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PMSL-and took me back years (1974 in fact) Underground, overground, Wombling free The witches of Workington Comets are we Making good use of the things that we find Things that the everyday folks leave behind Aunty Shazza 13, she can remember the days When she wasn't behind the times With her Speedway map of the world Pick up the papers and take them to Taylor J Comets witches are organised, but a wee bit crude Comets are tidy and Comets are clean Underground, overground, Wombling free The witches of Workington Comets are we People don't notice us, they never see Under their noses a Comets witch may be Comets by night and we’re Comets by day Looking for Tiggers to wind up along the way We're so incredibly utterly devious Making the most of everything Even bottles and tins but very little shale (allegedly) Pick up the pieces and make them into something new Is what we do just for you? Underground, overground, Wombling free The witches of Workington Comets are we Making good use of the things that we find Things that the everyday folks leave behind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWQMMPFtoG4 Happy days Oh and there is going to be a lynching in this office; Just can not take a joke this lot in here, Even the neighbours are banging on the wall and I am not sure if that's cos they want it louder or not Or if they are just appreciating my singing!!! Feck em!!! av turned it up and its on a loop, Yeah, Party Tuesday, now that's a first, ha'ha!!! Go Wombles! Go Wombles! Go Comets! Go Comets! Regards THJ

Speedway really has completely lost the plot if there is to be a triple header between the same two clubs. Just ditch the Shield (call it a shared winner) and the league match (call it a draw), and leave them as monuments to the past.

On the contrary I am always interested in any comments flagrag posts. Obviously there are some things that can't be confirmed until after the AGM but others will be released earlier. I think you need to chill a bit as you seem to be easily irritated. Shame we no longer do the Annual Forum Awards or you'd be a cert for the Victor Meldrew one.

Of all the speedway periods I have watched, I do believe the 70's and 80's were the most enjoyable. but also the most defining time of bike technology Racing then was so different where the emphasis was more on the rider than on the bike. Racing was closer and more exciting, and because the UK was the centre of the speedway world, every decent rider raced here regularly for various teams... There is nowhere in the world that has the variation of tracks like we have here in England, and that has a massive bearing when comparing riders of today against those of yesteryear. Once upon a time a good rider could get on any bike and win, but not now. The machinery now has so much importance .A poor rider can get on a quick bike and make himself look good. Todays bikes are high revving speed machines that require a totally different skill than those of the past. coupled that, to the track design, helps to make speedway today so much faster, and processional. . So when trying to compare Woffy with riders from the past, comparisons can only be based on ones opinions, PC was an exceptional rider, in his time. He was the first British rider to compete with the top boys of the world and bring joy to the home fans. He was the first one to wrestle supremacy away from Sweden, Denmark, and New Zealand, and led the way for the influx of many British riders... PC singled the start of British domination in world speedway. I always felt he deserved more than his solitary crown , and no doubt had it not been for injury he would have won more... Racing on these shores every week made him more of a household name and the big crowds appreciated his cavalier style. non more so than SOLDIER BOY...….. I do believe, now a married man and a father, Woffy has grown into a more responsible person. this has shown in his riding . Determined and calculated, Woffy has all the attributes to be one of the all time greats. Always fast and daring, missing the gate is not normally a problem. If he stays injury free I see no reason why Woffy cant win even more World Championships. Can't blame him for riding on the continent against his fiercest rival , but its hard for home fans to miss out on seeing him every week. No doubt its much easier riding those tailor made tracks instead of the more difficult one here. So to conclude on who was best in my opinion. I'm going to go for PC, He was one of the few riders that worried Michael Lee. and that says a lot in my book...

A well run meeting in spite of the constant drizzle, well prepared track. They rushed it along and kept the action going, some good racing as well, really enjoyed the afternoon. Buxton should be proud of this one, well done to the track staff, it must have been cold out there, it was nice and warm in the car. Both teams rode well. Its good to now and again come away with a good feeling, some of the other places Ive been this season could learn a lot from the home of the Hitmen. Well done guys.

The season should all be done and dusted by now anyway, less fixtures yet its nearly November and nothing has been decided yet. Fixture planning does not get any worse than this 2018 nonsense....

Its a take on the wombles theme tune... with the line... 'the witches of Workington Comets are we'

Or he was Poland ready at the time he joined the Panthers? Did Plymouth develop him? No Jack Holder like every other rider developed themselves by putting in countless hours and miles for begger all before even heading to these shores. Clubs do very little to develop riders, they offer them chances to prove themselves and some offer longer chances than others but to claim they developed a rider is your usual nonsense.

Under working floodlights would be a good start.

He won his qualifying round, the semi final, was 4th in the British Final and won the Intercontinental Final and the World Final.

Look forward to seeing his pics on Twitter riding round on a moped on his hols just to rub it in

Yes, why not there's a first for everything, not much surprises me in speedway anymore. I mean last Sunday our Super Hero Mason rode 14 heats between 2 tracks doing all the driving in between and still scored 27+1

And the rest. Truth is, if people have zero interest in something they aren't even going to go if it's free.

