weatherwatcher

Why, he knew the U.S.A had no chance of qualifing, so he stood down and let a young rider get the chance to make a debut in a World Cup meeting and get his first chance of riding on the big stage. If the Yanks want to be up there with the rest of the world then they need yo get thier youngster riding in E urope to gain the knowlage of racing at world level. If they don't then they will alays be the also rans of speedway, It must have made that lads night even if he never managed to get a poiny. he got the chance to race. Well done to Great Britain.

Well done lads. They where written off even I doubted if they would get better than 3rd place but they did it on the night, thats all that matters.

I think it is disgusting dropping Brady he rode his heart out last night. It could back fire on them as Josh can have some terrible mettings.

After watching last nights performance, there is a very strong chance of The British lads beating the Ausiies, they just did not gel again. So with a bit of effrort they could come in 3rd. hope they can do even better, we will have to wait and see later today. Never saw enything of tai other than when they showed him in the pits with the Ausiies, but the camera's did not really show you much of the crowd, did they even show the Brtish lads if so I missed that. It wasn't the ones who came in first place for the Ausiies that won the night for them, in my eyes, it was the brilliant rides from young Bradley that got them over the line last night, he should be very proud of what he did.

It would be nice to see the British lads come away with a medal on Saturday, but I think they have a big uphill strugle, they have put together a team of probobly the best thay can come up with, it only shows how poor a state our national riders are these days. There is one rider who competes with the top GP boys, there are a hand full that ride over here now, so it will be hard to see them wining very many races. I just hope for the sake of the team that the captain, manges to come to grips with the new stadium, I know there will be quite a few other that have never riden there, you would have thought though that he would have gone to Belle Vue rather Poland to test his new engines has it would have made more sense to have had a few laps around there to test them and get used to the track. I hope I am wrong but I see them coming in 4th of 4. As for the American speedway tracks it is as Kelvin Tatum said the other night, they can fit thier tracks in the centre green of most of the tracks over here and in Europe, and they find it very hard to adapt, when riding over here. We could have a good chance of piping the Assies if they get through, they just didn't gel the other night, plus Frick has the track advatage riding for Belle Vue, plus thier manager, knows quite a bit about the track. It would be nice to see the Russians get through, but it depents an awful lot on the other Laguta being fit to ride on Friday. All in all it should be 2 good nights of speedway. Who ever comes out on top.

Having watched the 2 heats of the SWC it still makes me wonder why there are 9 teams competeting last night was a case of 2 teams that would either win or come second and 2 others that did not stand a chance, also with the first one 3 teams that where going to be there on Friday and one team, that was nowhere near getting more than a few points. I know it gives them a chance to compete at this level, but surely thay can get riders who have more ability, if not then tthey should be out there riding in other countries to gain the experiance to compete at this level. When you really look at things there are only about 5 teams that are at top level in the world now, just shows what a sorry state speedway is in. For the U.S.A to have to call on a rider who retired from the sport 8 years ago to make up the team, when you would think that they would be getting the young riders going to the UK or elsewhere to get time on a track that is bigger than a postage stamp. Until the other teams get thier act together would it not be better just to race with the teams that can really compete to make the SWC really worthwhile. Because other than Sweden and Aus last night the other teams didn't even stand a chance. Hope the Brits do well but from what I have seen these past couple of nights I think we will be with the also rans.

Team Aus tried to pull a fast one tonight, when JD tried to slow down to lose his race but it did not work, if he had lost then they could have played thier joker. The fact is it is just that a big joke and well time that they stopped it and went back to using the tactial ride, the joker is so open to teams cheating.

Watching the meeting from Sweden tonight, I wonder if Tai will be in the Aus pits cheering the team on.

It is the same with most sports in this country, must say though that the English Cricket team and Team GB Boxers have at last been able to get things right for them at long last. If they ever in think about wanting the British Speedway lads to do any good, then they should take a leaf out of those 2 sports books, get the lads together for at least2 weeks before the World Cup, there should be no ost of using the stadium for the practice sessions, I would think it would be a honour for them to use your track and hopefully bring a bit of silverware for the country, because for the past umpteen years we have been amoungst the also rans. Well time that they started to look at thing with some new ideas, promote the sport, this is something that is sadly laking. They should have adverts for the World Cup on all the main TV channels and in all the main newspapers to let paople know that we have a British Speedway team, and we also still have local speedway clubs. Get some big sponsers to pay for them to get the loads together and get the word out about Speeday not only about the British team but Speedway in general. I doubt very much if it gets more than a couple of lines in one of the local rags.

