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It is nobody's business how he died. Right now it's about his family I'm sure details will be revealed when ppl are ready to do so Show some respect and stop asking or speculating

As someone who is distanced from current speedway, I was attracted by chance to Danny Ayres in last year's British Final. His efforts that night wouldn't have looked out of place in the 70s and 80s, he was fearless. His sad passing has hit me, as someone who didn't know him. So imagine how his family and people who did are feeling today. The loss of a speedway person is always hard, but somehow Danny's passing seems all the more tragic. There's a lot of love out there for him today. Sadly, that's tinged with grief.

Best not to speculate out of respect for him and his family

Danny was a complete enigma. Brilliant one minute, miles in the lead and then in the fence. But Speedway is sadly short of riders that generate this kind of excitement, a character and an entertainer and most of all an all round thrill merchant. He would have been revered as a rider in the 70's and 80's when showman ruled. Sadly he missed that era but equally made the relatively dull speedway of today a joy to watch in races he was in. Speedway has lost a gem.

Thank you. Suffering from mental health issues myself, I can relate to putting on a face. What an amazing woman she is. Danny will be proud xx

That is an amazing tribute from his partner who is showing how strong she is while probably feeling the weakest she has ever felt. This topic has shown how Speedway, both fans and promotions, are a wonderful family. Like any family we sometimes have our disagreements but at the end of the day the sport is a very large extended family and Danny is in all our thoughts. RIP Danny and thanks for the wonderful memories you gave us.

Posted by Danny's partner for people who doesnt have Facebook. What an amazingly strong lady she is. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- It is with a broken heart I have to say that my soul mate, daddy to our two beautiful babies and your peoples champion, has lost his battle to mental health. Danny absolutely lived for speedway. That was the only place he was truly free, free from any troubles and cares in his mind. He absolutely adored his fans. It was his utmost joy to be your ballsy entertainer and riding that dirt line on the edge, #whoDAyreswins. When he rode on that track, he gave everything he could to bring you excitement and give you, his fans, the full experience of the Showman of Speedway!! He absolutely thrived on that energy you gave him and for that, he truly loved you all. I know he would want to be remembered this way ❤️ I’m utterly overwhelmed by all of the support and kind words you have given to Danny, me, Lilou and Anaiya xx Speedway is a huge extended family to us all, so please pull together and if any one of you are struggling with mental health issues, please, please open up and talk to someone. Anyone. Just know that you are loved and NOT alone xxxx Rest in peace my Baby. I will miss you throughout my whole life. I promise to let our babies know what an absolutely amazing, incredible, crazy, fun and loving person you really were. Until we meet again.... Night-night my baby, you can rest easy now xxxxxxxxx Love to you all xxxxxx

Is the troll still running riot with his verbal diarrhea ? Luckily i blocked the pillock, i suggest others do likewise ...

best tribute anyone could give him

The day after the night before and it still hasn't sunk in.. Ride easy up there top man, on behalf of everyone at Scunthorpe Speedway - we loved you sir

This was Danny only 3-4 weeks ago after a practice at Scunthorpe, clearly looking forward to this season with Scunthorpe and Ipswich. How sad it is when the season starts he wont be there.

Still can’t get my head around this today. I have Ipswich Witches twitter notifications switched on, and when you get a notification it only reveals part of the content. It said “Ipswich Speedway are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Danny Ayre..” I fully expected to open the tweet fully and read that his Mother or Father had passed, but to see it was the lad himself made me nearly drop my phone. Absolutely heartbreaking it really is. His poor family and friends, thoughts very much with them at the moment.

Remember him signing a couple of photos for me the other year he guested once at the Abbey in the Premiership and he was great value.But he was talking full of life interested in the photos what years they were and he was talking to all the fans he was so down to earth natural.Be nice if a meeting can be held in his memory help his family and show the rest of the nation just how special Danny was to the speedway world.

I only saw Danny Ayres ride once, at last years British Final, and for me, his race with Bomber was the highlight of the evening. Even though he must've been gutted to lose the race he still gave a great interview after, full of passion and great humour, and I remember thinking what a breath of fresh air this guy is, in a sport sadly lacking real entertainers these days. Such a shame to go so young RIP

Lioness - with respect, as Tsunami has deleted the “offending” post maybe you could edit it out of yours - otherwise there is little point in the original disappearing!

I think you do yourself no favours here, as saying bb holders are having a hissy fit and will turn up anyway shows such a gross ignorance towards the actual issues - sounds like in your young life you've been fortunate enough to avoid any elderly family having mobility issues and the challenges that go along with them otherwise you wouldn't be thinking that it's just so easy to just walk an extra 150m to somewhere. That's before we get to your assumption that it's easy to fork out a few hundred on a mobility aid, or "get an uber".. The arrogance of youth may give you a few laughs as you talk with the adults on here, but believe me, reality will sadly catch up with you one day and you'll see things a bit different when perhaps you or a relative fall into the category of those affected here.

