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Please have some patience. They are due out on April 1st.

I was also there that night. It looked a typical slide off on the first bend, the sort of accident seen many many times and my initial reaction was that Alan would soon be up and on his feet. Unfortunately, it soon became apparent that it was far more serious and we all know the terrible result. Alan was Belle Vue through and through. I didn't think he was ever going to be a World Champion but he was a very good rider and excellent Captain who always gave his all for the team. He may not have reached the heights of Collins and Morton and yet to many Aces fans he is held in the same high regard because of his commitment and importance to the club. Over the years Belle Vue and individuals connected with the club have continued to hold events and raise funds to help Alan. That speaks volumes to the sort of man Alan is and to the esteem in which he is held. His book, From Two Weeks To Four/ The Alan Wilkinson Story is an excellent but emotional read. I'm not sure if new copies can still be bought but used copied can usually be found on Amazon and eBay.

Im gonna stick my head above the parapet on this one and state I dont fully agree with the 'send your money anyway' stance. I wholeheartedly agree with the Ben fund cause of course but it seems symptomatic of speedway to expect fans still to pay out their cash even when they will get precisely nothing for it.

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.

He could also due to lifestyle choice just as easily gone the other way, to say he would have eclipsed the likes of Craven, Collins, Lee etc is a big big statement, one I don't agree with.

Speedway in the day when Alan rode were terrific i loved the team racing aspect of it teams had riders like Alan who cared about there club and were long servants and the fans could identify with them ending up with a real affinity for them.Today the sport has totally changed on its day it is still a great sport but in a different way in those days i never even cared about individual racing team racing was my thing.Looking at Alan's record in 78 he had really upped his game going great guns and no doubt would of stayed at Belle Vue for the rest of his career really wicked what happened he will never be forgotten in speedway circles.

I remember when one of the F1 teams, perhaps it was Renault, sold off some unwanted kit and donated the proceeds (a few thousand pounds) to Wilkie, he said, "I can't believe that anyone would still remember me and Jean". I'll always remember you Alan because you were the genuine article and in today's world full of lightweights you were a superstar before they even invented the word.

Michael Lee, in only his third year, 1977, aged just 18, won the British Championship and only lost out in the World Final in atrocious conditions . He topped the averages with 10.59. and that was when the British League was the best in the world, having all the best riders competing over here.. He was a bit special.....

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.

I remember a meeting in 1975, Belle Vue beating Coventry by 49-29. Not much to write home about, it might seem but for two of the best races I've ever seen, Alan Wilkinson and Nigel Boocock going at it hammer and tongs for 4 laps and Booey both times winning it with a last bend pass. Terrific stuff and almost as good was the respect between the two rivals after each race. They obviously enjoyed it as much as I did.

You're as entitled to your opinion as I am to mine. My reasoning is that I didn't want the benefit fund and ultimately the riders who need it's help to lose out for a problem which they played no part in creating.

Summer sport, summer break - problem number one!

I was sat in G block at the meeting where Wilkie was injured, it appeared a simple fall considering what you can witness at speedway, I remember saying Wilkie will soon be up from that considering he was as hard as nails. I couldn't believe the extent of his injuries, it just goes to show its not always the force of an accident but how you fall. Wilkie for me epitomises what a captain should be, he carried the team along. A true Belle Vue hero, and lets not forget Jean who has stood by him all these years, a great lady. I was at Kings Lynn the day Wilkie raced up to the referee,s box to dispute a decision, who could forget that? Along with many other such stories, look at the old photo of him being held back during heat 13 of the home meeting against Leicester when a free for all occurred, the passion jumps out at you. That Wilkie is still spoken about fondly around the tracks after so many years speaks volumes about him. I would like to have seen Nikki Pedersen try his moves on Alan

Lets also not forget the likes of Tommy Jansson when talking about special talents and tragic endings to careers, Tommy was a great talent and another who could have so easily gone on to be world champion.

