RobMcCaffery

We'd been in Rye House 11 years before your time started. You never forget your first love. When we moved into Rye House it didn't go down well with a lot of people, many of whom switched to Crayford when they opened in 1975. Riders weren't keen on such a small track, the only one then under 300 yards. One prominent D2 rider who'd ridden for us at Rayleigh turned up in '74, took one look at the track and said, "Nice training track, now where do we race?" And that completes the rare occurrence of the hijacking of a Poole thread by another team, the reverse of what normally happens. . A big thank you to all who have helped....

Number 8 butting in again. Rospiggarna v Dackarna, full version (Swedish) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPV5hWFoMM8 No doubt the English version and the short Polish versions will up in the morning.

I live 150 miles away, have only seen two matches since 1999 but Rockets will always be my team. Errr, that's Rayleigh Rockets by the way

Very true, and also very sad. Too many people seem to have turned their noses up without even giving it a try. I used to work at Iwade in the mid-2000s when they were running below the present NL level. I saw plenty of great speedway. The trick was to make sure riders were racing others of similar standard. Let them learn to ride, give them a decent track and the racing follows. Too many were happier trying to sound clever clever by saying "I only watch the best riders". I prefer to watch the best racing, which can come at ANY level. It would be tempting to say 'more fool them' but sadly their attitude deprived others of the enjoyment. As someone once said (lord knows who - never been good at attributing quotes) - "Go on, give it a try, you might LIKE it".

After all those years next door you're reaping the benefits of loyalty. Now you have two exciting teams racing on the best speedway track in Britain in what looks like an excellent stadium. Plugging the gaps with NL is ideal but fans have to reward this by actually giving it a try and not turning their noses up. It is perhaps rather telling that the Colts are the last remaining reserve team. Despite the jealousy shown in some quarters, you are living the dream and long may it last. I wonder if Rockets fans are missing the extra matches created by the Raiders?

Please do Rob. I'be had a p.m. from someone telling me it was Jon Bulmer. Every, EVERY track should have one. I can see why you travel up from Oxford. I would if I could. (EDIT: Can't find an email address for the club so can you please be sure that Rob Godfrey gets to see my thanks please?)

If there's anyone left in the sport who appreciates the importance of continuity it's him. It would be interesting to know if the crowds for the filler events reward those principles, or has time left him behind? The big problem is that too many spectators now want 'meaningful' matches rather than just a good night's speedway racing, irrespective of the result, and you cannot achieve that and run weekly speedway with 8-12 team leagues, only able to operate when other leagues/international events allow them to run. Len's success at Hackney was built on the 'good night's racing' rather than the intensity of chasing league titles. Times have very sadly changed. Now, it appears that the initial crowds at Rye House rewarded the BMR ambition. There was a fair continuity, but that was before the Polish and SGP seasons were fully underway. The real test will be the crowds for the occasional Wednesday meetings, especially when they become the norm later on. Right now, there is a realistic chance that the last racing at Rye this year will be the first Wednesday in September. I do hope the #quality' of the SGBP outweighs the quantity of the past. I used to find four month close seasons unbearable, let alone six months, or seven months in the case of some overseas leagues that we are now being driven into conforming with. If the SGBP switches to a fixed night of fortnightly home meetings, as its being encouraged (see F.I.M.'s Armando Castagna's comments in the Speedway Star this week), it will take about 30 weeks to run a 14 home match sea\son, plus another month for the play-offs. The pressure to then to just 1 home and 1 away as in Poland and Sweden will grow and a lot of people will be praying 'less is more'. The Rockets may have leapt onto a very slippery slope. Anyway, there's always the SGP every fortnight to fill in the gaps between the meetings....

Gaming International (formerly Stadia UK) have a record of getting what they want - and it's not building stadia.......

The problem with the stand camera was that intrusion of roof and stanchions. I didn't have a problem with the actual angle. Wimborne Road is the only track likely to feature in this year's coverage with one of these old football-style stands, unlike the modern-style cantilever (e.g. NSS or Peterborough) so the problem is unlikely to recur. I'd say it's the only stand where you could shoot from the back even if that was the director's preference. Even in Poland where high budgets rule camera views are often obscured by lighting or speaker poles.

I can certainly remember that people were worried about tracks running less than 26 home fixtures a year and real concerns about those that were shut by mid-September. Like the Dons Hackney ran a very full season, usually every Friday from the very first officially permitted in March (and sometimes prior) right though to October, and occasionally well into November. I recall Belle Vue being booked in for a challenge in November! The one away Friday evening trip for the Hawks, usually to Wolverhampton was covered by the all-star 'Superama' individual. Of course, it helped if you were making money on each meeting rather than just running enough meetings that you can afford to subsidise Now unless you make the play-offs it's 14-16 meetings and you're lucky to be running after the August Bank Holiday. Progress? Yes the past is the past, but it doesn't mean we should put up with the shabby mess we have now. The lack of continuity may well be a far greater problem for the sport than many would choose to believe.

