BigFatDave

It'd be better at Kwinana IMHO. Pinjar's not exactly a Long Track, eh? Give my regards to Nath.

This one's got a great future in HM Treasury!!

I was up the ******* pub watchin' tha ******* boxing but I taped the ******!! Thanxx for re*******minding me!!

Isn't there a rule about that, panthersfan? Up against the wall, ************, any last requests?

...............takes me that long to find it!!

The latest ins & outs from the Gillman Website: Saturday night’s CBS Bins / Tucker Time For Pets South Australian Solo Championship at Gillman Speedway should produce the battle of the season between defending champion Troy Batchelor and four-times champion Rory Schlein. Schlein won the title four years running before missing last year's event because he remained in England. In his absence Batchelor became the first Queensland rider to win the championship and he no doubt wants to retain the title, but if Schlein wins he’ll be stepping into rarefied air as third on the all time winners’ list behind true legends Jack Young and John Boulger, who both won the title nine times. Victorian champion Cameron Woodward shared favouritism with them at the beginning of the week but he withdrew a few days ago following an accident on his moto-cross bike. New South Wales riders Ben and Kurt Shields also withdrew during the week. While the current Australian number 3 and 4 riders look set to fill the top two positions, the other two final berths appear to be wide open. Robert Ksiezak finished third behind Batchelor and Woodward last year and usually does well in big meetings, but he is making his first appearance for the season after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at the end of the British season. He looked sharp at the Leigh Adams training school two week's ago however so would be looking for a final place a least. Aaron Summers is another who does well in big meetings and his win in the Jack Young Cup here earlier in the season will give him the confidence he can make the final. Arlo Bugeja was runner-up to Summers in the Jack Young Cup so will also be confident but consistency could be his biggest problem. He can beat the best in one race, only to lose to lesser riders in the next race. 16-year-old Justin Sedgmen is another who has won here this season (Ivan Mauger Golden Helmet) and has improved with every ride since, as he showed in the recent Australian Championship series. 18-year-old older brother Ryan was looking a gilt edged prospect 15 months ago before suffering a broken arm, fractured pelvis and a knee injury here at Gillman. Since then he’s also suffered glandular fever and he’s still trying to recover full fitness and health so may not yet be back to his best. Fellow Mildura rider Tom Hedley is another who is not yet back to his best following a long recovery period after suffering a head injury in Britain, but if he can ride to his known ability you’d have no qualms about pencilling him in as a finalist. The rider who might spring some surprises is 17-year-old NSW rider Sam Masters. It is very rare for a NSW rider to do well first up at Mildura’s Olympic Park track but Masters did exceptionally well, finishing third in the Victorian Championship in his first appearance at the track as a 16-year-old. So he should have no trouble mastering the Gillman track. Fellow NSW rider, 16-year-old Todd Kurtz was impressive here at Gillman in November in his first-ever senior meeting and he’ll be worth watching, as will WA’s Shelby Rutherford, but a final place is probably beyond them at this stage. Townsville's Damien Koppe is an Australian Long Track Champion but relatively inexperienced at speedway, and Taylor Poole was one of Australia’s best junior riders but this is his first appearance at Gillman. Brock Gates has showed improved form this season but a mid-field placing would be a good result for him; Samsurry Pigram, who has travelled all the way from Broome, has done well in Perth this season but will find this line-up a lot tougher than what he is used to; and Ben Turner is making his first appearance this season and would be happy just to pick up a couple of points. The Championship will be decided over 20 heats with the top three scorers qualifying for the final, along with the winner of a semi-final for the fourth to seventh highest scorers. South Australian Championship line-up in alphabetical order: Troy Batchelor (Qld, defending champion), Arlo Bugeja (SA), Brock Gates (Vic), Tom Hedley (Vic), Robert Ksiezak (SA), Todd Kurtz (NSW), Damien Koppe (Qld), Sam Masters (NSW), Samsurry Pigram (WA), Taylor Poole (NSW), Shelby Rutherford (WA), Rory Schlein (SA), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Ryan Sedgmen (Vic), Aaron Summers (SA), Ben Turner (SA). Support events include 350cc Junior Solos with local riders Robert Branford, Robert Medson and Tylor Thompson taking on Victoria's Brenton Barnfield and Queensland's Dylan Blain. Blain will also ride in the 125cc Junior events along with Cowra's Brady Kurtz (NSW). Racing starts at 7.30 p.m. If you're going just be Very Very careful around the top of Turn Two: there's a few total reprobates get up there!! (......and they answer to Spederweb, Lunchy & Bryn!!) Best of luck to young Chopper Junior in the 350's and of course the BSF's very own SeDGy2 returning from illness, but above all - Go ROOBOY!!.

