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Hopefully lessons have been learned but there is not a promotion out there that have not done this at one point or another. Sooner or later the penny will drop that it is an entertainment business and not win at all cost business to the detriment of the paying public. Or will they as they don't seem to care about the paying public. I was at Berwick last week and the track prep was spot on , gave both teams a chance to attack it result being a fantastic speedway meeting it is not rocket science.

While you are looking for that, could you please do my ironing.

That was an absolute privilege watching The Brummies at Loomer Rd this evening.I even bumped into the legendary Potters supporter,Vog!

Well if that doesn't liven the thread up nothing will

Beating Glasgow one week and losing to Newcastle the next - Berwick Bandits in a nutshell.

It would be a nice touch if "Falkirk Bandit" got a mention tonight, and even better with a hard fought victory in a spectacular meeting that provides a suitable memorial ! I well remember his weekend ramblings on the forum after a few jars, they would put a smile on anybody's face. Thoughts are with FB's family and friends at this unbelievable difficult time. RIP Falkirk Bandit

Max impressed for sure. He has all the qualities needed to make a success of things . Very disappointing that the track surface was so poorly prepared, and it appears it was deliberately so too. Ricky Wells confirmed in an interview last night, repeated in the local paper report today, that it was how they had asked for it. Problem was, of all 14 riders, only Erik Riss looked truly comfortable on it and even he is quoted on the website as saying that conditions were tough! When you have your biggest crowd, for your best derby match, along with lovely weather, the last thing you should do is prepare a track that proves so difficult to race on. Massive own goal by the promotion.

Without being disrespectful to our guests thus far - it has to be said we are a better team with Stevie in it

I think 5 away is better than 3 at home but I wouldn't use a score in one match to try to prove anything. I appreciate that you haven't had the advantage of seeing Worrall this year but those of us who have could see the marked improvement over his performances at the NSS last year. That coupled with knowing the efforts he has made to be in excellent physical shape and to lighten and improve his machinery is why I feel confident that he would have had a good season. Nobody has predicted he would this year develop into a GP rider, a PL No. 1 or an international star but the signs were there that he would improve significantly on his starting average. That is why it is so difficult to replace him.

And Brady only dropped one point and looked brilliant away in the extraliga. Means nothing though for Wednesday.

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy.

Found a good story about the former German Champ,Hermann Gunzenhauser,whos career started pre-war and ended in 1955.In German and tells of the tragic crash he had with Austrian rival Martin Schneeweiß in Graz https://www.teckbote.de/lokalsport/lokalnachrichten-lokalsport_artikel,-profirennfahrer-in-der-hitlerzeit-_arid,87636.html Also,and this is what got me looking,found some old footage of Gunzenhauser winning a meeting at the old North German Ebstorf dirt track in 1951.Footage of the meeting is right at the end https://www.filmothek.bundesarchiv.de/video/585968?set_lang=de Gunzenhauser was of course a two time winner of the Zlata Prilba in Pardubice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Helmet_of_Pardubice

I visit Devon frequently and the plight of Torquay United obviously gets a great deal of media coverage there. For those who don't follow the lower reaches of football Osborne runs that unfortunate football club which has during most of its existence played in the bottom tier of the Football League. For the first time in its modern history they are on the brink of relegation to their lowest status, National League South, two tiers below their traditional level in the Football Lleague. All kinds of promises have been made which will sound familiar to speedway supporters. There's the purchase or lease of a stadium in a prime development area, the running-down of the venue amidst talk of a shiny new replacement stadium. Recently his business has taken back control of the pub adjoining the ground. The newspaper report refers to Stadia UK's 'record in running leisure facilities'. Funny, to the outsider it would seem their principal activity, rather like the GRA is to groom stadia for highly lucrative redevelopment. One of the promises is to sort out the Gulls' training ground, which apparently is literally bogged down by poor drainage, again a familiar concept to those familiar with the tattier end of the Abbey Stadium car park, once also a planned site for development.The football club itself is supposed to move from residential Plainmoor to a new site further out of town. People are getting a touch suspicious in Torbay. In some ways I'd respect them if Stadia UK came out and admitted that they simply want to redevelop stadia and stop putting up smokescreens. Hopefully Torquay United will prove to be a step too far. Despite their status football matters to communities, and not just the local market and will get noticed well, outside their area in a way that speedway has never been able to. I suspect that serious journalists, and not from the sports desk, will be taking an interest in the business as the situation in Torbay worsens.