Been doing some digging. The name I came up with is Isaac Hunt

Oh my. It was a real pleasure to commentate on Danny racing over the last few years. He was without a doubt one of the most flamboyant, entertaining and passionate riders I have ever seen in my career, and I would always look forward to what crazy victory celebration he would come up with next! He would always engage with the fans more than anyone else as well and it was so wonderful to watch him in action. Love and condolences to Danny's family and many friends, Dave Goddard.

Very sad news yesterday to hear of the passing of Danny Ayres. One of the very few Characters and Entertainers in modern day British speedway. He was never going to be a World Champion or a World class rider, but he understood the giving good value to supporters and fans. I wonder if the BSPA would consider re-naming the British Final Trophy the Danny Ayres Memorial Trophy in his honour. Rest in Peace Danny.

I think, like me, the speedway world is stunned at this news. We all want to know how, why, how could this happen? But out of respect we'll refrain from asking those questions just now, won't we? Danny was a racer, an entertainer and someone the fans took to their hearts. Keep that in your thoughts and let us try and to understand how his nearest and dearest must be feeling. Personally, I can't begin to imagine. Having just read Rob Godfrey''s words on the speedwaygb website (click here), I have to say what a moving tribute that was. Rest easy Danny.

Your posts are the biggest load of bollox I’ve ever read . the sooner you and multi aliases p155 off the better

Exactly. Every single winter several people get their knickers in a twist over a thread which is just a bit of fun. Bonkers.

There was an interesting article in the Speedway Star dated 18th January 2020 about Danny and his life, written by Neil Skelding. Worth a read.

R.I.P Danny... Wish I could have seen you more than I did... Legend

Cut out the arguments. This thread is to say one thing. RIP to an enterainer.

From the first time I saw Danny at Rye House in a second half it was obvious with experience he would develop into a decent rider. What wasnt obvious was how popular he would become. I followed most of his career at Kent and more latterly at Mildenhall. Not only had he become a very accomplished rider but a true showman and crowd favourite. It's very sad what has happened and there is nothing else to say but my thoughts are with Danny's Family and Friends

Rip Danny, will never forget this race with bomber. True grit

For his last two years my father needed a wheelchair and I was happy to take him anywhere he wanted to go. His last visit to Wimbledon stadium was for the Best in Britain meeting that used to take place on New Years Day. We used the bus to the stadium and then had to get from Plough Lane to the entrance which was on the far side of the stadium, probably somewhere around 300 to 400 metres on rough tarmac. At that time I was a fit 55 year old and it was hard work getting the wheelchair that distance. I have walked from the two gates at Peterborough to the main stand and the ground would be far worse for pushing a wheelchair than the tarmac at Wimbledon. I suggest you try pushing a 13 stone person for 300 metres over such ground before you say that it would be possible in 5 minutes with a wheelchair. You would be stuck in the ruts for three times that long and unless very fit you would take nearer to half an hour. I don't want to have a go at any promoter as without them we have no racing to watch. In the same way I don't have a go about riders who don't try, I don't think any rider doesn't try, they may have a meeting where things are not working the way they want and that may continue for some meetings but I am sure they are trying as that is how they earn their money and it they were not trying then their family would be on their backs straight away, it does not need us to make things worse.

You said that you don't know Neil Watson, but say if he knew the truth, then he would know your name How does that work ?? You have made some pretty bad accusations, Why not put your name out there, like Neil has... ?? Do you know Buster? I think not. So you have Neil saying the team was in budget, and you have Buster saying it was not. But this thread is about the BB parking situation and getting back to that, it is proven that Neil did what he could to help them and more. If the BB parking was causing a genuine concern, why not pay a man with a few cones a tenner an hour to make sure only BB holders parked in the parking provided and no one could take the pee. Simple at £30 for 3 hours per meeting.. Cheap as chips, wouldn't you agree Oh great one? Have you tried pushing someone in a wheelchair on wet boggy grass and uneven ground? It's not easy for a younger person, not very comfy either and most pushers are probably the spouse who might well be up in years themselves. You don't have a pair of purple chinos in ya wardrobe by any chance

I also know that Brian was not the messiah just a very naughty boy, another fictitious story.

Thank you For me, it's the latter

You say you don't know me but based on hearsay you're prepared to condemn Ged and myself? On Thursday March 21st 2019 - http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.36114 - the SpeedwayGB website carried the following news item: PETERBOROUGH have confirmed Ged Rathbone and Neil Watson will not be promoting at the club this season. The Panthers, who are now under the ownership of Keith Chapman, will be fronted by Colin Pratt and Carl Johnson as they move into the Premiership. Chapman said: “I’m sure every Peterborough supporter would like to thank Ged and Neil for their hard work and service to the club. “From my perspective I would also like to thank them for the professional manner in which the handover of the club has been conducted. “We wish them all the very best for whatever they do in the future.” Rathbone added: “My thanks to Neil, who was a pleasure to work with and reduced my workload immensely, and also to Trevor (Swales) and Carl who were such a big part of what we did. “I wish the supporters and the new team in charge all the very best, and there is no animosity from me towards them. “Most of all, I’d like to thank the fans. I always put the fans first in my time at the club, and they certainly have a fantastic season to look forward to.” I prefer to be judged by my peers than by you. RIP Danny Ayres

Where`s he having his meal ?

