lucifer sam

Steve, there's no doubt that he was volatile (especially early in his career), and he admits himself that he had a reputation for events off the track. That's why it's interesting to hear his views on that subject. And yes, the sport is in need of a few more characters these days. Agree totally with that sentiment. All the best Rob

Steve, I think he revealed a lot. For example, I didn't realise the personal trauma he'd been through in 2004 - Steve mentioned that despite the fact it's understandably tough for him to talk about it. I know you regard him as a arch-villain, but I found him as eloquent, intelligent and modest; someone more interested in talking about the future of the sport, than talking about himself. One thing he was reluctant to do was to bad-mouth other riders e.g. regarding the incident with Briggo at Reading, what he wanted to point out was that they had bumped into each other in the last year or so and had talked things out. Of particular interest, I felt, was his reasoning behind any trouble on-and-off track. He clearly had his own code, and if anyone went against that, then he wouldn't hesitate to stick up for himself. A standard closing question is "Do you look back fondly on your speedway career?". Steve gave one of the most eloquent responses to this, explaining how it had shaped his subsequent life. All the best Rob

Down and safe in Groningen. Hope to bump into Conkers (met him many times) and Iris (for what would be the first time) at some point of proceedings over the weekend. All the best Rob

British Semi-Final coming to Scunthorpe (along with Glasgow). A date expected to be confirmed later today. All the best Rob

Tyretrax, are you deliberately going around the forum trying to cause arguments? This was a positive thread regarding a medical breakthrough that could possibly change the lives of several wheelchair bound speedway riders. Well, it was until you came on here... Your comments are completely uncalled for. All the best Rob

SCORPIONS HOLD PRICES HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions have held their admission prices for the third successive season. It will remain £15 for an adult to watch a single Premier League meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway, and £17 to watch the double-headers on Easter Sunday, May Day Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday and Summer Bank Holiday. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We offer one of the most attractive set of admission prices across the entire Premier League, and that will again be the case in 2016. “We are pegging our admission prices at the same level for the third successive season. “We realise the need to provide a good value-for-money package. That doesn’t just cover the admission, but also the programme and the food. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to watch speedway in Scunthorpe and that’s important if you want people to come back for every meeting. “As well as keeping the prices down for supporters, we will again be going all out to make sure the racing at Scunthorpe is second to none. We’re proud that many supporters from all over the country have visited and branded our racetrack the best in Britain. “I believe we offer an unbeatable package, with plenty of entertainment and thrilling action at the Eddie Wright Raceway.” The Scorpions commence their home meetings on Sunday, March 20th (3pm) with the visit of Ipswich Witches in a League Cup encounter. The Witches won a highly controversial encounter last July, and Scorpions will be looking to avenge that result. Three days earlier, on March 17th, the Scorpions travel away to Ipswich in the corresponding fixture, where they will be looking to get their League Cup fixtures off to a flying start. ADMISSION PRICES 2016 (same as 2014 and 2015): 2016 Premier League Admission Prices (single meeting): Adult: £15.00 Student/OAP: £13.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17) Match Programme: £1.00 2016 Bank Holiday double-header meetings (i.e. Premier League match followed by a further meeting): Adult: £17.00 Student/OAP: £15.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £39 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17) Match Programme: £1.00

So hope that this proves to be the breakthrough. Of course, Darcy isn't the only rider affected. Fingers crossed for Lol Hare and Garry Stead and Leigh Adams and Pip Lamb and every other wheelchair bound rider as well. All the best Rob

I agree that Berwick have a poor looking side in 2016. Scunny look pretty good, though! All the best Rob

