Pete

I've also been looking for a copy of Issue 1 but as of yet have had no joy. Does TMC have the original prints that he could let us have (for a price obviously) or do I have to wait 50 years and get a copy at a speedway memoribilia stand for £13,000? Pete

Keith, it's people's opinions who they would like to see in the GP not who is actually riding (see original post). Peronsally I would have quite a few riders who didn't finish in the top 8 this year way ahead of Chrzanowski and Lindback but they qualified by right so fair enough I hope they prove me wrong. Pete

I thought it was more credit to Mr and Mrs Auty Pete

For me in my time as a speedway fan I would pick the Ipswich dream team as: Tony Rickardsson Chris Louis Dennis Sigalos Scott Nicholls Billy Sanders John Cook Jeremy Doncaster Happy days..... Pete

Vik I thought long and hard about putting Pedersen in but aside from the GP win which was a well earned and fantastic achievement he has done little else to really convince me he is one of the top16 in the world at present. The same goes for Holta personally. Others have said that Lindback and Zagar deserve a spot also but again I think that on all GP circuits these two would be bit-part players at present, I’m not however disputing the fact that their day will come. For next year the 16 I mentioned would be my pick but in, say 2007, when a lot of the riders in that 16 are getting past their prime then the young guns will have their day. Another good question is that in 6/7 years time do you see the GP field being as strong as it is now? Pete

If you had the chance to pick the 16 riders for 2005 regardless of final GP standings in 2004 who would they be and why? My 16 would be: Australia Jason Crump – Champ elect, no more needs to be said Leigh Adams – Most consistent league rider in the world, Ryan Sullivan – Capable of winning GP’s on his day Sweden Tony Rickardsson – No reason needed Andreas Jonsson – Fast and exciting, future champ? Mikael Max – Experienced and on his day a threat Peter Karlsson – Looked great in the SWC GB Scott Nicholls – An injury free year could see him in the top 4 Lee Richardson – Shows good signs of a future GP winner Mark Loram – A racer in the true sense of the word America Greg Hancock – Having a resurgence as a GP rider Billy Hamill – Gotta still be quick enough to pose a threat Denmark Nicki Pedersen – Love him or hate him you need him in the GP Hans Andersen – See Nicki Pedersen Poland Tomasz Gollob – A GP without Tomasz is unthinkable Jarek Hampel – Young upcoming future GP winner They are the best 16 riders in the world IMO, maybe there are one or two that given a year or so may be knocking on the door to be in there but for a series that is supposed to be contested by the best riders in the world and not some who sneak in through the back door or win meetings in someone’s back garden you need the best. Reserves would be Rune Holta and Bjarne Pedersen. The others seem far too inconsistent and not really in the running to win a GP. Pete (yes, bored)

Having only just discovered backtrack I managed to pick up copies 2&3 from Ipswich last night and will be getting 1&4 next week. As a 27 year old who has been going to Ipswich since 1981 it really is like stepping back into my childhood. Although I didn’t go to speedway in the 70’s it is still a great eye opener on the sport and I can track a lot of my favourite riders from the 80’s and their early days in the sport. Great stuff, keep up the good work. Pete

I agree mate, the constant attempts to undermine Chris Louis' obvious intention in not blowing it up again were quite sad really. Anyway how ironic that Hans should win it in Sweden. Weird ol' world isn't it. People get wound up to write 60+ pages on what Hans did or didn't do in the SWC where no-one got hurt but there seems to be little interest in a rider kicking a rider going into the potentially most dangerous corner of the race with the Team GB captain inches away who would have also been swept up had Nicki fallen. Weird ol' world isn't it. Pete

Bit of a mixed bag with that line-up. Fair dues to all the riders for getting there but one or two surprised me as I haven’t followed the qualifying rounds very closely. Craig Watson for example, what route did he take and did he have any notable scalps along the way? I have always been a Watto fan, don’t really know why apart from the fact he rode for Newport with the legendary (well to me and a few mates) Frank Smart. Also any info on Balinski, never heard of him. The Poles always seem to have a rider come through and do well in this sort of meeting only to never be heard of much again. Is he a youngster worth keeping tabs on? Good luck to Norris and Hans (ahem) but also hope Bjerre and Iversen who I rate highly do well and of course Lindback. It would be great to get some of the young pretenders in the GP mix early to see if they can unsettle the big boys. It may be too soon for Lindback or Bjerre but the experience would do them good I’m sure. Pete

