False dawn

12, they"ll use rider replacement

Having been a sidecar passenger for 8 years (speedway, grasstrack and a short spell on road racing) I have to say that sidecar speedway could be a great success in this country if properly promoted. It provides exciting racing, generally more overtaking than the solos. What has been lacking in the past was any kind of identity with which fans could associare themselves. Team racing with our favourite individuals has always been the bread and butter of 2 wheel racing so why not sidecar teams as a second half attraction? Oh well, I can dream. I might even come out of retirement if they'd let me double up. lolAs to it only working on the bigger tracks. We used to race regularly at Plymouth. Assuming you can get 4 outfits on the start line you can race anywhere.

That won't stop people making it up though, will it? We have to lick road clen wi' our tongues. Luxury

Joonas Cup of Coffee or if you're slighty more up market Timo Lahti Announcer Larry Huffman (Costa Mesa) nicknamed him Bruce (The Fox) Penhall and "Juicy Brucey." Or the greatest miracle worker, of course, "Mirac" Ronnie Moore

Consider this. In 2020 we have a new stadium. Throughout the previous two years, we the fans, have been formed into work groups in order to get us to position where racing can take place. What would you accept as the minimum standard of facilities? A track. A safety fence. An air fence. An enclosed space i.e. fencing Floodlights. Well maybe not in the first instance. We could run on a Sunday afternoon for example. Toilets A PA system (despite not having one worth it's name for some years). A stand. Can we really go that far on day one? Seats. Well now you're really expecting too much. You might see where I'm going with this...

Well let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. If I trust anyone in this equation it's Michael Stokes. He has intervened (again) and has brokered a deal. He believes this is real and I believe him. For sure a lot has to happen before the tapes can rise on another season but let's take this at face value and get behind those that will bring us racing in 2017 (and hopefully beyond). This means setting aside your doubts and preconceptions. Put away your suspicions. We have a chance to see the Bees at Brandon for three years. We have a chance of a new stadium to see us for the future. Stop the backbiting. Mick Horton is not an option, he is the only game in town. Mr Sandhu may have his own agenda, so what? If he is part of Brandon Estates he would appear to have made an astute financial deal. Yes, there is our sporting legacy at stack here but get real. We're talking millions of pounds. This is not a game. So let's work to get speedway and (the even more profitable) stockcars on track in the short term and then work with anyone who will put up the money for a new stadium. To be honest, I believe I might just get 50 years of support for my beloved Bees in 2019. Beyond that looks less certain. But let's be half full people. Faith is a powerful tool.

I have information that the lease starts on January 1st, not tomorrow.

I will say one thing. If you think this is the end of Bees fandom, then think again. Easy words? Yes. But we are already sponsoring one of next year's team. I hate to think he'll be riding elsewhere, but our support continues regardless. If you think can kill us Mr Sandhu, Mr Horton or whoever is responsible, you have another think coming.

The really sad thing is..... No more speedway at Brandon The stadium owners (assuming Sandhu isn't part of Brandon Estates) are not involved Rugby Borough Coucil have told the owners they can't build houses for 3 years (whoops, sorry, we're not supposed to know this). We, the faithful fans, face watching our home of speedway, falling into disrepair everytime we drive past in the next 3 years. Nigel would be turning in his grave, had it not been dug up.

You have really missed the point. The AGM set out to top slice the league to reduce the overall cost of running a team. And they have succeeded except for clubs who think it sensible to expend a quarter of their points allocation on one rider. That aside, we are looking at the likes of Danny King as true no.1s. If you want to have an unbeatable rider at your no.1 the maths will kill you. People are very critical of the likes of James Sarjeant. Under the draft system he was making steady progress at reserve. Teams were very much built on two levels and we even changed the race formula to account for this. Then we went for allowing these lads to move into the top 5. For James this did him no favours. This wasn't a natural progression, it was batism of fire. Anyway that was then, this is a new set of rules. Having two reserves on around 5 to 6 points will be a massive advantage. Not only will they make a nonsense of a team with one 2 point reserve and a second weak partner, they will compete with the lower part of any 1-5. Stop talking about our ability to win heat 15, the meeting will be over, in our favour, long before we get there. Whatever the case. I know this latest track development is worrying. But when we get to March and we're stood (no siiting) on the terraces, get behind those boys who pull on your race jackets and cheer your hearts out. Come May it won't be a False dawn. Trust me I'm a professor.

If you want to reduce the need to garden or even ban it, then replace it with an effective alternative. a. have guys with a novel tool which consists of a long pole with a sort of blade on the end. When I was a lad we called them rakes. b. gather some simple race statistics indicating which are the best gates. Get the guys with the "rakes" to spend a bit more time on the bad gates. The best ideas are simple!.

OMG. I find myself (almost) tempted, slightly inclined to defend Mr Ford. The AGM clearly set out to abandon any hope that the World's best could be practically fitted into our leagues. I note the inclusion of Jason Doyle into the Swindon team but think this a doubtful decision. Poole have taken the view they want reasonable strength in depth and that means there's no place for a 12 plus rider in their team. I think that is right and I share Mr Ford's regret that this mean that British fans will be deprived from watching Chris Holder in action on a regular basis. We are facing a crisis in our sport in this country. I speak not just as a life long Coventry fan but as a fan of speedway in Britain. We have to realistically accept the sport is under threat, financially, in many areas. Yes I want to see the best in the World. But is this sustainable? Sadly I think not.