With suitable meetings so few & far between its little wonder we lose so many juniors to MotoX & even Roadracing; they just wanna race as much as they can (and who can blame 'em?).

You should've trapped a good 'un for the upcoming Australia Day "Fastest Fly up the Dunny Wall" Races. So what's next for the lad?

How did the announcers pull up?

From the Gillman website: The field for the South Australian Solo Championship: Troy Batchelor (Qld, defending champion), Arlo Bugeja (SA), Brock Gates (Vic), Tom Hedley (Vic), Robert Ksiezak (SA), Todd Kurtz (NSW), Damien Koppe (Qld), Sam Masters (NSW), Shelby Rutherford (WA), Rory Schlein (NT), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Ryan Sedgmen (Vic), Ben Shields (NSW), Kurt Shields (NSW), Aaron Summers (SA), Cameron Woodward (Vic) Emergencies: Taylor Poole (NSW), Ben Turner (SA), Jackson Milne (Vic), Samsurry Pigram (WA), Ben Hatcliffe (SA)

The Rosemont by any chance? Or the Crazy Horse coffee lounge?

Will I be seeing you there, Seb? With Mrs Snail?

Meanwhile, back at Undera, Arthur Sissis won easily from Nick Morris 2nd, Mason Campton 3rd and Dane Cartwright 4th. Well Done to all who took part. The Sissis family is organising chook raffles to help get the lad over to Europe for his Red Bull trip, I'd love to know how many Raffle Tickets Arthur's sister sold - she's gorgeous!! How many did YOU buy, Bryn? Teams today so that should be fun. PS Just heard its apparently very windy at Undera, 'specially near Bryn's backside. Has someone been feedin' him Vindaloos again?

Don't worry about a thing, everything's out of control...................

New me is pretty much the same as Ol' me, luckily I've managed to keep my good looks, boyish charm and modesty. Weather looks to be OK if a trifle on the Antarctic side - fine, windy & sunny with a low of 10 on Saturday and a top of 32 on Sunday; Bryn had better find an aircon for Monday's expected top of 39C - Bushfire Weather!!

I'll be over in June, Pollyanna, you ain't seen nothin' yet!!

From Gillman Speedway: http://www.gillmanspeedway.com/release.asp?NewsId=30220 You really should read this.

Still buzzing after a great series - hope to get some sleep soon! My only complaint is - it could have been longer!! Highlights? Gosford - great racing all night. The final at Newcastle - a match race between Leigh & Rooboy. The final at Mildura - Leigh showed the way at the hardest Oz track to master. The final at Gillman - Troy tried his guts out but to no avail. Lowlight? The $70.00 cabfare to get to Newcastle Airport after me flight got changed from Noon to 6.00am! The best part? Catching up with all me ol' mates and making a few new ones - can't wait for next year.

Good luck to all involved I reckon, the future of Aussie Speedway is looking good! Robert Medson managed to put one on Arthur Sissis at Gillman but the luck of the gate draw may have helped.

