tomcat

Top Post.... someone that can see things with some perspective. All anyone has to do is look at Scotts body language, he is suffering in a big way. Some may say he deserves it, but personally I don't think he does. Way too many people on here are only too willing to jump on the guys back, akin to kicking the preverbial dog when its down (As they do with a multitude of other riders). Scott has been a fantastic servant to British Speedway, shame that some people have such short and bitter memories. If he goes out and scores a heap of points for Team GB in the SWC, these same people slagging him off will be hailing him as a hero no doubt. Chuffed to see Scott show some passion, even if took Emil the tart to wind him up. As was said earlier, if it wasn't Scotty, then it would have been someone else. The kid is losing the plot and with a manager/advisor, aka Andy Holloway, acting like he did too, its no wonder Emil is behaving like a spoilt brat. That man should be calming the kid down, not throwing his weight around and setting a bad example. Whatever anyone else says, Scott will be welcome back at Ipswich, if the story doing the rounds is true, welcome home Scotty.

First time in 2 years I have actually been able to watch the British GP.... Sky coverage was good again, and despite what others may say about it...I like Moley... made us chuckle when he kept appearing with his Union Jack scarf and flag to wave. It adds a bit of humour and the kids love it. As for the GP itself, thoroughly enjoyed it, racing was pretty good, track was good, hope it is a sign of things to come for the rest of the GP's and Scotty finally showed his passion. OK, he didnt make the semi's, but after the dustup with that Russian Big Girls Blouse, it finally got Scotty fired up and racing hard, instead of looking beaten before the first bend. As for the actual incident, the Russkie showed his true colours in the last GP. To be fair to Nicki P, he couldn't do a lot about what happened, then the Russkie throws a tantrum at Nicki while he was laying on the track. Thats put me against the idiot straight away, then with tonights tantrum, well I think he is too wrapped up in his own hype. Yes, he is a talent, of that there is no doubt, but he just wasn't good enough tonight, Scott did nothing wrong, it was a hard but fair move. To start throwing his weight...or lack of it, about because he got taught a lesson in how to race hard, was the final straw. If he isnt careful, someone is going to really stuff him in a race, as Hans likes to say, "What goes around, comes around"......!! Like his so called Manager/Advisor Andy Holloway...that was completely out of order. The riders were dealing with it in their own way, why did he have to wade into Scott in the pit tunnel?? As someone else has said, if I was the organisers of the GP series, I'd ban the idiot from GP's for the rest of the season at least and dish out a hefty fine. Bomber was unlucky, Yes he did touch Hans, but to be honest, it wasn't really enough to knock Hans off, Hans knew that, you only have to look at the theatrical fall. He knew he was going to be relegated to the back, so went down. Unfortunately for Chris, the rules are the rules and through minimal contact, he was at fault on that score. Nicki P was hard done by, he was definitely hit by Hans, and as Nicki says, where's the consistency with these refs?? I'm not a Nicki P fan at all, but fairs fair, had it been the other way around, I reckon its a fair bet that Nicki would have been put out of the re-run. Crumpy fully deserved his win, he was definitely head and shoulders above anyone else out there this eveing, so Well Done and barring and silly mistakes, the title looks to be heading back to the Crump Trophy Cabinet for 2009. And hard Luck to Eddie, looked pretty quick, but just kept letting places go. He has time on his side and if he gets a full time GP slot in the future, I'm sure he will do us proud. Felt sorry for Holta too, hitting the 'trench' on the back straight.... I know the rules state that the rider that caused the stoppage must be disqualified/excluded, but what the..... How can he miss a big hole in the track. Lucky to get away with that one, on the injury front that is. As for Hans Andersen.... what a silly little boy he is. He plays games on track to get riders excluded, then borrows the Russkies bike and proceeds to run it in in the post meeting interview. Again, he has now gone down in my estimation. I used to like Hans, but seeing and hearing some of the inflamatory remarks he keeps making I have lost and respect I had for him. Just one question...someone may know for sure, but was that Chris Louis' former spannerman, Nigel Wells in Scotty's corner tonight...certainly looked like him on TV. If it is Wellsy, Scott has gotten himself a top mechanic there, been around a long time, seen it all and will be good for Scotty in general. Anyhooo... All in all an enjoyable meeting, had a bit of everything in there, close racing, good old fashioned fisty cuffs and plenty of incidents. Now its onto the SWC...C'Mon Team GB....!!

