, as it happens the quality of the stream tonight was a little inferior to the usual but as I said earlier it's free, beggars can't be choosers eh. Glad you were able to catch it, I noticed he is showing a Polish meeting tomorrow too, not sure which it will be, obviously the commentary will not be English but then again some of Nigel Pearsons rantings don't make a lot of sense, so no change there really. From some of the comments I have seen it appears quite a few are getting ready to ditch their subscriptions to Virgin/Sky etc, got to say if they are messing people around the only way they will sort it is if they see their profits affected. Just like all the other technology providers they don't seem to care about keeping their customers happy, all the emphasis is on grabbing new clientelle, to me the golden rule should be to protect what you already have in the way of customers and the rest will take care of itself, still, what do I know.

For those who are struggling with the red button issue (unsure what its all about tbh) here is a link that will have English commentary, invariably a decent stream too. http://www.wockychannels.com/speedway.php I gave subscription tv up long ago, not worth the expense for me I'm afraid. Can't recall missing a meeting that I wanted to see in the last 4yrs, ok sometimes there have been problems with broken streams but there is generally an alternative available somewhere. The link above also has streams of some Danish & Swedish league meetings midweek, there are no charges but you an donate a few quid for the cause if you see fit, the fella seems to re-invest the money into new and better equipment/facilities. Either way I am pleased with what I get from it for just chucking a few £'s in the pot now and again. Hope this helps.

When you refer to Brits I wonder if you mean the team, from what I saw and heard last night they were upbeat and confident, they all seemed relaxed considering they are in unknown territory. Whatever their mentality I was impressed with how they all came across. If they ride tomorrow with the same passion that was so obvious at Kings Lynn then I will be happy, if that in turn leads to a rostrum place I will be even happier. If that's what you call settling for less then so be it. Any sport is/should be about passion for the game, to do the best you can is all anyone can ask, I love my country and I will support any of our sportsmen/women that are prepared to give it their all for the cause.

cheers fellas, I'm disappointed in myself for not thinking of John Titman, spent about 2 hours dwelling on it and never even thought of him, can remember him now though, tough rider, my dad thought he was a "dirty bugger", then again we were fairly partizan me and my old man, there were a few from Halifax we wern't keen on, until they crossed the Pennines to ride for us, Tommy Roper being the most memorable for me. Great response gents, thanks again

Could well be Alan, I had forgotten about him, good call. I think he was featured in one of the backtrack issues, I will have a look through them later. thanks for responding.

Wondering if someone can identify the rider in the picture (hope the link works) I will have been at this meeting as a youngster, searching my memory bank for a name, recalling as many of the Halifax team as I can, for some reason Rick France keeps coming to mind but maybe thats because I can remember the faces of most of the rest but can't recall Rick so well. Btw, it was the Derek Warburton Trophy meeting, the other fella is Derek (rip) himself, a keen supporter of speedway back in the day http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs094.ash2/38024_409670357443_651467443_4699585_7138313_n.jpg Hope you are able to see the picture ok, not too well up on attaching things etc.

You're welcome mate, I bet your wife is over the moon

this place will have it, unsure about the legalities but I'm sure it must be a bit naughty, I have watched on there for months, decent quality stream, nothing to pay, although you can make a donation (which I have), either way it's any port in a storm if you want to see it. http://twitter.com/Wockychannels hth

Great meeting, best I've seen for a good while, the track was fair, no advantage to the Australians, in fact if anything it favoured the GB riders. Either way I can't agree that it was the wrong venue. Not seen a meeting from KL for years, saw some great ones in the 70s though, Bank Holiday monday fixtures against Belle Vue, morning starts I seem to recall.

here you go http://twitter.com/Wockychannels hth

Well this should cheer you up then, lets hope other places follow suit. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_east_wales/10353020.stm