orderly

It has been muted that volcanic ash is a good material to use on race tracks as the particles do not become water logged and stay separate which could be the base for a “water proof track surface” When dirt deflectors were first introduced the machine examiner would check the distance from the bottom of the deflector to the ground with a measuring gauge as supplied by the powers that be, but in the last 5 or 6 years I have not seen any deflectors checked and like most things if it is fitted properly then it will perform correctly

It was great to see this update on Ricky on the BSPA site today ONE of the most important tasks undertaken by the Speedway Riders’ Benevolent Fund in recent years has been to provide support for the Ashworth family while they deal with the aftermath of Ricky’s crashes last season. Now, Ricky’s dad Dave and SRBF organiser Paul Ackroyd feel it is time to give his many supporters a more detailed analysis of where the young man is today, the progress he has made, and what might lie ahead. Ricky is still in hospital receiving rehabilitation which is still a huge task, 91 days asleep is a very long time and it has left its mark. Dave says: “It’s safe to say that the old Ricky has gone, we now have a new version." Unfortunately the severity of Ricky’s injury has left him with severe ataxia (a group of neurological disorders which affect balance, coordination, and speech). Ricky also is battling with potentially serious myoclonic spasms in his face, these are painful and dangerous if they happen when Ricky is eating as his throat is constricted and foods can then choke him. This is a big hindrance to progression towards Ricky being discharged as he has to be in hospital near the equipment necessary when eating in case of a choking episode. His consultant is constantly working on this condition trying to find a drug that will calm this problem down. Paul Ackroyd said: “His dad and his family have been by his side every day since his accident. They are continuing to help Ricky bounce back from the low moods by telling him what a miracle he is to everyone and how much support he has from speedway fans from all around the world. “Ricky is now allowed home visits for a few hours at the weekend, though he has to return for mealtimes. It is great to see how relaxed he is back at home by ordering stepmum Pam around and through the banter which has returned between him and his sister Jade. “I visited Ricky last Saturday on his home visit and we sat in the garden. He still has a lot of personality and we had a lot of banter. He has maintained the interest he has always had in motorcycles from a technical point of view and was still talking about clutch plates, engine compressions and the technical details of the speedway machine. “He pointed to his van too, and where it has become a bit rusty. He said ‘It wouldn’t have got like that if I’d been here all the time!’ “Every time I see him, I see improvement and Ricky does something I haven’t seen him do before. Perhaps that isn’t so apparent to his family who see him every day. “I asked him what message he would like to send to his fans, and to my surprise this is the response I received: ‘Thanks to all my fans, friends and sponsors especially Ian Hunter from Sheffield Window centre, he’s been there from the start. Also John Todd for finding me sponsors. ‘I’m still not myself yet, but hopefully I will be soon, I’ve got the right team behind me. I hope I will be going home soon and hope I will be able to get to a speedway meet as I am missing the banter and smell. I would like to thank everyone who went to my benefit meeting at Berwick, I’ve watched it about 10 times! Just wish I could have shared a beer with them all especially the 2012 group. Thanks for all the hard work from everyone involved.’” Ackroyd finished by saying: “The family are still totally focussed on giving Ricky the best opportunities possible, and are working closely alongside the Hospital staff over his rehabilitation. “They are now in a position to plan what will be required when Ricky finally does return home.” The SRBF remain custodians of all the monies which have been raised for Ricky.

This is NOT the case Peterborough Speedway have a contract with the owners of the East of England Showground and that contract should include a section which should say something like " In the event that a function or event is held prior to the contracted day of a Speedway meeting the premises shall be left in a fit and proper condition for the commencement of the Speedway meeting as per the contract"

Have no idea of the whereabouts of Jake Anderson but James Holder is living in Dorset and I believe he is racing karts these days but I am sure he could be tempted back to the shale, better the "Devil" you know

May be the name of this thread should read " Who is the most disliked or mistrusted promotion in the Premier League" then some of the riders can take part ...

While I take on board that the Sheffield promotion are still “Wet behind the ears “as new promoters they should have a mentoring promoter to guide them through the rules & regulations of promoting a speedway club and staying within the rules. Berwick should place a complaint on file now & not wait for the return leg the illegal granting RR for Ty Proctor as he hadn’t ridden for the club or for Adam Roynon who was sacked by the club, this is a matter of principal that the rules are adhered too not to see if the aggregate score requires a complaint I think that the Speedway public deserve a statement from the BSPA explaining their actions in this charade

Why was the facility of RR allowed for Roynon when he had been sacked and not out injured or deemed to be withholding his services

Heat 13 and Somerset lead by 30 points not the sort of meeting to get new supporters

Somerset to win by about 10 points. Ipswich always seem to blow hot & cold at Somerset so an away win is very unlikely