Prawn.... We know that, please stop stating the obvious.... I love people like you, quote a small piece of a post, then try to answer it with a nothing answer. My question was, in response to the poster that queried my post earlier: Why have 16 riders if only a handful at most have a chance of winning it. I thought the idea was to have 16 riders that ALL had a chance to win a GP and/or the World Title. If so few have any chance, why have 16 riders in it at all. And saying you need 16 riders to make the format work isnt an answer is it??? In theory, say 6 riders stand a realistic chance of the title, then thats 10 riders wasting their time and money competeing, which is not what a World Title competition should be about, surely. Some of us ask serious questions and some people just post nonsense. At the end of the day, it comes down to the type of racing surface, the gate and go jockeys are having a field day, while the from the back racers dont stand a chance at this moment in time. Each type have their strengths and weaknesses, but slick tracks stop the racers from having any real chance of glory.

Using your argument, then why do we have 16 riders in a GP? Surely if the others dont have a chance, because according to you they're not good enough, why bother. My argument is quite simply, give the guys a proper racing surface, then maybe some of the so called lesser riders may have half a chance at winning something....ergo making the whole series more entertaining with closer racing....which is what the public seem to want, not gate and go with very little if any passing. If the same few riders winning round after round is what floats your boat, thats your choice, but for some of us its not speedway. Close racing and the opportunity for riders to pass and repass eachother and genuinely have a reason for being in the GP is what I would like to see. Sorry, but paying out a lot of money on travel, accomodation and tickets to a GP, knowing that the same names will be at the top of the board everytime is not something I would advocate. Going along and knowing that any of the 16 riders on show could take the win on the night would excite me a heck of a lot more. If you had read my post earlier...and quoted it properly, I did actually say, I could enjoy the GP's, if the tracks were prepared properly for racing. Yes, I did enjoy the one off World Finals, but if the GP circus is to stay as our sports Premier event, then someone needs to take responsibility and sort these crap tracks out. And you can save this and quote me when it goes poop.... Because in its current form, it most certainly will. As I said, it may take a few years, but it will all come crashing down if the current trend with the tracks continues. I've been around this sport way way too many years and I know the signs..... Laugh all you want, but dont say I didnt warn you.

Corr.... You're all heart....

Exactly what some of us are asking too. Where there's a will, there's a way. Speedway needs better prepared tracks for what is ultimately the top competition within the sport....the World Title, not ultra slick gate and go circuits. We've had the arguments, for and against One off World Finals, I was and still am very much in the Old one off World Final camp, but if we have to have the SGP series, will the powers that be actually give us some race tracks that these guys can race on. The SGP series may limp on for a few more years, but anyone with half an ounce of sense knows that sooner or later it will collapse, because it will be too predictable, with the same faces winning again and again, until they retire, then a new lot will start the trend all over again. Its blatantly obvious that Olsen doesnt have a clue, so someone, somewhere must accept responsibility and move the guy out of it and let someone that does know what they're doing have a crack at it..... for the sake of speedway. Personally, if the tracks were better prepared, with dirt on them, and the racing improved, I would be happy to continue seeing the SGP, but until then, I and many more like me will start looking away from the SGP series. How long before the fans that pay handsomely for tickets, airfairs etc see the light and stop supporting the series financially???

Well Done... Your post sums it all up exactly. Also, think back to the earlier GP's, I am sure I saw plenty of advertisng boards on the centre green. So it shows it was/can be done, I'll have to dig some of my old VHS tapes of the first GP's out and have a look. As I said, spot on post Spook....

