whowasthatberntpersson

Thanks Jeff, will have to work on the boys Brummie accent, especially if those Heathens return. Deal what deal? two bikes a van and a palace?????

I think the junior scene is reasonably well structured. The main problem is lack of rides. This is why many of the kids carry on doing dirt track racing. There are just not enough riding opportunities to justify the sole expense of speedway for many families. It does vary from State to State, however as an example someone in South East Queensland can easily ride a minimum of twice a month throughout the year, more if willing to travel 7 - 10 hours for meetings in NSW, which is enough for most families and does make doubling up on dirt track difficult and expensive. Infact I know several Queenslanders who have now dropped dirt track for that reason. The introduction of the 350cc Jawa racing, adds an extra dimension, now kids 14-16 can ride two classes of speedway, 125cc and 350cc, this fills a big void and should keep a few of the bigger kids in the sport.

North Brisbane The Bushrangers Club ran their final meeting of 2007 last night. In attendance were former English test team members Steve Schofield who now resides in Queensland and Sean Wilson who is enjoying a campervan holiday in Australia. Jon White won the solo final after being led by his brother Adam for almost two laps, Harley Horwood took second after Adam had left a similar gap for him. Wayne Munck won the modern sidecar events. The junior solo final was won by Nick Morris, in the heats Harley Brigden twice stopped whilst leading races and shed a chain on the line in the final. No other results at this stage but there was a good turnout of evolution solos and classic sidecars. Results Solos 1st Jon White 2nd Harley Horwood 3rd Adam White Junior Solos A Final 1st Nick Morris 2nd Cody Keen Joel Porter dnf Harley Brigden dnf Junior Solos B Final 1st Tory Bellamy 2nd Bryce Brigden 3rd Jack Strong Brandon - North Queensland (Courtesy of Lance Forsyth) Qld U/21 Solo Title held at the Brandon Sports Reserve, conducted by the Ayr Motor Cycle Club Inc 1st Josh Grajczonek 2nd Mitchell Davey 3rd Scott McKenna 4th Kozza Smith Junior Solo Challenge !st Dylan Blain (undefeated) 2nd Clinton Dennis 3rd Glenn Squires 4th Matthew Day (exc) tapes Gillman (sidecars) 1st Treloar 2nd Headland 3rdPlaisted 4th Moon

Apologies to Justin Sedgman, I got him mixed up with his Brother Ryan in the write-up. Sorry about that Justin. Its been changed now.

My first visit to the Sidewinders venue near Adelaide. Very impressed with the setup there. Tight track with racing under lights, clubhouse filled with historic photos, good toilet and canteen facilities. Easy to see how so many great Aussie riders have progressed from Sidewinders. The final was re run three times, with all four riders fighting for the same piece of dirt, in the end it was Justin Sedgman who took the win, but what a battle for the places with positions changing on every lap. Very nice to see such friendship and good sportsmanship amongst the riders too, Nick Morris and Robert Branford, good friends off the track, went hammer and tong and enjoyed every moment. Results 1st Justin Sedgman Victoria 2nd Nick Morris Queensland 3rd Robert Branford South Australia 4th Robert Medson South Australia Non finalists included Arthur Sissis and Brenton Barnfield, who both rode in last years National Championship at the Gold Coast. Thanks to Chopper for his hospitality.

Not sure of online ticket sales but I wouldn't worry, Tickets were on sale in Pardubice and at the track, you won't have any problems at all. There was a stall set up in the centre of town outside the jeweller displaying the trophy last year, they sold advance tickets, with packages for both days.

I'd love to visit Malaysia again, to watch speedway will be a huge bonus. Hope speedway kicks off in Malaysia, a truly great country with fantastic food and friendly people..and not that far from Australia.

Great to see the Aussie Boys doing so well. Hopefully their good form will carry into the semis and final. Strange how my pick to be the number one Aussie over there "Darcy Ward' didn't qualify, due to contreversy with his machinery. So who are the riders the Aussies have to beat?

