Lake Bodom Comet

Can any Slovenijan fans help me obtain programmes from 2009 Slovenijan speedway meetings? In exchange can offer British speedway programmes/souvenirs. Please send me a PM if you can help!!

Thanks for all the info guys! I seem to remember reading about a Lithuanian rider who rode in the British League in the 1950's but can't recall his name. I think he was quite successful. It would be great if Riga could stage speedway again in the near future. Which stadium there actually staged the racing?? Am I right in assuming Wilno is Polish name for Vilnius?? I think as recently as the 1980s there was also speedway raced in Armenia(Yerevan), Azerbaijan(Baku) and Georgia(Tbilisi) in the old Soviet Speedway League. I doubt if there is any activity now though....

Has there ever been speedway staged in Lithuania does anyone know? If so where were the tracks?? Are there any active riders from there at the moment? Also has the Latvijan capital Riga ever had a speedway team or staged meetings?? Thanks!

Thanks to all for the updates! Lets hope the new league will be a success after the near collapse of the Russian League...

Has anyone any info on which teams/tracks will be taking part in the proposed new Ukrainian League? Presumably teams from Rivne and Lviv will be racing but which are the other likely starters?? Many thanks!

Kiitos F-S-P for another year of unrivalled coverage of the Suomi Speedway scene! As other forum members have stated it is much appreciated and the news you post is always entertaining and informative....and certainly more interesting than German Speedway news! (sorry Iris 123)! Will look forward to more of the same next year as well as your usual in depth coverage of the Finnish Ice Speedway happenings. Lets just hope the weather will be cold enough for some meetings to actually be staged this winter. Might be able to make it over in February for some Espoo Blues Jaakiekko action(maybe v Tappara??!) and it would be cool if there was some spike racing on at the same time My wish for 2009 in Finnish Speedway is that the fixtures will be out before May so I can plan a summer trip to a League meeting! Probably more chance though of me winning the EuroMillions lotto and using the winnings to stage a SGP in Helsinki with Kauko Nieminen and Tommi Reima as wildcards!!

Likewise I never saw Mick ride but he definitely comes across as the sort of character sadly lacking from todays racing and Iam sure he could provide many more offbeat musings and recollections of his Bradford days.... And he definitely deserved cult status for that super cool 1970s hairsuit style and sideburns which make him look like he just walked out of an episode of 'Life on Mars' or even 'jason King'!!!! Some come on Tony McDonald, please get back in touch with Mick and see if he would be willing do some more retro articles

Really loved Mick's Bradford reminisences a few issues back and his writing style really perfectly captured the essence of 1970s speedway. His enthusiasm and philosophical reading tips were wonderfully infectious and entertaining so please can we have more from Mick ??

How about Chris Bevan(ex-Workington & Barrow), Wayne Jackson(Workington) and Mark Dickinson(Workington/Barrow) for future 'You are on 2 Minutes' interviews??

TOMI REIMA TAKES LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM WORKINGTON COMETS Just read in the local Workington newspaper thet Tomi has had to return to Finland to arrange healthcare for his 6 year old daughter. Apparently before he joined Workington he had sorted out some additional care support for his wife in taking care of their daughter but the person involved is now unable to help. Tomi has returned to Finland with the full support of Comets manager Ian Thomas and hopes to return to Cumbria a.s.a.p. Luckily the Comets home fixture last Saturday against Glasgow was rained off and they have no meeting this weekend due to the British SGP. Hopefully Tomi will be back in the Comets colours in the very near future as he has already hugely popular with the Workington fans.

Many thanks Jacqueline and Iris123

Are there any magazines in Danmark that cover speedway??

Kiitos F-S-P for such a detailed reply on the ice-racing exploits of Kallio and Saarinen! Also cheers for the photo link. Your knowledge of anything and everything to do with motorcycling in Finland is impressive Would be interesting to see Kallio have a go at speedway for real Hope you enjoyed your night with Kylie!

MIKA KALLIO - SPEEDWAY BACKGROUND??? I have been reading an article in British magazine 'Motor Cycle Racer' about Finnish 250cc Moto GP rider Mika Kallio. It mentioned he first started out in Ice Racing and was a former Finnish 500cc Ice- Racing champion. Do they mean Ice-Speedway or is there other types of Ice-Racing championships for bikes in Finland?? I seem to remember that the greatest Finnish motorcyclist of all time Jarno Saarninen had came from a speedway/ice speedway background and this is where he learned his unusual(at that time) riding style of leaning over 'speedway style' when riding the bends of the track Maybe F-S-P or other Finns can provide some info on this??