He also let Nicholls past too. What the hell is all the fuss about I don't either really. What if PK had passed Hans cleanly leaving Scott in 3rd, I think PK had the run on Hans anyway. Scott wasn't going to win the moment the tapes went up and he was 3rd, sad I know but there you go get over it. Scott got past easily also, not as if Hans blocked him or ran him to the fence (as Hans would do if racing normally, ahem) I'm not defending Andersen for shutting off but cannot believe the reaction on here just because we lost. Yes he is a silly boy but you can look at numerous events throughout the night that led to our Silver medal position. These events mean little to me anyway. The GP's and SWC are nice to watch but I don't find themn anywhere near as appealing as watching Ipswich Witches. I just can't get passionate about international speedway which is weird coz I am one of the most patriotic people I know but I don't get the same buzz from watching Team GB as I do watching England play football or supporting the Brits in the forthcoming olympics. Perhaps that is why I can't see what the fuss is about but in Speedway I support Ipswich first and foremost. Pete

When did you last have hans in your mouth? NO, don't answer that.............

I started to have my suspicions when he stuttered on the word ‘CATEGORICALLY’ only to finish off saying ‘CAREGOTICALLY’. Funny stuff Kelv, your best performance on Sky by far.

I really felt sorry for Linback after his second ride, over eagerness and inexperience as Leigh Adams said. He obviously had no intention of knocking any 3 riders of the riders off but he does need to calm down a bit and try and control the bike more. Every other youngster on show seemed able to cope with the pressure (look at Kolodziej???). What Boyce said was typical Boycie, as soon as they said they were gonna speak to him I cringed but had it been a Dane he was talking about who had done the same everyone would be flocking on here agreeing with him. Let’s cut the hypocrisy hey? Now that Lukas Dryml, there’s a dirty B…………………

I have got another version of the SWC programme in the format sometimes used where the riders names are on the left hand side with the race numbers along the top (if you're with me). Seems to fit on a page of A4 quite nicely as when I tried to do a prog similar to SCB's it was a tight fit and I couldn't read it as the font had to be 2pt or something. If anyone wants a copy I can e-mail it to them when I get home, hopefully before the meeting starts Also Sunarisen, if you go to the Forum Announcements, Comments and Suggestions toward the bottom of the board you will find a thread in there called Speedway Programme where I asked the admin team to link a spreadsheet I created for EL meetings. Yes it does have links in (contrary to what someone said in the thread without obviously looking at it ) so all you need do is enter the riders in the 1-7 ride scorechart and thet filter down to each race. Hope that helps. Pete

Best thing for you to do is by the 50 years of Ipswich speedway book which is packed full of season on season summaries and pictures of all your fave ex-Witches of the 70' and 80's. A cracking buy. Pete

I think it will be a very close affair now that the racing moves to Poole. If you look at all 4 teams ‘expected’ to get to the final there are arguments for and against all. Now taking into consideration that the Aussie’s and Swede’s get through the race off my verdict and predictions would be (from my head not my heart)………… 1st Place – Sweden Although they were well beaten by Team GB none of the Swedes have ever ridden for Eastbourne so no real home track advantage was available however at Poole they not only have Rickardsson who has tonnes of experience of the circuit but their weak link (IMO) Antonio Lindback will also be on home shale (ahem) and could be a match winner. Add to that the fact Jonsson goes well at Poole and is also admirably backed up by the brothers Karlsson (in old money) and I would put them in pole position. 2nd Place – Team GB Another squad with plenty of ex-pirates. Nicholls, Loram, Ricko and Havvy have all donned the skull and crossbones in recent years and that will prove handy. I think they have a bit more strength in depth than the Oz boys which will see them pick up the Silver medal but just not strong enough to live with the solid Swedish 5. A lot depends on Havvy now he has been called up and he and Norris will be the ones who will have to ride with their heads a bit more and not their hearts if GB are to push for gold. 3rd Place - Australia Again plenty of experience of Wimborne Rd, all the top three Oz boys have ridden for Poole at one stage or another and Sullivan who had a bit of an off start to Tuesday night will be on his home track. The crux for the Oz team is the performances of Johno and Shields, the latter of which who could struggle in the company. If these two can get amongst it then they will run the Swedes and Team GB all the way. 4th Place – Denmark Although they looked awesome in their qualifier I think that they really only had 3 riders who were regularly competitive to deal with (the Oz top three) and because of this they may struggle a bit more against 3 other quality riders in each race rather than 1. Although Bjarne Pedersen is a home track man and Hans Andersen is a former pirate I believe that their strength in depth and experience at this level may taint any chance of the Danes winning. They will really have to be up for it if they are to do anything and to be honest if Team GB don’t do it then I hope the Danes do for the sheer enthusiasm and togetherness they show. Now you just watch that order get reversed on Saturday, when the Czech’s win followed by Poland……………………… Pete