Thanks for the information. Regarding the stadium roof it's a question of budgets. I note the clips of other meetings provided on the BSPA website are from a low angle. I didn't bother to watch a great deal of Sky's matches from Poole so obviously the memory's failed me re a low angle in that case. Would there be significant savings from putting the camera at the back of the stand rather than on a roof platform? It's also fascinating to know the age of the equipment in use and does emphasise the 'low cost' approach to this half-season. Thankfully the on-screen talent are helping to compensate. It does suggest the heights that a proper permanent deal could achieve if they can still put together a decent programme this year with limited facilities (and a track that killed the racing). Technicalities aside, I thought it a very good move to try to show exactly how much the low sunlight affected the riders' line of sight. At least Poole managed to get a reasonable crowd into the place for the cameras.

Did we get a clue on Sunday why you quit Scunthorpe? ;-) Thanks for coming on here and talking openly to the supporters. It was good to see you are still so competitive after your break.

For various personal reasons I've not been able to get to a match for a couple of years, until last Sunday when I found myself in Lincolnshire for a weekend while my wife watched a couple of gigs in Lincoln. I grabbed the chance to see the Scunthorpe v Berwick match and was so delighted that I could finally watch some live speedway on a great track, despite pre-meeting fears about the Bandits' injury crisis. It wasn't my first visit to the EWR so I brought a folding chair in. Unfortunately my mobility away from the car is very limited these days and I have to use a stick. As I approached the gate to a very friendly and warm welcome from the woman taking the cash a young guy standing nearby insisted on helping me by carrying my chair and bag to wherever I wanted to go in the stadium. I decided to just go for the nearby apex of bends three and four where I could see the pits even if I had to duck the shale. I asked about the track shop so I could buy a Speedway Star. My helper told me it was now at the far end of the stadium but would get a copy for me, which he very kindly did. He told me he'd be in the pits if I needed any help during the meeting. After two very entertaining matches, including the NJL I managed to get myself out of the chair and started folding it up ready to struggle back to the car. At this point my helper re-appeared and came with me all the way to the car. This is superb customer service and needs recognition. I stupidly forgot to ask my helper his name but I was told I wasn't the only person he'd helped in and someone passing-by seemed to call him 'John'. I will be contacting Rob Godfrey directly to give my thanks, of course. Great racing on a superb track with the promoter communicating with his customers on the pa throughout and 21 heats of team racing all for £16 including programme . The place deserves to be full every time it opens. It's such a shame that money's tight in the town. Sadly the EWR is about 200 miles from my home. I do wish it was nearer. Thankfully other interests do take me up there from time to time, although not lately so I do always call in when I can. Can Rob be persuaded to open a chain, with one not too far from Gloucester? ;-) Thanks so much. It was worth the wait to finally watch my beloved sport live again. Once I was able to watch almost every night of the week. I still would, if only I could....

I've seen many track surfaces like that before, often just before the track closes down. With the shadow of the scourge of Reading, Swindon, and now Torquay United hovering it does give mild cause for concern, after all why bother spending on something that might not be around much longer?

I think you'll agree though that the home straight stand doesn't lend itself to good camera placement. With the roof being pretty inaccessible it really needs a permanent platform built underneath it but clear of the crowd, as at many football grounds. Many meany years ago we tried to tackle the problem by putting up a scaffolding tower to cover an England v USA test match but rather than accept the slight inconvenience and moving for one week to a different seat the home supporters kicked up a fuss. We were allowed by Reg Fearman to continue only if I agreed to do the commentary lying-down, this after previously agreeing to the tower. It was of tubular scaffolding structure so hardly a solid block! Anyway I tried to deliver a decent job lying down, then the ITV crew arrived. It was just one camera plus minimal ITV support, which for them was about a dozen support staff. A couple of them mounted the tower to share with us. The crowd started baying for blood. Reg Fearman climbed the tower, asked "whose tower?" My producer confirmed it was ours so he threw ITV out. As the cameraman climbed down to be 'greeted' by the hostile locals he was shoutingf back "Well, it won't be on World of Sport now!". England were hammered 39-69 in a dull match. When we reported back to our client, the series sponsor, they were far from impressed and after some disgusting behaviour by the then Belle Vue promotion to them in another test for some odd reason pulled the plug on speedway sponsorship for good. In more recent times a low level view has had to be used. I can see why BT tried this back of stand option but as flagrag says the roof and stanchions being in shot made it the same bad choice that made us a hire a tower 35 years ago.... They're hopefully learning from their errors. Once again though the quality of interview and pit analysis was worlds away from "so, what changes are you going to make" x14. Steve Brandon's interview drawing out just how affected Hans Andersen was superb as was Natalie and Kelvin's conversation with Lemon and Cook post match. I've noticed Kelvin's analysis and composure away from the commentary box has matured superbly in recent seasons and he seems to be fully 'flowering' under the new regime. As for in the box, old Sky habits need to be forgotten by both him and his partner. This is a very different approach. Shame about the track. I hadn't realised standards ant Poole had slumped to such depths.