From the Gillman Website: Adams Wins Again, But Doyle Ruled Out Of Final Round At Gillman Gillman Media posted Thursday January 8, 2009. Australian Speedway legend Leigh Adams remains unbeaten and well on course to claim an unprecedented 10th Australian Championship after the second round at Mildura last night (7 January). With second placed Rory Schlein missing the Final at Mildura, Adams now leads the Championship by 5 points from defending champion Chris Holder. Schlein is a further two points behind, with Jason Doyle a point behind Schlein, but Doyle has been ruled out of the third and final round at Gillman this Saturday night (10 January) with a shoulder injury after he crashed while holding second place behind Adams in last night's final. Holder finished second in the final, but again had to do it the hard way by winning the last chance semi-final. Heat points: Leigh Adams 15, Troy Batchelor 12, Jason Doyle 12, Dave Watt 11, Chris Holder 11, Rory Schlein 11, Cameron Woodward 10, Tyron Proctor 8, Darcy Ward 8, Kozza Smith 6, Josh Grajczonek 3, Justin Sedgmen 3, Aaron Summers 3, Cory Gathercole 2, Jay Herne 2, Lee Herne 2, James Holder (reserve, one ride) 1 SF C. Holder (, Schlein (Y), Watt ®, Woodward (W-fell), Final Adams ®, C. Holder (W), Batchelor (, Doyle (Y-fell, exc), Championship Series Points: Leigh Adams 40, Chris Holder 35, Rory Schlein 33, Jason Doyle 32, Cameron Woodward 28, Troy Batchelor 27, Dave Watt 27, Tyron Proctor 26, Darcy Ward 17, Kozza Smith 17, Cory Gathercole 16, Jay Herne 14, Josh Grajczonek 13, Lee Herne 11, Justin Sedgmen 10, Aaron Summers 8 Should mean James Holder steps up into the Field with Ryan Sedgmen at first reserve; I should imagine Arlo would get a guernsey at second reserve. Leigh rides Gillman well, (not just the track but usually the fence as well) so I should imagine the big duels will be between Noddy and Rooboy for second, and Cam, Troy and Davy for 4th but this is speedway and as we all know anything can happen. This is probably the last-but-one chance that we'll see Leigh riding in Oz although he did say in the Sunraysia Daily that he felt he had a couple more years in him so who knows?

A wonderful evening's entertainment at Olympic Park last night; no news of Jason Doyle as yet - fingers crossed for him. I met up with a few old friends from back in the good ol' days when I was bad - made for an interesting night. Great racing at a great venue - the day ended up being not quite as warm as expected - about 34C - makes a big change from the last couple of 40+ years but I still managed to keep the fluid levels up to Full! The apres-ski in the clubhouse was memorable (apparently - I've got a few blank spots) and lasted long into the night. Leigh was his usual brilliant best although a couple of the boys made him work hard for his win. Noddy again saved his best racing for the B main despite a valiant effort from Rooboy. Ryan (SeDGy2) Sedgmen replaced Hugh Skidmore as second reserve but didn't get a ride; he's recovering gradually from illness and should hopefully be 100% when he heads back to Pomgolia in March. Brother Justin performed well as did Darcy & Kozza, a real trio of excitement machines! Aaron had another forgettable evening but should do well at Gillman. Newport signing James Holder got an outing late in the meeting but didn't trouble the scorers. Some of our crew will never drink Woodstock and Cola (aka Weaselpi$$) again, and by the time the PA had played Kid Rock for the umpteenth time I harbour similar feelings to "All Summer Long" , although Taylor Swift is playing in the Internet cafe at the moment so life's not too bad. A big Well Done to young Robert taking out the 350's, he's improved a lot and looks to be over his broken bones. All in all a great night out; looking forward to Gillman on Saturday as the perfect close to a great few days.

Funny you should mention that................... More articles in the Sunraysia Chipwrapper today with a beaut piccy of Leigh strangling Justin on the backpage. Cam's claiming he was crook up in Newcastle: that's why he only finished 5th. Should be a great night with most of the Travelling People due in this arvo, the smart money gets here early and manages to score - YES!! I often wondered where the backpackers go in the Wet Season. We're drivin' down to Adelaide through the plonkeries tomorrow,should take a coupla days. Contrary to popular opinion I've never been a Big Plonker but I'll give anything a go - at least twice, to be sure, to be sure.

