Grachan

If you look at 1967, Swindon won the league title despite missing Barry Briggs for about a month. They had no guest facility and had to use their number 8. Also, there was a meeting at Swindon held in pouring rain from the start. It was abandoned after heat 6. The match write up said that nobody could complain about the rain off as it should never have been started. Swindon's match at King's Lynn was restaged due to King's Lynn using an ineligible rider in the first match. The restaging was the final match of te season and the one where Swindon clinched the title. The Stars, by the way, were at the bottom of the league and wanted to sign Ove Fundin but were told they weren't allowed. He then signed for Belle Vue, who were in contention for top spot. There was also an article in Speedway Star about the problems speedway faces and the lack of characters in the sport!

Because he's not Australian. He's British. If you read the requirements for Australian citizenship, he doesn't qualify as he moved away before he was 16. He's British.

That looks like it, Gustix. Very interesting. That would certainly explain it.

Some interesting old footage here from Pathe News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SppQc6ieJfs&list=PL6wiRn3_YDsAOoil72rMpMSVG2Qfp1uF2&index=2 There's some great old stuff on there, as we all know. But this one from 1932 interested me because, when the riders are introduced, Jack Parker is announced as the "present World champion". I assumed this must be becuase of the well known "Star Riders" Championship, but looking it up he only won that in 1934. So, any idea why Jack Parker would be announced as World Speedway champion in 1932? Golden Helmet holder perhaps? Or was it just the announcer bigging him up?

Hi Steve! I used to think that when the GPs first started under the knockout system, that Hans would win all his qualifying heats. Gundersen, meanwhile, would struggle through via the eliminators and then beat him in the final!

I was always a bit of a closet Neilsen fan, if the truth be known. The guy was out of this World, which is why I always feel he under performed in World Finals. And got a 12.00 away average in the same year.

Quite possibly. Not Neilsen though. There was nothing like Nielsen in league racing.

Plenty of riders made 11+ under the old system, but of the riders I've seen only Neilsen would, in my opinion, be just as dominant if the current system had been in place.

Ole Olsen rarely averaged over 11 even at his peak and in the old system, so I doubt he would. Or Ermolenko. Mauger possibly would though. Being World number 2 after the reigning World Champ has realised he's not going to win and has eased off is a million miles from becoming World Champion for the sixth time.

Would that be the same Ivan Mauger that spent the majority of the 1980 season as reigning World Champion? Not sure Chris Harris did that in 2015. On the subject of race formats, averages and so on, there are all sorts of factors that bring averages down now. Rae formates, tac sub rides in heat 8, gate positions, nominated riders races and so on. But stick a 1980s Hans Neilsen in amongst all that and I bet he'd still average over 11 with bonus points.

With respect to Martin Vaculik, Chris Harris qualified.

Not sure why you are thinking this. Cardiff crowds have been consistently around 40,000 since it began. Maybe you are thinking of pre Cardiff GP crowds such as Hackney?

Good to see they have introduced the heatleader grading. This was definitely needed to counteract the averages from second strings.

Musician Mike Scott of The Waterboys did re-write his own Wikiedia page once because it was inaccurate. It was then promptly reverted to the old, inaccurate version and he received a notification from them saying that he hadn't cited references.

Do you people complaining understand what Wikipedia is? You can just add stuff yourself. In fact speedway is there now so presumably someone has. You don't need to register. You can just press edit. I've done some myself. The list of World Championship top 3s? I did that. Maybe I should have just come here and complained that nobody else had done it.

The thing Swindon does have in its favour is there is a stipulation that the area must be used as a sports venue. It seems to me, from the outside, that GI are trying to avoid building a stadium but the local MP and the council are effectively not going to let them get away with it. I'm hopeful that this is what we are seeing. To me they will keep stalling, but in the end will have no choice but to build it. Then they'll just put positive spin on it that it was always their intention. As for it being ready next year, that's a different matter. One advantage we have over Reading is that the Reading promotion bargained away years of their lease and were left with no legalities to fall back on. At least we apparently have those. From a fan's perspective it's just a case of wait and see now. People knock the positive noises coming from the Swindon promotion, but it could just be part of the pressure being put on GI to keep it public. It seems a bit unfair to knock the club for that.

That's pretty much the same criteria as I quoted, but it has the added requirement that you need to be over 16. Tai left at 15, which is where he would have fallen short of the requirement.

I doubt it. Once you have permanent residency you are eligible for citizenship. So the same criteria would apply. That's how it is in the UK anyway.

Depends if they applied for it or not. They wouldn't get it automatically.

He wouldn't be eligible for Australian nationality. He wasn't born there, his parents are British and he moved away before he was 16. http://www.beyderwellen.com/immigration-questions/2.html#FAQ2

Troy is a good rider to have, but not as a number one. He wasn't signed as no 1 at the start of the year, and rode really well when Darcy was in the side. As a second heatleader he would be a good rider to have on his current average. Kildemand would be a better signing on his average though. I feel he is still improving and is an asset. If he could settle in for a whole season I think he'd do a lot better. Feel sorry for Aaron Summers as he was a star at second string and will struggle to be picked because of his average. Noises being made do hint at Doyle, but I just wish they'd start building the stadium so we can be sure we'll actually have a team.

What advantages does he have at Poole? Poole have dropped to PL under previous promotions. They never had more success or larger crowds than, say, Swindon under previous promotions. I think you have to give credit where it is due. As for the money back thing, it's always a frustation but it's standard practice in speedway.

Where?

Well I'm sure the goggles discussion will be seen as the biggest controversy in speedway since Carter v Penhall by the select few on here, but seriously. Think about it. People believe Poole are not true champion because in one ride they got a 5-1 with one rider not wearing goggles. It's ridiculous, but I'm sure you'll enjoy the discussions!

There is no gogglegate. Not sure there ever really was. Well done to Poole. I wanted them to win, but near the end I was sort of rooting for Belle Vue too. Tbat's the joy of being a neutral!