Of course it matters if the away team get a point or not,all points count towards getting in the play off positions.The point Poole got at BV could be crucial come the end of the season.A point away from home is a good result.

not too bad for a rider who isnt the rider he once was and has had his day

I agree about the scoring system, it was one of British speedway's best ever ideas which worked really well, then they went and spoilt it by giving the home team three points for any win. Hopefully one day they'll put it back to how it was.

Peter Kildemand was the only rider to pass outside of 1 and 2 on the first laps (and even then it was only in the first heat after grading and track staff pulling all they could onto the outside line). If 13 out of 14 riders can't pass, then there is definitely something up with the track. The live updates are definitely misleading. That's not to say that Swindon wouldn't have hammered us either way, they were the riders to beat, in particular Nick Morris and Troy Batchelor were very fierce and the Swindon lot were gating like champs, but to pretend that the track was decent and Poole just couldn't get to grips with it is fantasy. There was 1 line and the gaters had first dibs on it. The Poole riders were all over the track looking for grip, but any slight deviation from inside-middle to middle line were huge "no mans land" speed scrubbers. I'd rather lose every meeting and have unpredictable heats, than 52 and a half laps of follow the leader every meeting.

We will never know what Vaculik would have produced unfortunately. Although a GP rider, how committed to the UK would he have been in terms of bike priorities for this country? (I think that there will be a few people looking closely at the current World Champion's UK performances this season). My impression is that the management want to make a real go of it this season and today's changes are positive. Sorry to see that MPT has to make way (loved watching Toffy at BP), but we do need an established No.1. Past seasons have shown that so called great signings with no UK experience have not delivered and either jump, get injured or are pushed back to where they came from. If KB has a season like last year, I do not honestly think that MV would have performed better. With the current race format, it seems that, providing a team is no more than 6 points adrift by Heat 13, you are in with a shout regarding match points if you have some clout with your top two riders. The Lions have fallen away many times at this stage of a meeting in recent times (sorry DK but you seem to bottle it in Heat 15). Kenneth and Hans in 2 out of the last 3 races would seem to be a match for anyone in this league. I hope the situation regarding Josh Bates is correct, in that team re-shaping is not based around his average when he becomes fit/available and that family connections are put to one side. Nothing against Josh, but if he is in the seven, it has to be on merit.

Quite agree, as some folks don't have the time that others think everyone else has. There are two threads on Ivan Mauger, but has anybody been hurt by this rule breaking ? Some folks need to grow up and get on with their lives.

Dejavu again, no fault of the promotion though. Why is it, we always seem to be playing catch up, some clubs will actually have had 3 league meetings (weather permitting) before our first league meeting. Should be all clubs start their league fixtures in the same week, not a month in advance of other clubs.

I just didnt want Sid to be the only one looking all mixed up

Almost got the points difference correct , but not th way I expected. Fair play to The Diamonds they where the better team on the night The Bandits couldn't get out the gate and where never in it to be honest . IMHO the scoreline slightly flatters Berwick. There will be a lot tougher tests to come especially next weekend and we'll need to sharpen up

Fantastic win for the Diamonds tonight. Even though Lindgren and Aarnio had their problems, Diamonds were up by 20 points after heat 10. Berwick fought back in the last five heats, not enough though and an eight point win for the visitors. A real team performance and let's hope it continues tomorrow.

Best heat so far nice passing between Russians.