Hope that decision , though credit it to him for making it , doesnt come back to bite him on the arse visa wise .

Well it's the 23rd October season will finish in a week and we are still waiting for the last qualifier to cross the line, won't know till around 21.30 on Wednesday, that's if electric bill is paid !! What hope has speedway got to be taken seriously if the main match of the season is not known, teams can't run full publicity to hopefully attract more fans, traveling fans can't organise hotels to make a long journey more bearable,and fans need to be able to get time off work to attend , just hope over winter the people at the top who ' try and run ' our sport make deadlines so each competition is run on time and spread out over the summer, not scrambling about in the last week of October to fit it all in, rant over !!

I talk to Ian Cartwright (one time Halifax 'Duke') whenever I'm visiting 'Mouseman' in Kilburm and he told me that Chris running a pub was the last thing that he should have been doing when he finished with speedway. A brilliant character however and often forgotten about when one talks of great 'Aces' (much to brother, Geoff's, great annoyance)

Synics like you Dave, do the sport no good. Personally, i can't wait to sit in a filthy stand surrounded by rubbish. Watching fantastic racing on a superbly prepared track. Keeping my fingers crossed that the lights don't fail.

Well just go back and edit it down to a sensible length. Then we can spend more of the thread reading posts from poole posters.

As has been said, an excellent night of racing worthy of being a final & televised (ok, a short clip on BBC Look North & the DVD). Workington were in it right up to heat 7 but a combination of slowing races down to assist in heat advantages, certainly helped us pull away for the 18 point deficit. Will it be enough? If we start how we did at Peterborough I would say no but after that horror start I would not expect them to do it again. I would expect Bach & Klindt to score a bit heavier on Thursday but that would lower Jensen's score & again, as been shown before, your reserves are key. Credit to Campton for stopping on to finish the season off as the way he was riding was a good bet for a good finish in his State Championship. Plenty of other opportunities for his visa later in the year & January Senior Solo's, as THJ has posted the dates, but team set up & places would be known at the AGM so a provisional place most likely. There was a noticeable increase in the crowd boosted by the travelling Comets but, also, families of the 125 juniors & also, many neutrals that wanted a speedway fix. Probably around the 650-700 would be my guess. Hope the journey across & down was not too bad but Thursday's 2nd leg being mid week may curtail some fans that ventured to Peterborough from travelling but we should still have a decent following for the Scorpions to bring back some silverware. Geoff100 made reference to a Meatloaf track, possibly "Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad". Hope this is the 1 missing & good luck in the others.

So what song you singing this week then? Regards THJ

Correct. But Simmo was on a 4 valve Weslake as well and PC sailed past him. I was there in Katowice in September 1976 and no one was going to stop PC winning, he came from the back and he won from the gate. Only point he dropped was when it didn’t matter (his last race) and why take on Mauger when all PC needed was 2 points. Job done - fantastic day, and the only world final I seen live abroad. We went for one reason, to see PC win. He didn’t let us down. And as I remember just a few weeks back Zmarzlik had THE rocket ship of the meeting at the last round in Toruń but still couldn’t win the meeting, in fact he didn’t qualify for the final. This shows you may have the fastest bike but you still need to be able to do the winning. No doubt TW is a great rider, but it’s too difficult to judge the “best Brit ever” when comparing across different eras. PC was the best Brit of his era, and TW is the best Brit of his era by a long long way - he don’t have much to challenge him, but he is also class on the world scene.

Often on here, we bemoan the lack of mainstream media coverage, and the very poor following the sport has considering over 60 million people live in the country, with many of them living no more than an hour away from a Speedway track.. Howerver, due to the (almost weekly) way the Sport is so dreadfully ran (in the UK)... Maybe it really is better that hardly anyone knows about Speedway in the UK, as just imagine the weekly laughing stock it would deliver if put out to a wider sporting community...? Better to stay under the radar I would suggest and keep it 'Mickey Mouse'... Who knows, maybe one day Disney may finally see the obvious synergy and come onboard with a multi million pound sponsorship?

Why do you need to be so aggressive? Can’t you just debate a thread without the righteousness and insults? Lines 2 & 3 would have been an ideal forum response. The rest causes the thread to descend into the usual farce.

I believe Mason was due to fly back to Aus early this week for state champs, but he has now decided to stay in UK to complete Comets remaining fixtures and hopefully get us some silverware

I hope all teams return to matching race suits next year,the teams that wore them last year looked far more professional,Kline was the only rider who looked a true pirate .thoughts

I would have fancied a trip to Arlington ....... nice little stadium.....plenty of parking space, good resonably priced cafe at the back of the pits area and a good track souvenir shop with a wide selection of speedway books Probably far too much grip on the track for both PBoro and LSide riders

This is a Somerset v Kings Lynn thread.....................................NOT POOLE.

I wonder how much his lifestyle and dedication (or lack thereof) contributed to not only a lack of real top-level success, but also to such a short career at that level. Chris can certainly be classed as an under-achiever when you consider his talent, and he should definitely have been around for longer than he was. Steve

i can see that taking off. we have the cheerleaders (witches scissor sisters in full voice). maybe even a number 1 down load . tony blackburn ,, sing it ! that mike batt is good ....

one thing for sure is we are going out with a BANG in 2018 .

