FAST GATER

IMO Stead has had one too many injuries of a serious nature would have finished many a rider before now and his form this last season has been up and down by his high standards .Nothing to prove time for him to move on with his reputation in tact and more importantly still in one piece great rider but his best days are behind him .

Sad loss to the EL but maybe PL for 12mths and then back again ,just as long as the team are not lost to the sport .

If it was to become more widely used would there be a chance to make them more affordable plus with the inferred maintenance saving this must compensate for the greater initial outlay but this is s/way of course so common sense is often thin on the ground !

RIP voice of speedway past !!!!!!!!!

I think that Dean is spot on the sport at PL and NL level has to be treated as a semi pro sport ,there have always been the the chosen few in the Pl who can command high pay ( normally an ex EL star topping up his pension pot ) but in general riders have to accept that they are being rewarded for doing something they like .I would be the first to admit that for risking life and limb they are not paid enough but it it is not there then it can't be given. I don't think that any sane person would honestly say that tuners are beneficial and merely represent a huge drain on riders incomes ,IMO they belong in the GP series where there appears to be much more money sloshing about .A fixed pay structure within the NL & Pl league and standardised motors are a must for their suvival ,with regards to the EL I think they have a little more latitude with the Sky Money but still think standard motors are the way to go .

A great influence within the sport that will be sadly missed and hard to replace many thanks and best wishes for your retirement

With regards to cost cutting I think that the riders will have to be forced as by nature they want to go faster will spend and do anything to achieve this using any reason for not stopping ranging from a safety issues to the fact of not being able to earn a living . How to do this will take some strong and brave decisions being made by the sports governing body and I don't hold my breath on that happening anytime soon . It would be interesting to prehaps see some match races or an open meeting even with factory GTR being provided for all riders to see how they coped it would be on a level plainfield and should be down to pure skill and ability to adapt .

v If the Ref felt that Greg had committed this offense he should have been disqualified after the race not when a fellow competitor starts winging so it could have not been that obvious , or at least not to the Ref .As for being gullible if anyone thinks that riders were not helping others then they are the gullible ones , it smacks of the nonsense that goes on in F1 which I no longer watch for that very reason .Funny also how the rider he is accused of helping went on to win the GP but that will be ignored by the "Hancock hate brigade"sadly

Well done Greg just hope this sport is not going like F1 he has explained what happened and Morris and the Ref know better how many titles have they won or raced at the top of the sport ,no wonder he withdrew . .

I actually meant "an" Nl old second division number 1 rider ( I have NO idea what Joe Owen ever earn ) I apologise if I gave that impression unreservedly .

You are right he was fully sponsored and tuning was done in house all he had to find was his leathers ,boots and helmet .He did work in the off season and took add hock work during the season but accepted that he would never make a fortune at the sport and thought of it as paying hobby and did it for the love of it .This was agreat period in speedway history perhaps modern day riders may need a reality check and accept the sport can't support them as a full time career.

1976 NL number 1( NOW PL) with doubling up guest bookings averaged between £300-£400 a week which included a guaranteed sum before going to the tapes

I have often wondered if he had business interests/job outside the sport( I know he was in Tai's management crew for GP'S this year) or has he managed to make a living solely from s/way for all these yrs ?

Always dreaded this day but he has had an amazing long career leaves with the respect of everyone in the sport and no rider could ask for more best wishes to the "Milky Bar Kid" .

Corbett bookmakers and they have a good relationship with the promotion maybe the only ones to

What a great meeting and a wonderful track and arena the NSS will become speedway's jewel in the crown in this country well done to both teams for putting on a great show. Tai is like marmite as far as I am concerned and I will leave it there ,the Cookie thing was sheer theatre to me and was the icing on the cake never DULL MOMENT last night as has been said would fill places every week if all meetings were like that. The only sad part for me was the inevitable retirement of PK you almost felt he could have gone on forever but all good things come to an end and what an end it was with probable his best display for a couple of years.Even in the first heat my heart was in my mouth as he appeared to be charging past the opposition like 20yr old and on that rocket ship engine.He managed that outrages pass to win a race as well ,that memory will stay with us all that have admired this amazing rider who in reality has had almost twice the average speedway career at the very top . I make no apology for this embellishment of rider who was never a world champ( but could beat one on his day) was unilaterally respected by his fellow professionals and remained modest and respectful to the end.He appeared almost embarrassed when be interviewed after heat 15 with that great smile polite manner and I wonder whether we will ever see his like again . Best wishes PK from all the fans you have thrilled and earned the respect of during your incredible and long career

Has PK officially announced his retirement ?

Think if PK could roll back the years and knock in a big score once more tonight and the rest of the top five score as they should I think Wolves have a fighting chance

Think your right don't think Freddie really did much wrong and it certainly was not deliberate ,Doyle was on a mission and you always run the risk of the wheels coming off which sadly they did for him on Saturday.

Or the others have just upped their game ,if it is tuning then what a sad state of affairs it is when one of the most skillful riders in the world is not able to show us his true talents !!!

It's tough luck on Doyle he was in with a great chance of lifting the title but I do feel he was riding on the edge in every race ( in no way was he to blame for the crash last night ) and sometimes the wheels just fall off sadly .Hancock love or hate him is the "real deal " he lifts his game when he has to and rides within himself the rest of the time , he is the bench mark for the rest plus shows no signs of fading anytime soon . Many may dislike him for his smooth professional approach to the sport and call him boring for making it look so easy rather than scraping the air fence and having to ride at 110% all the time "Oh "and did I mention he's 46yrs old !!!! :D

That would be my take on things as well him easing himself in to retirement ( I did hear that he was trying to race until he was 50yrs old ) and moving over to the the side of the fence but his main problem I believe is he still loves to ride unlike many riders after a certain age .Regardless of whether he should have been excluded on Monday I did find the way he fell off most unlike PK ,it will be a sad day when we finally see that lovely relaxed riding style no more . I hope he can get a bag full of points out of the next couple of matches, no finer way for the sport in this country to bid farewell to one of the finest club riders I have had the pleasure to watch over the last 40 odd years .

Kelvin won't give up Sky he managed to ride s/way and longtrack at the same time as he worked for Sky in the past and with all due repect Simon hasn't got the same disposition as Kelvin in front of the camera .Simon should retire one major injury too many IMO and would make an excellent team manager plus he can bring so much to the sport in other ways .

Would be interesting to see how their friendship developed if KT had true influence over the running of the sport !!!!

I also think he is strong d Kelvin is an extremely smart individual and if he was really given a genuine opportunity I am convinced he could with support turn the sport round ,I do think he is well placed to pull even Mr Ford into line if necessary