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If your post is a pathetic attempt at taking some kind of moral high ground then its just that, pathetic. The passing of Danny Ayres is a tragedy and we as fans have paid our respects by posting messages of condolence on here and other parts of social media, of course there will be other on here closer to the Ayres family who have paid their tributes personally. My post was a perfectly reasonable answer to a perfectly reasonable question posted the other day. How ever hard, the management at both Scunthorpe and Ipswich will need to sign a rider, when that will happen of course is up to each club.

Rusty was the reason I ever started going to speedway I spoke to him one night in town when he first arrived here and he persuaded me to go, that led to me running the track shop for many seasons and fundraising for the club. It also led to some life long friendships who now since closure sadly we may never meet up with again. Supporting the Comets has some amazing memories for me and of course our very last season brought us the trophies we had strived many years to win.

So many people in everyday life suffer from mental health.

Agreed It's right and respectful that Scunthorpe and Ipswich will want to wait until after Danny's Funeral on the 14th and possibly the post mortem, before making any announcements of team plans and replacements but as with any sport and facet of life as the saying goes "the show must go on" as it will with a lot of respects paid to Danny to come all over the UK no doubt. That's as it should be!

Seems each year UK speedway continues its downward spiral to the bottom..... less entertainment and lower quantity teams for more money. Kent’s pitch at CL speedway is just a reflection on how few people are bothered to go and watch. Sadly it’s reflected in the sports magazine offering, with increased costs and less detail on match reports. The sport is slowly failing. Reducing attendances will continue to reduce still further ..... initiatives to attract a new generation of fans will fail unless the accompanying adults turn up with their kids. As for the OAPs .... they are a significant % of fans attending the sport, not sure it’s good business to not offer any concessions. Price comparisons with other tracks don’t mean much in speedway.....people who don’t go rarely to save money don’t suddenly start supporting another team. They just find other things to sped money/time. Not sure Kent can support Championship speedway at these prices with the draconian curfew still in place. Let’s hope the track delivers entertaining racing without the all too regular incidents seen at NL level last season.

I get the reason why Leon has been stopped from riding for Newcastle but it's two different competitions and as long as there was no fixture clashes I would've thought a young rider getting track time would be encouraged rather than blocked.

And was that the same guy who a speedway supporter, working in his day job as a conductor on a train, caught out, not having a ticket for his journey from Rugby to Edinburgh? :-)

I find it odd that some people get funny when certain names are mentioned. Fans are using a thread designed on the 2020 team to speculate on who might ride in 2020. Some people think there is zero chance of Crump, OK that’s your view and you might be correct, but why be so argumentative. Very odd.

https://ipswichwitches.co/louis-pays-tribute-to-ayres/

While they were in the same Team ,Sam Jensen rode at No 4 in all his matches Bickley never got out of reserve ,Nicol has a higher average than both of them so will have to ride at 2 or 4. Jensen is replacing Bickley at reserve is my point.On what I saw last season that is a big +.

Nicki P has a meeting at Belle Vue the following day for Sheffield which would have come into the reckoning for him I would suggest... Big shame because I woukd have paid double just to see him at Brough one more time... #Legend... Regards THJ

I was at that meeting. Memory's fogged now but I think Grahame had taken 1 of the belle Vue riders to the fence. I was with a fellow Wolves fan and we said Wilkie will "sort" Grahame out, but it turned out that it was Mort who did.

Yes, that would be common sense you would have thought. But it is the BSPA. No doubt there's something about getting more riders involved rather than doubling up with youngsters.

Yes, as long as you take it with a very large pinch of salt!!!

Of course the list could be improved:

It's such a weak excuse. People entering the stadium should have been told told that anyone not parking in designated places, or driving/parking on the grass, abusing stewards etc, will have their registration numbers taken, be warned and potentially denied stadium access in future. It's been done before and isn't rocket science.

These I am afraid are the issues that those at Peterborough have chosen cynically and callously to disregard.

Double???,,, it's just about half price anyway

I beg to differ.