I keep hearing that very same reason too, keep the advertisments on the fence clean, keep the riders and their sponsors names clean...etc etc. As you rightly say, this is supposed to be dirt track racing...emphasis on the dirt I believe it should be. I was losing interest in the GP series last season, but thought I'd give it another whirl this year, but lo and behold, its even worse. Talk about sterile racing.... the only real incidents have come from rider error, due to a bad track surface. The main reason for rutting, is down to no top dressing, which means the base gets a hammering and breaks up. I am one of the One off World Final Brigade, but even I could deal with the GP series IF the racing was held on tracks that are prepared for real racing. To date it hasnt happened, therefore I, and probably many others, are fast losing interest. Whoever is responsible for the attrocious tracks we get served up, they need getting rid of and someone that knows what they are actually doing being brought in. Watering seems to be a big issue too, as we saw again in Lezno.... had that track been watered properly in advance of the actual day, then even the slightly slicker surface would have been better for racing, as what there was in the way of top dressing would have binded and given more grip than we saw. How long will it be, before the riders say enough is enough, as engines are screaming flat out and going nowhere, which ultimately costs in repairs. Not even Nicki P is going to stand heavy engine bills for too much longer, and it must be happening as no racing engine is built to sustain that length of abuse from over revving. BSI/IMG dont seem overly bothered that their so called Premier event, which is also our sports World Championship, is going down the toilet. If we are to have a multiple round World Championship, then at least lets have some well prepared tracks.... simples.... If not, let them get on with it, and lets do our own thing again, as we did in years past. It worked back then, so it could well work now.

The man surpassed himself this evening.... was it me. or did he say that Nicki P couldnt qualify for the semi final, even though it WAS the semi final we were watching, with Nicki P in it??????? Like when he announced that Gollob, I think it was, had come second, when it was a totally different rider..... the man's a muppet, has no idea and this evening was the very last time that I will listen to a so called professional humiliate our beloved sport live to the World.I feel sorry for Keith Huwen and the riders either interviewing or in the studio, they must cringe whenever that idiot opens his mouth. And dont even get me started on the track.... what a way to ruin the competition for the World Title. We all know that Lezno is far far better than what we witnessed tonight, time for Mr Olsen to step aside too I think. No wonder BSI announced SWC tickets for Peterborough for just £15..... they didnt have the cheek to charge anymore as Ole Olsen will no doubt wreck the track there too. Peterborough is normally a very good track, with some cracking racing, which we all know will be the complete opposite come that SWC round..... Oh... and you're all correct, Millard is nowhere near the actual stadium we see on TV, he is most definitely in the Sky studio's... Chris Louis let that one slip a few years back. In fact Millard and his co commentator for the night are just yards away, in the next room.... who is he trying to kid by attempting to make out he is actually there???

I hear what you say...Oh the irony....lol, but its starting to grate on my nerves now. Maybe I'll have one more go tonight, but if that muppet starts again, well it may just cost me a TV...which wouldnt make me happy, as I just splashed out for a nice new set for this season too..... It just leaves me bemused that Sky dont realise what the prat is doing to their broadcasts.... or maybe they do....I just dont know anymore. Anyway, Emil to win again tonight I hope, loved the guy in the Czech GP....what a rider. Also hope the Brits manage a decent finishing position tonight. Ok, not the best we might have, but they're still Brits and should be supported. And the biggest thing of all.... a safe meeting for ALL riders.... oh and a miracle with the track prep.... some dirt please Mr Olsen, although that is asking too much I suppose...

I've not felt much like commenting on Mucky Millard and his constant mistakes, but the last GP took the biscuit as far as I'm concerned.... The guy just talks drivel and really does have no idea about what is actually going on in front of his eyes. I was starting to get to the point of being able to just look at the on screen action and ignore his inane ramblings, but it got that bad.... what has his green car got to do with speedway by the way... that I was going to actually switch the GP off. I am in total agreement with the people on the forum, that suggested an alternative, using just the sound of the bikes, with NO commentary at all. Oh please Sky, at least give us an alternative option..... the man is going to end up driving viewers away. There's only so much any person can take of a commentator making stupid mistakes. Looks like the European GP will be watched in my house with the mute button firmly engaged..... which is a shame, but I cant take anymore of this idiot. Regardless of how fortunate we are to have speedway televised, we pay an arm and a leg for the pleasure, surely a half decent commentator is not too much to ask for.

OOps... Apologies re the mascot thingy.... Its the age I'm at you know.... going senile. Once you pass 40, its downhill all the way and faster than one of Shane Parkers 650's... Anyhoooo.... You're not all bad young fella, its good to see the younger fans having some sensible input into the rights and wrongs of the sport.

