FAST GATER

Enough falling out and name calling on here as it is without "politics being brought into it !!!!!

Your poking a hornets nest there my friend

Did he not say he was only interested in riding for Wolves and not that keen on doing that from what I have read ? ,sadly I think retirement beckons as this will be the first time in 20 odd yrs he has not ridden in this country .

I have to say that I do agree with a lot of what you say but the racing can only be as good as the riders and the track and IMO they are effected by the lack of money in the sport today .You will never get away from gate and go races ( they have always been there) and will remain forever ,how many times do we say he will never be any good till he learns to gate . Think you need to give the sport a little longer and you will find there are some hidden gems which surface and make it all worthwhile ,also IMO if you want to see the best elements of the sport today ( I say this through gritted teeth) then trip to Cardiff would be your best plan of action .

I would agree with most of what you say I think the point here is in most team sports the player etc do tend to look the same ,I have always said s/way is a team sport ridden individuals and body colours and bike covers should be provided by the management .I know that alot of riders have sponsors who want their names etc on show but prehaps there is a compromise could be found somewhere .

I take your point( I was threre on the day as it were) but they lay a track indoors at Cardiff which is not effected directly by the weather as the N Staduim appears to have been,I believe that curing boggy land as this problem is can be quite difficult rectify.

I maybe wrong but did not most NL( now Pl ) riders in the 70's have jobs aswell by memory Tom Owen ran his own plant hire company it was only the likes Joe Owen .John Jackson etc that were full time and that was a purple period for the sport ,so prehaps it is time for the sport to become semi pro again .

First step would be to scrap FTR completely wrecked EL racing have six men teams rather than that farce called "protected heats" explain that to a newbee if you can !!!

Excellent post !!!!

Excellent post but far too sensible for speedway sadly !!!

Surely this would not happen in s/way

Isn't that the whole point of the exercise and wrecked the EL format in the process

"If" Tai has used the system to further his career then fair enough but don'y expect everyone to be happy about it !!!

I agree that most riders have dim view of British s/way but they are not British w/champs as Tai is and if we are truly honest the whole issue is the money as always .I think that Tai should have done the British Championship and has been badly advised ,it is after all only two meetings and the PR this has now created is not going to endear him to his British supporters . If I am honest it is a great shame that the W/champ can't make time for his supposed home country but I accept that this look's to be the way the sport's going and I just hope he has no reason to regret it one day .

Could not agree more . No one questions his ability as a rider merely his constant moaning about his workload ,he's 25yrs old what effort is for Hancock to get on a bike never mind beat the best in the world think he's ahead of Tai for one of the best in the last 45 yrs for me.

Take your point great rider to watch but I for one am fed up with him moaning about his workload ,most riders would give their high teeth for the kit and backup he has never mind the rewards but there is always a price!!!

You must remember he is in his mid 20's now and all the demands on him racing in speedway some of us can only dream of plus his main opposition is only in his mid 40's ,being a great rider is not always a guarantee of being a great person . Why not just give him the title ,save bothering him in his prep tor the GP'S

I agree this great news I hope it is an excellent meeting and the club and stadium enjoy much success and I was there on Saturday but don't believe the club set out to" con" anyone .Once the teething problems are ironed out we will have a new stadium that every speedway supporter can be proud of IMO Chris Morton and Mr Gordon have pulled off a monor miracle in getting this track/stadium built to the impressive standard that I witnessed on Saturday .

It was a great pity what happened yesterday and I am sure that no one feels worse than Chris Morton ,I have seen him grow from the Ellesmere Port team of the early 70's into one of the greatest riders this country has ever produced .Upon retirement he has set out to create one of the best tracks this country has ever seen ,he has achieved that and what happened yesterday a tragic to say the least. I am not a track expert or rider and we have to accept that racing was unable to take place but I repeat what a fantastic venue for speedway and I will return in the future . Imo I think time was against them and they did their best to get it on sadly it backfired big style

iMO any rider wil jump at the chance of being a 1/10 sec faster a lap regardless of the cost of having new motor or parts but won't consider investing in something that may well protect him and the the sport longterm .That just about sums up this sport money can be found to go faster and equipement disgarded regardless of cost ( or threat of retiring) if they think it will give them an edge , someone needs to get hold of this and stop the lunatics running the asylum . Set down rules and stick to them if Tai and co don't like it stick to Olsen's circus and Poland etc, if the sport ends up with riders being semi- pro so be it . I think in a very short time a well run solvent form of s/way in this country would entice a lot of those mercenaries back which would once again enhance our sport.You have to hit rock bottom before you come back up and keeping cost down is a crucial part of any business even s/way. If the engines were kept in check then the riders would have to rely on skill ,experience and not who has the biggest wallet ,the "cream will always float to the top" in the end . Prehaps it is time for the GM to join the Jap,Jawa,Weslake ,Godden etc as "door stops" standardised motors may not seem it but could just be the future of the sport what ever form it takes.

So Holder and Tai are using 4or 5 yr old engines ( only joking ) when asking Peter Johns about speedway costs it like asking Turkeys to vote for Christmas it sounds a contrived interview that any politician would have been proud of .

Did all the riders moan and retire when the 4 valve engine consigned the 2 valve Jawa to the "bin" or the Jap before that I think not !!!!!

Would that mean an equal share out of Sky money rather than the chosen few deciding what happens with it !

I don't see this as a way to bring back the big names at all if you want that just pay them enough to come here which the league can't afford .This idea may work with riders who can't find places at start of the season because of averages and end up waiting for injuries to happen .There are lots of permutations here for using riders without the expense of squad systems or ones that can only/want to ride at a certain time in the season.

That sounds far too sensible for s/way