Gavan

is he? Mark won the Commenwealth title and world semi final in 1994 when i believe he would have been 23. Darcy is talked about as a multi world champion by those who think its due to his age. He cant gate similar to Mark which at the very top level is an achilles heel. You need to be ultra consistent like Mark was in 2000. Darcy isnt at a stage where like Greg and Tai he makes regular finals. Mark was just below the very very top level but the standard around then was so much better than now. In 1995 Mark came 6th behind Neilsen Ermolenko, Rickardsson, Hamill and Hancock. How many world titles among them? Below him were Gollob Havelock, 2 other world champions, and Louis who the previous year was 3rd. You dont get lucky winning a gp series. you can on a one off final but over 6 rounds or 12 as it is now it tends to be the best who win it. Nobody talked about Mark as a multi world champion because of the era he was in and the class around him. There still isnt much in the way of credible up and coming oppostion. When Greg and Nicki retire it should be a 3 horse race between Tai Iversen and Ward.

i originally asked if anyone had a bad word to say about Mark... you replied Norrie Allan Ward is probably only 2nd to Nicki Pedersen for the rider not liked by his colleagues. Its not a hatred and dislike to Ward, who is probably the most exciting rider in the world at the moment. Doesnt mean he should get away with what he has done though. And i stand by by arguement that Darcy will only be remembered for what he was like off track rather than what he did on it unless he changes his whole outlook. And no he isnt as good as Loram

yes i probably know Norrie Allan better than yourself seeing as my uncle used to sponsor Mark when he was 15 at Hackney right through untill he moved to Kings Lynn in 1990. We followed Mark almost everywhere from the early days until he moved to Wolves and Exeter and from our base in Essex it was to far. Both Mark and Norrie Allan cam to my aunties funeral in February 2000 and yes they got on fine. Until Norrie demanded more money from Poole to keep Mark there and he ended up losing his spot to Tony Rickardsson. As i say name me a rider past or present who has a low opinion of Mark. Im still waiting? its not a who knows who better but yes we were close to the Loram family. We still sit with the same family at Ipswich whose youngest daughter is married to Jeremy Doncaster's son. His step sister is Joanne Louis who was Marks partner in the 90's. Mark is often at Foxhall and always stops for a chat to ask how the family all are. As i say professional on and off the track, Darcy has a lot to learn

No Mark isnt as good as Ward.....................he was better. he used his brain when overtaking rather than wind it all on like Darcy. watch how many times he used to line riders up before making a long straight and flying past. got his wheels in line better than anyone i can remember watching. Darcy isnt yet in Marks league for ability from the back. Hasnt yet mastered true control and over rides and crashes an awful lot. Mark has a world crown as well. professional on and off the track. Not sure ive ever heard any fellow rider have a bad word to say about him.

far more naturally talented yes he is better rider? No that is jusged on results. was jimmy white a better player than Steve Davis because he had more natural ability? No talented yes racer yes team rider? not in Hancocks class Mark Loram had by far a better racing brain then Darcy. how many times did Mark miss the start and have to make quick decisions? how many times did Mark crash when coming from behind as opposed to Ward. Mark won one title. Ward as yet has none. So people saying Darcy is better than Hancock or Woffy are wrong. Its not about who puts bums on seats. Christ Loram was unreal to watch but Rickardsson was the better rider. At the moment Darcy will not be rembered in 20 years time while the record books will always remember the best Did nobody watch the Grand Prix before Latvia. Watch Gregs racing brain when he keeps Darcy behind him not once but twice. Darcy was outrode. Cant remember what gp it was but Hancock also overtook Ward in one gp race as well so he can overtake when needed give it a rest with the Poole thing it has nothing to do with Poole. any rider caught over the limit should have an immediate 8 month ban the precedent was set. Nothing to do with what team he rides for. The fact this thread has dragged is due to some Poole fans thinking he just needs a slap on the wrist

well done Glasgow always nice to see Workington get beat due to your own forum troll in Jenga who funnily enough hasnt commented!!

Not the best rider in the world not consistent enough. Most entertaining though. yet i dont get why people on here say he shouldnt get to bigger ban because of who is he is! yes Greg Hancock and Tai Woffinden to name 2

speedway can afford to lose anyone who is either on drugs or over the alcohol limit. The way you talk you make it sound like because Ward is in the top 10 in the world we should treat him differently!

im with you that its upsetting and to be fair if he drinks one night because of that i dont see it as an issue. what bugs me is he found out ' several weeks' prior to the night of the 16th that they had split so Middlo has said. Darcy says he got the bad news on the 16th. Either Darcy is lying and covering up the fact he got pissed Or there is other bad news we dont know about. Sorry but if your parents break up on the 1st , as a professional sportsman in charge of dangerous equipment, you shouldnt be getting drunk on the 16th a night before using the dangerous equipment and using the parent story as the reason

This could drag on and on i can see it now. His teams in the uk sweden and poland will benefit from him being able to ride for them. he should be banned from competing until a decision is reached. if not is he being breath tested before every meeting? i mean lets face it he was still drinking weeks after his parents split so why would he have stopped in the last 5 days?

so whose lying? 1. Darcy heard about his parents on the 16th. 2. Middlo says he knew about his parents weeks before 3. There is 'other' bad news we dont know about. Such a smokescreen around this no wonder people feel he should have the book thrown at him.

