arnieg

I find this one the best of the three that seem to be around. I agree that below about 250-300 the ranking becomes more random, but even in the lower places it gives a good idea of rankings within countries. The one thing I don't like is the inclusion of retired riders who have ridden just one meeting (often a testimonial). Most of the complaints along the 'why is Rider X so high?' can generally explained by looking at Polish and Swedish league form. For example Coventry fans might think that Rory Schlein should be higher than 34, but given his Swedish form (where he averaged less than Ludvig Lindgren and Kim Nilsson (242 & 178 in the rankings) but a Swedish speedway supporter might be surprised to find him that high. Riders from East Coast America and Argentina are included - but along with Canadians they are difficult to rank because they ride so little against anyone else. In past years the rankings of New Zealanders have been very erratic but with riders like Aldridge and Cunningham rising in the Conference league that may be less of a problem this year. (Although I note that David Bargh is third and Larry Ross fifth among the New Zealanders listed!) There is no element of past reputation in the ranking metric. The one thing I don't like is the inclusion of retired riders who have ridden just one meeting (often a testimonial) which is the cause of some of these odd positions. But overall I'm a fan

does that make him son of David?

The rest of this post has been deleted on grounds of good taste. This has really changed the way I think about you Doug

Yes, she is his daughter

Sabrina Bogh is probably the most significant female rider in the modern era. In 2001 she reached the European Junior Championship FINAL, finishing two points behind Neils K Iversen, ahead of Rinat Gafurov (and was watched by reserve Matej Zagar). To qualify she finished ahead of Peter Ljung, Jonas Davidsson and Mads Korneliussen She also won the Danish Junior Championship that year - Ulrich Ostergaard finished third

Thanks for confirming my guess Arnie

Look at http://www.speedway.org/history/ Shows first league as 1948 - champs werre Filbyterna (it also shows Individual Championship from 1936)

I've been looking at the Division One Final table and there appear to be several (17 infact) match points missing. Looking at the results it's 3 points for a win, 2 for second and one for third. With 28 matches that should give 6 x 28 = 168 points, but the league table only shows 151! Can anyone more familiar with Danish League speedway possibly explain this discrepancy?

A kindred spirit. I've always (well for 30 years or so) taken the view that there should be 4 points available in each heat. (So a 5-1 becomes a 4-nil - with two points each for the winning pair; a 4-2 becomes a 3-1 with the race winner scoring two points and second and third both getting one point). Some how I don't think we'll convince the BSPA though

San Bernadino (the only reason for Wednesday nights) and in the UK California (Wokingham), Norwich and Southampton

Yes you can - afraid I don't have his dob though

Started riding at California (winter 1956 I think) and rode for Aldershot Poppies in 1957. Known as 'Golden Boots' because of his footwear. Second halfed at various tracks, including Oxford in 1967 before becoming a member of the Reading team that rode at Plymouth in their first ever fixture. (7 June 1968)

Try http://www.sportowefakty.pl/zuzel/ Then select from: Speedway Ekstraliga • I liga • II liga • in the blue bar across the top Then select statystyki You can also get Swedish stats on this site [ Szwecja • - on the blue bar] Best site for Swedish stuff is www.speedway.nu nb Sweden no longer records bonus points

Probably a good time to set up a page for Tilehurst as well

A quick bit of degree level number theory. It is what is known as a Steiner system. A steiner system is where 'n' numbers can be put in groups of size 'a' such that they share a common group with any other number 'x' and only 'x' times. Known as an (n,a,x) Steiner system. The 20 heat formula is a (16,4,1) Steiner system. In an individual competition 16 riders meet in groups of 4 (a heat) and meet each other only once. The World Cup race-off formula (when they had 5 teams competing) was also a truncated (i.e. they didn't race the heats where 5 riders from the same team met each other!) Steiner system. In this case it is a (25,5,1) Steiner system. There are relatively few sets of numbers for which this works [(9,3,1) is another handy one] and there are various mathematical proofs that demonstrate the circumstances in which a Steiner system will work. 30 years ago I got a question about this on my Oxford entrance exam and once I realised they were asking me about the formula for a speedway meeting I found it a remarkably easy question. It probably made the difference between me getting in and not getting in to Oxford

:approve: inspired (which is not something you can say about BSI/IMG)

1) Decent sponsors - 'Keith's Janitoral Supplies' is typical of the not exactly glamorous sponsors we now get. And while their financial support is appreciated who ever left a meeting thinking "I must buy a Meridian Lift tomorrow"? Remember Marlboro, Daily Mirror, Volkswagen, Golden Wonder, Leyland, Durex etc. 2) Big Individual meetings that meant something. 15,000 on a Wednesday for the British Final at Coventry. The big October trip up to Belle Vue for the BLRC. And every track had its own individual meeting - Brandonapolis, Blue Riband, The Manpower, Golden Hammer and many others 3) The 1973 Daily Mirror International Series - 24 test matches featuring all the world's greats, including some very rarely seen Russians - all culminating in a 39 all draw and the infamous Michanek v Collins run-off

My comiserations to those who travelled to Germany (at a considerable cost) for nothing Personally I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theories - most of the parties involved are too incompetent to organise a decent conspiracy

I think that makes it nine times that Santej has been runner-up in the Slovenian Championship without ever winning it (He's also been third twice)

Not forgetting the extract from "Tears & Glory" on the first year of Reading Racers @Smallmead

Extraordinarily Schwartz and Gresham were team mates! Both these incidents took place in the same match - a 1982 Belle Vue v Reading cup tie. [result 57-18 to Belle Vue - Races walked out with 3 heats to go claiming track was unrideable].

Not sure about that - Holta is 35 (two years older than Crump, four years older than Pedersen) I'd be interested to hear from our Polish posters how 'Polish' Holta is regarded. Who would be the choice of Polish speedway fans for a Polish nomination?

True, even Crump had a hard time in his first GP season. My first instinct is to say that it is too early. However his Polish form (average above Andersen, and way higher than Nicholls and Lindgren) suggests he does deserve a shot. (He's only ridden four matches in Sweden - scores OK). Like Saifutdinov he is an exceptional talent. (Lakeside score notwithstanding I think it is too early for Pavlic - although he should at least get a run-out as a wildcard in one of next year's GPs) BSI need some new blood so I'd go for: Lindgren (only 22 - Millard please note) Harris Saifutdinov Holder This leaves (assuming the top 7 don't change) Holta and Nicholls knowing that it's a top 8 place or nothing. Of course this depends on the GP Qualifier result. If Sullivan, Richardson or Davidsson/P Karlsson qualify then Holder, Harris and Lindgren must be considered unlikely to receive a nomination. I'm assuming that Walasek and/or Ulamek will qualify, otherwise a nomination spot must go to a Pole (probably Hampel)

Was the SATL actually a name for the league or was it just the label used in Speedway News while the league apparently had no name?

Actually the renaming took place after the season started Early programmes refer to metropolitan league, but then change to SAL mid-May. Guess someone realised that California, Ringwood, Brafield, Hoddesdon and Arlington weren't exactly metropolises