This is not about the EL but about 2 young lads, that go out at very Lions meeting for a lap or 3. It was great to see that the Tompsons twins came first and Second in the 125cc class young riders final at Berwick last night. Two young stars for the future. That is all depending if there is a future for British speedway. The EL may go, the PL has its problems, but the lads that race in the NL and the lower leagues are the ones who ride for the love of the sport. They will still be racing that is if there are any tracks left to race on, of course. Gone are the days when blokes got thier bike out of the shed, strapped it to the back of thier car and went off for a nights racing come rain or come shine. It was an amature sport, now the tracks are like billard tables so hard packed that a few spots of rain and the riders want to call the meeting off. The bikes are just to fast and un predictable to ride even on a good night, get a few minutes rain and they stand and shake thier heads and say there is no way we can race on a track like this. I can remember years ago at Long Eaton, the riders would put a boiler suit over thier leathers and put a full face mask on and ride on a track that would give todays riders a heart attack. Maybe it is time to go back to the old uprights and put more dirt on the track, then we may get to see more meetings, I doubt it though as riders today are in a different class to what they where years ago, sad to say not for the better. They are wrapped up in ctton woll and will call a meeting off when it could very easily have been staged. There is no thought at all for what happens to the fans, and not many riders out there now give a toss about us. All they care about is getting across the line first and pocketing the money.

It sounded like the Lynne riders just didn't want to race, if it was both sides then that is fine but when 1 team pulls out they should forfit the meeting. It sounded like the rain had stopped, track a bit wet in places, what do the riders want these days wrapping in cotton woll. A few hours rain and then they shake thier heads and go home. They did not even bother to get changed. So that says a lot. Should be a full refund, it is no wonders the crowds are getting worse at meetings all over the country. It was a terrible crowd the other night on SKy.

Hope the way he has improved this year that he is better at getting around BP when he rode for the Lions, he spent more time coming off the bike than staying on it, but he was not so strong as he is now and he was also just trying to hard, will have to wait and see how he goes.

What ever happened to the fans the other night. From what I saw you could have easily counted them if they dared to keep the cameras on them. It was not a good advert, when they are being threatened with losing the stadium, or is a fact that the Bee's fans have just given up already. That is twice now I have seen crowds like that at Brandon. Not a good advert for speedway, unless new fans like to go and watch the racing with plenty of room to move about in. Thought they where trying to get Sky to do a feature on the track closing, or have the new owners given it a bit longer to run. The club can't be making much though with the gates they are getting. If it is like that every week. Maybe it was just one bad night.

I still remember to this day the words that my English teacher spoke to us all on the day we finished scholl. He had taught us all the time we where there. And I still follow what he told us. " I would feel that I had not done my job properly teaching you the English language. I hope that when you go out there into the big wide world, that you do not start Using vulgar Old Anglo Saxon Enlish vulgar words, as it would have shown that I had failed in my job. It just goes to show when people use swear words, that they have not got a good eductation in the English Language and fail to be able to find a word to use instead of using vulgar 4 letter words in there place. I do not swear even to this day and it makes me cringe when you are out and about and you hear children of 5 or 6 swearing like an old pit face miner.

I must say I always enjoy the after race coments in front of the grandstand at Leicester. There are usually quite a few people stay to listen and you have to be quick to get a place at the front. The riders are more than happy to sign autographs and they always take time to stop and talk to the younsters in there. It works at the Lions so can't see why no other track bothers to do this, or is everyone in to much of a hurry to get home.

One thing I hyave to agree with was the coment made by Kelvin Tatum, last night, that the bikes are far to fast and un-managable, they are now tuning the bikes to the limit. How many times now do we see them grab a bit of loose shale and the bike rises in the air and bucks about like one of those bull rides you see. The tracks are all to slick and there is the usual dick follow the leader in most races. It would be nice to see how they managed on the old up right bikes with plenty of shale on the track, when you really had to work hard to win a race. Plus they nearly always carried on when the rain started to fall. I think the riders these days are all to quick to say they can't ride because the rain has made the track un rideable, why because the track is to slick and the bikes to fast. We are having meetings called off when all we have had is a bit of drizzle, the tracks are now packed that tight, that the water just holds on the track with no where to go. Is it time to slow things down, maily to stop all the bad accidents we are seeing, with broken arms etc, etc.

PK has a terrible record going round BP, he guested for us and he was just terrible, he had one good meeting but all the rest , it was a waste of time him firing up the bike and wasting fuel.