There was a TV programme some years ago that pitted stars from all forms of motor cycling against each other to find best all rounder. If I recall Grass track riders came out top with Road Racers not very impressive overall

A very random list of an obscure small fraction of the books published about Speedway. I have dozens if not hundreds of better speedway books not on that list.

That is my point, John! Speedway riders can switch to other forms of motorcycle sport with little or no difficulty, but it doesn't happen in reverse. Therefore, those who master small oval racing tend to be much better all-round motorcyclists.

Thing to remember, John, is that speedway is probably the most difficult of all motorcycle sports to take to. Remember when we had the televised competition in the 70's between the best performers in various motorcycle sports? Not one racer from outside small oval racing got close to anything past mediocrity on speedway. There is a lot to be said for that...

There was a Polish investigation into corruption, which had a small section mentioning sport. It was basically involving football, but suggested if it was s bad in football and looking at the money involved in speedway, the conclusion is(without any evidence, I may add) that it would be much the same in speedway One such report on football https://www.dw.com/en/polish-soccer-plagued-by-cronyism-and-corruption/a-15980132

That's the sort of reply most people would expect from you.

The straights are narrow this combined with the adverse cambers on the bend exits are causing lots of avoidable crashes....Both need sorting with the addition of more shale..Obviously the higher standard riders will be able to cope better with the problem.if nothing is done....which looks the case..?

That's not the reason I heard Dave but putting that aside, wouldn't you have thought that it might make a little bit of sense to carry the rules through until the end of the season? Any tinkering, amendments or changes can be thought of during the season and brought in for the following season or on a specific date and, not just on a whim.

Was that Burgergate? As I remember the insinuation there was that Wolbert’s food poisoning might have been made up, whereas in 2010 every EL team had an official number eight who could ride as often as the team manager wanted them to which contributed to Pawlicki riding so few meetings. It was a massive loophole and for a change Poole got shafted rather than doing the shafting which I’m sure the vast majority of those watching thoroughly enjoyed

On that basis only your top teams would have high attendances. They all have figures that are the envy of other speedway nation. Gates at relegated Torun would still be enough to delight any promoter outside Poland.

I could not condone Peter's signing and he was gone by the time I was back at Rue House working for Ronnie. Ironically he seems to be doing his 'bit' now although I was rather surprised to see his name re-appear a few years back. We had some hard times but Jens undoubtedly saved the club and his efforts with Glen Baxter to haul the Rockets over the finishing line in the later heats at Hoddesdon made for some exciting finishes as they fought to dig us out of whatever hole we had fallen into. The promoters should have been looking into keeping a minimum number of British riders. Even today Poland and Sweden practice having a minimum number of their riders. We could admit foreign riders but still limit their numbers. If it can be done in 2020 it could have been in 1990. Now, here's a controversial point. We had no problem letting Aussies ride in tier two yet people objected to EEC riders when the latter had the right to race here while the former, unless they had patriality, rode here as a privilege, not right. The theory was that instead of employing Aussies, and the few remaining Kiwis we should be using riders from Denmark, Sweden and the other EEC countries. The problem was allowing too many riders of low ability to replace British kids, but then speedway has always been short-sighted like that where a theoretically glamorous foreigner was seen as better box office than a local kid. If only more promoters had taken John Berry's lead with his championship-winning team of Suffolk riders plus Billy Sanders who was seen as an adopted son of the county. There really is no substitute for the local hero, as we at Rye House knew only too well with Karl Fiala, Bob Garrad, Kelvin Mullarkey in particular, while not being from Hertfordshire were from neighbouring parts. Jens was also 'one of us'. He and his family mixed socially with the supporters and his country of origin was totally irrelevant to us. Ronnie opened a door but wasn't responsible for those let through.

Oh definitely.. incredibly weak. Whoever it is that caused them issues last year must have really peed them off that's for sure. Seems such a boneheaded approach to dealing with the problem. As you say, plenty of other options they could have taken, warnings etc.

Obviously not you...

Who wants to watch Wallinger rather than Flint? This decision is a shame for Newcastle fans and those of clubs that the Gems will travel to.

Steve Johnston is riding at Perth next weekend. Maybe this means he'll be the next Panthers target?

