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The campaign group has no allegiance to anyone, and any evidence of “all the trouble the group has caused” would be welcomed. If I in any way felt that what was being done was not being done in a professional or respectful way I wouldn’t be putting my name to it as one of those involved - especially as I am quite openly involved in various ways across the sport. You’re welcome to come to a campaign group meeting, you might learn something - but I guess then we might also learn your identity, which presumably you don’t want to happen.

Ivan insisted on having a say in the riders that were signed and the running of the teams he was involved with. It is no coincidence that Belle Vue, Hull and Exeter were all successful during his time with them. I'm sure he negotiated good deals for himself but his commitment to his teams was beyond doubt.

FOR those who haven't bought a copy or read Wilkie's book, there are copies still available. And, of course, it is helping Alan and his long-suffering wife Jean. Available by sending a cheque or p.o. for £15 plus £3 p and p made out to JA and JA Wilkinson to 7 Cavendish Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 2TQ.

To be fair, he has had a few hits

No, but I did early 80's so pretty close. However, it's not particularly relevant. Here is my view, to explain it in more details. A race will always seem better the bigger the crowd and the better the atmosphere. A good race becomes a brilliant race. An average race becomes a good race and so on. The same principle by definition applies to the meeting as a whole. The perfect example of this is the 81 Wembley Final at which the racing was overall average. Yes a couple of great heats but many poor one. BUT.. the atmosphere was fantastic and as such it's remembered (rightly so) as one of the best meetings to have been at ever. Had the very same meeting taken place in front of 1000 people it would get called a poor meeting in reality. So, in the 70's and into the early 80's there were good crowds packing stadiums across the country. The atmosphere was great, local derbies and rivalries were aplenty. Even poor meetings seemed good because of the crowd. Then came a series of events.. Penhalls retirement, the death of Sanders/Carter, the troubles of Lee.. and most importantly the race fixing scandals which killed off a lot of press coverage and caused a lot of fans to walk away. As the decade went on, the age demographic of the sport continued to rise. As with ALL sports as fans grow older they can lose interest, stop attending as regularly (even in football I know of many who were season ticket holders not so long ago but now as they get older have stopped attending). Of course sadly fans also pass away. The sport failed for the most part to attract a younger fan base. The image of it began to be one of mostly 'older' people and it became less trendy for youngsters. Throw in the loss of a number of popular tracks and their support base (not to mention the rivalries they had) and the problems became worse. As we continued into the 90's and then the 21st century most sports realised they were fighting new battles against other attractions. Many re-invented themselves to an extent.. whereas speedway just carried on with the same old, same old. However now, as the crowds began to fall.. good meetings seemed like average meetings, average meetings became poor meetings. The age of fans continued to rise, the number of youngsters attending continued to fall. Then throw in the weakening of the top league season on season to drive yet more fans away. The 'dodgy' (being polite) way the sport has been run with regards to the implement of certain rules.. all contributed to driving ever more fans away.. which again adds to the cycle. Now what were previously good meetings to have attended become poor and so on. Speedway is still a fantastic sport, it just doesn't feel like it often enough anymore.

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...

But at least we get speedway on TV mate surely, got to be better than a slap round the face with a wet kipper.

Well boys when’s your ‘management’ going to pay Kim Nilsson then? disgusting...

Chris Holder will do just fine when he returns to Saddlebow. provided. 1 It’s Dry 2 The track conditions are to his high standards. 3. He is in the mood to be assed to race, 4. No one upsets him or says anything nasty to him... Bless 5. It’s not close to a Grand Prix. Will Holder get back to anything like he was in his pomp or is he a spent force who is on a downward spiral.? Time will tell

Seems to me is if you cannot pay the riders the club should not be in business.

Surely it's time to put the Holder/Batchelor thing to bed. Nobody can change what's happened in the past, so lets forget it, enjoy today, and look forward to tomorrow, life is to short.