Snyper.... I'm actually starting to warm to you young fella. When you drop the confrontational attutude, you're actually a very knowledgeable chap and can speak with a lot of sense. I am enjoying reading your idea's on the General Forum area, about speedways T/R Rule etc and now I find you here, again speaking a lot of sense, with a lot of maturity.... well done. Although I did have to chuckle about where you were a mascot.... ditto here, I did the job at Ipswich once, dressed as Blobby, the kids were evil, kicking and punching, worst part is, you have to take it and not react, as you're a figurehead for the promotion and have to keep your cool.... hard as it is/was. Anyway, back on topic... Holder, I agree, made the right call on this years GP series, wait and get his gear sorted properly and then have a serious crack. Outside of Nicki P. I believe that Hans Andersen will be his biggest threat. Gollob could still do it, but needs to be more consistant throughout the series. Well, a couple of weeks to go and we're off... so we'll all see how it pans out I suppose. Good Luck to all the riders, Please Please, NO injuries and some good racing would be nice to see.... Are you reading Mr Olsen....lol.... Like he really reads this, but it makes ya feel better saying something anyway...

Whether its a workable idea, I don't know, but I like the concept that you are proposing there.... unlikely to ever happen given the current closed shop attitude, but hey, you never know.

Hi to everyone, Having just received my very first copy of the wonderful Backtrack Magazine, which I confess I only purchased due to the Preben Eriksen piece, I was taken back to a little village called Witnesham and the arrival in our road of one Preben Eriksen. John Berry had decided to sign Ben, as he was and still is known to us Witches fans, to race for the 1979 Ipswich Witches. Ben moved into our road, staying in a Bungalow with an elderly Landlady, who hailed from Yorkshire I believe, she had the Yorkshire attitude, tell it like it is. Anyway, it didn't take long for the young speedway fans amongst us to go down and basically start making a nuisance of ourselves... we had a speedway rider in our road.... it was speedway heaven for us. In the end myself and my best mate Trevor, ended up being employed to wash Bens bikes and racing gear, boots, helmet etc. It was a labour of love and even when the temperature was freezing, we would be there, in overalls and wellies, ready to get those bikes sparkling clean for the next meeting. Ben didn't pay us any money, but did pay us in other ways, like signed posters, trips to various shows, I clearly remember him taking me to the Wheels Show at the Suffolk Showground one weekend. Apart from being a very friendly and good natured guy, he had a wicked sense of humour too. Like the day I got my first new motorbike, a Yamaha DT50, which was a road legal MotoX type machine... I took it proudly down to show Ben what I had just got, whereupon he promptly nicked the thing and roared off up the road on one wheel..... with the biggest grin you have ever seen. He then came back a few minutes later, suddenly shinned up the drain pipe and planted my brand new AVG full face Moto X helmet on his landlady's tv arial..... knowing I probably couldn't get up there to get it down... Not funny you may say, but you had to be there to hear the banter going on... we gave as good as we got with Ben. One day, Trev was washing the bikes, nylon overalls tucked into his wellies... Ben comes home and promptly gets the hosepipe and fills Trevs overalls up with water... tucked into the wellies there was nowhere for it to escape from... he looked like a Michelin man... Ben would also 'Get' the landlady's pet dog too... if it yapped at him, he would get his Red & white striped wooly hat and stick over the dogs head, complete with elastic band to keep it in place... that stopped the thing yapping. Then there was the 'Revenge' nights....like the Apple Turnover bed we made for him. He had played another prank, so between myself and his landlady, we decided to seek our revenge... Ben was racing for the Witches, at Exeter if I remember correctly, so while he was away, we made him an Apple Turnover bed, complete with a mop sporting a wig in a spare set of leathers, tucked up in there and a layer of cornflakes all over... you should have heard him swearing as he tried to get into half a bed.... with cornflakes crunching on his bare backside.... And I won't even start to talk about the women..... naughty Ben.... Those were the days, I don't suppose that fans get the chance to get involved in stunts like that these days, but to me, Ben Eriksen was my hero and one heck of a friendly guy. Glad to read he now has a successful business and is doing so well for himself. Apart from the fun side, he taught me a lot about the racing side, preperation, even how to recut tyres, as they used to do back then. Thanks Backtrack and Thanks to Ben for the memories...... something I'll never forget.

