chunky

See? When people like us say that - and between us we have seen nearly everything and everyone - it shows that speedway is still an incredible sport. The thing for me tonight was not just passing and close racing; the riders were literally all over the place - at flat-out speeds - looking for the best lines, and some of the moves were absolutely breathtaking. And at times plain scary!!! Of course, it was great to have much cleaner starts, and not have multiple reruns... Steve

... with no silencers or dirt deflectors...

Forget "GP"; that was quite possibly the best meeting I have EVER seen...

Oh, come on! Back in the "good ol' days", that would have been considered a mediocre meeting...

Exactly. Either way, he screwed himself.

Great ride from Vaculik...

Oh dear, IT has escaped from the loony bin again...

But I'd take Polish girls over Essex girls!!!

What about THAT from Emil???

Quit whining, Shov; nobody here can understand you, but you don't let that stop you!!!

Not sure I agree with that... As a Dons fan, I was quite happy with small tracks, and enjoyed the racing at many of them. Trouble is, nearly all of the big pacy tracks (which would be more suited to modern machinery) were closed down. So, that IS a big change. We at least had variety then, but think of it, Hyde Rd, Custom House, The Shay, County Ground etc, and even ones like Earle Street and Kingsmead... I would love to have seen modern bikes on some of those. Steve

Are you saying she doesn't know her onions??? Steve

Don't forget that Norman Clay also lost his life in that crash... Steve

Of course, you can't really judge much from solo laps, but at least Tai looked competitive there. Decent time, but it's what happens tomorrow that counts... Steve

I think we can just pray to the "speedway Gods". After all, there are quite a few individuals out there (and I'm not talking about riders) who think they are "God"!!! Steve

Wow... Commentators only comment on sides as the "National Team" when it is the actual "National Team" in action. A "National Team" is a team representing a "nation", with individuals being selected from across the nation, rather than from a region. EXACTLY the same as a "National League" which covers the whole nation, rather than a region. That applies in every sport, including speedway, so no, speedway is no different. Really John, that is a particularly feeble attempt to substantiate your argument.

That is good to hear! I was just sure I hadn't heard otherwise... Other than the Archers and Hammers, Ray also rode for Eastbourne, Wembley, Oxford, Ipswich, Poole, Norwich, and St. Austell. Steve

I watched that - WOW!!! He should have won it, but I have no idea how he didn't end up in the crowd! I will admit that I didn't know anything about Danny until now, but he is certainly a rider I would pay to watch... Steve

The ONLY pretense here is you attempting to define a word as something it isn't...

It has nothing to do with opinion, it is FACT! Opinion cannot take precedence over fact, regardless of how much you hate the fact(s). A "National League" is a league that covers the entire country. FACT. A "National League" is no indicator of standard. FACT. A "Northern League" indicates a Regional League, which understandably would not be as strong as a National League. Yes, the top tier was once called the National League (when there was one division - or at least one senior division). So what? It has also been the National League Division One (although it wasn't always referred to as such), the British League (when there was one division), the British League Division One, the Elite League, and the Premiership. Of these, the "National" and "British" headings merely indicated that it was nationwide. I'm sorry, you can't rewrite the dictionary just because of your opinion or interpretation. Are you going to tell me that orange juice is green, because it is your opinion? Or that a whale is an insect, because it is your opinion? It doesn't matter what it WAS, what it IS, or what it WILL BE. The term "National" means one thing, and one thing only. Steve

It's not sad at all. It is not a case of attracting "a lesser quality of rider"; the "National League" is now designed to be a third division. We never had a "Premier League" or "Championship" back then. The level is irrelevant, and the term "National" was never meant to indicate a particular - let alone superior - level. That is what "First", "Second", and "Third" divisions are for... Steve

Which is TOTALLY irrelevant... Again, please read - and comprehend - what I said. The term "National" has absolutely no bearing on quality, ability, experience, or anything like that. "National" means "nationwide" (on a national basis). Nothing more, nothing less. Steve

Come on John, it doesn't matter how much you prod, or try to convert your opinion into fact, the TRUTH is that the current "National League" (or National Development League) is every bit as much the GENUINE article as the National League of the 1950's. To quote the Collins dictionary, "NATIONAL" ls defined as : "relating to the whole of a country or nation rather than to part of it"" and "affecting a (or the) nation as a whole; nationwide in scope, involvement, representation, etc" and "a competition in which participants compete for a nationwide ranking, title, championship, etc." Comparisons of specific levels are denoted by titles such as Elite League, Premier League, and First Division... Steve

I looked back over some of the comments, and thought I would do some checking. Ray Cresp hasn't been mentioned, and as I said, I'd totally forgotten about him. Last I heard, he was still alive, and I wasn't able to find anything online to make me think otherwise. Yeah, I moved - six years ago! Steve

Okay, here is an updated list from what I can find... Split Waterman. 27/7/23 Arthur Payne. 30/8/24 Dick Bradley. 28/11/24 Eric Boothroyd. 26/4/27 Derek Close. 13/5/27 Ray Cresp. 25/8/28 Billy Bales. 6/6/29 Ollie Nygren. 11/11/29 Rune Sormander. 29/11/29 Jack Geran. 10/12/29 Ian Williams. 4/8/31 Per Tage Svensson. 16/10/31 Per Olof Soderman. 29/10/32 Ove Fundin. 23/5/33 Jim Lightfoot. 11/11/33 Dan Forsberg. 25/3/34 Reserves Josef Hofmeister. 26/7/34 Brian Crutcher. 23/8/34 Sad thing is that Stefan Kwoczala (who passed away a couple of weeks ago) should have been on the list (b. 15/6/34), but was never actually named.