Oh yes, Ham and Eggs, washed down with a pint of dark Czech beer..delicious. Should you be mentioning how bloody cold it gets over there Jeff?????? Actually the young Lad and Myself had a fantastic few days in Czecho with Jeff and the Gang last year, wish we were doing it again. When you get to the track be very cautious when dealing with the vietnamese market traders, I saw my life flash before my eyes after I innocently asked how much a sweat shirt was...the poor Guy thought it was a certain sale and it was like escaping from alacatraz trying to get away from him. Try to get a spot near the toilets at Pardubice, if you like a drink.

Is anyone going to the World Youth Cup (Under 16's on 80cc machines) in Poland? I am particularly interested in how the Aussies go over there. I believe Darcy Ward is also riding in a Polish meeting prior to the Championship, any news would be much appreciated. I think some of the Aussie boys will be right in the running this year.

Congratulations to Dan and Shane and all the other competetors. What a thrill it must of been, to be involved in that way.

After meeting most of you lot at Bydgoszcz last September I'm starting to get quite envious at not making this one. For those that can't remember my Son slept for quite a few hours sprawled all over the place in his Jason Crump jacket. As a little bonus my local has just started selling Zywiec.

Have to agree, I though the City was great, the atmosphere around the stadium was very good too.....plenty of bars and entertainment when I went (final Polish League match for Wroclaw v Czesterchowa) I saw some good racing too, but almost had my night ruined by a drunk who lost his balance on the bench seat behind me....good job it wasn't a kid he fell on, the bloke was big.....lol

I was there for the Tomasz Lubocek Memorial last year. The Tram ride from the centre of Prague isn't too bad but as someone else said its a fair way out..plenty to see along the way though. Once you get there, have a beer in the pub opposite the entrance...the dark ale is good....its all cheap, but the place gets packed. It was October when we went and it was the coldest I've ever been at speedway anywhere......they sold hot alcoholic drinks (Czech Rum and Hot water I think)...they did help a little. We were on the first bend...sitting near Jiri Stancl and a couple of other former Czech riders. Prague is a fantastic place but the Marketa looked a poor venue for a GP.

Congratulations to all the qualifiers, particularly the Queenslanders. Special mention for Grajczonek and Davey, its an awful long way to South Australia from North Queensland so its really fantastic to see that they have both qualified. Tomorrow should be an absolute cracker.

Not yet Tanya, I'm working on it......I guess West Australia is a long way from everywhere. I spoke to Mitch Shirra on the afternoon of the meeting and he was having major bike problems, borrowed bikes during the practice and had to rebuild the bike he was going to ride during the meeting.

Its getting even more confusing now. In Australia all (well some) of the kids too big or too advanced for the 125's are now advancing to 350's, the current rule says anyone 14 years of age can ride a 350 on the big tracks until they turn 16. This has basically killed off any 250cc racing, not that there was much anyway, infact I'm not aware of any 250 jawas racing in OZ (although I may be proved wrong), we do have three teens on 250cc Hondas at my local track. Very interesting to see 350cc's on the same program as the Australian Under 16 Pairs (125cc) Championship, with quite a few of the older Kids doubling up, and some of the bigger kids looking much more at home on the 350's. Its something that needs sorting quickly, but for the time being it looks like Australia is supporting the 350's rather than 250's as a progression from 125cc racing.

Some good interviews with tonights competetors courtesy of http://www.radiofremantle.com/ Includes indepth comments from Chris Holder and Mitch Shirra Go to archives, then the Saturday speedway show. One of the interesting things about this venue is its size, its so small that the 125cc Juniors run on the same track....like in the USA, but different to the rest of OZ where the Junior tracks are inside the main circuits.

Just saw the weather forecast for Perth, absolutely scorching hot, they've even warned the elderley to try to stay cool. Probably not ideal speedway weather but certainly better than what we are having in North Queensland right now, its been bucketing down for days and starting to flood, so obviously no pre season practice at Ayr tomorrow. Looking forward to hearing all about the action from Pinjar Park, everyone speaks highly of the track there.

