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He is what 21/22 and has achieved a lot in his career already. I can’t believe anyone would say he has reached his peak. So long as he takes the chances offered to him and makes the most of trying to break thru in the Polish league I’d like to think there is plenty more to come. The trouble being of course is that he has been thrust onto the world stage pretty early in his career so that’s always going to be hard to top. I see no reason why he won’t continue growing as a sportsperson.

Influenza has no cure. Otherwise it wouldn't kill between 250,000 and 600,000 every year. I'm not belittling Covid-19. I'm simply pointing out, if the media hyped up the amount that die from different strains of influenza, we'd be locked down every flu season.

As someone with a lot of publishing experience, aware of what is involved when putting magazines through distributors and retailers such as WHS, I would strongly urge all readers who currently buy their weekly copy of Speedway Star from shops to switch to subscription ASAP. I appreciate that for many it is a cash-flow issue and no-one can argue against that. But if you CAN afford to pay upfront for a sub, then you would be very much helping Speedway Star and its staff by doing so. What most readers don't appreciate (and Phil would be able to confirm exact per-centage figures in Pinegen's case) is that every publisher who makes its mag(s) available through the retail trade effectively concede around HALF of the cover price to the distributor/retailer. WHS now demand an upfront, non-refundable payment just to stock your title. That's 'dead money' the Star will never see. It is for this reason that we (Retro Speedway) do not make either of our two magazines, Backtrack and Classic Speedway, available via high street retail outlets. The 'speculate to accumulate' mantra of a significantly increased print run wouldn't work and would very likely cause us to go bust due to the high volume of unsold returns the likes of WHS, Asda and Sainsbury's would chuck back at us.. While the publisher does, of course, incur postage costs in processing subscriptions, both the reader (customer) and the Star would still be better off. And in such hugely challenging times for all small, niche publishers, isn't their survival the most important factor. If - heaven forbid - the Star had to fold, there would be no worthwhile publication of equal stature to replace it.

Not one with no cure from what i can remember.

Definition of "expert" An "ex" is a has been and a "spert" is a drip under pressure. Just watch any TV news channel for proof of this.

Could you please contact all the leaders from all the countries in the world and share your research with them so we can all get beck to normal, I am sure they would appreciate it I am now sure that you just on a wind up, no one could come out with statements as stupid as yours if it not a wind up. as I keep falling for your wind up I will now stop answering your posts

THANKS Tony ... you are absolutely correct in what you say about the percentage of the charge that we actually receive.Around sixty per cent of current sales tre from newsagents, supermarkets, etc and will particularly vulnerable in the months ahead. A subscription ticks all the boxes... it is cheaper (£36 per 52 issues) and does not require you to leave home.

Woffinden is a fine example of showing what can be done after regrouping ,then putting total dedication into practice along with his natural ability.Lambert is a fine rider a superb rider technically and has not reached his level or peak yet people often forget what he has achieved already and is still a young man.

One of the worst things about the lockdown is that people are sitting in front of the television, which is run by people who want the public scared and depressed...

Personally I hate it when Ipswich run meetings on a Saturday as I get grief from the mrs, there’s always some other social event speedway will clash with on a Saturday night whereas I have very little problems on a Thursday evening! I appreciate on the wider scale running on weekends rather than a school night would likely open up to more people likely to go but I can’t see I’d be the only regular at a weeknight team that would miss more meetings should it switch to a weekend!

As a milky we are beavering away. I act as if I'm already infected if that makes sense. I've been wearing gloves and changing them regularly (not don't this before) Washing hands where possible. Moving fast and keeping my distance. No talking to people. If I could get a mask I'd use 1 for the protection of others just in case. But somebody probably had 500 in a cupboard earmarked for ebay. In a few weeks time there will be mass casualties and people we may know dying without a goodbye and without a funeral. There will be TV helicopters following the convoys of dead body's as the country mourns. That's not scare mongering. It's very real. So I guess I've come to terms with.that in my own head. I'm at peace with the situation. Maybe we all could take that into consideration. That's your mum's, sisters, wives and possibly kids. Hopefully not though but realise it could be. I've made sure if stocks are low my vunerable customers get first dibs. It's not about keeping ourselves safe. Forget about us. It's about not passing anything we may not know we have to healthy or sick people. It's like I'm working in isolation. We should all be considering this .... and if your not there is no reasoning to it. You would be a massive C word

To me, Mark was the pioneer who took the power of the Internet to Wolves fans. The fans communication age started with him. He created a 'family' that could meet via the keyboard or talk traditionally at the first step of the middle terrace above the starting gate. The management could never embrace this and even the building of that concrete monolith couldn't beat the Wolfcry crowd. Die hard Wolves fans were lost to the sport but Mark's legacy remains. Once, I went to Wombourne and Mark drove me to Poole. We chatted all the way and settled the dust in a Pub in the New Forest. It's the only time I wished the Dorset trek could have been longer! My life was the richer for meeting him. The politics of Speedway hurt him... the sport didn't. I said Speedway, Bob Dylan and the odd beer or two kept me going. He understood that. We have lost a gifted teacher - Gods' Internet has just gone up a level. RIP Mark. May you never be forgotten.