Fundin had a reputation (not sure if it was justified?) for being very selfish on track. Jimmy Gooch moved from Norwich to Oxford in 1964, because (might have my details slightly out here, but I believe the general gist is correct) he thumped Fundin, after Gooch finally lost his patience at taken out by Fundin. Or was it that Fundin thumped Gooch for daring to beat him? In any case, I don't think there was much love lost between Fundin and some of his team-mates. When Tony Rickardsson joined Oxford briefly in 2006, he took team-mates out of the race, although Piszcz or Skornicki didn't actually confront him. He had an unsettling effect on the rest of the team, and as soon as Todd Wiltshire came in (Aaron Lanney, realising the problem, cut Rickardsson's six-week period to four weeks to bring Todd in early), the spirit rocketed and team performances improved. Maybe Oxford just caught Rickardsson at the wrong end of his career, since within a couple of months, he had retired altogether. But a one-tracked, selfish nature is sometimes what took riders took to the pinnacle in the first place. Most of the time supporters don't mind if the star rider is selfish, as long as he is banging in maximums and the team is winning. Some World Champions (Moore, Nielsen, Ermolenko, etc) were renowned team riders. All the best Rob

So which country would actually win the meeting? Sweden probably have the strongest pair in Fundin and Rickardsson, but both were individuals, rather than team men. Could they end up dropping points from racing each other? New Zealand probably would fare better in that regard, and I think Mauger/Moore would be NZ’s most suitable pairing for a pairs event. They’d be major contenders and in with a shout. But I think I’d plump for Nielsen and Gundersen. They were each other’s biggest rival, but there was mutual respect there as well, and they could combine together brilliantly. Most World Pairs titles? Nielsen. Second most? Gundersen. Hard to look elsewhere really. All the best Rob

I reckon Knudsen will be in there, somewhere between 4th and 6th. All the best Rob

PLEASE NOTE that there is a new start-time for the meeting between the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions and the Glasgow Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday, July 10th – which takes place the day after the British Grand Prix in Cardiff. After a request from the Glasgow management, which has been agreed to, this meeting will now start at 4pm (rather than 6.30pm).

Surely the dominant rider is a combination of world form and league form. The Danes were completely dominant in 1991, due to the twin spearhead of Jan O and Hans, and Tommy having a very good year as well. In the World Pairs, the Danes won easily, with Nielsen unbeaten. Hans was favourite for the World Final having cakewalked his semi-final with a maximum, but instead it was Jan O who deservedly won at Gothenburg with a brilliant, untroubled maximum. The World Team Cup saw the Danes set a new record total - I seem to recall Jan O scored another maximum, while Hans only dropped a single point. Pedersen and Nielsen were the dominant riders of 1991. Pedersen won a clean sweep of world honours; Nielsen won the World Team Cup and World Pairs. What international honours did Sam win in 1991? Jan O's sad injury, plus Nielsen suffering a collarbone injury which led to his elimination, created a vacuum in 1992. That season the USA did win the pairs and team events, but wasn't it Greg who came in mid-meeting and won the pairs for the Americans, defeating Havvy in the run-off? No one rider dominated 1992, but the best rider overall was probably Jonsson, the World No 2 that year. Didn't Sam have a shocker of a World Final? And Havelock had one hell of a run in the World Championship. Sam was the best rider in 1993, without any question at all. But I think that was the only season where he was the best rider in the world. All the best Rob

Jan O Pedersen and Hans Nielsen were better in 1991, and Per Jonsson was better in 1992. Ermolenko was the best rider in the world in 1993. Again, it's not who was best in an individual year - it's who was better over the whole timeframe. Ermolenko doesn't come near Nielsen over 1983-1995. All the best Rob

I thought the poor World Final might be dragging him down a bit. I realise it's a ranking over the whole season, but Cocker's form in the latter half of 1986 really took off and he was regularly taking points off the very best. The Oxford team of '86 wasn't as strong all-round as Cradley '83, but the reason Cradley lost twice in the BL while Oxford remained unbeaten was how well Nielsen, Wigg and Cox scored as a heat-leader duo, once the BL campaign started. Oxford fell behind at both Cradley and Reading, used tactical subs, and ended up winning both meetings with a race to spare. All interesting stuff. Shawn Moran could be quite a rider. Wasn't it in the 1984 ICF where he was playing with the opposition? He let Kelly by in one race, but still won the meeting. And yet I also remember him at the 1987 BLRC. Five rides, five stone lasts. PS I reckon Bruce would have still been World Champ in '82, even in a Grand Prix series. He was a more effective performer than Carter on the big stage. All the best Rob

