chunky

Yoh aren't being called a freeloader for having a complimentary ticket. You are being called a freeloader because you boast about the fact that you saved "a bomb", and that you refused to go when you had to pay. The difference between you and me is: You CAN go to speedway - but WON'T. I CAN'T go to speedway - but I WOULD. Steve

Relax; that wasn't actually directed at you! As I said, debating Woffinden, Craven, Collins etc is fine, but there are those who really take it to extremes... As I've said before, I have watched speedway for over 50 years, and to me, NOBODY has ever looked as comfortable on a bike as Tai. Seriously. Of course, he has a record to match... Steve

I thought Poole were the Pirates, not the Cretins??? Steve

So, you are saying it is quite feasible that Ken Eyre and Ian Hindle WERE better riders than Tai? Again, interesting thought... Steve

So, the fans and the number of tracks are responsible for riders being better in the old days? Interesting thought... Steve

Of course not! We don't get BT in Ohio... Steve

Do we have to pay for it, or can we be "freeloaders"? Steve

Is that really important??? Of course, we can "prove" one of those... Steve

Apparently it's not. It has been stated on here that Tai Woffinden is not as good as Ken Eyre or Ian Hindle. That is a fact... Steve

I can't see ANYONE on here disagreeing with that. Actually, yes I can... Steve

Happy days of guests, race-fixing, and second-halfers better than a three-time World Champ... Steve

How do you do it? You talk about a specific subject - race-fixing - being a major factor in why speedway is not taken seriously. I reply DIRECTLY to your post, and what do you do? You immediately run off in a totally different direction, like a spoilt schoolgirl, hoping that nobody will notice! And you wonder why people don't take YOU seriously? Steve

Of course speedway has never been taken seriously. Talk of match-fixing in football and cricket means that they have never been taken seriously either... Steve (sorry, Sigh...)

So, it wasn't just me that was taken aback by that, then? You'll have to do without me on here for a while. I'm off to the shops to buy a box of straws just in case moxey runs out of things to grasp at... Steve

Or a team can be relegated when it has won more matches than teams who stayed up... Or in cricket, you can earn a draw by scoring fewer runs than your opponent... In darts, you can have a much higher average even though you lost the leg or match... Steve

Any time you don't have a straight "knockout" system, and rely on points accumulation, strange things can happen. Like you, I don't consider them flaws, but anomalies. As we have said though, just because things CAN happen, it doesn't mean they will! Steve

I'm NOT putting that on your shoulders. I'm NOT pointing the finger at you. What I am doing is saying that I am tired of all the negativity! Like everybody else, I like to have my moans on here - it's human nature - but I still love speedway, and believe it is worth saving. I don't just respond to every post on here with some crazy rambling negativity. Yes, there have been many mistakes made - particularly as far as British speedway is concerned - but again, I don't get your final sentence. You are seemingly washing your hands of any personal involvement in the demise of British speedway, yet the demise is largely because of people like you who stopped going because : 1) It was better in the "good 'ol days" 2) You apparently stopped going because you had to pay! Of course, we all take freebies when we can get them, but when I look back at the money I spent on speedway over the years, I am quite content with what I put into the sport. Holding season tickets, joining supporter's clubs and fan clubs, travelling to other tracks, spending money on things like photos, badges, scarves, and programme boards, eating and drinking at the tracks, contributing to fund-raisers and collections at away tracks, organizing and participating in organizing fund-raisers myself, sponsoring riders and events (I had agreed to sponsor the Tommy Jansson Memorial one year until it was cancelled at the last minute). No, I don't want to be singled out for stuff like that, because there were thousands of us who used to do that, but it makes me sick when people gloat about "saving a bomb"! I admit, because of my involvement with Sky, I used to get free entry into the live meetings when I was back in the country. However, I don't just look back and think, "I saved a bomb"... If I were still making trips to the UK during the season, you can guarantee that I would be still taking in what I could. It may not be like it was (or like you THINK it was), but it is still bloody good... Plus, thanks to live streaming, I can sit at home and watch the greatest British rider of all-time!!! Steve

So, instead of fighting for the survival of the sport we love - and have loved for years - you are simply resigned to its demise? You don't think it is worth saving? Apparently not, because the product is crap, the riders are crap, the fans are idiots? Yes, it IS people like you who are damaging the sport, with all this bloody negativity! I too am an "old fart", and yes, I DO miss the old days. However, I do realise that - whether I like it or not - those days are gone! To quote Arthur Foggen, "Then's then, and now's now". It is still a wonderful sport, and it is still (despite a lifetime of involvement in another professional sport) my FAVOURITE sport. It can still be a fantastic spectacle, and I still marvel at the exploits of great riders like Tai Woffinden. If you really DON'T like it, and you DON'T think it is worth saving, then YOU are the one who is wasting your time on here... Steve

Do you think people like us have too much time on our hands??? Steve

The lowest points total for a rostrum place was 10. Fundin finished third on 10 in 1962, and Handberg did the same 30 years later. Three interesting stats about the Handberg case. 1) He finished third on 10, WITHOUT needing a runoff. 2) Both Handberg and runner-up Jonsson were unplaced in one ride. I haven't checked, but that sounds unique. 3) Expanding on the above point, Havvy was the ONLY rider who DIDN'T record a zero in the meeting! Steve

But you didn't actually state that it could be won on 8! Some of these people need things to be spelled out to them... Like one of my fave scenarios. It is possible to win EVERY GP, and not finish in the Top 8 at the end of the season!!! Steve

Except that it didn't. He lost the title by 16 points. Had Doyle scored better in previous rounds (most notably in Warsaw and Horsens, where he scored 5 and 7 respectively), he could easily have had things wrapped up by the time he got injured. Seems a long shot, but look at the 1970 F1 season. Jochen Rindt was tragically killed at Monza, but he had already opened such a lead that nobody was able to catch him in the remaining races. When you have ONE slip-up in only five rides, there is no way back, but over a season, there are opportunities. Steve

Pretty sure that nobody has mentioned Gustafsson being joint leader after 12 heats in 1990 - and only finishing sixth... Steve

Dammit! Have to get some new glasses! Steve