Leaderboard

Today I started a new venture. Kent Speedway Fans TV, will initially be a pre recorded show but if it takes off I hope to broadcast live ala speedway tavern (but a lot more amateur lol). Fellow fans Glenn Collins and Wayne Raines joined me to discuss the 2019 season and look forward to 2020 season. And we were joined by Dan Gilkes who was "live from the sofa" and he talks about his speedway history, reviews his 2019 season and looks ahead to his championship debut in 2020. Hopefully it will be ready to put out on new years day.

So someone in a dying sport gets an award and you have a sap like Richard Weston making stupid comments . This is everything that is wrong with speedway and more importantly, its fans. Well done Dave!

Any ideas on this one, iris?

Its a pretty average team lets be honest wont be troubling the playoffs and will lose heavily away and take some beatings at home aswell

The Belle Vue stock car promotion, Startrax, have stated that they are not even considering the NSS as a possible replacement. Living in London I am far more concerned that during my lifetime I have seen cars and/or bikes at Wimbledon, West Ham, Harringay, Walthamstow, Romford, Crayford, Hackney, White City, Earls Court 2, Rayleigh, New Cross, Staines and Arena Essex. They have all been redeveloped meaning the local population increased while the amount of local entertainment decreased which is almost as stupid as railway lines being closed in the 1960's just as big new housing estates were built around the now closed stations and then the politicians wondered why there was so much traffic causing grid lock.

Talking about a sports event hundreds of miles away live and with no co-commentator and the need to cover long periods where no action is taking place unfortunately requires a great deal of 'filler'. Well-researched background information can only go so far. At least with the broadcast arrangements having changed in Sweden this year Dave didn't have to cope with lengthy shots from a static camera while domestic Swedish viewers got interviews and discussions in their own language as in the pas.. I've done enough commentary of my own in the distant past to understand why Dave relies on social media to fill the gap.The thing is, you can't just read out anything 'juicy' you see on social media. If its inaccurate or defamatory you share the blame and guilt. You have to play safe so sadly it's the rather simplistic comments that get through. Dave from Reading may think Dackarna are going to beat Lejonen by ten points. Personally I'd rather just watch the match and find out for myself, Perhaps the problem lies in the content that people are putting online? There's the challenge. If you care about this then why not raise the standard yourself. Put something interesting, informative and essentially legal or broadcastable online. Why don't I? I've done more than my share in the past... It's time for others. Given the restraints he works under, Dave does an excellent job and thoroughly deserves his award again.

6 for starting the season full of confidence.

Now looking at my info, it was probably 26th April 1933, which was the opening meeting of the season. The next meeting was I the meeting v Australia in May 10,000 came, which was not bad and the 4,000 for the next meeting was quite a drop!!! Grosskreutz won all 5 of his races including a match race v Rumrich. Case won 4 out of 5. John Glass, Dicky Wise and Ernie Evans were riding and Herbert Drews was the best local rider on the night. The newspaper report states Grosskreutz, Case in partnership with A.J. Reynolds got the Dirt Track back up and running Can add some info that was sent to me from an article in Speedway Star and news May, 1959 about Grosskreutz In 1933 he travelled to Germany with Dick Case and several other riders to race at Hamburg but at the time the Nazis were coming to power and they frowned on the venture. At the very last meeting Case and Grosskreutz were desperately short of money. The only solution they could see was to stage an International All Star meeting for a valuable gold cup. Minus money, they sought out an enterprising pawnbroker and borrowed a gold cup from him with a promise to return it on Monday morning, the meeting being raced on Sunday. There was no doubt in either Case's or Grosskruetz's mind that they would be able to do this, for both were far ahead of the German and Danish riders who were to race against them. Unfortunately their plan misfired. Max had engine trouble in his second outing while Case when well placed in the lead broke a chain. This meant that a tough German farmer won the cup and refused point blank to hand it back. "I've win, I keep " he told them. They offered him as much money as they could raise: they asked to borrow the cup for a short while, but the German refused and they eventually went home..... I am not sure of the truth in this though. I only have found record of a third meeting, the next Wednesday 10th May. No mention of the above happening and it seemed the seasons meetings were all on a Wednesday, not Sunday as mentioned, but in the final Rumrich won after a great race just beating Grsskreutz with Case 3rd and then Drews in 4th. So it is possible this was the race everything hung on and it was Rumrich that refused to hand back the gold cup........No crowd figure given, just a note from the journalist that it remains a mystery why the Hamburg public don't support what is a great sport....... After that it was announced a short break of a couple of weeks would take place, as I stated above.......

Tommy Stange.

Initially i plan to upload to YouTube and share the link around facebook and here. So it should be as simple as clicking a link once it's done.

