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Gene Tella also competed (listed as an Abyssinian) in the 1936 Saxtorp 350cc GP in Sweden in 1936, so obviously, he did travel around Europe quite a bit... Steve Here is a photo of Gene Tella...

Funny thing is that I have always said, if the product is poor, people won't support it even if it is free... Picking up on a small off-the-cuff comment about people "passing by the gates; that actually is very valid to this discussion. In the old days, people WERE passing by the gates of a speedway stadium, so the public were more aware of its existence! Tracks like Wimbledon, West Ham, Belle Vue, Exeter etc, were in urban areas, so people knew. Now, the fact that we have to keep any kind of nasty motorsport stadium at least 100 miles away from the nearest resident means that most people don't have a clue what goes on... There is no ONE solution to the problems we are facing, and many of the issues aren't directly speedway related (being forced out of city centres, renting stadia from speedway-hating landlords, the wonderful British weather etc), but there are plenty that can be resolved - one at a time - with a little forethought and effort... Steve

Well, they both spoke with the same accent, didn't they? Steve

Again, it wasn't a problem - until a month ago... Steve

The closure of White City? Steve

And the National Front used the Union Flag. Make of that what you will... Steve

I hate to disagree, Rob, but while the Confederate flag has never been truly "accepted" by some Americans, the vast majority have never been that offended by it. Some may not like it, but there has never been any serious attempt to ban it. While there are obvious racist undertones, most - even black Americans - have accepted that it is a part of American history. Some of the stuff they show in TV these days can be considered genuinely offensive, yet it now becomes important to pull "The Dukes of Hazzard". Oh well, just another typical knee-jerk reaction, thanks to the efforts of lunatic activists... Steve

Quite honestly, "relevance" is totally irrelevant!. As long as it makes good reading, that's all that matters. Steve

Sad thing is that the Union flag causes genuine offence to some people, as does the Stars and Stripes. Where does it end? Steve

That was then, now is now. The same as the oppression and slavery supposedly represented by a certain flag that seems to offend some people... Steve

They are both mentioned in "Who's Who", or rather the "Howes How"... Steve

If you study most American riots, guns are not usually the weapon of choice. Thugs seem to prefer rocks and similar items which they lob at the police, and also use to break shop windows so they can start looting... Steve

Why other non-British items too? Blackhawks, Vikings, Maltese Cross... Even bears, lions, tigers, barracudas etc... Then again, Christians could be offended by the use of "devils" and "saints" while other religions could be offended by "crusaders". Where does it end? Steve

I would just like to make a point here... It's easy to sit on the other side of the world and make judgements based on casual observation, and I've become all too familiar with the British stating that we need to get rid of guns here in the US. I don't like guns, and I do not own one - yet. The thing to remember is that, while you may want to take all the guns away from the law-abiding general public, that would only cause more mass shootings. Whatever happens, criminals will ALWAYS have guns, and by taking away the opportunity for the public to defend themselves, the criminals would be free to do what they want. Many of the mass shootings of innocents we have had would have been prevented had individuals in those locations actually been armed at the time. I know it's bad that it has got this far, but disarming the public is NOT even close to being any kind of solution... Steve

You know, it wasn't at the same level as those mentioned, but if I had to plump for an evenly matched father and son pairing, I think that Bob and Michael Coles would be contenders, as would Mike and Leigh Lanham. For evenly matched brothers, I feel Jack and Norman Parker would be right up there, as would David and Kevin Smart. Back to the original question, and I would have to go for John Louis, and although I hate to say it, Jason over Phil... Steve

It happens. Just because it has happened twice already this season doesn't prove anything. I've attended a number of matches over the years where teams have finished two or three riders short. Steve

And would that prove anything? The problem is that as often happens on the BSF, the thread has now devolved into nothing more than a battle of "OPINIONS". Without statistics to substantiate a particular viewpoint, the viewpoint is rendered useless. Even with statistics, it is likely to prove inconclusive. Let's take this specific example (based on a hypothetical statistic) : There have been five more injuries in March 2015 than there were in March 1985. Does that mean that speedway is now more dangerous? Does that mean that track preparation is not what it was? Does that mean that riders today are less skilled? Does that mean that riders today are less fit? Does that mean riders today have just been unlucky? Maybe there are more injuries this year - which would prove nothing. Maybe there are fewer injuries this year - which would prove nothing. Still, it would be nice if somebody could compile a complete list of every injury on British tracks from every March, and taking into account the exact number of riders, exact number of meetings, and exact number of races, and publish the complete statistics - in order to prove NOTHING! Steve

Statistics NEVER lie. Lies are what happen when individuals attempt to find their own reasoning for the said statistics... Steve

You've got a cheek saying that; he was usually at the rear... Steve

You forgot : 6) Wally Green 7) Richard Green 8) Greenford Speedway 9) Centre green Steve

I don't know where the information in that post came from, because white was always the helmet colour for gate 3, and yellow & black for gate 4. Plus, the yellow & black was either striped (in the old days), or quartered. Green has long been considered an unlucky colour in speedway, which is why very few riders would have green leathers. As far as a green helmet colour, it was used in six-rider races, and in recent years, Sky replaced the white helmet colour with a green one. Steve

The Mirror and Sun used to post league results, and the London evening papers published the line-ups for that evening's action at the London tracks. Steve

As a kid, I remember the prefabs in Carshalton, but I am shocked to hear that Tubby Isaac's closed down! Big piece of London history, there... Steve

I came close to including that one! Steve

Those three definitely! That Scarisbrick race was incredible... My others? Penhall and Olsen - Wembley '81. Roger Johns beating Peter Collins from the back on his way to a maximum at Plough Lane in '79 or '80. Johns and Jancarz last heat 5-1 over Olsen and Shirra to a draw (possibly '78). Joe Screen splitting Hamill and Swist in Poland. PC, Olsen, Jessup, and Titman in 1978 IC Final at White City. Like waihekeaces1 said, PC and Lee from the 1977 IC Final. Jan O Pedersen winning the 8-man final at the 1990 Goldbarre in Vojens (if you haven't seen it, you need to!) Steve