Steve, I agree that his riding for the second half of 1986 was his peak. I remember the Midland Riders' Championship at Oxford, which had an awesome line-up that season. Cocker finished third behind Knudsen and Nielsen, but ahead of the likes of Gundersen, Wigg, Ermolenko, Pedersen and Tatum. He was on fire in the closing months of that season. On paper, the Cheetahs had a weaker line-up than 1985. The unbeaten run in 1986 came about because Nielsen, Wigg & Cox were all at the top of their game. Even when a team picked up a lead against us, it was impossible to maintain it in the closing stages of the meeting. All the best Rob

Fascinating stuff Waihekaces. Where did Marvyn Cox come in 1986? I'm guessing he would have been handicapped by a poor World Final performance, while his amazing run in the Golden Helmet (beating, amongst others, Gundersen (from the back at Oxford), Morton (from the back at Belle Vue) and Doncaster) wasn't enough to drag him up? By the end of that season, Cocker was one of the form riders in the world. I recall him and Hans passing Erik on either side at Cradley, as Oxford pegged back for a draw at Dudley Wood in the KO Cup Final. All the best Rob

No, you can have your fifth highest rider at No 5, if you like. I think Scunny did that last season, with Leigh Lanham. All the best Rob

Yes, World Championship trophy between 1936-1938, the National League championship trophy in the fifties and sixties (last won by Oxford in 1964) and then the British Championship trophy. It's got quite a history. All the best Rob

More up-to-date, I sometimes wonder just how great Todd Wiltshire would have been, without the shattered pelvis that took him out of the sport for 5 years. He spent all that time out of racing, yet got back into the Grand Prix within a couple of years of starting again (rode Germany in 1997, rode for Oxford in 1998, qualifying for GP by winning 1999 ICF at Poole). Reached his first two finals in the GP in 2000, as well. How good would Todd have been if he hadn't been injured in 1992? A multiple World Champion? All the best Rob

It just shows how times have changed - can you imagine a meeting continuing in snow these days? I remember a couple of meetings at Oxford when I was young, around 1980 or 1981. The final meeting of 1980 was an Inter-League 4TT, right at the very end of October. Towards the end of the meeting, the temperature hit zero, and the final few races were completed, despite the fact the track was starting to freeze over. I was stood on the terracing, freezing over. And they cancelled the opportunity for kids to go around on the back of their favourite rider's bike (I ended up going around on Mick Fletcher's bike the following April, for my 8th birthday). Also, for another meeting, there was a really heavy thunderstorm at start-time. The riders simply waited for it to stop and then started the meeting. Times were the opening races were about 15-20 seconds more than usual. But by the last few heats, race times had returned to normal. Different times. All the best Rob

Gollob had an amazing career and was top value to watch, but I think both Crump and Pedersen are ahead of him. It's arguable as to who is best between Crump and Pedersen (I'd say Crumpie, but there was definitely a spell when Nicki was on top), but Gollob doesn't really come into the argument. Too inconsistent, compared to the other two. Gollob had one year he was on it throughout (2010), but otherwise he's struggled to maintain his momentum throughout a whole season. Mind you, if it was a last-heat decider in the World Cup, he's the rider I'd want ahead of any of them. All the best Rob

Big news for the 2016 season: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=4784 All the best Rob

Great piece of investigative journalism in today's Oxford Mail: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/14264547.INVESTIGATION__Oxford_Stadium_owners_under_attack_after_revelation_it_was_making_profit_before_closure/ All the best Rob

Major announcement regarding the 2016 Scunthorpe Scorpions to be made tomorrow morning: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/ All the best Rob