We tried promotion and relegation before and the only teams that move up and those that want to or can see a financial argument to do so. Those that cannot see a bright future in moving up have opted to stay down.

Well let's review this sensibly. We all know that the odds are on that Jason Dolye would have won the championship had he not been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Come back fighting, we want someone to challenge Emil for the championship next year. Yes I'm a big Greg fan. He always give opponents racing room even when it costs him points/meeting wins. Jumping in on others interviews, letting others through (?), walking out on world championship meetings, are all silly, even unacceptably. You've lost a big chunk of that admiration the general speedway public had for you winning a fourth WC at 46. But forget any idea that the FIM is going to strip Greg of his title. You can debat the rules till you're blue in the face. The 2016 World Champion is Greg Hancock.

The voice of speedway, bar none. RIP Dave

My earliest memory of speedway was when I was about 5 years old (circa 1959). I went with my family to Brandon and stood on the back straight. It's funny, I don't remember the racing. The one thing that is clear in my mind was one of the home team celebrating a win. He came down the straight waving to the crowd with both hands. I was amazed anyone could ride a motorbike not holding the handlebars. Strange how the mind works eh? Wind forward a few years to 1970. My older brother and his girlfriend were looking for somewhere to go one Saturday when my Mum said, "Why don't you go to the speedway?". Well bless them, they took her up on the idea and doubly bless them they opted to take me despite the fact that I was 7 years their younger. Well the rest is history, a lot of it. Trips to Wembly, White City, Wimbledon and countless home and away meeting for the Bees. And we're still there. Gaps to go to university for me, but faithfull fans through Nigel Boocock, Ole Olsen, Hans Nielsen, Tommy Knudsen, Brian Andersen, Bomber and a miriad of stars in their own right. Who can forget the sparking metal shoe of Gerhard Ulenbrook, the outside sweeps of Little Boy Blue at Exeter, the team riding of Ole especially with Alan Molyneax or that classic occasion when PC came to Brandon on his new Weslake 4 valve when Ole was stuck on his works 2 valve Jawa? Or that last meeting at Wembley in 1981? There was hardly standing room with close on 100k spectators and we saw perhaps the most gifted rider ever win the World Champs. If my Brandon career is coming to an end I will be most sad. But life goes on. Speedway is bigger than one venue, bigger than one fan. I'll still be there.

From memory it had been common to declare the draw for later rounds (these were drawn out of a hat meaning it was different each year). Ivan was the first to admit to engineering a result to gain a more advantageous draw. His admission led to change in the rules. The draw for later rounds only took place once the previous round had taken place.

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That Coventry Observer journalist (and Bees fan) has published an article this morning about Kacper Woryna and how he is hoping for a 2017 contract.... http://coventryobserver.co.uk/sport/polish-star-kacper-woryna-hoping-secure-new-coventry-bees-deal/

As a Bees fan who in 3 years (hopefully) will celebrate 50 years at Brandon, I would like to say.... I don't care who said what to whom. I don't care who owns what. I don't care about politics. I don't care about land prices and planning permission to build houses. I do care about my speedway. I do care about the Bees. I do care about the Storm. I even care the Vikings (look them up). I do care about our riders. I do care about the long serving staff. I especially care about my fellow fans. Please listen, whoever it is making decisons about our club. We care. Whether we're fighting for the playoffs or just beating our local rivals. Happiness is 40-38 or whatever the modern equivalent is. Maybe that's my problem eh? I just want to watch good racing like it was in the day.

Dear me. There was a time you could a have a little fun on here and not be accused of anything other than trying to be bring a little levity into folks lives. Still I guess we've come a long way since then. Poole sign Antonio, Niki wins the Eoru Championship; what next? I know, we'll try another bit of fantasy speedway. A 46 year old wins the World crown. How's that?

Our number 8 is Andreas Jonsson, so probably not.

Lindback on a 7 point average. Is that realistic enough for you?

The Bees have signed Emil as a late season addition to the team. Having not ridden in England for several seasons, Emil is assessed on a very low average and is able to join the Bees to replace injured Jason Garrity (get well soon). Having redeclared their side, the Bees realised that they had a few points to play with and Greg Hancock also makes a welcome return to Brandon. We might see a few fans return to the terraces, eh?

I think there is a lot confusion going on here. Tai is the reigning World Champion and remains a devote Brit. In terms of the current (and future) individual World Championships, he is a national hero of the highest order. We take pride in his achievements and support him with our best endeavours. Then we look to the World Cup. Tai did not come 2nd this year anymore than Danny King or any others in our team. As I used to say to my driver when I was a sidecar passenger, "We win or lose together". Team GB came 2nd this year and we applaud every member of that team, including Adam Ellis who did not ride. This was historic in every sense. Every year posts a new result in the records books and any rider should be proud to contribute to our national placing in the outcome. Take a moment to reflect on some those sporting stories we see every day on our TVs just now. I quote, "I've worked more than 4 years for this, and 7th place, I'm proud of that". Moan about the sport's management, complain about the lack of investment in the development of riders for the future, get cross about the lack of vision, but never forget, when it comes to the team event, it is the team score that counts. And when you wave your Union Flag, it's for the team you cheer.