Yes, Wilike's crash was nothing spectacular. Surely he was going to get up and race the re-run - we thought? I still remember it now: Belle Vue v. Swindon... July 1st 1978... the first race... a green-light start, the tapes were malfunctioning. Wilkie tangled with Swindon's Geoff Bouchard on the first turn, just slid into the fence, and that was it... not only his career was over, but also the normality of his everyday lifestyle. He'd be confined to a wheelchair, 40 years ago it was... aged just 29. The 1977 season had been Alan's best. He'd won a few individual meetings that year - boasted an eight-and-half average at the zoo. But the 1978 campaign was a slow burner. He'd lost heatleader to Les Collins but was recapturing his form - the night before the life-changing crash he'd scored a maximum at Ellesmere Port. Belle Vue were 10 points in front of the then Gulf Oil-sponsored British League with Alan in the side. Without him, that lead was whittled away in the second-half of the season, Coventry taking the title by just two points. The title was Belle Vue's... with Wilkie in the team. I recall Joe Owen had a terrible crash at the same time - he went over the fence at Hull. But he came back from that (although is himself confined to a life in a wheelchair after a 1985 crash). And Mike Lohmann, in 1980, just two months a Belle Vue rider, hit the same part of the fence as Wilkie two years later, suffered life-threatening injuries but returned to action in 1981, though never the same... Lohmann's crash was sickening - the worst I've witnessed - but he raced again; Wilkie's appeared nothing more than an all-four back verdict.. his career and so much more was wrecked right then. You could say, Belle Vue hasn't had a captain to rival him since.

Fully agree with the comments about the lack of team affinity and club loyalty. One of the reasons I've stopped going is because you can never be sure who is going to represent your team anymore. Guests, doubling/trebling up, three or four clubs in three or four different countries - its laughable. You may just as well have an open pool of riders from which the home and away team managers choose seven each on the night (God, please don't take me seriously, BSPA.....!!!). Oh, and I fully agree with the comments about Wilkie. Saw him ride many times and he was Belle Vue through and through. Good luck to the man and his family.

I'm not going now but have donated my entrance fee to the SRBF. I hope others can do the same to try to help make up any loss of income from the meeting. http://www.srbf.co.uk

Spot on... What so many promoters over the past twenty years or so have failed to grasp is how important that 'emotional attachment' to your team actually is... The riders mentioned (and many more) helped engender that loyalty bond between fan and 'their' team.. Nowadays two random, cobbled together septets riding under a couple of 'flags of convenience' masquerading as body colours, simply can never engender that loyalty... Running a team sport with such a concept and expecting enough of a fan base to buy into it to make it successful is frankly ludicrous in the extreme... Oh for Wilkie and others of his like today...

Loved watching Gollob at his peak. His strength was how he could race on big grippy tracks which was spectacular and could never be written off during a race. Unfortunately put him on small tight or slick tracks and he looked (for him) a totally different (worse) rider. Mike Lee on the other hand on big, small, tight, slick, grippy tracks at his peak was almost unbeatable. As a Lions fan I hated it! Given the strength of speedway rider talent on display in the UK almost every night at that time it really is a challenge to think of anybody ever being better than Mike the Bike was at his peak.There can be no "he could have been," he was World Champion and top of the strongest league averages by a country mile. Shame he found it so easy, got bored and became distracted/disenchanted with the sport

Just knew you would turnip

Fully agree. A talent on the bike that's for sure. However you can only judge on what someone did achieve not what they might have. His own self destruction meant he had too many wasted opportunities to deliver on that ability. As a world U21 champ he seemed poised for greater things but no one can be assured what he would have actually achieved. It's purely subjective. It's frightening to imagine if he fully applied himself what he could have achieved tho. That's something that we will ever know. A great speedway rider that failed to deliver on all that promise. A great pity.

THERE will be speedway on BT, domestic as well as SGP. Why there delay in an announcement from BSPA HQ is anybody's guess...

perhaps we should declare rider replacement at no 1 on a cma of 9.5 then we can replace him every week with a number 1 from the other 10 teams .................

Going back a few examples of riders who were great servants to there clubs, Collins,Morton,Wilkie,Sjosten,Haley,Wyer,Wilson,Lewis,Smith,Thommo, Boocock x2. Betts, Paulson,Broadbanks,Ashby,Keen,Kilby, Adams,Karlsson.Missed out endless other riders certain riders then just seemed to be part of the furniture but they all had huge followings really miss that now.

My first 'hero' as a seven year old in 74..... A true leader, fearless, and someone who showed clearly his feelings for the team rather than the individual... His book is a testimony to his humility and resilience. No self pity for him, and no regrets.. He comes across in his book as someone who feels blessed to have enjoyed the career he did and for him the chance to earn considerably more in one night's Speedway than a week in his 'real job' was something he appreciated greatly... Sometimes Legends are not only 'winners' those born with 'God given talent' and beat all who come before them, sometimes they are created by nothing more than a steely determination, will to win and out and out bravery... Wilkie was (and still is) a true BV Legend...

Exactly. I'm not comfortable with Lambert being compared with this rider or that or having massive expectation lumped on his shoulders. He is currently the best young rider we have and he should be left to develop at his own pace. He is getting good experience across Europe and while there are no doubt things he can improve on both on and off the track he is learning with every meeting and has potentially twenty years of career ahead of him. Best thing is to support him and see where he ends up.

