lucifer sam

Excellent book… but I’m still not convinced, though, that Tom Farndon is the Greatest Of Them All (sorry Norbold!). Two big “ifs”: if Tom Farndon had not died and had the second world war not taken place and the World Championship continued unabated. Farndon would have been a World Champion at some point, no doubt. But for me, the big multi-World Champion of this period would have been Vic Duggan. TF’s averages were around 10.00. VD averaged 11.54 in 1947. For me, Duggan was the best rider of the sport’s opening three decades. All the best Rob

The thing is, there are far more than 16 worthy names. Graham Warren is another who probably should be in there... the best rider in the world in 1950, and third in the world with 12 points (4 wins and 1 fall). He probably would have won a Speedway GP series in '50. But for the fractured skull following that season, he would almost certainly been World Champion at some point. All the best Rob

No need to hide the previous comments - to do so, would be rather hypocritical. This is speedway. We all have our heroes and our villians. But whether a rider is seriously injured, we all club together for that rider. Right now, the whole speedway world is wishing the best for Darcy Ward. All the best Rob

That sounds about right. All the best Rob

Our illegal guest scored nothing because we didn't have one. All the best Rob

Shads, I do. Great meeting on Friday - great racing, something resting on Heat 15, some unexpected results, both teams went away happy. All the best Rob

Lewy, read the whole of 16.5.2 again and not just the sub-section at the end. The rule and its sub-sections are referring to teams using 28-day-facilites, yes? All the best Rob

SB, you're spot on there. The full rule is: 16.5.2 For an absent Rider with (a) an assessed MA, or ( b ) has been approved in a team’s declared line-up at the start of the season, a 28-day Facility may be granted at MC’s discretion. 16.5.2.1 In the NL this only applies if he was in that Team’s 1-7 at the close of the previous season. 16.5.2.2 If the absent Rider has an assessed MA and is a PL#1 (by MA) only RR facility is allowed. So yes 16.5.2.2 doesn't apply at all in this case as Scunny are not using a 28-day-facility for Holub. It's 18.10.c that does apply and has been applied correctly. But please can we avoid another boring rulebook argument. The focus should be on the racing from Friday's meeting. There have been even better meetings at the EWR this year, but that was still a cracker on Friday. Heat 8 was simply amazing, with the riders seemingly swapping positions on every bend. All the best Rob

Which is in turn contradicted by: 18.10 FACILITIES a1) Absent #1: G or RR a2) Absent D-U or ED Rider G or RR b ) 1 Absent Rider (2 – 5): RR c) More than 1 Absent Rider (1 - 5) 1 x RR facility and G for all others d) Absent #6 or #7: G e) “No Facility”: NL G* Which rule of these two takes precedence? Had Zdenek Holub been the only missing Scunthorpe 1-5 rider missing, then it looks like only R/R could be used, but Ryan Douglas was also missing. Scunny can't use R/R twice, therefore a guest needs to be used for one of the two absent riders. All the best Rob NB Should point out I'm not talking as Scunny's press officer in this case, simply from my own knowledge of the rulebook, and how different rules often contradict another one!!

Vic Duggan would win the meeting... if you had included him. All the best Rob

Isn't his name just pronounced Jack? All the best Rob

You'll need extra paint for the 15m marker as well. All the best Rob

Nicolai Klindt guests for Scunthorpe in place of Zdenek Holub (away for the Under-21 World Cup): http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=4087 A warm welcome home to Thomas Jorgensen, but please don't score too many tomorrow Thomas All the best Rob

Gustix, The post-war model did not work. Crowds were initially massive (in 1946), and were still very large by the early fifties. Despite this, London giants New Cross (mid-1953), Harringay (end of 1954), West Ham (end of 1955) and Wembley (March 1957, following death of Sir Arthur Elvin in February 1957) still closed, as did a whole host of provincial clubs. If that model didn't work with thousands, how do you expect it to work these days when crowds are now in their hundreds? All the best Rob

Well done to Ian Sawyer and co.... every time it goes quiet, they pull another ace of the hat. All the best Rob

That's now old hat... any new ideas? All the best Rob

I reckon it'll come down to Scunny vs Plymouth on September 11th. All Ippo fans need to come along and cheer on the Scorps. All the best Rob

A partial roof (it's been reconfigured since the Olympics). Wouldn't cover the track down the straights, but decent covers would do the job. In any case, having a roof didn't help Gelsenkirchen in 2008, Warsaw in 2015, and very nearly Cardiff in 2013. It's surely easier to prepare a decent track in an open stadium. There's been more problems with GPs in roofed stadiums than open stadiums, where moisture is a major problem which has never been completely fixed. The Cardiff track in 2015 still left much to be desired. Cardiff is a good day out, but the actual meeting itself is often poor. All the best Rob

And that's why the Olympic Stadium would work... it would retain the 'party' atmosphere of Cardiff, while it would have the prestige and national media coverage of having a Speedway Grand Prix in London. All the best Rob

Forget Wembley. Go for the Olympic Stadium. Bars, restaurants and hotels all within a few hundred yards. A permanent running track on which a speedway track could be laid. Brilliant public transport (I went to the Anniversary Games a few weeks ago, and it's amazing how quick and easy it is to get back onto the Central Line). 50,000 fans inside THAT stadium would make the national press sit up and take notice. All the best Rob

I have no idea when the Scunny & Redcar promotions are going to restage it, but it might well work as the final meeting of the season for both clubs, with the destiny of the wooden spoon resting on the result of the meeting. It would give the meeting a bit of extra spice, for sure. All the best Rob

One-eyed BWitcher taking about bias - you couldn't make it up. All the best Rob

Meeting rained off. All the best Rob

David Nix of the King's Lynn Kids was killed at the Norfolk Arena on May 1, 2002. I think he's the latest fatality at a British speedway track... and long may it stay that way. All the best Rob

Now confirmed as Rasmus Jensen. All the best Rob