My copy of Bcktrack arrived today... The Preben Eriksen copy....fantastic stuff people, far far better than I had expected it to be. I was there the night that Ben chopped his finger against the Brummies in the KOC. Good to read that Ben is doing well for himself too. The Kenny Carter book... what a read that is, I honestly cant put the thing down, its riveting to read. Thanks for that to..... as Arnie said a few times... "I'll Be Back"...

Ordered my copy of Backtrack today...... Ben Eriksen piece was the reason. I used to wash his bikes when I was younger.... he lived right opposite me when he rode for the Witches.... Those were the days. Also ordered a copy of Tragedy too... seen so many postive reviews and couldn't miss out on that one. I know its been out for ages, but money has been tight...but had to have it.

Songs at Foxhall when I started going, through the years... Tie A Yellow Ribbon, heard that on the car radio yesterday funnily enough, took me right back to a Witches V Falcons meeting.... The meeting was started with the Trackstaff lining up in the pits whilst 'A Walk In The Black Forest' played, then I think they marched out to 'Entry of the Gladiators'.... As already listed on here. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep Boom Bang A Bang Waterloo by ABBA...... and many many more. Crikey there were so many, all seem to take me back to the 70's speedway when I hear them these days... strangely enough certain records are associated with certain meetings with me for some reason.... I have no idea why.

Sorry for being a lazy toady... but I can't sit and read through 21 pages of suggestions at the moment.... but at the risk of doubling up any names, what about: Dave Jessup, Ray Wilson, Martin Ashby, John Louis, Dennis Sigalos, Terry Betts, Ian 'Tiddler' Turner, Tony Davey, Gordon Kennett, Mick Hines.... just to name a few. John Louis would be my top pick.......!!

Despite the unfortunate cancellation, due to the pesky weather, this is a fantastic step forward and a huge amount of credit must go to Scunthorpe for getting this up and running. I hope that you get some favourable weather in the New Year and are able to hold your first 'meeting' for the 125's. I just wish you had been doing this before I left the shores of England, as we have nothing over here in Northern Ireland and its just way too expensive to fly/drive over for my lad to have a go. He desperately wanted to follow his Dad onto the shale, we took him to Sittingbourne's mini track a couple of times, where he definitely showed a natural flair for handling a speedway bike. Its not outside the realms of possibility that we will be moving back over in the not too distand future, so we will make a point of getting to Scunthorpe when we do. Good Luck to everyone involved and maybe now the BSPA/SCB will get their collective heads out of their backsides and get a national training setup started, but I won't be holding my breath on that.

Many Thanks for the race cards.... I've printed both versions off, that were posted, so that my friends can decide which they fancy filling in... me, because I hate to upset anyone, will be using both cards, which is going to be fun. At the end of the day, I just appreciate the fact that people take the time to produce these for us. Its more fun filling in a race card, than just sitting there waiting for Sky to update us on who is where in the results as we go. All The Best TC

Cheers Sube, Must have been a glich... Defintely came up with Account suspended, Account may be oversubscribed, or user has used all resources available. Working now though.. so at least I can now wallow in past meetings and enjoy the great racing again.... Loved last nights one, what looked like a very wet track to start with didn't stop those boys having a real good go.

Whats happened to Lawrences website.... Just went there to have a watch of some more racing... It came up with 'Account Suspended' on a blank white page!!!

Really sorry to hear about the injuries to Krzysztof Buczkowski, I really hope he makes a full recovery and is back racing soon. Thanks for the match tonight Lawrence... great evenings entertainment yet again. Will Nothing stop Polonia from winning all before them.. Fantastic stuff.

Thanks to both of you for the response... very very much appreciated. This is what we love about speedway folk.. always people out there to come to the rescue and help. I don't know any other sport that has this happen... oh how I miss my weekly live fix. Maybe some day soon we'll move back to the mainland and rectify that situation... its certainly has my sons vote. Just need to get saving some money to afford the move now... Thanks again guys