The feed will only be blocked if Bruno's in a country where it's shown on TV so if he's abroad but not in Poland, Denmark, Sweden or the USA the SGP website live feed should be available to him. Yes the USA is now blocked so presumably someone's taken up the rights over there now.

In my commentary days I had to work in several other sports than speedway and reached a level of proficiency in one where I was mistaken for a long-term supporter turned commentator instead of being in my first season. You can go only so far though but there is no substitute for a deep-seated knowledge and love for the sport.

Welcome back!

There have been signs of this on the SGP coverage with many of the mid-meeting interviews being carried on the international feed not making it onto the BT programme, and how long they spend after the actual racing with analysis, rather than a quick look at the presentation then off to the next sport. The post-meeting interview with Craig Cook was very well-handled on Monday. I look forward to seeing how a league match is treated by them. With Natalie Quirk and Steve Brandon we finally have an interview team in the pits that can match the knowledge of the commentary team. (Even those who whinge about Nigel and Kelvin's commentary style wouldn't be stupid enough to doubt their knowledge....would they?)

Key elements of the deal like this are gradually filtering out. Perhaps it's time for cards to be placed on tables and this year's set-up explained in full? I've made my best attempts to work out what's going on from the sidelines and apologise if I have got key points wrong. Equally some of the comments from fans and BSF members regarding the number of meetings, start date and exclusion of SGBC fixtures would better be answered by a proper explanation rather than someone like me using past experience and present knowledge of the TV industry to attempt a hopefully educated guess? Was this a case of a desperate last-minute free deal to save promotions and riders losing their sponsors? If successful, is there any realistic prospect of BT taking up a full, paid contract? How long will Sky be paying-off their contract, for the full term? If lower-cost technology becomes available to Sky, are they leaving the door open to resume? Beyond the £9.99 admission price deal were there any other requirements made by BT and do the BSPA have any specific plans to make this new relationship work long-term? One side issue is whether Sky dumping the sport allowed this year's league restructuring or was the abandonment of the Elite League a significant part of their choice, apart from the obvious over-spend on football? I know that some of the territory covered is commercially-sensitive and I don't expect answers to much of what I have requested but these questions are those which most other sports would be asked in a situation such as this. Personally, I hope Monday night's first league match is a huge success and that BT make a long-term commitment. Already there are subtle signs that they like us. Apart from specific, well-made trailers for the SGP and now SGBP league matches we are being bundled in with major sports in their general montages. It's only a subtle aspect but I do love seeing a sequence of sporting logos covering football, cricket, tennis and rugby being joined by SGP and SGBP logos, rather than our usual associations with sports few have ever heard of. They seem to be taking us seriously. It's pretty vital that their initial faith is repaid!

That was covered in Philip's original posting. Perhaps it might be worth your while reading it? In case that's too much to ask, prior to 1973 neither the Australian or New Zealand motorcycling authorities were directly represented on the F.I.M. Their riders were thus treated as 'British' and they rode in the British Qualifying rounds of the World Championship right through to the British Final then on to the international rounds. In the same way the Great Britain World Team Cup squad was open to Aussies and Kiwis and until 1973 the actual British riders were normally in the minority. In the 1973 World Team Cup final only English riders were selected. In response Australia and New Zealand demanded, and got direct representation at the F.I.M., their own World Championship rounds and World Team Cup teams. As Philip wrote, it was rather different back then. Using your 'logic' our SWC team would include Jason Doyle and a selection from Chris Holder, Max Fricke, Nick Morris and other successful Aussies. What's also mentioned by others is how British riders have raced in Aussie Championship rounds. That's more a sign of desperation by the Aussie promoters to have fields that the public would pay to watch than anything else. It was wrong. We don't need our fields 'bulking-out' like that. In most sports once you represent one nationality it is not easy to just represent another, usually based on long-term permanency of residence and the holding of a passport. Speedway should be the same. In some ways I wonder if a win for Schlein might have done some good for exposing the whole shoddy, ill-thought out system.

It's not pointless, it's completing the fixtures, or should all tracks close down once they can't win the title?

Tonight's match between Tarnow & Daugavpils -, All 15 heats, short format, from Speedway For All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9bAjMGLZA

I remember a couple of guys who decided to forget safety and 'live a little'. They did, until the day they ignored safety rules and died from asphyxiation in a silo. Still, at least they showed those H&S geeks, eh?

I'm certain they do! This was a last-minute deal for half a season. Give them a chance! If the SGBC is ignored next year, IF there is a next year then start whinging.