Holta goes down like a lead balloon if anyone gets near him. Andersen's move move was no worse than Holta's on him the previous lap but that ol' red mist came and you could see Hans was going to do something a little naughty. But if that was dirty riding was there a similar thread for Crump's move on Holta (ahhhh, him again) that handed Nikki P the title last year? No, didn't think so. Some people aren't happy unless they have someone to moan about. Pete

Ha ha ha, I did think about it but thought the Mods would kick my proverbial if I started another thread mentioning 'that rider'. I could have had an option for clubs ex-riders also, I frequently cheer for past riders but only really those who have not gone elsewhere i/e Hampel and Gollob. I like to see Rickardsson do well as he is an Ipswich asset but he is soiled goods now he has ridden at Poole Pete

Ok here is a forum splitting topic. If you go to Cardiff (I have been twice but not since 2002) do you support a) The British (or whichever nationality you happen to be) riders at all costs (altogether now……..Gooooood save our….) b ) Your clubs riders first and foremost but you cheer for the Brits if their results don’t affect your clubs riders progress c) None of the above you just enjoy speedway In all honesty I fall into category B, it’s not that I am non-patriotic or anything like that I just feel more alignment with the riders I watch week in week out. It’s the same with football, major tournaments aside, I watch for my team’s (Everton, ahem) players when they play for other nations and am only interested in England when an Everton player is playing (can you guess which one?). I find this interesting as when I have been to Cardiff then number of American, Swedish and other non-british flags that I see carried around by supporters of British clubs is astonishing so I can’t be alone on this one. Pete

Danny rode quite well against Wolves, one of only two Witches riders that did. As for Monmore it's a pity he wasn't riding for us when we met at your gaff on 12/04 but he rides for Reading on a Monday night. I think riding for Reading has certainly helped Danny's ability, he rides Foxhall well and he should improve at most tight circuits this season. His gating get's him most points but he has picked off riders with ease this year who last year you would have expectyed to beat him relatively easily. I'm a big fan but Cardiff may be a step too far this year. but................... For a bloke who is averaging 8.63 at home and 7.00 away he can't be doing badly can he? Pete

Danny has been the model of consistency SO FAR this year. He has looked very good amongst good opposition this year at number two and is not picking up easy points from reserve. Everyone has tracks they don’t like and you think anyone outside Sussex is ‘pants’ anyway . I certainly think if Danny can keep up the form fro the month of May he deserves consideration. As for the opinion of non-UK Wildcards, can you imagine the Polish GP with non Poles as Wildcards? As for David Ruud as a Wildcard? Funny stuff I like it. How about Carl Baldwin aswell The only sensible argument for a non-UK wildcard is Sam Ermelenko but that could be at any GP not just the British GP. Pete

I would definitely go for Norris, the bloke is looking so much more focussed and determined this year. It’s as though the whole World Cup experience has made him grow up a bit as a Speedway rider. After that you could choose the next most experienced Brits doing reasonably well in Havvy, Barker, Screen or even Louis or do you give it to the youngsters coming through in Neath, Bird (does anyone ever remember him when having these discussions, holding down an 8 point average in the team proper?????), Harris or Howe. I would probably agree with Steve and have Screen for sheer entertainment value IF he is still showing form at that time as I don’t think any of the others are ready to make it past two heats. Pete

I think Sky have two possible options for Saturday night. Firstly they show the GP at 10pm on Sky Sports 1 in place of WWE Smackdown (repeated about 15 times during the week anyway). OR At 8pm on Sky Sports Extra in place of 360 surfboarding (??) and a repeat of some Cricket match from earlier. Surely a GP should garner more viewers than those sports listed above? Especaially as I personally think you will get more people tune in at that time simply because of the time slot and also through sheer curiousity because of what happened the previous week. Anyone who says they are not watching because of last weeks fiasco is kidding themselves. Pete

excuse me Jason Crump was born in Bristol how much more British can you get :evil: He was born in Bristol? Well I never knew that, you'd think the Sky commentary team would tell you Oh and can someone explain to me why Mikael Karlsson is called Max now? Pete