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I was sitting in my seat at the front of C block as Alan Wilkinson went careering into the boards between bends 1 and 2. Behind the solid white boards were the steel lamp posts, the steel girders and the steel hawsers that were tensioned up when the stock cars were in action. Clearly, these materials wouldn't offer much impact absorption for an incoming rider but to be honest, nobody gave too much thought to rider safety in those days. Lots of people clattered into the boards during a meeting and most got away pretty unscathed and the gathered masses fully expected Wilkie to get up a after a few moments, dust himself off, kick his bike wheels straight and get ready for his next ride. Riders were hellish tough in those days and there weren't many tougher than Alan. In the good old days, the medical back up seemed to consist possibly of an invisible doctor and some well-meaning first aid volunteers who stood about in the middle in white boiler suits. The primary aim of these good people appeared to be to get any crumpled and battered rider loaded onto the stretcher with it's large wheels and trundled off with the minimum of delay so that the action could be resumed before the punters became impatient. Looking back now, it seems amazing that we seemed to know so little about how to deal with riders who might have suffered serious head and neck injuries and without doubt, if medical facilities and procedures had been better then many riders, including Wilkie might be in a rather better position today. There are plenty of things wrong with modern day speedway but at least more importance is given to looking after riders' safety and it is a shame that many have been let down in years gone by. I spoke to Wilkie a couple of times at the Dog Bowl and whilst his body was a little worse for wear, his views were as forthright as ever. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to thank him for entertaining us humble speedway supporters over the years. I shouldn't think that too many medical wallahs read the old guff that's written on here but thanks for doing what you do and hoping that rider injuries are few and far between in 2018.

FANTASTIC character, real salt oil the earth, under-estimated rider, skipper of a multi-talented Belle Vue side and as important to the team as his more illustrious colleagues Peter Collins and Chris Morton. Fortunate to have a long chat with him at the NSS last year. As forthright as ever. What a tragedy his accident was, not just for Wilkie but also his long-suffering wife whose own life was turned upside down after that fateful evening. Talk about heroes ... Wilkie is one.

Lambert is still very young, too much pressure could tip him the wrong way ie Too many nights out with so called friends,drinking too much of the devil's brew,a certain L B from Eastbourne is the perfect example, 16 years old full of potential, but choose the wrong company. Robert like Dan has the natural ability to go all the way with his career, I so hope he does.

Horton attended SCS meetings in the past and also spoke at the NSSC. It's a shame that others also involved in this sorry saga have totally hid from fans despite being invited to fans forums. Horton said during this evening he is more than willing to have a fans event along with SCS, Sandhu and BE. However i doubt you'll get the last two accepting.

God what a cheesy post i will just go and get the sick bag.!

AGM should be held in the summer break, lets know what's going on early, so everyone can plan ahead. No point waiting and arguing and then we're at season start

How do you make that out ? Gollob COULD do things on a bike that only others could dream of!!!

WHEN Alan is well enough a friend drives him south to the NSS.

Steve Lawson what a rider he was Mr Glasgow for years he was a quiet guy just like Dan.It must be great having someone in your corner who was a very good rider seen it done it and has bags of experience also having them there as a friend as well must be great.

Great weekend and loved my first ice speedway experience. Guess the only downside is the 20 minute delay after every 4 races for the work on the track. On Saturday night the temperature was so cold it certainly started to get through the 5 layers towards the end. I know this has to be done to allow the riders a safe surface to race on I would just of hoped they could maybe have more machines to get the job done quicker. Wont be my last ice speedway experience thats for sure.

I'm sure Odsalboy would love to see Saul Bulley or David Speight take Bates's place till he's fit or his Hero Mason Searsby

ash still has loads of followers @ workington . a nice pleasant guy and always available for pics and craic . if newcastle get him @ reserve ,you are on a winner, especially with that farmer bloke . (wilko)

I don't think it is fair to compare anyone to Darcy.

Like you, I have been around a long time. Mike Lee was a once in a lifetime happening, and it would be wrong to compare others to him. But Robert Lambert was that good , I don't apologise for making that comparison. . You say for a 19yr old, he should be over the moon with his average, that's where we differ.. In our weakened league he should be far better than his current score. I have been associated with fellow workers all my life and believe my interpersonal skill is an invaluable commodity. A person will perform much better if they are happy rather then troubled. and when I look at Robert he appears to have all the troubles possible. Because of his attitude being wrong, he doesn't reap the rewards his talent deserves.... You pick up a book and read that Roberts not happy. You hear rumors of a petty argument with Niels. You see him gestating to the fans , all the behaviour of someone who is troubled. Nobody could doubt his ability on a bike, but just wish he would channel all his efforts into riding, like we know he can...