FINLAND'S SILVER BULLET WINS 'RIDER OF THE NIGHT AWARD' Tomi Reima's second appearance at Derwent Park for the Workington Comets went even better than his debut with a paid 9 score over the Isle of Wight earning him the 'Rider of the Night' award!!!! After waiting so long to get a chance in British Speedway the Silver Bullet is certainly impressing the Comets fans already! Nice to report on some good news for the Finnish contingent in GB, lets hope it can inspire Makinen and Keskinen...........

Many thanks Tomasz and F-S-P, I think Finland could actually win this one

Ei kesta! Any news yet on when the Team Finland line-up will be announced for the SWC Qualifier in Slovenija?? Take it that Joonas, Kauko and Kaj will be pretty much certain starters with maybe Tero Aarnio if he is fit?? As for the others maybe you have some inside info?!!! Kiitos

Tomi Reima.......Kiitos hyvaa!!! Please to report Tomi made an excellent start to his Workington career F-S-P! An impressive win in heat 6 when he teamed up with Daniel Nermark for a 5-1 and a 2nd place in heat 13 was more than creditable against a fired up Sheffield Tigers team. Considering how some of the other Finnish imports have struggled in the Premier League Tomi looks like he can do the business!!! Afterwards he said once he gets the gearing figured out for Derwent Park and his equipment arrives from Suomi he hopes to do even better..... Suprised no one had signed him before Workington!

With all the speculation about future GP venues Iam suprised no one has suggested Amsterdam. Iam sure a track could be put into the Ajax Arena and it would prove a popular choice with fans from all over Europe. Easy access too from Schipol Airport and plenty of accommodation in Amsterdam!!!

Kam obviously makes a very valid point about finding a suitable location for a track in Barrow. But its not beyond the realms of possibility that the Borough Council might be able identify some derelict industrial land in or near the town which might be suitable for recreational development and for it to stand a chance of getting planning permission. It all boils down to whether there is an interested party or even a group of fans who might be able to follow the lead of the Bradford and Halifax fans elsewhere on this forum trying to revive speedway in their towns. Iam a Comets fan but I would love to see a track back in Barrow and I would definitely attend meetings there! I go to Buxton when I can to catch Conference action and Barrow would be a hell of a lot nearer! And a drive over Corney Fell isn't half as scarey as a wild Friday night in Workington!!! So if there are any Barrow fans out there who want to see speedway back in the town maybe they will draw inspiration from the likes of Birmingham and Scunthorpe and the campaigns mounted by Dukes and Heathens supporters??

And the 60 mile journey from Barrow to Workington can take 2 hours if you get stuck behind a tractor!!! And dont even mention the hair-raising climb over Corney Fell when the fog comes down!!!!

I doubt if Workington could support both a Premier League team and a Conference side. A lot of fans find it expensive enough following the Comets let alone find extra cash for an additional Conference meeting each week. A nursery type club in Barrow which has no speedway would be far more viable than 2 based in Workington.....

The local newspaper in Barrow did a feature a couple of months ago on Speedway nights at Holker Street and printed a photo of the old Barrow Bombers. The article prompted quite a bit of response from readers and I think threre would definitely be enough interest and support for a Buxton-like speedway tack to operate in the Furness area at Conference level ......... Just needs a Tony Mole type figure to take up the initiative!!

According to this week's Speedway Star the Ullevei Stadium in Goteborg plan to lay a semi-permanent speedway track(whatever that is!) and hope to stage next years Swedish GP and also re-introduce League racing to the stadium. Could this be a lifeline for Kaparna with them maybe moving into the Ullevei and abandoning plans to re-locate to the yet to be built arena at Thorp??

Went to Loomer Road recently for the Stoke-Rye House Premier League meeting and there was a large Barrow Rockets banner hanging on the backstraight in the old Bombers colours of Blue and Yellow. So obviously there are still people from Barrow following the sport and Adam Roynon in particular. The youngster is probably the best speedway prospect to come out of Cumbria since Steve Lawson. Just a shame there isn't a team in Barrow any longer..... But maybe one day we might see speedway return to Furness if only at Conference level. With the Northside Training Track here in Workington they would have a a good source of young talent to recruit and it would great to have the Comets-Bombers/Furness Flyers/Blackhawks rivalry renewed!!! Agree with the coments about Park Road, along with Buxton it's definitely the most scenic track Ive ever been to....