oldace

How it should be. Unfortunately today's young guys seem to think once they have bough a bike that it owes them a living

Come on Ian, we know DAC is stupid but I gave you a bit more credit. They were two different teams in two different competitions. Neither the Aces or the Colts have won any more than three consecutive league titles

It is a description of you with a letter missing. Using your logic Ivan Mauger, who has always only ever claimed 3 consecutive world titles can now lay clain to 4 consecutive world titles 1968 to 1971, well done Ivan

Have you had a bang on the head. Belle Vue Colts won 2 consecutive div 2 titles Belle Vue Aces won three consecutive div one titles Belle Vue Colts never won 5 consecutive titles Belle Vue Aces never won 5 consecutive titles Ken Eyre won back to back division 2 and division 1 titles I typed it very slowly for you in the hope you understand and stop making a wally of yourself

I put your support of him down to ignorance. I think you really don't understand what substance this vile person was dealing in. As for Ward, I didn't say he should get a wildcard or whether he will or not. Simply that he should be in the mix for consideration like any other rider

What are you struggling to understand Ian. He has completed his FULL sentence, he is now eligible to be "considered" for a wildcard. As for deplorable, I think you will find most people find it deplorable that you showed sympathy for a convicted crystal meth dealer. My only regret over his death is that it was relativley quick, it would have been nice if his suffering could have been dragged out a lot longer

Except you previously claimed that Belle Vue (and Ken Eyre) won 5 consecutive league titles. You now concede that , as per usual, you were talking crap

Indeed he did, two consecutive second division titles with the Belle Vue Colts followed by three consecutive first division titles with the Belle Vue Aces. Two different teams in two different leagues.

Remember - yes he has done the Crime - and he has also served his time. He should NOT be pilloried every time he makes a Post. Now this is a direct quote from you on a thread a year or two ago. Back then you were defending an offenders right to be treated the same as anybody else after having served their sentence. Yet you now seem to advocate adding additional punishments at the end of a stipulated sentence. Just to add to the irony the person you were defending was convicted crystal meth dealer. Fortunately for decent society this vermin is now dead and hopefully rotting in hell for eternity

Don't get me wrong I have no sympathy with Darcy Ward and think he is a loathsome individual but he has served the punishment he was given You can't keep adding further punishments as you go along. As such Darcy should now be considered as would any other rider for one of the 4 wildcards. That is not to say he will get one, wildcards are for commercial reasons as well and the organizers may feel it is not the right time to offer him one (although I suspect they will)

Any more? why when did it ever. There are fewer picks now than in lots of post war world finals and the picks these days are at least competitive

No to be fair he has a point. Just looked at a few photos of both men and they both have 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose, a mouth, some hair and are both between 5' and 6' in height. Uncanny really, dont know how I never noticed it before. Using the same logic as the OP Dame Edna is a dead ringer for Bruce Penhall

No because selection for the SGP is via 3 routes. Top 8 of this years SGP. Well he can't satisfy that criteria Top 3 in the SGP Challenge. Yes he could be wildcarded into that and gain entry that way but should he fail it would be harder to justify a wildcard pick 4 Wildcard picks. These are riders who for whatever reason are not in the SGP but for either commercial or other reasons the organisers feel should be part of it. Ward could easily and justifiably be given one of these spots.

Light rain throughout the afternoon then clearing around 5 ish. Should be no problems trackwise

Simon Wigg was banned in 1985 but was allowed to be a part of the selection process for 1986. Are you suggesting it is corrupt to have allowed him in. Darcy was banned until July this year, as from now he is eligible for the selection process for next year. As always there are 4 wildcard picks so as legally competing rider why should he not be considered for one of them. He has served the punishment meted out and the slate is clean, until the next indiscretion (probably not far away) and so he should be considered as anyone else would be.

Correct, however much he is a loathsome individual the World Speedway Championship is not a popularity contest, it is a competition to find the best speedway rider in the world and Ward is a contender so on that basis and as such should get a wildcard The consequences were a 10 month ban, which he has now served.

Should be OK though, due to stop anytime. Will remain cloudy for the afternoon and then brighten up for the evening

Reduced or free admission is all well and good but once you have attracted the crowd by that method, and it usually will work, Brits love anything free, you must show them something that they consider worth paying for. Free admission got Lakeside a near 5000 crowd (accepted some would have been other clubs existing fans) but how many came back. They clearly didn't think what they saw warranted the usual admission cost The actual cost is largely irrelevant anyway. People simply want value for money, if they spend a fiver they want goods to the value of a fiver. Speedway in its current guise is nowhere near value for money at £16.00 plus (admittedly £16.00 on the gate only equates to a little over £13.00 nett).

The formation of a second division in 1968 was called just that, the second division. In 1975 it was renamed the "New National League" the new to distinguish it from the original National League which as you say, ran until 1964 but was the top division then. The New National league ran for two years if I recall before being re branded in 1977 to simply the National League. The name "National League" has now been used to name all three of the divisions of British Speedway

You were being ripped off then. When the ACES left Hyde Road in 1987 admission, including programme was £3.10. I dont thik 5 years earlier Cradley was double that

I think he is pretty spot on Sidney. Lee and Collins didn't hang around long enough to dominate the NNL, they had bigger ambitions and moved on quickly. Remember how many clubs came into existence between 1968 and 1975. These new track needed new riders. A combination of old hands past their first division best and raw rookies came along to staff these clubs. Guys bought bikes one week and were league racing the next. By 1988 the NL was a whole heap stronger than its 1978 counterpart for the reasons Grachan has highlighted earlier None of that is to decry the old NNL/NL, it did exactly what it was set up to do, develop riding talent for the BL. Prior to the late 80s and the NL promoters deciding they wanted to rival the BL rather than work together it worked pretty well. As more riders got cushy in the NL so the BL relied on cheaper foreign imports starting the path to where we are today

Very true, I forgot about Michael, he definitely failed to adapt. Such a shame really because after a troubled 81 and 82 season he got himself going in 1983 and could have built on that in 1984.

Yes indeed Sidney. I suspect Ivan would have adapted to the system prevalent in his time and been a prolific gater whatever the era. It wasn't (still isn't) about simply dropping the clutch and ringing the bikes neck and Ivan was an absolute master of the right amount of revs, body position and clutch set up for any track conditions. Nowadays of course they have to have the throttle on the stop and feather the clutch to control drive to the first turn. To be honest, apart from Erik Gundersen, who struggled no end initially, all the top starters adapted and things were pretty much as before without the farce

Indeed he was, the starts in the 70s and early 80s were farcical, the tape touching rule is one of the best rules introduced in the last 40 years. It now need taking a stage further though, if it were possible to police it accurately, then any rider who moved even a fraction should be out. The nonsense of flyers and the constant re starts needs eradicating. It is supposed to be a reflex action start, not a who is the best guesser test. At the very least where a rider is warned that should carry for the rest of the meeting with another offence resulting in exclusion

Weymouth v glasgow is on there and id very similar