Right now I would take watching Rye House Rockets though a lattice wire fence, full stop.

That's an interesting statement. Wasn't he the first to sign a "less suitable" rider as well? Rasmussen may well have been a success in the league but Peter Schroeck certainly wasn't!

Rules have been changed from the published ones at Xmas. A rider now can't ride for 2 teams (Leon already signed for Armadale) so Newcastle have acted quickly and signed David Wallinger. Not a youngster, but he is a very experienced rider who, from observation, is very helpful and encouraging for our younger team members.

Yes it's been a brilliant start in the Rob Grant era at Newcastle Speedway. Two fans nights both packed out, all the team in attendance and the return of many old faces that I think have been missing for a long time. Let's hope this continues into the season, and we see the two new foreign riders getting to grips with Brough, whilst James eases himself onto a speedway bike and hits the form that fans have hope for. These 3 riders are key to our success, remembering we have to make up about 2 points to match the strength of the other teams. I am sure we will. Brilliant field for the first meeting celebrating the 90th anniversary of Newcastle Speedway. It could only be improved by the inclusion of Nicki P, but it's still a cracking field. As one illustrious fan said to me last night "I've got a feeling that this year is going to be a great year". I don't think he is wrong.

I will be backing Madsen to win the world title at 3/1 , ive no idea why i should be backing him each round, im not even talking about each round but overall I will each round be having an each way bet on Fricke, whose odds each round will be much shorter than the 100/1 for the title, but i dont want to back him for the title Starman logic lol

As far as I can see Crump has done nothing to indicate he has any interest in returning to Britain. Every Summer he rides a couple of meetings in Australia and this seems no different from previous years. In previous years there was no speculation about Crump returning - the talk of his 'comeback' seems to be more of an indication of Peterborough's desperation than any real possibility of him coming out of retirement and riding full time.

Hi B.B. the REF has been running for many years and as Skidder says, in brackets, it stands for the Riders Equipment Fund. Fans can become members by making a monthly donation of anything from £5pm. During the ‘close season’ there are monthly social events for members and non-members that help to swell the fund. Usually the events are quizzes but have also included race nights, game shows and chat shows. Every year, each of the current Pirates is presented with a REF gift (usually £500) to help with expenses. Often the presentation would be made following mechanical failures or loss. Member benefits include discount at REF events and the chance to be asked to present the gift to the rider whilst taking part in the race day introductions. Plus, of course, the satisfaction of contributing to the Pirates’ riders. Potential new members are asked to contact the club via the website to request a form or to be put in contact with organisers Stan and Val Vatcher.

Seems to have been blocked. Shame to have a young rider wanting to get better on small tracks stopped from racing.

I'm sure godfrey will do whatever is in the best interest of speedway..........and scunthorpe

Lack of fixtures in summer didnt help but we lost alot of fans before that last season? The town board sold on the lease who knows a promoter might have got a better deal before the 2 people who couldnt get their new stadium spat the dummy and then ripped the track up !

He always had time to chat to the fans, as did all the riders in car park and pits. Great bunch of lads. Loved my Saturday night trips to DP in 2004/5. Especially the Fours, with over 2500 there. Why did hundreds just stop going? And what a way to bow out, winning everything.

Yeah, Rusty had made 325 up until 2013, then made another 13 in 2015 making 338. Carl rode in 361 official matches for the Comets

Good to see some TV news coverage of Speedway tonight, even though it was local (Look North BBC), covering Nicki Pedersens introduction to the fans at Owlerton last night. This is what the man brings and it shows how important having riders like him in Britain is.

After reading all the various predictions that have been posted I would like to draw your attention to a score from last year when Glasgow suffered the heaviest defeat at home to Scunthorpe ( Scuni won 53 to 37 ) At the start of the 2019 season no one would have predict a home loss like this, so its all ifs and buts again for 2020. All i want to see is some good racing,all riders leaving meetings in the same transport they arrive in and that Scuni make the play offs and the go on to be the league champions AGAIN.

Ah, he’s back. Enjoy, CL fans.

Interesting as I think Scunthorpe look very strong!