Sorted (weather permitting). Lets go, go, go, go, go team, make some history and collect that silverware

If they wanted to get it over with, why not concede the tie. This way it's costing everybody money. The promoters are going to be out of pocket, and so are the fans.

We are flying now man!!! only only 5 left from Thursday 25th of October, with one Saturday one Sunday and Two Monday, Don't know what I was worrying about, 31st of October is a good 6 days after that Scunny Cup match and you are spot on " That's speedway UK style"? Regards THJ

I absolutely love it !!!!!!

And Workington too, the whole idea of the play offs was to give clubs a bumper gate and boost the coffers, what chance have Workington or Lakeside got to promote the final, I've agreed with some of Ged's stances in the past but not this one I'm afraid - this selfish behaviour could earn him a seat at the top table if he doesnt sell !

To me that's not the main reason. It's that he didn't get close any other season. That even that season he wasn't dominant in other events. To win a GP series requires quality over a number of meetings, but even that season was he the best rider in the world? Was he in the top 3 riders in the world any other season. Where would he rank in riders of the decade? PC was best rider in the world for 2 seasons (imo) and the 3rd best rider of the decade (behind Mauger and Olsen).

Been narrowed down to one suspect and there won't be any Police called to apprehend anyone or to have any offences taken into account, it will be a severe kicking I would suggest, with thieving fingers stamped on with gusto!!! its all they understand, Honestly! More to Follow (Hopefully) Regards THJ

I assume you are referring to their inability to fix an electrical problem that occurred on equipment they are not even responsible for. Just like Peterborough, the lights come with the rent so to speak. Panthers could have been gracious in defeat and conceded the tie given all the circumstances.

So, is it to be mixed gender toilets for Beaumont Park?

It's so quiet on here i'm tempted

I would love to see PC (at his best) at the current NSS BV stadium. Let him miss all gates and see him ride it, Chris Morton as well. Would be brilliant.

Looks a worse team on paper than on sunday. I was expecting the panthers to strengthen up a bit, not the opposite.

Seems like all the bad points of the BSF forum have come out in this thread, as well as others ie Brexit It goes on and on and on, its very boring and very childish. There are times its just best to walk away from the computer (or tablet/phone) and have a cup of tea.

This is the point, they aren't. The only people 'desperate' to force their opinion over are the Peter Collins fans. Those who think Woffinden ranks right up there have consistently said PC ranks right up there (both of them) and there is a good argument for them to be considered as good. The PC fans constantly keep coming up with points they feel 'proves' why PC was better. As yet every single one of those points has been a failure. "Woffinden has access to better equipment, it wasn't like that in PC's day".. It actually turns out that in his World Final win PC had a completely different engine (4 valve) to much of the field and a massive advantage! A point furthered by Simmons and Crump filling the rostrum. Woffinden's rivals are all on the same machinery. "PC dominated his rivals more than Woffinden does'.. again proven wrong by Waiheke. 'PC faced more top riders than Woffinden does now because of all the 10pters'... this comedy statement proved wrong with ease. That's just a few, there have been more. That's the reason why the thread has gone on so long. So to finish, I again re-iterate, I and I believe most others are certainly NOT questioning the right to hold the opinion that Peter Collins was the best Brit ever. I may not necessarily agree but it's not something that can be definitively proven either way. By the general measuring sticks used Woffinden is ahead, but that is all they are, general measuring sticks. I think some people should feel blessed to have seem them both at their peaks (and some all three including Craven!).

Thanks to Jack Holder

I've seen that, it's were BSI took a winner takes all extreme sport and made second and third better. Hahaha

Steve Gresham at Swindon had those all down his arms. The last time he visited Swindon for a testimonial he even had rabbit ears stuck on his helmet, that was funny.

how would overpaid ninnies retweet anything , most of them can barely tie their own shoelaces . and even if they would speedway can't afford to pay them ,because they most certainly will do nothing for nothing ,

Nobody is going to pay £10 to see something they have zero interest in, either.

Just want to point out that if the top 30 riders in the world are considered "international class" then in the 70s PC would race such riders 3 times per domestic meeting, so for an 11pt average pc would beat such riders 2 out of 3 times. Using the same definition, Tai I believe races such riders 8 times per meeting (5 rides). So with a similar success rate to Pc, and assuming also finishing once behind a team mate - given he races every heatvwith a top 30 rides- then a 9pt average would reflect an equal level of dominance to PC. Oh surprise, that's what he averages! There are arguments to support PC beimg better than Tai, but pretending Wyer and Stancl are better than the riders in todays GP, or that Tai rarely beats world class riders from the back doesnt help advance the argument. Tai probably does beat less riders from the back than PC, but I'd say that is less to do with his ability than the fact he is a better gater, superb round the first turn, and gets far less easy heats than PC And i say this as someone who grew up watching pc/Mott in ht13 each week, so it should be clear who my favourite rider of the two is.