Fair comments there, wwtbp, the qualifier was infinitely better racing-wise.Pleasant conditions here in MILDURA today, a balmy 38C with plenty of flesh on display. (This ******** Keyboard I'm using at the local internet cafe has a sticky space bar, realpainintha ****** ar$e, I keep having to Belt the *******thing! and the rest of the customers are giving methe evil eye! ****'em!) Should be a bit cooler tomorrow (37C) so I'll keep the long johns handy. Big article in the local(*******spacebar!!)paper yesterdaywhich forgot tomentionCory's efforts: I've SMSd the Editoras politelyas possible(*******spacebar!!)(********piece of **** computers!!) so I doubt if it'll get published. Thisis getting alltoo****** hard - IthinkI'llcheck me ******* emailsand calmdown.

Afternoon all!! Another beaut day in Newcastle - Home of more blondes per square inch as I found out last night!! A great night's racing at the Showgrounds; crowd was down on previous years but those who were there more than made up for any perceived lack of atmosphere. There's a roof on the Grandstand again after last year's party but even though the day was overcast no nasty Wetness from Above descended. Track was a picture and apart from a slight glitch with the grading after heat twelve and an interesting pothole or two made for even, exciting races. Leigh Adams put on a masterclass: he was only challenged by Noddy briefly in Heat 15 and Rooboy more seriously in the Final, other than that the man from You-know-where was his usual combination of style and elegance coupled with ruthless determination. Rory did the Territory proud: apart from copping a gobful of shale from Mr Adams in heat 15 and breaking down he looked on form all night and the final was a ripper; one glitch in turn two was just enough for Leigh to get his nose in front and try as he might the Darwin Destroyer just couldn't catch him - Newcastle is a Revheads delight; a true oval which encourages flat-out speed and I swear Leigh had it wound on to Warp Factor Five for the entire four laps. Noddy was not as ruthless as last year: he lost a couple of opportunities to clinch a final spot direct but came back strongly in the B main to book his place in the showdown but was burned off by the sheer pace of the leading bunch and was gifted third when Doyley packed up. Doyley lived up to his Local Hero tag and looks more than ready for a return to Elite League next season while Cam and Davey Watt had solid nights and only Troy of the top-flight brigade had a night to forget: his Kummagutza in heat 3 set the tone for his performance and form-wise he was up and down like a waterfowl's posterior for the rest of the meeting. Of the second XI Ty had a good one; the Herne bros showed as solid second strings; Josh had his moments as did Cory while Aaron had a shocker. The Juniors performed well enough in such good company and never let us down -a big Well Done to Kozza, Darcy and Justin, who are all destined to excite European fans for many years to come. But enough of this twaddle about racing - its time for more serious stuff - all the Goss!! I'm glad Nev Riseley passed on my greetings to all of youse listeners (Goodonya Nev!!) and I just want to let you know I had no Editorial Control over the message and if I haven't managed to offend any sections of the population of the planet yet please accept my heartfelt apologies, sooner or later I'll catch up with all of youse ***** (and that's fer ******* sure, you can ******* rely on it!). Despite the smaller crowd numbers the consumption of drugs both legal, recreational, experimental and downright dangerous was well on a par with a typical Aussie party and more than a few had developed a severe case of Wobbly Boot by the end of the evening. Bryn was looking a bit down in the dumps due to the fact that Gavin, the proprietor of the Sock Bar, was never in sight when our Welsh friend's can of soft drink needed enhancing, and a coupla times I caught him looking longingly at my bottle of "Cokeplus@". Luckily for me he's not a JD fan or the liquid level would have sunk almost twice as fast. One of the boys had me Green with envy when he told me he'd reserved Gold Tickets for the Sprintcars Aussie Final over in Kwinana WA shortly - a great track and what should be a good week with the Pinjar Park meeting on the previous weekend - I hope you have a ball you *******! I bet Ozyace has his possie reserved as well for what promises to be a ripper - after watching the Speedcars meeting on Chequered Flag the other day it promises to be real good. If any of youse mob haven't seen the "Things with Wings" yet I urge you to check 'em out on Youtube ASP. After the meeting I ran amok as usual along Beaumont Street; my choice of hotel was perfect as the downstairs bar was Chocka with thirty-something Sheilas - alas for the Ladies' on-going well-being the spirit was willing but the body collapsed under the weight of evidence as the melange of uppers; downers; sideways and backers I'd consumed over the previous 48 hours along with a healthy variety of alcohol (around about enough to sink a medium-sized Coastal Steamer) started to take their toll and I retired a gibbering mess right about stumps (0300hrs). Part of my disappointment no doubt stemmed from the fact that I'd misunderstood one of the things I'd been told by the Hotel - apparently Asian Delight Night tonight is all to do with Food, not what I'd thought at all!! BU**ER!! Anyhow, off to Mildura (its that name again) tomorrow; I'm flying El Cheapo Budget Airlines to Melbourne then a lovingly-restored Dakota conveys me to Sunraysia where a small converted delivery dray is awaiting me at the glorified sheep paddock that is Milly International Airport to convey me to the Giant Deckchair Motel where my usual cell (the aptly-named Dog Box) has already been hosed out in readiness for my arrival. (**** Me! That's not a bad sentence with only one noticeable punctuation mark!!) Cop U Later!!