Swindon v Birmingham is rained off so Morris could ride if needed

Maybe Adam will get fixed up now he is without a club but why should he always be the fall guy, or maybe add to his future contracts " Signed for the club but only until we find a better rider or a rider in the team fails to achieve in either case you will be replaced". And as for the new Promotion of Sheffield proving that they will not be tolerating poor scores....harsh maybe but very far from true! Roynon down by 0.72 Poole down by 1.55 points That's 0.97 points more than the rest of the team

Just a month into the 2014 season and with not the best weather in March & April, but here we go again with the David Short scare tactics just the same as he used at Exeter on so many occasions. Come on David give it a fair crack of the whip before you scare everybody away to other tracks like Poole or Somerset

Stead has dropped 0.04 points Roynon has dropped 0.72 points Nielsen has dropped 0.21 points But Poole has dropped a massive 1.55 points. So why not take a closer look at Taylor Poole's performance. Before I get shouted down and told that Roynon has dropped 2+ points per meeting these figures where taken from the BSPA site and are the sign on green sheet averages and the GSA that take effect on 01/05/2014

Sheffield has gone from a club that was respected by most riders & fans even if they didn’t do well in competition they still had a decent following, but what have they done this season to gain the respect of the people who put their hard earned cash into the Sheffield coffers first of all they dispensed of the services of David Hoggart (Bad move IMO) and now they sack Adam Roynon, No problem with Proctor but is he that much better than Roynon to warrant his sacking, I think not. The future is not too bright for Sheffield, gone from a professionally run Speedway club to a professional Speedway Club run by an amateur promotional Team led by Master Bates

I feel that a lot of these keyboard crusaders take pleasure in knocking a successful team like Somerset or Poole not because they hate the team, promotion or the fans but because of the team’s success they think they have carte blanch to ridicule all concerned, maybe it their team’s where to have a lot of success then they might come in for the same treatment. The one thing that can’t be knocked is the fact that Somerset & Poole have a rock solid promotion that care for their riders and let’s face it not many riders complain about pay & conditions with these promotions

Somerset...................lol

Jason Doyle was number 1 for Somerset and number 1 for Birmingham at the same time

I was involved in speedway & grass track as a CMO for many years and I have been on the receiving end of abuse for not letting a rider carry on or accused of removing a visiting rider so that "my" team could win. In speedway I have dealt with all injuries from a dislocated little finger to multiple injuries on a rider including complicated fractured femur, fractured pelvis, fractured spine & severe internal blood loss, Believe me what I posted was fact, there used to be too much of it & the medical crews used to be treated as a necessary hindrance because the rule book stated that they had to be there I know what I am talking about in fact I could write a book on what I have seen and what I have been subjected to and in some cases by managers & promoters that are still involved today

Maybe before you all start ridiculing James Wright you should look back over his riding history. Now I am not a speedway historian but if my old memory serves me right, I think that he went through a spell of having accidents at various meetings and being removed from meetings suffering from concussion, now a lot of people will say “so what it’s just a bump on the head” but it is more than just a bump on the head. Maybe before you all start ridiculing James Wright you should look back over his riding history. Concussion can be a very serious injury to a rider the effects of which can last from 24 hours to a possible 2 or 3 years and until recently there has not been any ruling regarding the management of such an injury and a rider could have been severely concussed in a meeting tonight and still ride the next evening and no questions asked. Thankfully now there are rules in place to protect the injured rider in particular and the other 3 riders on the track at the time whereby the injured can be removed from the meeting by the Chief Medical Officer for a period of 24 hours for very mild concussion to a minimal seven day suspension and will only be allowed to resume riding after a normal neurological & neuropsychiatric evaluation for moderate concussion & for severe concussion carries a one month suspension and only return when they have no symptoms at rest or after exercise for one week and a normal neurological & neuropsychiatric evaluation this will also include a CT and MRA scan. I believe that James was suffering the long term effects of concussion which affected his riding ability

Derrière

Could be that a lot of the staff there may also work for Poole : Team rename Somerset Pirates

Bring back Greg Daniels, not a great rider but he could certainly make the OTA rock with his music presentation

I note with sadness that Nathan Stoneman seems to be missing from any team this season. I understand that he had a bad leg injury about 18 months ago but haven't seen him on a bike since, if I remember right he was a good rider and rode with maturity for one so young and it would be a shame to lose a young lad who had so much potential......

Riders without teams for 2014 Sebastian Alden 7.37 Robin Aspergren 6.39 Jozsef Tabaka 6.00 Tero Aarnio 5.86 Henning Bager 5.30 Danny Maassen 5.00 Hynek Stichauer 4.56 Max Dilger 4.22 Kasper Lykke 4.04 Jake Anderson 3.97 Facundo Albin 3.62 Nicki Barrett 3.60

If European riders can enter Britain and ride without a visa then why do the aussies & kiwis need a visa when they are commonwealth Countries and our Queen is still the reigning monarch of Great Britain and all the commonwealth countries