Yes, Sidney and moxey are so right. Speedway riders used to be like sticks of Blackpool rock - the name of their team ran through them from head to toe and the team's name became synonymous with the name of their top guy - Ole Olsen's Coventry, Doug Wyer's Sheffield, John Louis' Ipswich, Kenny Carter's Halifax, Bruce Penhall's Cradley and so on. When you pitched up to support your team, you were 99% sure who would be riding for you and pretty nearly as sure who the opposition riders would be - they would be the same crew who rode last time. Now you turn up for even an NL meeting and you are greeted by the mind-numbing experience of guests and rider bloody replacement.

His application was appallng and he was still best rider out there. It' scary to think what he would have done once he grown up

...spot on Sid! Fans were able to identify with their chosen favourites unlike today. Riders like Alan were the life blood of the sport and he remained loyal to 'The Aces' like many others towards their own teams during speedway's last golden era.

Darcy was undoubtedly an outstanding talent and who knows what he may have achieved. It was a tragedy that his career was cut short when he was only 23. It's all a matter of opinion. I agree about Peter Craven, who was known as the wizard of balance. PeterCollins also had incredible skills. I remember seeing Peter win a race after his handlebars snapped in half. Fortunately the right half of the bars was still secure and he continued by holding onto the top of the forks with his left hand and controlling the bike with his right hand. I have no idea how he still managed to slide it round the bends at speed but he did. Michael Lee was another incredible rider and all three, Craven, Collins and Lee were World Champions before they were 23. Those three and others, like the Moran brothers, who had fantastic bike skills, can certainly be compared to Darcy and some of them had achieved more than Darcy at a younger age.

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

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?

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

No they weren't. Every available piece of evidence shows that to be the case. Why do you think it's ALWAYS been said first from the gate wins. Hoping the clowns finalise things and announce it soon.

Lambert needs a more professional pit crew, & a few lessons on gating, & he could go all the way in my opinion. Lee was an amazing talent who was his own worst enemy, very similar to Ward.

As good as Darcy was, we will never know if he was as good as J Parker, P Craven,O Fundin P collins,M Lee, B Penhall, T Richardson, E Gunderson the list goes on and on simply because of the bike differences. So whilst I can understand the Poole fans opinions on D Ward, we will never know the facts

Can't agree with you there, it's Lakeside raceday and not a Premiership one, simple as that really. Obviously the extra pennies on the gate are worth it to Somerset even though it will weaken them against the best team in the league.

West coast was fine just a wee few flakes, Carlisle and the lakes were hardest hit.

I don't think they actually print them out. You just pull up at Gloomy Road's gates, wink at the 2 happy souls who hover about there and tell 'em your a mate of Dave's. They wave you straight into the executive car park and your reserved seats are polished and waiting for you. What's not to like?

That will probably happen

Always liked watching Alan Wilkinson ride he was a real warrior, I recall in this era Belle Vue were stacked with young GB talent and would give the Bees a right tonking.

I'm led to believe Ez is no longer there.

Most talented but wasnt the best as he hadnt won anything. Had the potential to be World Champion but would he have ever grown up and applied himself..sadly who knows

Best I ever saw for doing things on a bike was Peter Craven, just jaw dropping good.

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

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

Some Poole fans have short memories also as it appeared they were unhappy with his attitude and average in 2016 and were only too happy to have him shipped off to Kings Lynn. It would appear his attitude issues were carried across so if will be interesting to see if his issues with MF remain. No one can dispute his ability. His attitude however seems to be the issue the past couple of seasons and that would appear the key to his potential average improvement this season. Just my opinion.

Wasn’t Holder committed to Kings Lynn at the start of last season. ?We all know how that ended

It's off topic (i.e nothing to do with Scorpions 2018!), but we (Newcastle) have 13.40 pts left and I would hope we won't go 8 + 3.5, leaving us 2pts short.

This is how i expect the riders meet and greet evening to go ... "Ladies and gentlemen, and now we have some exciting news, i'm sure you are all happy with how our team has been assembled, so without further delay, i would like to present to you the final member of our team........ Please give a warm welcome to...... David Speight". ..David brings with him a wealth of experience from over the years, and we are confident the former Owlerton track specialist can transfer some of this track knowledge to his new home here at Scunthorpe. The Scorpions were all but nailed on to sign Hot shot Saul Bulley but a late decision by Saul to pull out and pursue a career at Halfords threw the Scorpions into disarray. They were then 50/50 and undecided between Speight and fellow National League high flier Andy Mellish, however it was the latter who got the nod from Scorpions bosses after hours of discussions and negotiations. A full press conference is scheduled for Tues 6th March @ 10:15am.