PHILIPRISING

THAT would be a start and help to free up riders. People talk of a squad system as if it only involves the so-called top riders. It doesn't. Would help clubs to give opportunities to more riders lower down the scale. Wisely the task of dissemination of the rule book by an independent panel of referees is, I believe, a step in the right direction.Not only are they independent but more often than not are those who have to interpret the current overly complex and often unworkable regulations. The acid test will be when the promoters are confronted by their findings. I'm in the camp of those who would love to see the top riders racing in the UK again but, sadly, there are now a number of reasons why that is unlikely to happen in the near future at least. British tracks simply cannot match the money paid in Poland and Sweden and that's without the geographical factor. So we have to make the best of what we have to work with. The demise of the KO Cup lays firmly at the door of the BSPA. I can recall attending many finals, at places like Belle Vue, Coventry and Cradley, when the stadiums were full to the rafters. But once the BSPA as a body started to treat the competition with disdain that filtered down to the fans they lost a priceless asset. As were test matches against Denmark in particular. More collective thought needs to be put in to ensure a regular fixture list, even if some events have a reduced admission fee. They need to keep the turnstiles ticking and there are many things that promoters could do on a social basis on a race night to ensure that there is additional entertainment on offer to that which actually takes place on the track.

IT'S new this year. They are doing them in the pits because that is where they already have cameras, etc. Personally have reservations and not because I am not doing them any more From a written journalist's point of view, would prefer to see them in the media room. Not much fun trying to get one-on-one interviews amongst the chaos that is the pits post-meeting. But if BT are willing to stay on air to show them then I can understand why they doing it this way now.

ONLY the temporary ones and they have been pretty good too

FULLY agree with that. Been my argument for a long time now. Once fans get out of the routine of going many stop going all together.

5pm local time

SCOTTY is far happier on small tracks. King won the British title on the venue being used for the SWC so surely must be favourite to join the there you mention.

YOU obviously know Cardiff better than me but is it that far from the stadium, bars, etc?

MAYBE not if their No. 1 keeps scoring four points

ACTUALLY probably far more than you think as the gap has narrowed. Also some of the EL teams would be happy from a financial point of view to dispense with their high earners.

CERTAINLY the EL clubs are desperate for more fixtures. Take a look at your own club Skidder1 (and leaving aside for a moment the appalling weather) ... scarce home fixtures during the summer is a nonsense. Need to get back to where tracks can run with some consistency so that fans know where they stand. The strength of top flight teams at the moment seems to be judged by their reserves rather than their No 1.

VARIETY of opponents from season to season, maintains interest for most teams throughout the season at the top and the bottom. More pluses than minuses.

BUT if the gap between the two leagues becomes barely discernible then that argument won't apply. At the very least it will mean the paying public will see different teams each year. We have all moaned and moaned about the current state of affairs but serious efforts are being made to try and make some significant changes and surely we should applaud that. I also understand that the task of re-writing the rulebook is being tasked to a number of senior referees, as close to an independent body as we are likely to get. One can only hope that the promoters both individually and collectively accept what they come up with. There cannot be anyone on either side of the fence who doesn't recognise that British speedway desperately requires a revamp and this may just be the first step. Of course, theory and reality are not always the same thing which is why the trials taking place are so important. Too often in the recent past an unworkable rule is simply amended and supplemented by another rather than starting from scratch. There is no magic wand that will solve all the ills at a stroke. But let's try and be positive that a new era might be forthcoming. All we will require then is someone to sort out the weather. Have we ever had so many postponements at this time of the year? No doubt someone out there will have the answer.

WILL be a lot more to do and see this year

WASN'T there this year but much depends on the currency exchange rate and Scandinavian countries are never cheap.

YOUR loss. A great meeting, plenty pf passing, controversy, young blood in Janowski, Zmarzlik and Pawlicki, an Englishman chasing a third title, plenty to get excited about.

SOD'S law isn't it? Beautiful weather last week, very few fixtures.

WHY is that surprising? The beginning of the end of substantial national newspaper coverage of speedway in Britain came about because of the dominance of Denmark through the 1980s. I can still remember calling back to the Daily Express (the paper I worked for) after yet another Denmark win and asking how much copy they wanted to be greeted by: "Not the bloody Danes again. Four pars will do." The writing was on the wall. Of course Ekstrabladet will concentrate on the performance of the Danish riders.

HE'S been struggling on Ashley Holloway tuned engines which, as Craig Cook can testify, don't seem to be up to scratch this year. Cook switched this week to pjrs and has looked a very different rider at BV and Peterborough.

HE'S wearing an England shirt in Horsens today ... and please don't say that only because Australia are not in the Euros!

NO... still involved with some of the media arrangements but that's it.

PLUS rugby and cricket. Good job my missis is away!

TEXTED Emil's manager Susi about when he would be riding again and he said still no definite date.

NOT seen anything but do know FIM are exerting pressure on Russia to field a full-strength side. And presumably that will help any visa applications.

By England

FOR many years, cannot remember quite when, they were held on a Wednesday, Derby Day. At that time all the national newspapers had representatives at Brandon but there were no telephone facilities available. The CO arranged for each of the houses alongside the stadium to be allocated to a newspaper and arranged for them to use their private telephone. Trouble was that we had to send 'running' reports every few heats which meant going outside the stadium to the house and missing some of the racing. Hardly ideal. Oh for mobile phones or internet access with a computer. Some of today's journos don't know how lucky they are! NOT sure ...