VERY few promoters attend Cardiff ... which says a lot really

Long rambling post which offers no evidence to back up the claims. Whereas I can point to every available piece of evidence to back mine up. Gates and 'quality of racing' quite simply aren't linked to any great level. Otherwise Belle Vue would be sold out every week. Scunthorpe, Peterborough and other tracks that we hear have fantastic racing week in, week out would be attracting big crowds. They aren't. The reason the sport is in the mess it is quite simply is it is TOO much like the 70's.

Chris holder will be just fine, he's back home were the promotion look after there riders

Should have got Glyn Taylor in to sort it!!! lol

Wow! Look at the expression on Wilkie's face. You can see why it's taking 3 blokes to hold him back. Great days when people had a bit of passion for what they did rather than constantly thinking how much money they can screw out of it. Anybody who can identify all the riders gets a bonus point.

There is no doubt that Stoke has its faults & that finances are a large factor of this but there are plenty of positives too like the track shape is good, it can produce good racing & the viewing is excellent. What often lets down visits there is the approach from the club. If they had the IOW style upbeat attitude along with a welcoming atmosphere you would find many are far more forgiving. Every year i hope to see Stoke succeed on the track but for them to succeed off track they need to accept the failings and look to address them one step at a time rather than deny they even exist.

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.

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

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

Danny Phillips it is

You can add Newcastle to that list as well. He helped others like local lad Mike Watkin, and a lot of the riders we signed had the same nationality or were friends of Ivan. Still very fond of Newcastle and every time he came into the country he made a beeline to visit our track, and just used to appear without being announced, have a chat with the Kiwis and disappear before the end of the meeting, and go and see a local family that he was associated with from his time with us. Having a Geordie mechanic, Gordon Stobbs, I asked him if he could get Ivan to come along to my training school on the Sunday afternoon. He had about 4 other events to go to, but sure enough halfway through our session in walked Ivan, and he proceeded to give a lesson in riding and how to train a rider. Never forgot his roots and the young riders, including Liam Carr, will always remember being tutored by Ivan. Pictures of Ivan and the young riders are on the Newcastle Training group Facebook account.

Always wondered why riders don't stand together more when payment isn't forthcoming.. No riders, no Speedway meeting...! Didn't Captains once have to sign something to say that all money was paid and up to date..? Sadly, you sometimes think that some riders would jump at the chance of taking a guest booking to replace another who takes a (ludicrously unfair) 28 day ban for "withholding his services" rather than standing as a collective to get a fair deal..

There is no agreement yet on the Swedish league being shown on TV in Sweden- C More could well be not interested any more. So until a contract is signed there is no chance of Poland and the UK getting a feed. I believe that all the matches are likely to be available on a pay internet stream- which hopefully at least will mean we in the Uk will be able to purchase.

I added the 3 up.My mistake if it was 1 debt and not the 3 I took it as.

It certainly wouldn't be up to me to tell her.

About £85 k.

Now now, you really have to apologise to the car salesmen and rip-off merchants.... There is "something of the night" about them ;-)

If I had signed to ride for Lakeside in 2018, having seen this, I would be reading my contract very closely and ‘having a chat’ with the promoter NOW.

We have found a supplier of red shale who will mix it to what ever mix you want.

Where does the previous poster accuse Sandhu of money laundering? He says Sandhu was involved with a money launderer. That is quite true. The Jatinder Singh Batth quoted in the article was a convicted money launderer.

Keep up with the news dear boy. ☠️

Great news, well pleased. I'm more than happy with the whole set up, nice to see Suzi Perry involved again. BT did have us sweating for a while there, but top marks to all involved for a two year deal, at least we know we are guaranteed viewing for that period. Its now up to British Speedway to show BT they have made the right decision by giving them and us fans an excellent product with slick presentation and good racing. Bring it on!