My point is this: 1.) If you feel you need to have a drink because of the break up of your parents then so be it. 2.) You would expect that to turn to drink would be something you would do ALMOST IMMEDIATLY 3) We now hear he knew about his parents breaks up WEEKS before the 16th This can only mean 1 thing Darcy Ward is not in control of his drinking and is a danger to himself and others on the track. He got caught out at the gp but if he is blaming it on his parents break up we are led to believe then that he has been drinking for the weeks leading up to the 16th as if he wants to blame it on his parents why wait weeks before you indulge? The fact his parents split up 'several weeks' before he got caught out is no excuse for drinking on the 16th. Nicki Pedersen has alluded to him being over the limit before and now we can all believe him. If his parents split up weeks ago and he is using it as an excuse then it must be possible he has ridden under the influence during the weeks from the split to the 16th? Maybe he was under the influence in the World Cup as he was shocking

i agree with some sentiments. my parents split when i was 6 and i trashed my room lol. However if at the age of 22 your parents breaking up makes you turn to the drink before you are due to do a professional job in my mind makes him a very weak minded individual. Sure your parents splitting up is hard news but to react the way he did is no excuse. As stated Tai and Emil didnt turn to anything and there issues were far far worse. And no its not rough to have a go at Middlo. He knew the reason Darcy had a drink yet seems to think its fine. His comments inflame fury in people and no wonder if thats the case then why is he drinking on the saturday night several weeks after he heard the news that makes no sense at all! Seems to me that Darcy and those clowns around him are trying to find an excuse to cover up his inability t be anything other than an idiot. The Saturday he drank was the 16th August Lets say he heard the news of his parents on the 1st August, why wait 15 days to have a drink over it??? Huge smokescreen in my opinion and just makes what he did worse as quite clearly there are NO mitigating circumstances

New info came to light over the 'mitigating circumstances' we are commenting on that so i cant see how its repeating other posts.

so as we all knew it wasn't a reason for as professional sportsman to get drunk before riding. Surely Middlo can't back up his mitigating circumstances comment now. If Darcy feels the need to get drunk over his parents break up then perhaps he should have asked Tai or Emil how they coped with a dying parent. It can be dressed up any which way but the fact remains that Ward messed up big time no excuses

hard sometimes dirty yes professional with his routine .............totally Ward isnt fit to be mentioned in the same sentence as Nicki with regards to attitude

Nicki Pedersen is a hard bordering on dirty rider. Nicki Pedersen is also professional in his attitude to his fitness regime and attitude to the sport Darcy Ward isnt and will never achieve close to what Pedersen has done in the sport wil he continues to behave like a lout out of control of his personal life

Ive just read that Darcy feels he doesnt deserve a ban or fine!!!!!!!!!! Who is advising him? He clearly has no remorse what so ever! Absolute joke.

you cant defend him! there is no way he can be defended I simply don't get how you or anyone can! I love to watch Darcy as do everyone else who loves the sport so to say its Darcy haters is quite wrong. As a rider - sublime As a person - disgrace

you need to realise that when you have a clown of a manager who makes moronic comments on twitter that from time to time it will keep popping back up

lol brilliant

Lebedevs Iversen Pedersen Hampel 40 pts - Lebedevs beats Ward

We have been hugely spoilt at Foxhall with John Earrey and Kevin Long, 2 of he best there has ever been. Got to be honest nevr heard much of Peter York apart from the British Finals when i was about 14 from 1990-1995 and i used to like the last lap commentarys back then. But then again it was such a big occasion that it isnt now

not sure who you support but maybe you dont watch/ take notice of the sport? Edinburgh are quite clearly the best team in the league and will be top before the play offs

As much as some of their fans on here are a tad strange there is no doubt Edinburgh are the best team over the season and are worthy champions. Play offs are just daft but i see the 'money' side of it. What happens in the last 'league' meeting if Cook and say Worrall get injured and cant ride in the play offs and another team win it? Sorry in my eyes its wrong As an Ipswich fan we could (possibly but unlikely) be a beneficiary of any Edinburgh bad luck but the best team should be league champions and through gritted teeth in 2014 that is the Edinburgh Monarchs