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/in-memory-of-danny-ayres A page has been created to give support to Danny's family.

I have seen the rise of Danny Ayres from his early days when he came from moto X he would enter the turns foot forward & get round like a 50P onto his detirmination to ride faster than he was able. Until it all fell into place & Danny Ayres the speedway rider arrived. But through all of this his humour dedication & humility shone out. The title "Mr Entertainer" feels so inadiquate in this day & age he was the ringmaster & we his big top. He will always be remembered for his 2019 British Final but for me so much more. The thing Danny Ayres was best at was being Danny Ayres RIP Danny Ayres "The GREATEST Entertainer"

Why would you want to know that, be respectful to his family at this time

Really shocked and saddened to hear this news. Danny was a bit of a throwback to the entertainers of years gone by and will be a huge loss to the sport. I think we all knew that he would never be a World Champion but if Danny was riding at my local track I would have made an extra effort to go and watch. I never had the pleasure of meeting Danny but he always seemed like a lovely guy and i would offer my condolences to his family and friends who will feel his loss a million times worse than all of us. RIP Danny

Fantastic personality and great guy. The Sport is the poorer. The outpouring of thoughts and genuine sadness show the affection Danny was held in. Not a time for guessing or conspiracy theories at all please lets all show some respect for family and friends.

It is always sad when we lose someone. It is a tragedy that the person was suffering in ways we can't even begin to imagine, An even bigger tragedy is that we didn't know, and were unable to help. R.I.P. Danny

Was genuinely in disbelief when the news broke. I'm still shocked if I'm honest. He seemed like such a free spirited bloke, always smiling and always having a laugh. RIP man.

A genuine bloke, a true entertainer and top lad. The peoples champ, we loved you Rest easy brother

Nice thought but I'm not sure that one can deduce that from " a conscious decision to restrict the amount of vehicle movement within the Showground on a race night." - what does that mean? It doesn't mention numbers just movement. I suspect that initially the attempt will be made, and it will appear so if they stick with this appaling decision, to make the internal parking look a bit spartan but as the season progresses I'd guess that those excluded disabled fans' spaces will be filled by sponsors, hangers on and friends of friends. You'll not notice the difference.

Having posted the above I have a couple of final points, and they are final. My ideas were formed last year when it was highly probable that I would be playing a part in running the club and would resume my place on the mic for the first time in 20 years. Since then it is clear I won't be doing either. I'm trying still to voice ideas to hopefully help the club. I had plenty more in development for presentation. They are best left where they are. I get frustrated when Ideas not just mine are either misunderstood as in this case, or dismissed out of hand. Unlike others I haven't just walked away from the sport although I have been kept away for a while by ill health. It's probably best from now on that I keep my thoughts to myself. I wish whichever promotion gets the rights to Rye House have huge success and it would be nice to think I could see a few more meetings once more there. I hope my thoughts have been helpful. If not they were at least well-intentioned. Time moves on and people like me are speedway's past, certainly not its future. I'll still enjoy my speedway but firmly back on the terraces. What is the point in expressing ideas if they aren't understood? You do get tired of fighting. Rob.

You really are a 'div' aren't you? But that would clarify the job that you claim to have. Who's Mark Twain? Jeez, ever heard of Google? Your understanding of disabilty is laughable. I said that the petition wasn't the best idea that Neil's ever had, but on reflection, it created a thread that the club shouldn't be proud of in it's 50th year and kept the topic going and ruffled some feathers so fair play to him. I don't know and don't care whether he has an agenda or not, has always be ok with me so I have no problem with him, apart from defending Horton's "please be upstanding for the National anthem". The only relevant bit in Chapman taking over the club is that this uneccesary discussion is taking place. Anything else on that subject deflects from the topic. Anyway, must go because it's work in the morning. You better do likewise because those cardboard dividers won't put themselves into those boxes will they?

I attended a speedway experience day a couple of years back at Glasgow and Danny was doing some practice laps at Ashfield before our session started (i could be wrong but i think he started speedway at a similar experience day so knew the instructor) - i'm sure he was doubling up with Glasgow and Plymouth that season so was racking up the miles. Showed his commitment to the sport and also generally what the paying public don't see. A grafter and entertainer who will be sadly missed. RIP.

Is that right? I thought everyone instantly wanted to know why, especially with her being such a public figure.

6 weeks before the 1st meeting of season at home ,only 4 riders signed , what a joke

Bad enough to lose one of our family at such a young age, but also someone whose racing and relationship with fans was so loved. We need our entertainers. Whatever the reasons, rest well, Danny.

Awful news. Always gave 100% and a genuine man off track too. RIP Danny.

Which again shows what a ridiculous decision it was. They had the opportunity to track a team that would dominate.. and bring in the crowds as a result.