FAST GATER

I do hope that is the case as IMO he deserves to go out of the sport with his" boots on " as it were .

Got the impression that we may have seen the last of Greg Hancock as from what he said or didn't say tonight about riding again but was good to see him back even if it was as a pundit .

Well just like to say i am very sorry for the loss of the Potters just like my own Gunners and the Kings we will never sadly see the the likes of them again ,they were all IMO victims of a changing world and culture .There are things the sport can do but I do feel in this day and age many extenal things have/ are conspiring against it and there has never been the robust support that football and alike have enjoyed from outside parties but has been seen as a blight and antisocial activity by non followers . I think that the NSS will be the last pupose built track in this country and the best we can hope for is that demise of the remaining tracks can be avoided for as long as posssible !

I remember Jack once taking Ivan Mauger's carb apart at B/vue while Ivan was getting changed to see any mods he had ,when Ivan returned someone informed him of what Jack had done to which he replied at least he will have put it back together properly !

Once a riders head goes normally that's the end of it for them as in any sport a strong mental attitude is vital and the last thing you need is to be distracted or not fully committed ,you just become a danger to yourself and others.IMO( other than phyiscal injury) this is the main reason for riders retiring from the sport you see it so often when they are no longer committed at the starts ,they are almost frightened to make too good a start preferring to see how it pans out IMO this what has happened to Scott Nicholls watching him on TV recently .

I think you should swap Scot for him but i think you would have to put a few bob to the deal as well

I think like a lot of riders at the end of their careers he has to pick the right time to stop and IMO in the PL that is now ,as I said a year maybe two in th CL to ease out of the riding part of the sport and earn a few bob if I were him .

Have to agree either find a small home track in the PL then again perhaps it's time drop league (for one last season) or hang his helmet up , no where near the rider he was sadly .

Not a huge Rosco fan myself however like any team sport you have to have the right players/riders to win ,the last SON showed how poor the standard of British s/way( Tai aside) is compared to other nations harsh but true ! and not his fault .

Remember him" blowing his top" with Gerry Smitherman who was riding at number 2 (GTS Products) at the Port in the mid 70's ten mins later they shook hands and wtched the next race together. A hard but fair rider from my recollections of him , he had a Mini Clubman estate with the bike in the back and the doors held shut with a bungy strap.Happy days no fancy van and an army of pit crew for him , I think it may well have been right at the end of his career .

Cyril Francis & Ivan Mauger the two extremes of the sport , journeyman rider and Mr speedway himself IMO

I still have one and in reality they offered very little protection but they did give much better perifheral vision which many riders prefered against full face helmets of the day .Mauger used to modify his mask as did Joe Owen in that he put in the biggest piece of lense material( came on a roll like clingfiim only thicker and you used the old lense as a pattern cut out with sissors ) that would fit ,you can see this on many of his action shots .

I did touch on this in my earlier post people don't even leave home to shop so when you consider the excellent presentation ( IMO) of s/way available on TV/Net it is quite easy see why many no longer go and there is little new interest .There is also the fact that there are fewer tracks and more travel is involved if you wish to watch the sport live,I have found that any Poles I have asked are not followers of the sport but older family /friends were or are still going to watch it live .

I think in some respects the sport suffers because of modern lifestyle ,that is we want everything at our finger tips internet shopping being a good example of one of the reasons the highstreet retail is dying on it's feet. I watched s/way live for about 8yrs solid untill the end of the 70's sometimes 3/4 times a week, then marriage children etc came along.My wife will watch s/way but is not an avid fan by any means ,during this time away from the sport I started eventually watching the GP's once they started and have continued to do so ever since .I eventually started to go to Stoke( as the Port Gunners ceased in the mid 80's) on an infrequent basics until they dropped to the NL league . My point being am I typical of many modern s/way fans in that except for the British GP I watch literally no live speedway but watch via tv and the internet ,because unlike some I really enjoy the commentary and the presentation is improving all the time .When you watch a GP like the last one( the recent SON also) you also realise that the gulf between the British league and GP's is massive and growing all the time sadly .

I will say again it was one of the best speedway meetings I have ever seen and I for one think KT and NP are out of the top drawer at what they do ,I believe Tai has said they are the best in the world so that's some endorsement !

Out of the top drawer for sure the very best in the world doing the sport proud ,well done to every rider ,the organisers and the fans who as always behaved impeccable . On the note of modern machines against 2 valves etc IMO the GP's should be treated like F1 and the rest of the sport ie British leagues don't need this type of machinery as almost all the riders capable of handling it are no longer racing there and the tracks are not suitable because of their size .

I have one filled in your welcome to FOC if you want to PM me

Sadly no PK to pick up the pieces anymore either !

Ellesmere Port was round a footie pitch good track some decent racing created by non other that Mr"Magic" Thomas !

I think Ledwith deserves his chance like any other rider after such a long time away from the sport he could have been a total waste of time but he would appear still have it and be prepared to have a go .The league has lost Atkin and Armstrong over the last couple of years so the "Vet" balance IMO is about right , he may do a season another match or god forbid is a broken bone from retirement again .There are so many other issues with this sport that a few older riders in the NL is neither here nor there in the grand scheme of things.

Tom & Joe Owen ,Tom was a little too ruthless for my liking IMO it was to make up for a lack of skill against better riders where as Joe was just superb an artist on a bike what a cruel end to brilliant career.

The 70's started going in 1972 it just seemed that the sport was buzzing had a lot of media attention then as well loads of articles in the Press each day and Ivan had won 4 W/Champs three of those on the "spin" !!!!!!

Makes Greg Hancock youngster ,who I suspect is in reality the oldest active rider in the true sense of the word and still very much at the top of the tree !

IMO it has to start from the bottom up they are the future of the sport able to adapt and are not looking to be making a living at this stage in their careers.

I don't see any instant cure to this problem but do feel that the tail has wagged the dog for many years and the main issue IMO is there must be constructive long term changes that benefit the sport as a whole and not the choosen few .It is quite obvious that we can't go back to a two valve strapped on the back of an old bagger,however there must be somewhere in the middle that is achievable . We are for ever hearing why changes can't be made ranging from cost to safety but I do think that on many occassions it is due to certain personal intrest's clouding the issue . IMO most riders start off racing a s/way bike for the fun ,thrill and not the money ,this come later once they find they have the ability to go places in the sport that's when the dynamics of the situation change.The demands of the sport are known to the riders from day one and they alone must decide whether the risk to life and limb are worth it ( I think that the rewards are dreadful compared to other m/sport)and realise that they will not make a fortune along the way . IMO if a person wants to become wealthy and retire by the time he is 40 yrs old s/way is not the way forward it has always only been IMO a paying short term hobby . IMO the Nl should have standard engines ( 2yr period to change over )I bet some of the machinery could be sold to Champ /league rider to reduce losses with aplan to bring the same idea to the Champ league in say 4yrs.This would IMO do two things cut costs and level the playing field which would make for better racing .The Prem /league would be a harder nut to crack because you have the odd GP rider but if they are the best in the world they should be able to adapt to a standard motor if one was used. I would leave the GP riders for the elite engines and tuners plus all the unnecessary/expensive bolt on's and I wonder how many of them except the likes of Hancock will leave the sport with a big bank balance! One final note it is only my own personal view but the GP's stopping most of w/end speedway in this country has damaged the attendances of the sport as a whole .