No.4 is Alan Ciowland, the rider Wilkie originally had the on-track (racing) difference of opinion with, No.1 is probably Ray Wilson, I believe one of the guys (rider) holding Wilkie back is Malcolm Mackay, John Boulger can be seen in the background looking amazed at the unexpected action and I think the rider dealing out a left hook in the style of a gentleman is either Graham Plant or probably Tom Leadbitter. The Belle Vue no.1 on the night in question still in the pits, and therefore missing out on the fun, was Ronnie Moore guesting for Ivan Mauger. I read about the episode in an old 'Star and if my information wrong, happy to be proved so if the case....

I saw some young ladies "mixing it" with other youngsters in Gustrow (Germany) on my visits there last year and the year before. Proof that if they are strong and talented enough, they can wipe some smug smiles off some chauvanists faces. Worth remembering that Lisa Kelly off Ice Road Truckers was a State Freestyle Motorcross champion in her youth.

One of the more depressing aspects of speedway's "experts" is the inability of too many to understand subtlety. Too often they deal in extremes. The past was either perfect or today totally wrong and so on. There was bad racing in the past just as there is good racing now and there always has to be a bias towards the first out of the gate wining due to the size and surfaces of the tracks. So we're not talking about a move from perfection to the complete opposite. What I have seen over 46 years is a decline in racing with the bias titling further towards poor racing. I saw bad meetings in the 70s just as I see good matches now. It's the split that has changed. I particularly object to 'experts' telling me that I am incapable of having an accurate memory. I remember in the mid 70s standing on the terraces with my friends debating how the introduction of four valves was affecting the racing. I also remember becoming depressed in the eighties at the sight of talented riders opening the throttle, going for the outside pass but finding the track too poorly prepared to give them the grip to allow them to succeed. I am not some simpering idiot clinging to false dreams of an idyllic youth. I am someone with an academic background in history with a lifelong passion for learning more on the subject, not just speedway but in many, many other areas. Generally historical progress is positive but there are losses as well as gains.Yes some people cling to fond memories of their youth and only remember the sunny days. I am NOT one of those. Life is far more complex than that. I also have the ability to reason, and remember. The evidence is clear in speedway. Compare the gates in the 70s with those of today. It's not a question of TV coverage but that the product, overall, is no longer an attraction to the general public. Playing the 'rose tinted glasses' card does damn all to help speedway. It's got a problem and needs to wake up to it. The solutions though are totally in its own hands. Improve the product, get the racing right, get the rules right, regain credibility and loyalty and for god's sake stop shooting the messenger!

Some of my post was deleted by mods. That's what I meant. Okay I will agree that mugs is a better used term in most cases .

Deal with BT until 2020 just announced.

seems like he has

I would suggest that it's a great idea (the Blue/Gold cards) to value current fans (particularly getting their contact details), however the pricing structure doesn't do much to entice new people through the door.

Well he’s riding for Redcar this year....maybe he wants to get over here and test the equipment he’s brought over

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

Thanks for that I'm going to phone in a couple of weeks il let you know how I get on

Hopefully, the fixed nights this year will greatly reduce the numbers of missing riders. Belle Vue in recent seasons have retained a lot of the same riders from year to year and so have some other teams so, if fixed nights do work, it should be possible to build up that missing relationship with the fans. We shall still have doubling up and riders racing for teams abroad but I think that matters less if they are present for their meetings here.

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.

From the way he was during his short stay at Swindon, I would say that yes he would have. There was something about him that I haven't seen in other riders - even Jason Doyle.

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.

Totally agree with all you say a Sunday evening start time is the worst possible time for traveling fans .

I wouldn't worry about them shooting themselves in the foot... With British Speedway they would bring Stevie Wonder in as the hit man...

Exactly... Another grip of mine is the 'PIT STOP' café' Am I the only on to notice that the prices go up for Speedway and Stockcar meetings. When you use the café during the week the prices are substantially lower. I understand the logic of a captive audience , but if you wish to look after your supporters the last thing you want to do is rip them off If the prices are adequate to make the Café viable during the working day, then why would it be necessary to increase them when you have a far bigger custom base....