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It's a TEAM sport so all of the TEAM should wear matching team uniform just like other sports....

Do you not think matching suits and bike covers look much, much more professional than a collection of waifs and strays in random colours? Race jackets worked in the eighties but this is a completely different era with tv coverage and team sponsors, social media etc. Teams and riders need to look as professional as possible. There is a reason that pretty much all other team sports have matching team wear for all team members.

That your username is appropriate it seems

my pictures from the Celebration of Speedway at Paradise Wildlife Park on Sunday https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_womble/albums/72157713252321707/page1

Got a message back from Jake this morning , he's on board with the idea.

Smolinski has to have ambition and he will try very hard. Doubt he is good enough for top 10 but you cant hold anything agaunst him for effort and having ambition.

Very pleased to be part of Drew Kemp sponsorship for 2020, spoke to him at the Paradise Park on Sunday. Very professional young lad, hope all concerned with Ipswich will give him time, big step up for him, but I believe he as a big future

But you have to remember that it is the bspa that come up with these ideas and how they are applied.

Of course they look more professional. Its a TEAM sport and the matching kit aligns with a TEAM of riders rather than a collection of individuals (Poole Pirates last season is a good example of the latter). Whether you like it or not is a different question.

Thought last years suits were very good, never understand people moaning they can’t tell who’s who - they tell you before the race who’s in it, as does the program and they were different colour helmets to differentiate

The thing with the young Australians is most come here and bust a gut to earn money as they ain't got Mum and Dad a few miles away to bale them out. I've said it on here before. So I'll repeat myself. Too many young British riders think they've made it when they get a signwritten van and a bit of eyecandy on their arm. Also of you were a young British Rider and wanted to really upset the applecart, I'm sure the relevant authorities would frown upon untried riders requiring a visa getting a job while a British citizen doesn't.

I'm just wondering, if in this new "golden age" where from January 2021 lower-skilled foreigners will no longer be welcome and their replacements will be drawn from among the 8.3 million British idlers and workshy backsliders whom the lovely Ms Patel has identified as the ready source as seamless replacements, that possibly I, as a member of the aforesaid classes, could finally have a chance to be a professional speedway rider? I'm ready, willing, and errrm.....

In all other sports opportunities are grabbed, gained and lost by either being good or not good enough along with a bit of fortune. All sports persons at the top of their game got there through dedication, hard work and because they did what it took to get to the top. In contrast Speedway can at times reward mediocrity and potential whilst genuine steady improvers can be frozen out. The numbers game is a harsh game and there has been a massive list throughout the years of good riders who never made it and it will grow year on year. The only way to guarantee a team place is to be so good that everyone wants to sign you.

And have different numbers on there backs,,,, and normally different styles. Think it's mainly the older fans,, back in the so and so years and all that. And does it matter who is in first and second,,, they both represent your team.

If you go into an task with a negative attitude, the likely thing is that you will fail. Have a positive attitude, and surround yourself with others who are positive then you have a better chance of succeeding. Smoli is doing it right, investing in new engines and fresh mechanics. Would be nice if he did what he did in the final of the NZ Gp few years ago..... that would lite up the forum.

His comments caused a bit of debate, with some saying ‘what planet is he on?’ And others asking ,what is he supposed to say ? ‘I’ll be happy if I don’t finish last’ !!!

Bears have a race night arranged for Saturday when they will announce the name of a new Promoter. No clue if it's a new addition or a replacement for one of the existing Promoters. Edit - Now informed it's an additional Promoter. I've put a pound on it being Jason Pipe......

Good point and one possibly not thought through when the window idea was muted The window needs to be open/closed at the same time for ALL teams and not flexible to individual circumstances for the very reason you state

What a ridiculous statement, I could easily name half a dozen world class riders who didn't "stay fit", there's a lot of luck with any motor sport.

Dump them and let the riders have their own race suits and pay for them/advertise with them. I know I'm seemingly in a minority here but I'm perfectly capable of telling apart the riders from each team without them having to be in clone suits.

In terms of rider numbers it probably would help several if they were a little larger. I also concede that under lights helmet colours can be a bit tricky to pick out (especially when faded/stained and this should be stamped out on its white no grey/blue tint). Maybe the away side should have yellow and black quarters and black and white stripes? As for the pink troy lee gloves i hope they have plenty of stock in......beautiful idea

A bit of an empty soundbite that one, often substandard British riders** can be as damaging to the team and themselves if just given a team place solely based on where their passport says they are from. This country already offers development leagues for riders to cut their teeth and improve their skills, find a pathway into the sport etc. If people are being asked to pay money to watch the product, they should be given a decent return on that investment for doing so rather than simply having to pay the wage of someone solely based on their place of birth rather than the talent and skill they posses. I would question if it is a sensible message, or even a true pathway of development in the long term to give a rider team spot based on where they are from either, in what is seen as a more "professional" league". I am not entirely convinced that actually benefits in the long term creating a psyche of an entitlement rather than earning it. ** not applying that to those mentioned, but simply applying a broad stroke statement as so many do on these subjects

My son needed some track time Before the season starts and with the weather up here in Glasgow really bad decided to head south we had planned to practice at Scunthorpe on Saturday But it was cancelled so we new rye house was also open Saturday and weather looked ok so just kept going south and glad we did got plenty Laps in to blow the cobwebs away

Does it really matter?

