PHILIPRISING

RECEIVED this lovely email from Eric Linden, one of the truly great speedway journalists and pioneer Editor of Speedway Star back in the fifties ... Phil: Breaking a long silence, having read Star's brilliantly informative obit on Dave. I took him on for TVTimes and we worked closely together for years, most of them with he as my deputy Features Editor and then Deputy Head of Future Planning, taking the big one over when I retired. Major jobs in addition to all you included in the article. I thought our closeness over so many years as colleagues and, more especially as friends and mates, told me everything about Dave but your article brought up many instances new to me. Congrats to all who did the final research. I would have said it's the type of piece that Dave would have written except I know he would never have had that much to say about just how good he was at his job - or life. Regards to all on what I still regard as my mag - although you have achieved wonders with it since then.

THEY didn't run the SWC, BSI did. BSI had a staging agreement with them but only a few days before the event had to cough up tens of thousands of pounds to ensure that the meeting went ahead.

RECEIVED this lovely email from Eric Linden, one of the truly great speedway journalists and pioneer Editor of Speedway Star back in the fifties ... Phil: Breaking a long silence, having read Star's brilliantly informative obit on Dave. I took him on for TVTimes and we worked closely together for years, most of them with he as my deputy Features Editor and then Deputy Head of Future Planning, taking the big one over when I retired. Major jobs in addition to all you included in the article. I thought our closeness over so many years as colleagues and, more especially as friends and mates, told me everything about Dave but your article brought up many instances new to me. Congrats to all who did the final research. I would have said it's the type of piece that Dave would have written except I know he would never have had that much to say about just how good he was at his job - or life. Regards to all on what I still regard as my mag - although you have achieved wonders with it since then.

EXACTLY and also no track that is the equal to any in the world. Lots of people will go to Belle Vue on that basis. Just hope the likes of BSI and the FIM get behind whoever the new management is and bring as many top meetings to the NSS as possible.

LOOKS that way ...

THEY were all on the Jury but as explained earlier the Race Director does not have a vote.

FOR the record ... It is the Jury President (not always Aramndo, often Tony Steele or Wolfgang Glas), the referee and the local FIM delegate. Race Director sits on the Jury but has no vote.

COULD be on the right track

THEY would get some Sky money for starters and more whenever on TV but it's not a massive amount these days. Some PL teams paying just as much as EL ones (with the exception of some riders like Jonsson, Zagar, etc) so presumably they figure it is a viable option. SHEFFIELD and Ipswich have already stated they don't want to move up, cannot see Ipswich changing either.

TWO looking to move up

THEY won't be

BELIEVE that Lakeside have put their EL licence on ice for three years in the hope that a new facility at their site may become available. Running Friday nights has proved a nightmare with the Dartford tunnel/bridge just a bottleneck. NL would be Saturday evenings/Sunday afternoons. Also rider costs. Speedway Star will be doing a feature shortly about this shortly. In the EL it is not uncommon for a top rider to be on a £2000 guarantee, plus van, plus flights, plus mechanics and accommodation. One track even had a call from a mechanic asking to talk about HIS deal for 2017.

THE GP. Mark was coincidentally in Melbourne but he and his partner Anne are regular visitors when SGPs don't clash with his other commitments.

THANK you for those kind words... Anyway, despite no longer being a journalist, taking a time-out from this debate to write an obituary on my good mate Dave Lanning with whom I shared many an adventure.

AS I stated earlier, for those who haven't grasped it, I was playing Devil's Advocate. The only person who actually knows what happened is Greg Hancock.He gave his version and the FIM Jury, along with many on here refused to believe it. As I have said it looked suspicious to me too but it still amounted to Greg's word against the FIM Jury, which I'm not sure would have been a cast iron case in a Court of Law. I have known Greg since he first had a practice spin at Cradley Heath. Sure, beneath that 'Grin" facade lays a tough cookie who like most riders, most of us probably, will do what is best for himself. But I have never known him lie or cheat which is perhaps why I find it hard to think he would have done so in Melbourne on the rather spurious reason that one point might have helped Holder overtake Zmarzlik. It didn't. But I really don't know without a shadow of a doubt. If, in fact, Greg did deliberately allow Holder to pass then he made a pig's ear of it, hence the subsequent furore, and was even more stupid in not envisaging the storm that would follow, especially after the FIM issued a directive to riders about not giving 100 per cent in races. I reiterate, he was plainly wrong to withdraw from the meeting but the FIM chose to take no further action but even if they had ruled him ineligible for the rest of the championship it would not have resulted in him being denied the World title. I am at a loss to find that some find that hard to grasp.

THEN why didn't Greg just feign an engine failure and pull off to the side when in all probability no one would have said a word? These things happen. He's certainly not stupid and if he wanted to do Chris a favour that would have been the way to do it.

YOU can be really quite stupid at times. Peter White censored? Give me a break. Pravda? Give me another break. Your jaundiced view of Speedway Star and self-proclaimed expertise on journalism is breathtaking. HATE away ...

BUT the extra point didn't get him a medal and he would have been a genius to work out that it would.. Hancock's withdrawal from the meeting (which I profoundly disagree with) didn't make him ineligible for the title only any subsequent rounds had there been any. The FIM, as reported, chose to take no further action. Why was it necessary to "mention' that Greg's version of events didn't match that of the FIM's? It was there in black and white. AGREE, that was wrong. YES, he spoke to all the FIM officials. Don't think it was Pawlicki who allegedly made a complaint but certainly no one wanted to make any public comment. And, with respect, if you want to know their replies buy a copy of Speedway Star.

YOU want a comment? Okay, Paul did a brilliant job. Spoke to all parties concerned as he should have done. He reported what went on and while you and others might think that was with a biased eye I certainly wouldn't agree. It was not Paul's job to be judge and jury or give what the end of the day would simply be a personal view, no different to mine or anyone on here. Those of you bitterly complaining about what he wrote are only doing so because you don't agree with what Hancock says and what action the FIM took. As I say, plenty do. I have watched a rerun of Heat 9 several times and can understand why many on here, but certainly no all in the great big world out there, think Hancock pulled over. I get that impression too but it has not in my view been proven beyond all reasonable doubt even if the FIM Jury decided so. Had it gone to an appeal in a Court of Law the outcome may have been very different. But, playing Devil's Advocate for a moment: why would he actually do that? Why so early in the meeting gift Holder a point when Chris was assured of a top eight place and still had two rides to compete to qualify for the semis and two more to actually win the final? So much could have happened to make that race irrelevant. Did the result of that race actually have any bearing on the outcome of the meeting? It was not as though it was a semi-final or final. So, I repeat, why do it? Without what Hancock perceived as a gross miscarriage of justice he would not have taken the subsequent action that he did and this whole furore would not have taken the form that it has. And comments like those made by Fromafar are as petty as they are ridiculous. End of season booze up? We should be so lucky.

AS you are doubtless aware, she is unmissable especially when holding up her iPhone in front of her face just a few inches away. . I was very tempted to lean forward and get in on the act but Nicki might not have approved.

HE doesn't have to but unlike others including Sayfytdinov doesn't have an irrefutable claim to a wild card.

I THINK he was taken into consideration but he has always declined to take part in the qualifiers. Will have to wait see whether than changes.

THAT'S the understatement of the year.

POSSIBLE that I got hold of the wrong end of the stick (does happen ) and the Etihad are waiting to hear from Dorna and the Moto GP so that they can, in fact, run on the same weekend. Either way, confirmation from Dorna is awaited.

WHAT are you getting at? I never said I spent most of the meeting watching her. She was directly in front of me so could hardly avoid her taking selfie videos while I was looking at the racing.