BigFatDave

I hope everyone in the area gets right behind this meeting: these kids are the future of British Speedway and they need all the support they can muster. Goodonya Wizzer & Newport Speedway!

Kurri Kurri Cobras Speedway Club seem to have scooped the pool; they now have the option of 2 dates for the U/21 & 350 Oz Championship , which will both be run on the same day; either 28th Jan. 2012 or 31st December 2011. Geez, New Years Eve at the Kurri - that'd be a wild night for sure. It's also been confirmed that Thursday January 12 U/16 125 Solo Practice is now also the Qualifying meeting for the comp. Thanks to John Jackson from the Cobras for clearing that up for me. Don't know if I'll be able to make the under-21s; probably the most cut-throat racing we'll see Downunder if this year's was anything to go by - these boys are riding for Cattle Stations! I might hafta rob another bank - ho hum. Stand by for an important announcement regarding Aussie Speedway in the next week or so; not to do with a 2012 GP although that's looking more & more definitely in the mix. Alas, my lips are sealed - wait 'til I find the bastard who put Superglue in me Ovaltine!!

Looks like Speed Week at Kurri Kurri is taking shape nicely; provisional dates as follows: Thursday January 12 U/16 125 Solo Practise "Black Friday " 13 Australian U/16 125 Solo Championship Saturday 14 Australian Solo Champioship Round 2 Sunday 15 Australian U/16 Teams Championship. Sunday 15 Australian U/16 Sidecar Championship These may be subject to alteration as there may be a qualifying meeting for the Under 16s 125 solos, depending on number of entrants. The main problem with Mildura looks to be down to safety issues, mainly to do with the Poles for the Lights being too close to the track. See, you Pomgolians thought you were the only ones with problems with Poles.

More news escaping from Fortress MA: it appears that Round 1 will be at North Brisbane on the 7th January, subject to a track and venue inspection; Kurri Kurri as announced on Jan 14th and the Grand Final at Gillman on Jan 21. Mildura, for reasons best known to themselves, declined to run a round this year. Under 21s look like being at Kurri Kurri as part of a Speed Week as Gillman declined to run it on the 28th due to a clash with the Australian Sprintcar Championships at Speedway City. North Brisbane will need a lot of work to get it to an acceptable state for a major Championship round as interest will be high in SE QLD, and a crowd of upwards of 2000 could be on the cards. In particular a decent fence around turns 1 & 2 is a must. Both Kurri Kurri and Gillman will have airfences next year

First provisional date has been released (or more likely escaped) for next January's OzChamps; Kurri Kurri January 14th. It's a greattrack with really cool people involved in the organisation; none more so than Julie Sweetman and Peter Campton. I like standing next to Pete: he makes me look skinny!! More dates as they happen, but if the last few years is anything to go by we'll probably be starting at Gillman and finishing at Kurri. Hopefully your currency, the Pommy Peso, will have improved in value against our good ol' AUS$REAL MONEY enough that any of you heading south will have enough to buy me a beer or several. PS Oooooooops, forgot to mention Kurri is also the venue for next season's Oz under-21 titles as well, dates to follow. This year's was a ripper at North Brissy; Darcy showing his class to take out his third title.

A few sore heads on Sunday morning!

Will you be doing SWC, Mateusz? Be good to meet up & lead you astray!

First impressions are always good. Maybe a little englander in the Passport Office?

Just quoting from his website, wwtbp. Oi'll Zee you in ZummerZett for the Pairs - bring it on!!

Still waiting on his visa.

I've got a recording of a mate of mine on his Vincent outfit back in the day - you want noise?

From my viewpoint 12000 miles away it seemed that the crowd was down on when I was there for SWC in 2009 but still very healthy looking; the only noticeable gaps in the crowd were in the smaller stand over the Pits, which is usually the last place to fill up. To claim that the Stadium was half-empty is ridiculous, but par for the course among the knockers brigade.

Gotta be a first time for everything - I agree with you, Jacques! (Wash my mouth out!) Can't believe the number of whingers on here all the time; it seems the complaints were starting to roll in by about heat 4. I bet the people who were there had a ball; my on-track correspondents descended into a haze (or should that be Haza?) early on in the piece - no stamina. Better get in training for SWC, boys!!

Careful - the whingers will hear you! Racing is getting better as the meeting progresses.

Hmmmm - still no 'Like' button on the forum. It appears a few chooks are coming home to roost.

The upside of Cardiff for me is that everything's so handy - the railway station; my hotel; the Walkabout and the Stadium are all within 5 minutes walk - heaven on a stick! The pre-match entertainment is in the Pub; I've got no desire to be wandering the wilds of West London.

They're a great bunch of people to travel with, and as others have said they take all the worry out of travelling. They cost more than if you organised it yourself but you definitely get what you pay for, its hassle-free plus the people who use them regularly are a great bunch - I've made lifelong friends through TPT. (I should add as a disclaimer that I'm the Cultural Attache for all tours Downunder - I learn yers all how ta talk Orstrayan proper.) These days I usually travel to European Fixtures with a bunch of Fellow Drunks I first met on a TPT tour to Gothenberg, so it's quite safe to use them, Claire.

Great stuff from Sweets & Sedgy!

Well done Squallie, we're missing your pithy comments! Be Strong, cuz - Physical Pain Passes. BTW, I know this latest forum controversy seems to be dogging you, but were there any domestic animals in attendance?

Regarding Riders' pay, wouldn't you agree that the better you do in the GPs the more sponsorship you are likely to attract, viz Jason Crump & Red Bull? Surely that's a bit of a pay-rise?

Sometimes I despair of the rampant negativity on the Forum, epitomised so well by this thread. Any time anyone says anything positive or forward-thinking, people on here seem to line up to either pooh-pooh the idea or personalise the whole argument. I always go by the theory that if you haven't anything positive to say then don't say anything. We're all aware of the difficulties promoters and riders are faced with; how about supporting them and the Sport for a change?

Maybe its her/his Liver playing up?

The SWC consistently provides the highest-quality Speedway, which is why die-hard fans/idiots like me travel from all corners of the globe to watch it whenever we can. To dismiss it as a non-event four months out is a trifle unrealistic, surely. I take it you may not be attending any rounds this year, or will you be participating in SCB's rain dance instead?

Yep. still have Midgets or 'Speedcars' at Parramatta; racing is usually fast, four wide & furious! Incidentally tonight is the 700th meeting at Parramatta, with the winner of the first event in 1977. Bob Blacklaw, the special guest. Hopefully he'll be presenting the winner's trophy to the Territory's own Bad Boy Benny Atkinson, in the No 2 Pick'n Payless car (driving for 10-time Aussie Champ Gary Rush), who's currently the runaway leader in the Sydney Sprintcar Championship from Ian Loudon and Mitch Dumesny.

You'll have to come along to a meeting sometime - they are brutally fast.