Wish that had been the case at Coventry. Horrible fence blocking a good view of Speedway, especially when the sun was shining

How about maybe just being pleased that someone involved in your sport has been recognised by the wider motorsport world?

So here is the 2020 thread with a few of the postings from the back end of the 2019 thread that should have been here in the first place. Leicester seem slow to build their third tier team. Any thoughts?

That is an absolutely fantastic find, iris. Surely, it must put the final nail in the coffin of the idea that Johnnie Hoskins "invented" speedway. Your article is dated 3 November 1923 and the West Maitland meeting was held on 15 December 1923!

As some sort of proof of this practice and that it was the US riders that introduced the technique to Australia, how about this article from 1923 entitled Steering into a skid : Dirt track methods ? https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/63782805?searchTerm=dirt track&searchLimits=exactPhrase|||anyWords|||notWords|||requestHandler|||dateFrom=1920-01-01|||dateTo=1926-12-31|||sortby

I agree, I think Scunthorpe look a good team! Put them down for 4th / 5th place!

How many league points for that then?

If there was, im very sure they would be up on here by now. Followed swiftly by a Gavan post.

I have to say I'm very surprised Ipswich haven't gone down the having Nicholls at reserve route. A true trump card.... I wonder how long we have to wait for the rest of the side to be announced?

Could be this meeting http://www.internationalspeedway.co.uk/gervaus.htm From memory I read it was announced there would be a short break in the season as some of the riders had contracts to ride in Sweden and it seemed the season never started up again

Some info I have put up, but haven’t got as far as 1933

That was the short season that Grosskreutz and one or two others were promoters there, I think . Season only lasted a few meetings then it folded never to run speedway again. Have details at home, but I am elsewhere at the moment . Bavarian might also be able to help The track was running into problems fairly early on. The first season 1929 went well but it was downhill from there really and neighbours were complaining about the noise and at least one complaint went before the local council. But I think it was more financial trouble and the German economy etc that was the big problem Great photo which I haven’t seen before

NASA. https://twitter.com/Carbongate/status/1210292742833790977?s=20

So it ain't Härtel then which is a bonus as he was awful for Ipswich at Championship level

Did these postings fall out of the Twilight Zone? I remember Zenon Plech in 1973. He was young and talented; a dangerous combination. In fact he was supposed to be the next great Pole, even tipped to be the WC that year, the final being at Katowice (or Chorzów if you wish). Being a relatively new fan and having seen only one final (Wembley 1972) I and a friend decided to go to that final by Interail. A pole did win that year as we all know, just the wrong one. And I was an Ivan Mauger fan

Any news on the last two signings

Is it just me that thinks we look quite strong this year, especially at reserve... no offence to the likes of Gilkes/Ledwith, Thompson Twins, Flint/Bickley, Edwards/Kemp etc but Simon alone should clear up them... tell you one thing, its gonna be hell of a season at the track of the year

just browsed the last two pages and nothing but bulls**t is this a speedway forum or what?

I see the Charles Wright introduction on the Belle Vue tv link and Steve Worrall was also there.I initially thought Steve might of needed a move to reinvent himself but looking at it now Steve has a really important part to play next year for the Aces .I hate the averages facts and figures side of speedway but Steve is one of those riders that there are not many riders on his average that are better than him.I think he can put a point on his average and if he can get back to the level he was at in his WTC year he can average more.I enjoyed watching Steve in his Swindon days stint and i believe he is far better than he has shown recently also he is a really popular team man.

I understand and to an extent agree with your frustration but to add a bit of balance four of the riders signed so far were part of the 2018 team which was comfortably the best that year and should have won the league but for injuries. Going by the rumoured side this year the other three from that season were Iversen, MPT and Andersen/Lambert who will effectively be replaced by Cook, Kerr and Hartel. Doesn’t look that different to me assuming Lambert, Proctor and Jorgensen can get back to something like that form in 2020. While like you there are two or three riders I probably wouldn’t have invited back from 2019 I understand why they have been signed as they will keep the majority of the home punters happy as they are popular. However as we keep saying away results have to be better and ultimately that is what this team will be judged on.

Or a Lynx Africa gift set.

People who live on the Canadian Prairies!!

The experience they will get in OZ will stand them in good stead, both have got good mentors Down Under in Tai for Leon and Jason for Kyle, lets hope they take good advantage of this

Went to Plymouth last season for the first time and I was impressed with the facilities, especially for such a small track... Was a nice little cosy home imo, food facilities were good as well, felt like I was walking into an Ekstraliga stadium when I was walking into the entrance to the stands on the 1/2 bend Haha

Me! Thankyou so much to all who voted, genuinely shocked to have won.

Yup, my whole friggin' life has been spent in the Twilight Zone (I like it better there!!)