Afternoon all! Another beautiful day in (wherethaforkamItoday?) Newcastle. Great night's speedway last night; obviously I don't hafta tell youse mob 'cos you were all listening in! I left Darwin at 0125hrs yesterday mornin', flew to Brisvegas, flew to Newcastle, bus in to town, caught the train and arrived in Drizzly Gosford at 1500hrs. Stayed at a beaut local pub opposite the railway and about a 20 minute stagger from the track. When I booked in I couldn't help but notice (i) it was happy hour (ii) they had one of me favourite tipples on tap and (iii) it tasted soooooooooooo bad I had to have another one right away to take the taste outta me mouth. After setting up me life-support system I had another coupla beers and powdered me nose(!!!!!) then off to the Races and Quelle Surprise!! There's Lunchy stuffin' a Hot Roast Beef Roll in his cakehole. Lunchy, the *******, can eat all ******* day long and never put on an ounce: I just hafta look at a Snotblock (NB Snotblock = Vanilla Slice) and I'm a Kilo heavier!! Spent the next 90 minutes or so catching up with every B****** under the sun then it was time for the show to begin so I retired to the back straight with some chums from Queensland, the Kirbys. This mob are soooooo organised - their esky contains every , known antidote to sobriety under the sun and a few that no-one knows about yet, I'm talking Salmon pate, Home Brew. a nice Cab Sav, or if you prefer white a Chardonnay or a Pinot Blanc , Kabana, Cheese cubes and Crackers - oh, and what would you prefer in your Martini - Green or Black olives! Despite the fact that the Gosford track doesn't have a Bar we managed to get reasonably potted during the course of the evening; I stuck to Gentleman Jack. Once I'd calmed down after smelling damp shale again the racing was great - spewin' for Ryan Sedgmen who blew his chances with an ill-performing bike but Justin's in tonight so that'll be good. Kozza & Darcy impressed while Aaron Summers showed the benifits of a full season in Europe. I'm stayin' at a pub a short walkin' distance away again so the chances of gettin' much useable intelligence outta me in the next 24 hours are like me Pretty Slim! Tom Hedley's big brother Nathan did a great trade in fleecy-lined windcheaters as the near Antarctic conditions failed to dampen the enthusiasm of a knowledgeable bunch of Pi$$heads who even managed to watch a few races once we'd worked out which direction to face. Well, the drugs are startin' to wear off so I'll hafta get (dis-)organised again short & fatly, see ya! All in all a marvellous start to this year's series; tonight will be A RIPPER FOR SURE!Go ROOBOY!!