The sad news filtered through today of the death of Mark Lawton. Any old school Wolverhampton, and indeed, speedway fan will know of his impact. He was co-creator of the Wolfcry website who were one of the very first, if not the first, to begin online live updates. He truly was one of the kindest, most generous, men I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and will be sadly missed. RIP Mark

Hi everyone - Matt Jackson from the Speedway Researcher here. I know these are difficult times for everyone and there is no speedway to take people's minds off things. I am also aware that a lot of Speedway historians are of 'advancing years' and might be stuck in the house with not much to do, hence my offer that I will also post on the Researcher website on the next update. I have recently retired and have also got a bit more time on my hands which I will try and use up by updating the Researcher as often as I can. However, if anyone is interested, I am offering to help anyone with any projects that they have where they might be missing some information. I am thinking about heat details, match reports, race times, averages, rider profiles - that sort of thing. As well as the stuff that is on the Researcher site, I have at least one magazine covering every week from 1946 onwards and loads of pre-war stuff. I also have a record of every rider who I can find to have ridden in a meeting in the UK from 1928-46 inclusive, and everyone who has ridden a league or cup match since then. I am expanding this database to try and include all official meetings year by year as I go forward. If anyone wants any specific information about a rider, meeting, team or event, I am willing to help. I obviously won't have everything but I should be able to help with most enquiries. I hope that this will help to relieve the boredom for people until life returns to some sort of normality. The best contact is by email which is mattjackson68@btinternet.com Matt

They can put it on a Tuesday afternoon in December and I would get there unless physically impossible

cancelled or suspended by sky sports this morning got through on 0800 151 2747 and got through first time BT do not want to know but when my time is up in august I will never renew with then . They are con merchants

something for the weekend sir ! live stream music from a band called flynt @ 8.30 pm on sunday the 22nd march , tomorrow . search for flynts night in , it is on the bands facebook page, although it may take you to their twitter account . scroll down and the info will be their . one of Cumbrias finest bands will do a set lasting around 45 mins . hope you enjoy it . J ..

I for one hope Rye can get a team and how the country is at the moment could do them a favour to get sorted .

Absolutely appreciate my stance isn’t going to necessarily be widespread - I’d say we get good attendance at Ipswich all season long, don’t notice the difference between Thursday or Saturdays, just hope we get a decent ish seasons worth of speedway

Funny, as I did mention on another thread that the Star could be hit by the season delay and was told it wouldn’t by a couple of ‘experts’ as most sales are subscription

Right now I have actually started to understand why my wife watches "Judge Judy", no news and a small amount of humor (note it is not "humour" in USA and wife is american. I keep trying to explain that the language is called ENGLISH so we in ENGLAND have the say in how it is spelt but she just doesn't understand.

He’s still very young, he seems older as he started in our Elite League at sixteen but there is every chance he hasn’t reached his peak. After an excellent 2018 a slow start and then two huge crashes prevented him kicking on further but it would be silly to rule him out of one day being a GP rider.

The words of Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings seem particularly apt at this moment in time: "“It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something. That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.”

Too true.... I'm watching the 'Sky Sorts No News' channel at the moment. It's better viewing when the adverts come on!!!

I agree. 1918 was a different scenario. Britain just out of a world war and people had poor diets, many under nourished, food in short supply, some living in squalid surroundings, no NHS, people out of work, lack of money, no benefit system, overcrowding in many cities.

The death rate is massively spewed as they are only testing serious cases. Over 80% of cases have mild symptoms or none at all, these are not included in any 'death rate' figures. Plus, as you've pointed out, not everyone who dies actually died from the virus itself. There are two cases now in Portugal (out of the six who have died) where they died of other reasons but was discovered they had Covid-19 at the time. They're included in the stats though. What should be being looked into are the reasons why Italy and Spain have such a high death rate compared to many other countries.

Lefty, that is a wonderful tribute to Mark and far better than I could have put it. He really did pioneer the concept of the internet in Speedway, and indeed helped me begin my own journalistic career because I started out penning match reports for the Wolfcry forum while still in my teens. My family became part of the Wolfcry collective and had some incredible times travelling to meetings and social events - Mark and his many friends made speedway fun, which is what the sport should be. His impromptu 50th birthday party on turn two at Belle Vue, organised by Ruth and others, still lives strong in my memory today, and thanks to him and his vision I have made several friends for life through Wolfcry. Even away from Speedway he always had time for everyone and was always willing to listen to anyone's problems, a truly special man. Rest in peace Mark, and thank you for being a friend to everyone.

Didn't Leicester increase their fan base by dropping down and losing Jason Doyle? They did it by simply riding on a Saturday rather than a Monday or a Wednesday or a Thursday as it was then... People's leisure time is traditionally weekend, therefore run when most people can watch you.. Let's be honest who cares who wins most speedway meetings given the way many teams end up as the season goes by as made up adhoc septets, so just run it by selling the entertainment you can get by watching four riders of similar skills racing against each other on nights most punters can get there... I would suggest the Aces for example would get 400 more at least on a Saturday to watch BV v Wolves with three or four guests on show than two full teams on a Thursday night... Each club will have its traditional 'best night' to run.. So just run then..