I've been watching speedway at Lynn since 72.A Mike Lee he is not(in some things a good thing lol).He's only 19,but has had good experience for his age.Any 19 year old would be over the moon with his average.I don't know what Darcy Ward ave was when he was 19??. I don't know if he has a full time mentor, but I think he needs one.The first thing he needs work on is his gating. The 2nd is his attitude .No one is bigger than a club.Not Busters club.As proved with the to**er twins. I don't know if anyone is putting pressure on him ,or if he's putting on it himself.But he needs to concentrate on his riding and let others do the rest

Hope to see plenty of familiar faces at tomorrow evenings REF social. Anyone who wonders about refereeing or fancies a look at what they ACTUALLY do at every meeting should not miss this one of a kind event! Please see the thread 'INSIDE THE REFEREE'S BOX' in the discussion section next door...

I actually believe Bewley having a great home track will help him when he moves up the levels and he rides the bigger tracks abroad.The biggest attributes he has are that i believe is he is a very level headed character he has a hell of a racing brain and has a very good temperment i look forward to supporting him through out his career.

Haven't we all - I'm still expected to turn up to work everyday and my boss expects 100% and nothing less.

What would Lee's of been

Great news! British Gymnastics has got a new TV deal. - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/gymnastics/43323146 Which kind of reminds us all of what a pickle speedway is in, if Gymnastics gets to be screened and speedway can't.

HA HA. You been on the cans again??. Daft question. Obviously but will it be an 8 pointer Number 1??

Anyone starting to become a bit concerned that we still haven't signed our last 2 riders. I know some will say don't panic. We will obviously have 7 riders sooner or later. Never known our team not to be finalised this late on.Will we get a number 1?

Great, 99% of riders have their covers and kevlars sorted, I wonder how many have lost out on sponsorship as there's been no TV announcement ? You really have to wonder how a sport can continuously shoot itself in the foot......... Then shoot itself in the other foot just to be sure?

Only see Wilkie ride at the Abbey 1972/77 i did see him ride in the 75/ 77 British Final's he was a great team man an underated rider.I hope he and his family are keeping well and he always will be remembered as someone who loved Belle Vue and speedway i do hope he can get to see the Aces now and again.

Now you're being Silly.... that's a far too sensible approach. The BSPA would never agree with that...

Just counting down the days to the new season. Not a lot else to say really. Fairly optimistic that the Bears will shock a few this season. Will be great to be back at the "TRACK OF THE YEAR"

That would be great. I just get a Facebook page saying , "You must log-in to continue". Thanks.

When Collins, Morton, and Lee were coming through there is no comparison at all to the type of riders they were coming up against on a weekly basis as we had by far the strongest league in the world in those days, no doubt riding against the very best week in week out brought their natural ability through. Bewley and Lambert both have a natural talent but as we have seen many times before British riders have in the past failed to live up to expectation. I think Bewley will progress as someone else has stated he has a good racing brain and has his feet firmly on the ground, a lot of that grounding I think is down to his mentor Steve Lawson who is doing a great job looking after Dan, and this is what could be the one thing missing with Lambert, having someone with that experience to help him channel his obvious talent in the right direction. He did seem reluctant to re sign for the Stars this season, lets hope that's not a negative and he can settle down and take the next step in his improvement.

I'm just waiting to see what happens up the road Ian

Not since they have all moved to Poole

He certainly did and often built and signed before the AGM, and confirmation of the points limit for the following year. You could always tell the teams with all of it's riders signed, as they were desperate for say 43 or 45 points. Glum faces and urgent phone calls when it was voted to have 42.50

I bet the manufacturer of Birmingham’s team suits are starting to panic only a couple of weeks to the start of the season and they still can’t start on the No 7 suit, or maybe they can’t fit the big Polish name on them

Ladies and gentlemen, if Justin Sedgmen is the answer, we are asking the wrong question.