I think you Diamonds fans need to take a breathe and be thankful you have a new promotion,team manager and team .A couple of months ago it looked like speedway was going to be lost on the Tyne ,so be patient as your team due to the uncertainty has had to have the pick of the riders left after all sides had virtually picked there riders . Support Rob Grant or speedway will be lost ,as I know only too well when Hull Vikings closed a lot of years ago . I know get my methanol fix at Scunthorpe Scorpions alongside my dad aged 80 ,so give it time and support and good luck to all associated with the Diamonds for the 2020 season

Calm down

It is planned but just like The Silver Helmet no date yet.

Tobiasz Musielak is 6.21 I believe.

Polish riders can be listed at 8/16 as long as they are under 23. Several teams used Poles in these positions last year. I'm fairly sure that if the rider is Polish and under 21, they can replace reserves as well as riders in the top 5.

Surely they'll be able to play the wag, just say they've been on an educational trip.

It took me a few photos before I recognised Egon Muller!

Not as far as Bailey, Watson or Douglas for the same meeting....

Is it true, the idea of handicap racing in the 2020 National Trophy has now been binned? Apparently not in the new rulebook.

Sheffield Panthers Wolves Belle vue Swindon Lynn Ipswich

Along with Clerk of the Course, Cubs Team Manager, Pits Marshal, Start Marshal, Presentation Teams and Stewards.

That’s correct, apologies.

They can afford NKI, but not a tenner an hour(for 3 hours max) for a man with a few cones

Sad news indeed. I never had the pleasure of seeing Len ride, I'm much too young, but did get to chat to him at the Speedway dinners at Norwich. A lovely gentleman, who will be sadly missed by all those that had the pleasure of meeting him. My condolences go to all his family and friends. R.I.P. Len.

They have done a good job of that in the past few weeks, one way or another ...

Looking forward to my first visit to Kent this season, when Glasgow are in town.

..so do the bikes!!!

What diffence does it really make? Either way He isn't going to come back and not put 100% in. It might actually be easier for him if his son is over. One thing is for sure he'll be as committed and probably more so than some of today's star riders who are chasing Polish money and GP points.

I very much doubt long standing loyal supporters like Grachan or any of the others including me who you have picked fights with in the past would be seen dead with you at the speedway, so don't flatter yourself bus-boy.

It didn't take long. I looked it up several years ago, when they were doing the initial selling, and I'm pretty sure I did post it at the time. Do you have an attitude problem in real life or is it just on the internet?

There are still quite a number of people around now who were around at the time the stadium was constructed, including the current press officer.

The truth is out there. The Prem clubs step in to save the day (after the destruction of the current development league) by running a second half division for "local young riders" to enable them to develop and hone their skills before finding there is no team place for them as they are all filled with overseas riders and fading GP stars.

Was never a Huge Greg fan, Billy was always my favorite rider. However I got to know Greg when he visited NYC a couple of years ago and we have remained friends ever since. What I can say he is as nice in person as you see on the camera. Its not a front or BS. But he was fiercely determined to be successful without over stepping boundaries. Its fascinating talking to him on how he reinvented himself in 2010 to make himself a contender again. A genuinely nice bloke and whether or not you enjoyed watching him ride, deserves a massive amount of respect for the career he had.

As a 21 year old Charles Wright was averaging less than 4 for Redcar in the second tier. So to suggest that Nathan Greaves can be so casually discarded seems very harsh. (And after 6 years of Conference league experience Paul Starke averaged below 2.5 for Newcastle in the PL). We need the likes of Greaves, Hume and Bowtell to have decent opportunities to continue their careers as we continue to find it more and more difficult to attract riders from abroad.

At those odds - Woffinden / Sayfutdinov . Janowski to make top 3 ....

I fear it may be even longer than that.. I believe he is currently in Poole General holding a bed side vigil for Jack Holder... The diagnosis isn't good either.. A specialist was heard to say to one of the nurses that one of Jack's toes had "gone to market", whilst one had "stayed at home", another had seemingly had "roast beef", whilst another toe sadly "had none"... Most worrying though was that it is believed that the smallest of Jack's toes had gone "wee, wee, wee, wee, all the way home"!!!!