KIRKYLANE

5 th of September 1976 ; My first visit to a foreign Speedway track ; the World Final at Katowice A memorable experience where Peter Collins became the first British rider to be crowned World Champion since Peter Craven in 1963. Watching Peter from his Rochdale days through to becoming World Champion was a pure joy to behold. Both Peter and Chris Morton were wonderful to watch ... particularly at Hyde Road. The second half finals at Hyde Road would often produced fantastic races to obtain the sponsor's trophies. It wasn't until much later that I found out that the riders's split the points money equally in those finals and rode for the glory of winning the Final !!! I raise a toast to Peter Collins and Chris Morton on their wonderful careers riding for Belle Vue.

If they bring in the six man teams as suggested then the EDR finishes as there will be no reserves !!!!!

The first match saw a lot of good racing and that the Coventry riders rode the track well. I expect the Aces to win but not easily Will be more than happy with a win and entertainment that at least matches the last visit of Coventry

Mervyn Porter , one time promoter at Ellesmere Port , was at Belle Vue on Monday for the Poole match.

I am afraid that allowing a guest for Holder re migraine or toothache or whatever the reason shows Speedway up as a Joke. The man won his last three races at Belle Vue and then suddenly isn't well enough to race in the evening !!!!! I am not having a go at Poole but the ridiculous rules tha allowed a guest in these circumstances

Really pleased that the planning has finally gone through at last. Now the supporters can relax a little and await their new stadium Look forward to visiting the new stadium.

Super match re entertaining racing ..... full effort on both sides producing the best league match of the season at the NSS. Big crowd as expected with it being Bank Holiday and good weather.

I went to kent for the Colts match. We put up a good performance and hopefully we can steal this match tonight. Branford and Hopwood are good choices for guests...

The best team won on the night, That does not make us a poor team..... just last night's performance was not good enough. Plenty of good racing. We are still capable of winning the league. Top spot gives us the advantage of picking our semi opponents.. let us hope we keep at the top,

A general comment re the above and the other occasions when things have gone astray throughout British Speedway in recent times : When will British Speedway stop shooting itself in the foot ? Sadly, I think the answer is likely to be never !!!! It is no wonder that the media and TV regard Speedway as a minority sport and give it minimal support. I have watched Speedway for over 50 years and there are times when I despair with the way British Speedway runs itself.

Stock cars at 4 on bank holiday which is why we have to run at 1200 hrs... so that means no clash with parking for the two evemts as per council instructions

Expect Sheffield to win ... but as a neutral hoping for good racing from both teams

Somerset @ Scunthorpe last Sunday was a cracking meeting. Hope tomorrow is just as good. Being neutral not bothered who wins.

Forget the scoreline , this was a fantastic night of racing from both sides. Best league match that I have seen in a long time..... In any division.

When racing in a new SGP venue , he has never ridden the track before .... Warsaw / Horsens. etc I admired Greg Hancock until last Saturday when that admiration swiftly disappeared ..... He let his British fans down enormously , A Penhall / White City moment where he undoubtedly lost a lot of fans .. If he truly wanted to give the youngsters a chance then he should have ridden , then drop over the hill Janniro and put the two young riders in. He could then have given the youngsters the benefit of his advice during the meeting .... then they might have learnt something as opposed to be just humiliated

Lakeside are an enigma. 4 of their riders will ride really well or be rubbish... dependant upon which head they have on that night. Jonsson is a class rider ,,,, although he occasionally has an off night Totally unpredictable re the score line other than Belle Vue will win.

The first Speedway meeting at the Belle Vue Greyhound track was July 28th 1928 and there has now been 89 consecutive seasons of Speedway at Belle Vue. World Cup semi and final in the next two days and hopefully a long successful run to continue for Belle Vue.

The first Speedway meeting at the Belle Vue Greyhound track was July 28th 1928 and there has now been 89 consecutive seasons of Speedway at Belle Vue. World Cup semi and final in the next two days and hopefully a long successful run to continue for Belle Vue.

Pleased that Coventry have an extension and good luck for the future. Whilst Coventry do not offer concessions to senior citizens then I won't go back to Coventry on principle.

When purchasing the tickets you could choose Final only or Weekend package. The weekend package was a great deal for TWO world class meetings on consecutive days. Most supporters have snapped the weekend package up . I hope they maintain the low price for anyone who decides to go to the RACE OFF only since they cannot obtain tickets for the Final..... I do believe some standing tickets have been released for the Final

What is more pleasing is that Coventry now have a stay of execution with at least 1 extra year,,, possibly three. Hopefully suitable time for a new stadium with full planning to be sorted out. Good luck Coventry

If you read the FIM regulations for the meeting , it clearly states that semi moves to Saturday if necessary and the Final is then On Sunday. Monday is also a reserve date if absolutely necessary

Less than a hundred seats left in the temp stands as of now for the Final. As far as I am aware these are the only tickets left in total .....

Danny King won the British Final in fine style and produced a very creditable performance in Cardiff,,, He deserves his spot in the team.. Give Steve Worrall one more year and he will force himself in to the team. HIs improvement this year has been a joy to see and hopefully will continue..

A friend of mine describes Ronnie Allen as a weak referee who is inconsistent in his decisions