I can’t link it but speedway Russia have live you tube

Oh the irony

It's funny how it's only belle vue fan raving about Worrall. Actually no it isn't. Worrall isn't In the team just for his points scoring. He is great around the pits with everyone. He scores home and away. His away form is very good for a no3/4. You never hear him moan about the state of any track. He just turns up, gets on with everyone, rides his bikes and goes home. And I can Garuntee that if he rose for your team you would be saying he would be a great miss.

£1000 in 1973 would be hefty sum I think?

Who wouldnt..

No guarantee Hougaard would hit the ground running as Stevie had done either, add to the fact Stevie has always been much better away from home and Paddy does not fit the bill, Steve has far more potencial, Hougaard has stood still the past few seasons.

I don't see any problems here this should be a comfortable win for Berwick , but we've been here before with teams we should be easily and sometimes have struggled and even lost on some occasions , but I'd fancy a 10 point win for The Bandits

I live within a 10 minute level walk to Torquay United. I warned my friends about Osborne right from the off. There is a very strong element that want only one thing....Osborne out! There has been talk about a takeover from the Truro City owner. Sooner the better. The council are being very objective to Osbornes plans. Thankfully, they can see straight through him. The suggested site for a new ground is pure pie in the sky. The ground there is swampy and will never drain properly.

Looking back at his Twitter account posts, it appears he may have practiced on Thursday and is there for the weekend. Hope he gets his chance.

Some fantastic racing last night resulting in a deserved win for the home side in the end although they were challenged all the way through. Just a pity about the clown on the mic, he needs to get his hand in his pocket and get a proper presenter!

If you thought that meeting was so good you must have wet your pants with excitement last night at the Scunthorpe return match.

He can only hope that if he practices well they give him a go in the team. Otherwise it will be very difficult for him to get a chance. It’s so tough in Poland. He may be a GP rider this season but that doesn’t count for much over there.

No doubt like the 3 Kurtz scored at home against Swindon shows where he is?

No need to worry when you are unbeaten. I worry about all others teams as they can push us out of a play off place. That's why we have a forum to comment on other teams too.

Why can't those who don't want to watch and enjoy just switch off the TV. I'm lost why anyone could be upset about money coming into the sport, riders getting paid to race, a good crowd and those who enjoy watching having a nice time.

Always good to here from people who are actually involved with the sport. This track lark isn't as easy as many ,including me thought..

Batch hates everyone doesn’t he?

Sportowefakty reporting a crowd of 7000

Quite agree that there is some pathetic statement on here from folks who should know better. Many like me, still think he was hardly innocent, but a powerfull expensive lawyer employed by his then girlfriend and now wife's father, managed to get the decision they were after. Money still talks eh.

Starman is an expert at digging holes for himself!

I thought he meant his riders?

Thanks for the update Glyn. We really do appreciate you coming on here and updating us on the progress of the track.

And the other 10% is a secret ingredient?