It is a long time since I saw a crowd like that at a speedway meeting over here. In the 60's and 70's that was a normal turn out at Long Eaton, if Glasgow can get the crowds in, no doubt it tokk a lot of work to get that many people to turn up on the night, then why can't all the other clubs manage to do the same, as far I see things they all do very little to get the word out there to the public. There is very little in the way of advertising the mettings, not everyone looks on the computer to see if the club in thier town is racing on a given night, I very much doubt that most people do not even realise, that there is a speedway club in thier town or close to for that matter. So unless they get of thier bums and get the word out and do something to bring in the crowds, then the sport will continue to fade. Must say, that last night saw some great team riding, not something that is done often enough these days, to watch that to me is far better than all the fans who uless they see passes every race feel they have been done, but to see two riders take control of the race at the front is a skill that has sadley died. Great stuff to me it was a good meeting, as the track must have been very hard to ride last night withh all the rain they had. Great stuff and great to see all the ffort that they have put in at Glasgow, the work they have done on the sadium is second to none and one the fans should be proud of.

You can watch any meeting in any league and the spped the bikes go at now, will always give the same result in most races. The riders who have the best gating abalities are the ones who usually win the race. Even the EL has now turned into a dick follow the leader. It was actually good last night to watch something you don't see enough of these days and that is some good team riding. I know it was done to make sure the weakest rider made it to the tapes first, but it was very well done on more than one occasion. It was a regualr feature on our tracks at one time, you would not see that many overtaking manovers, because the two lads in front, who had the skill to do it controled the race from the front. A lot of people fail to realise that which ever league it is, it is a team sport, but most people ar not happy unless they see riders passing each other every race. I would rather see two riders work together as they should do and get the 5-1, than see one rider blaze away miles infront, not giving a sod what is happening to his team mate, All they want to do is get the win and make sure they can get all the points money they can bag on the night. The stars of the EL are made to look a little second rate at times when the are betten badley by one of the draft riders, good for them though, because they are the future of British speedway, there are some good lads coming through now, it is nice to see after the way there has been no riders from this country, for over 10 years or so that have been up there with the big boys.

I had big hopes for him when he first started to race, he looked like a rider who would make the top flight of riders in a couple or so seasons, but I am afraid that he has just stagnated, at best he will just be a reserve who can win meetings for Poole, unless it puts in a lot more effort and gets far better than he is now. Not sure if he has it though.

I can't for the life of me see what all the fuss is over watching England play football. I hate the game and England never seem to win anything anyway. Most of the players in this country are from foriegn shores , since they started coming over here they started to make all the English lads look rather mediocer. You can always record it or watch the highlights anyway. Should have stayed with the 7.30 start, put a big sc end so all the sad football fans could sit and watch the match, that way they get speedway and football, both at the same time. As I said can't see what all the fuss is about, 11 men kicking a bag of wind about.

Unless they have changed things this year, they alway came out to be introduced to the fans before the meeting statrted. Not been able to get there yet this year due to illness, was coming on Saturday, even told the grandson we where going, then it all went pear shaped and we never got the again, soon I hope to be back fit and well enough to get there, the way things are going though, the season will be over before I even manage to be able to drive there.

It seems to now be a fact that a lot of people are only interested in watching the top riders over here, if that is the case they should put the money up to pay thier wages. How many people are actual speedway fans who would go along to watch teams of any standard, rather than watching no speedway at all. Because if all the clubs brought in the top riders, there would be a lot of EL or what ever top flight of British speedway there is in the next few years, that would be closing down, if they want to ride over here than I am afraid they would have to ride for the sort of money that the clubs could actually afford to pay. After watching the Lakeside meeting on Sky this week, I think it would have been very hard to even pay the tea boy, they where lucky from what I saw if there was 200 people there. You just can't carry on running a club with numbers turning up for meeting like that. What a soory state of affairs we are in now. For a sport that 20 years ago wa standing room and packed like sardines standing room only. It is now a matter of picking where you want to stand or sit.

If anyone took over the reins at BP the first job I hope they would do would be to alter the track, the second one is to approach the Council to get the land that is wated behind the disabled car parking and the wasted land at the side of the main entrance that looks a little like a bomb site into much needed carparking, instead of as at the moment having to use the the shopping carpark, with a time limit on it when it is a free carpark as only SCB knows to well.

Most of the EL clubs can't even afford to bring in the big names as they are asking far to much money. It almost killed off the EL in the 90's and would do so again. I see nothing wrong with what he proposed, so we may not get to see the big names ride over here. But unless something is done and done very quickly, then the EL will be just a memory, because with the level of fans going now it will be dead before to long. The same goes for teams in the PL and NL, but at least they run on a much tighter budget than the EL. It is a matter of do we want to still watch speedway in Great Britain, or do we have to end up just watching streams of Polish and Swedish meetings, but the way the clubs are going on over there they are on a colision coarse, with bowing and scraping and paying stuppid money to the top riders, just like they usewd to do over here and look where it got British speedway, the mess we are in now.