I don't think it's a question of forgetting Lambert. He is obviously a talent but I have doubts as to how far he will get. I think he is going to be a good rider but have my doubts about him getting to the very top. I hope I am wrong and I could be if he has a breakthrough season. I think the difference with Bewley is that he has only been involved in speedway for two years and because of his injuries in 2016 has not yet actually completed two full seasons. When you take that into account his progress has been exceptional. Over more than 50 years I have seen very few riders who have convinced me so early in their careers that they have the talent to get to the top. Collins, Morton and Lee are other similar British examples. Having said all of that I think he will improve his average but it will be no easy task for him to become a second string at Belle Vue this year. Drozdz is the unknown quantity who he may replace but I don't expect him to replace Tungate, who I think is going to have a very good year.

thats very true , i dont go on the somerset site now . they are too posh to wash ! regarding stepping on something , the only advice i can give is dont step in it in the first place . i have been told a certain wurky promoter had his own gate . one week moggie thou , a few weeks later , a roller /./././. whats gazc diong on here . stick t glasgow please . i like the jack holder gate thing , classflappy .. .

These are the questions I've submitted... Having read the Turley report, it is clear that you fully co-operated with the people that want to demolish Brandon. WHY when the rest of us are trying to save it? What is your long term plan for The Bees are there plans to build a new stadium and how will it be financed? Have you been involved in an agreement with Brandon Estates to lie about the viability of Brandon Stadium and gained financial reward..?

You start by saying Holder had a lot on his plate, then go on to say if you were ill what would you think about, all of your post is about Chris Holder so why is it so strange that I thought you meant Chris Holder was ill even with the extra apostrophe!

Been around for a while and difficult to get rid of, much like a deposit on the shoe. I blame the management team for not moving up last year because we'd have hopefully lost him then. Downside is that we'd have gained stevebrum but at least he's reasonably intelligent!

Enter via the Jack Holder gate

Ive been going through a tough time but ive turned up for work everyday and given 100% and earnt my money. Holder was in my view rightly banned last season but that doesnt mean he cant have a good year this season. World class rider but not in the worlds top ten anymore but should improve his average to around 8

No matter nationality, performance level or age - they are all 'stars' when it comes to reporting.

For the millionth time people are fed up with the system, not the team(s) taking advantage of it.

If you're thinking about riders who can add a point or so on their average, I would imagine the list would be quite long. If we are talking about the rider who average will improve the most then Woryna is way ahead of the rest. I hope he doubles his score, then probably it will open the BSPA eyes and see the pathetic situation they have created by using out of date CMA

like him or loathe him, len silver must be one of the last promoters prepared to run speedway meetings every week. since he has left rye house there have been big gaps in the home fixture list, sometimes going weeks without a meeting. despite the awkward start time and the dreaded curfew, kent still stage meetings virtually every week. they are rewarded with healthy crowds at central park, which proves there is still an appetite for regular speedway in this country. I might not be len's biggest fan, but i'm grateful to have somewhere to go on a weekly basis in this speedway starved area of the country!

Isle of Wight seem to have the type of forward thinking promotion set up that the sport needs . Any chance of them bringing their energy back up to the second tier again ?

Must take issue with Richard Weston who thinks Len Silver is too old and past it.."LIving on past glories". On what does he base that allegation ? For the past 5 years he has been in charge at Kent, a track that I attend several times in a season alongside Arlington. So far as my eyes tell me, the attendances generally are very good, each meeting runs absolutely to the tight schedule that the Town Planners have imposed, the racing is as good as any in the league, youngsters are very well catered for, as are the disabled, and the team, after a shaky start, is always in the top section. What else would Richard Weston expect.? For a Octegenarian Silver seems to have his finger on the pulse. I wish him well though I don't always agree with his public utterances.

So I've decided, perhaps through the fact that Losthammer made me feel a little guilty, to go the full hog and order a recordable digibox and subscription from tehwiz.co.uk in order to follow the legal way of viewing HD Extraliga speedway this season from Polska. The bonus for me is that around 10 Russian channels are available too, that will keep my wife happy as well. Very helpful shop, they pointed me in the right direction with advice and so in a few days, I'll be wired up and ready to go. Looking forward to it immensely. Thanks for all the advice, views and help from various folk in this discussion.

With this as the opposition we will not need to worry about the Poundland Pirates

Doesn't want to do Buxton

Just need JP-B and will have a good line up.