Chadster

Richard Coleman has been quoted as saying he wants an 8 team top flight next year. When I read that I initially assumed it meant meeting each team twice home and away but I'm wondering whether he means that it should be run on the Polish/Swedish model, i.e once at home and once away and running on a single night, almost certainly Monday. This could keep some of the big names here and attract more over if they only had to come here once a week rather than twice. Given the Swedish decision on tyres it might attract more riders to come here and be able to use the same tyres as in Poland. This is conjecture on my part, but it will be interesting to see what comes out of the conference.

'The rough end of he pineapple' was another Lanningism, usually referring to a hotly contested first bend.

There was presumably a good reason why they changed from Dirt Track to Speedway in the early 30s. The longevity of the name suggests that it's been pretty effective. Any way, changing the name is akin to rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic, so expect the BSPL to be right on the case.

Here's an eclectic bunch of riders that I always enjoyed watching; Roger Johns Trevor O'Brien Neil Collins Nigel Boocock Mark Loram Mark Burrows

Shades of Mike Parker closing Sunderland back in the day...

A very good and brave post from Ben Barker. However, the history of this country in recent years has been the complete refusal to take responsibility by public bodies for their action. Hillsborough, the tainted blood scandal, the Post Office scandal and the grooming gangs show that those in positions of responsibility persistently refuse to acknowledge their errors. So I won't be holding my breath for Godfrey to step down or be sacked.

Is that the case, I wonder? From the context of Barker's post it seems that it might not be. Whatever, the change seems to have been poorly communicated and the fault seems to lie more with the SCB than with BSPL but ti might prove to be problematic for non-ACU licence holders.

I think some of these things might be able to happen but not if every track tries to work in isolation. Are there people with expertise who could set things up centrally? It needn't be a promoter, but maybe fans with enthusiasm and interest who could establish a template for working with the police or with schools? I believe that a knowledgeable fan has given great help to campaigners at Coventry and Peterborough to help them navigate the planning process.

Good point about the police initiative. Are there any tracks that participate in these schemes? I guess it would have to be a track like Leicester or Scunthorpe where there's more or less continuous access. Running schemes like these ould be a good way of encouraging a positive view of the sport by local councils. I don't think the visits to schools would be to encourage participation, except as spectators. Again, can the sport offer something to schools? I think Zach Cook was on one of the school visits at Poole. Could he talk to them about life in Australia as part of a Geography lesson, could someone from the club talk about the track and the sport as part of local history? A stats based sport should have some relevance to Maths lessons.

The Northampton rugby team are known as the Saints so that might have local appeal and has a speedway pedigree.

Reading, Canterbury, Berwick, Peterborough, Workington, to name but five.

You might find this site helpful. Good luck! Defunct Tracks

I can't remember 1937 world champion Jack Milne ever riding in Division 2. Jack Millen did (aka Millen the Villain).😃

Wasn't Malcolm Simmons imprisoned in the 1960s?