Wednesday night,Golden Helmet night,and 15,000 attended to see another step in Franz Hecks steady rise on the Lokstedt Dirt-Track.The 4 best riders,Heck,Niss,Heinrichs and Wunder had all qualified for the final,but the man at the top of the points table couldn't take his place due to feeling unwell,so it ended up a surprisingly easy win for Heck followed by Heinrichs and Wunder.The points table now looked....Niss 21,Heinrichs 20,Wunder 11,Plambeck 9,Strachwitz and Heck 5......The gradual development of the German riders was shown in that there were now 5 riders who had ridden under 79 seconds.Heck,Heinrichs,Niss,Wunder and Stölting,who had missed the last few meetings due to injury The handicap final again saw a battle between Heck and Lees,which this time Ginger couldn't quite manage to win.Oliver Langton was third and behind him Wunder managed to hold off the challenge from Niels Sörensen The Friday meeting saw the 'king' of Lokstedt take back his crown.The meeting opened with the advertised attempt on the world and track record by Ginger Lees which with his wonderful track technique he not only managed to break,but knocked a full second off the old record!!To loud applause Ginger made a lap of honour as it was announced the new world record stood at 72.4!!! After this great start the meeting fell victim to rain,and although it finished,many of the riders had trouble with the conditions and a number fell.Strangely when the track was built they made it egg shaped and so it had two very different bends.One large the other very sharp and over the season it was usually the sharp bend that gave the riders problems and in nasty conditions like this night even Ginger Lees had to take the sharp bend 'gingerly' as the rain continuedThe meeting also saw a 'revenge' challenge between Wunder and Morian Hansen,which this time Hansen won in two straight heats,the second of which saw Wunder fall and injure himself and put him out of the meeting.Shortly before the meeting ended Johannes did appear out on the track to show he was ok and received a round of applause from the crowd Ginger Lees won an English-Danish challenge ahead of fellow countryman Langton and Franz Heck won a german only final,which saw the first appearance(as far as I know) of Bill Kellner,who would later turn out for Preston,so it was looking likely that Heck and Lees would again clash in the main handicap final.Unfortunately in an earlier heat Heck had trouble with the track fell,remounted and then rode into the back of Heinrichs and caused both to crash and Heck was disqualified from the rest of the night.And so this time with all riders being very cautious it was difficult for Ginger to make up the time advantages the other riders held over him.Niels Sorensen won,followed by Bullas and Graf Strachwitz.Lees finished a lowly 4th ahead of Langton and Heinrichs The sunday meeting saw a Germany v Denmark test match and also a match race challenge between Oliver Langton and the returning Stewie St.George.12,000 saw Langton win the first heat in a super time of 74 seconds.St.George's track return was too early though and he couldn't come out for any more rides,so a handicap match race between Langton and Ginger Lees was arranged with Oliver receiving a 3 sec advantage which Ginger couldn't make up The Germany v Denmark test match was affected by the poor state of the German bikes.There were a large number of e.f's and in heat 6 neither of the german riders managed to cross the finish line,much to the frustration of the crowd.Funnily it all started quite well because Niels Sörensens bike didn't really get going at first and so Franz Heck could win and Fritz Niss managed to finish behind Sorensen,but ahead of his partner Otto Hansen,so Germany took a first heat advantage 7-4.But the next race gave the pattern for the night.Heinrichs bike packed up and Niemecks bike wasn't firing on all cylinders,but he did manage to finish and now the Danes were leading 9-12 and so it carried on.Heat 3 saw Thorkild Clausen of Denmark drop out due to a broken chain and although he fell Count Strachwitz managed to continue and finish.Heck managed to win heat 5 for Germany,but his partner Fritz Niss couldn't come out to take his ride,presumably not fully recovered from his illness that affected him the previous meeting and his replacement Plambeck didn't manage to complete the heat!!As mentioned,the next heat was a disaster for Germany as neither Strachwitz nor Arnold Stölting managed to finish and so it was now 25-37.Niss had recovered by the last heat and manged to win followed by his team mate Heck and with Morian Hansen not finishing it made the final score 54-40.Without the gremlins it was thought Germany could have managed a win Full details,though without any mention of the 'drop outs' can be found here http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/gervden.htm In the handicap final it was back to the normal routine of a battle between Heck and Lees,which Heck won,gaining revenge for the defeat by Lees in the quali heat

Rye should have moved back to the middle tier. Saturday night racing with more local derbies is a no brainer really. The team is too old and too expensive, coupled with the awful facilities at hoddesdon, it's a recipe for disaster.

Someone's face fitting is much the same in road racing as it is in speedway and that's more to do with human nature than either of those sports. There are plenty of riders whose face didn't fit that have succeeded in their chosen sport and speedway is no different. Where anyone ends up in road racing is down to many things like dedication, sacrifices made and of course talent but being fast in road racing doesn't guarantee anything. I think you'll find that even if you were fast there would be plenty of things stopping you getting to Moto GP. Plenty of very fast riders never get beyond the club road racing scene.