Hi Lunchy, I'm not sure if it should be a cut and thrust decision and I'm not sure what guidelines referees have to follow. Sure if the rider behind has time to avoid the rider in front who has locked up, however I'm certain their are cases when the rider in front is at fault. In this case young Robert Branford had absolutely nowhere to go and didn't deserve to be excluded.

Apparantly Mitch Shirra has been practicing on a junior track for this meeting. Was talking to the WA connection at the Under 16 meeting and the size of the track was confirmed (very small) with the juniors (under 16's) racing on the same track as the 500's. That in itself is very unusual in Australia. Should be a great meeting, Johnno will be hard to beat after his spell at Arena and stop off to ride in the States on his way home.

Poole/Masters v Sedgman/North Four evenly matched riders going for the same piece of track was quite a spectacle. I'm not 100% sure how many attempts were made to complete this race but I reckon it was four or five, they failed to make it past turn two at least three times. The referee finally excluded someone after Poole and North clashed when the race got past the first bend, but even that was a borderline decision with Poole falling after a nudge on the inside by North. Poole/Masters v Branford/Sissis Another much talked about race, from where I was standing Masters appeared to lock up in front of Branford, Branford ran into him, and the referee excluded Branford, the majority of those watching disagreed with the decision. In the re run Masters/Poole got the jump but the very talented 11 year old Sissis took chase and spectacularly passed both much to the delight of most of the crowd who saw it as justice as well as a brilliant piece of riding. Plenty of other great races including the Morris/Dennis v Davies/Campton heat, when Dennis got the jump forcing Davies wide which allowed Morris to dive underneath and lead, Morris won the race with Davies clinching second right on the line. The run off for third also saw a very close race with Dennis leading from gate 1, Davies never gave up and finally found a gap on the inside on the very last bend of the last lap.

I'd just like to add that the two days of racing at the Gold Coast produced some fabulous action. Close, hard racing was the norm and really there was very little to choose between the top six riders in the individual, gate positions being vital. Darcy Ward was all over Dakota North in the final but Dakota held the inside line superbly and its just too difficult to pass around the outside on the small tracks. Some hard luck stories too with bad decisions, mechanical problems and first night nerves for plenty of the kids. The pairs meeting on the second night saw many of the top riders continue their form, with some improved performances particularly from Nick Morris who had blown two engines, one in practice and one straight after his first heat in the individual, his bad luck continued when he blewanother in his second pairs heat after winning his first race by a fair margin, however he continued on borrowed bikes and won his final heat. Jason Crump commented on the quality of racing, it was particularly good and the future of Australian speedway looks bright with several of the top performers stepping up to the big time in the not too distant future.

From what I understand the Aussies selected this year will most likely have two stroke experience, basically that means the top riders with speedway and dirt/flat track experience and form. Based on that information I would say the most likely candidates will be Darcy Ward and Sam Masters who both did well last year, Taylor Poole who missed out due to injury and one or two others, possibly Todd Kurtz although he didn't make the Australian Under 16 lineup. Poole and Kurtz now have there own machines and have been practicing. Some of the riders mentioned are expecting to go to Poland, and in my opinion will give it a real shake this year.

Taken from the Motorcycle Australia Website; 2007 U16 Speedway Solo Championship. The competitors chosen are: Brenton Barnfield Robert Branford Mason Campton Alex Davies Clinton Dennis. Beau Evans. Cameron Heeps Samuel Masters. Robert Medson. Jake Moore Nicholas Morris Dakota North Taylor Poole Justin Sedgmen Arthur Sissus Darcy Ward. Reserves. Jonathon Lewis Michael Penfold Tyson Nelson Dylan Blain [in order of choice] 2007 U16 Speedway Solo Teams Championship. Vic. VIC Sedgmen & North. QLD Ward & Moore. QLD Morris & Dennis NSW Masters & Poole. NSW Campton & Davies. SA Branford & Sissis SA/WA Heeps & Medson.