IronScorpion

WE. at Scunthorpe, & a few other clubs have similar, a S.T.I.N.G. Fund http://scunthorpe-speedway.com/?page_id=3123 which helps riders in their hour of need. A few years ago, 1 of our top riders, Magnus Karlssen, who was good friends with the organisers, needed the latest Blixt carb, to "keep up" with others, & was given, from memory, £650 to buy a new one, even back then around 2009-2010.

Even a "specialised" for speedway spark plug is not cheap.

How much of that was on the van & was it paid for by sponsors!

I wonder if they will show the earlier in the season shield match.

He did "karaoke" too.

I remember reading something about altering the strength of the spark at the plug. As long as it is not variable or electronic during a race, I can not see a problem. They were going to use limiters this year, though.

After just seeing the final on YouTube, Smolinski's win was nothing to do with his start, just going the shortest way round for 4 laps. All he mentions is a 2nd cable/switch which he now has at the rear of his engine rather than on the handlebars but doesn't explain what it does. I remember seeing a clip a few years ago where Iversen or Andersen, after a race, brought their left hand over to the right side to alter or switch something off.

I would like to think 4. as is the case with some riders. I seem to remember R Douglas saying this was a reason behind signing for Leicester & Wolves as he wanted to learn & try to master different shaped tracks. Special gizmos? Enlighten us, please.

tut tut Neil, & keep up. It is the BSPL now .............British Speedway Promoters Ltd.

I did say baggage & reputations, the latter being the case for Pederson & Gollob.

Obviously, the person with the camera returned for the Sheffield meeting & caught out King in heat 5.

Of the 6 names you mentioned before, Paddy says 1 was right. These 2 are not in the list.

Some riders have baggage & reputations like Gollob, N Pederson, Ward, Barker, Garrity & others but teams still sign them or use them as guests for there own liking. We liked Garrity as a rider as he was approachable in the pits & he was entertaining on the track & in the talk ins after meetings in the clubhouse. He might have his demons which resulted in the attacks so more will come out in the court in May.

Garrity thread now unavailable!!!!

R Jensen & Bailey

One is made in Ireland & the other is made in Scotland. No seriously, I think ruff is right in the grains used. Irish whiskey, with an "e", is made with malted & unmalted barley whereas the Scottish whisky, without the "e", is only made with malted barley.

What if this said rider is part of a squad system & doesn't get many rides/meetings, similar to Cook a few years ago. That can be the problem with Poland, big wages does not guarantee rides.

What about the referee's decision to re-run heat 8 at the EWR when Newman got drive & hit Birks after 2 laps & 2 bends. Davies was well behind at the time of the stoppage. Sods law that in the re-run, Davies wins meaning that the probable(awarded) 5-1 ends up a 3-3. A 5-1, though, would have given you a r/r possibility. IF'S, BUT'S AND MAYBE'S!!

Plenty of houses close by with people at home could have seen something!

A few more of us probably expected "something" to happen at Brandon and not in a positive way, sorry to say.

Now that the riders have given insights to tracks it might be interesting, to some, on how & why it is difficult to find to find the perfect set up. The bikes are very similar so the biggest part is getting the right engine to suit the right rider on the right track. We hear about off-set engines, long & short stroke, the different cams & flywheels used. Just how does a rider set his bike up? What changes are made during a meeting & why? Jet sizes, warm or cold weather conditions, slick, greasy or heavy(lots of shale or ploughed up) racing surface, changing sprocket sizes, changing timing. The supporters might get a better idea of what the riders & mechanics do during a meeting & why, it seems, is a difficult sport.

Saturday 18th

They were allowed back then but aren't now. Rob even asked the Somerset promotion not to use them but they refused. It was called of on the Sunday & rearranged for the Monday.

Auty Nielsen Auty Allen Auty Ayres Garrity Ayres Lambert Kinsley

You always had a lot to say a few years ago until a certain THJ said speak to him face to face & he will tell you it straight, no bulls..t. He has methanol running through his veins & has Speedway at heart. Our track is built on our old Normanby Park works site & the land is leased off our Council & Rob, & his then co-promoter Norman Beeney, designed the track shape as it is now, from aerial views, egg shaped. It was the intention to dig deep to form a bowl, but encountered large amounts of steel, iron & rock which could not be removed. Our track fence, seen from early photos, was wooden with timber posts holding the panels in place. The outer safety fence is steel fence hand railing built on an earth embankment for raised spectator viewing. The wide nature of the track, even before stock cars were introduced, led to great racing & even though we had 2 great teams in '06 & '07, hammering most teams, which was not good, our excitement was caused from riders missing the gate, on purpose who knows, but over taking at the EWR, even over 15 years, is there to behold. If possible, you ought to try & find old clips on you tube as we could buy dvd's of the meetings later. You could even go to http://scunthorpe-speedway.com/?page_id=80 and scroll down to the photos to see how we first started out. Very basic at the start but built up over the years with the money that Rob & our sponsors, have earned. Everything goes back into the stadium.