I haven't mentioned anything about his opinion. It's Tsunami who is attacking Raystadia's opinion and claiming he is the only one who shares it.. he is far from that.

And that means what? to have an opinion on any subject, you have to search out any topic on that subject and join in

Dreadful news. The best thing about watching speedway for decades was that you got the opportunity to meet some special people. Lawt was one of them. RIP

My letter to Tesco Customer Service today, I sent a similar one to Sainsbury's too. Good Morning Mr Lewis, As a follow up to my e-mail to you late yesterday afternoon, I put the TESCO promise to the test this morning of putting aside one hour from 9.00-am -10.00am for the over 70’s and vulnerable people to do their shopping. I visited the store in Hunstanton, Norfolk only to find nearly as many younger people shopping as those of us that were supposed to have that privileged hour. As expected, it was a total pull the wool over your eyes job, nobody will realise to any great extent that we lied and had no intention of going along with our false promise, is the approach I feel the company that you work for is taking. Although they did have a reasonable stock of fruit and veg, the bakery was empty, no pasta, no eggs and guess what…...no toilet paper!! I asked a senior member of staff where the toilet paper was, and he said that they don’t take delivery until after 10.00am, so I said “What’s the point of the company that you represent, offering us an hours grace, which isn’t being adhered to anyway, when you don’t have the items that we desperately require until after our privileged window to shop. “Don’t know mate” came the reply, “I know no more”. Older people in particular start to develop weakened muscles and in a lot of cases bowel diseases and leakages (my wife suffers the latter badly for a few days after chemo), and not only want toilet paper and other toiletries of that nature, but it is an essential item to them. Things like that are about cleanliness and not having to walk around with dirty and stained underwear, causing you to smell. I know this is getting a bit heavy and personal talking like that, but it's vitally important, because that sort of thing could spread diseases, and we've already got enough of that with the coronavirus disease. I've got the impression, that all the major supermarkets are loving this coronavirus thing, in as much that they’re making millions out of all this bulk buying, by the selected few who are in the right place at the right time. Like yesterday, I would appreciate your comments on today's communication please

Agreed...WTG and that was my point I made previously....before even making an offer of help the government will audit Sports including BSPA-Speedway and a 1st year novice accountant will see the poor financial state the sport has been in for some time and that will be that. It would be like bailing out Woolworths and BHS.! Also the government will have much more pressing priorities to deal with than speedway. Money will be extremely tight...even for essential services. In the grand plan of this serious worldwide crisis Speedway, I’m afraid, is totally insignificant.

It’s probably only “window lickers” that would find that funny in all honesty.

Think I will be doing a spot of bird watching!!! Which generally will entail driving somewhere and looking through my camera with the window down. Take my own food and drink so no contact with anyone . Quite looking forward to it actually

Are you for real. Practically every country near lock down, no control of a virus that can kill people and could be carried by the others, no known antidote unlike the likes of flu, the countries finances in ruins and businesses going to the wall, all entertainment and groups banned, countries closing borders and you think it's just hype by the social media. I have never heard such garbage on the BSF. BTW Social media is actually helping to educate the public along with government announcements. Let's hope you don't get it, but then again it's just another seasonal virus to you.

I work in a special needs school, so it's all hands on deck at the moment. I expect it to stay that way until the government or health issues dictate otherwise.

I run the Supporters group, and I assure the post was not removed at all by the "insistence of Mr. Grant". If you look on the Supporters Facebook page, all monies that have been raised at the social events are clearly detailed in posts on the page (the last one being 9th Feb). There would be no need to ever have a post removed of this nature. There are a lot of opinions that circulate on this forum (but not limited to) and not a lot of truth from what I can see. It still astounds me that to this day, there are still people who will gladly find a problem to every solution! Without Rob, Newcastle Speedway would not even be in anyone's consideration this year, never mind running. As with any company in trouble and under new management, things must change in order to sustain longevity, and if people actually care about Newcastle being able to continue to run for many years to come, then I would expect them to be showing slightly more gratitude and trust in the person that's saved speedway on Tyneside, as he could also have so easily decided to walk away from his decision to save our club. As for the website, it has been stated before, but I will state it again, that the new design of the website was already agreed before the takeover. It may not be to everyone's taste, however it runs off the same web design as many other clubs in the country, and we will continue to run with it until at least next year. Finally, in regard to Jason. Rob is more than entitled to have the people on HIS team that he sees fit. It may not have seemed fair to Jason, but unfortunately in business decisions have to be made that may not be popular, but will benefit the business in the long run. Everyone at Newcastle wishes Jason well and there is no animosity between us or him, it was just simply a business decision that needed to be altered before the season began. I sincerely hope this clears up a few issues on here.

The riders always love the track because its smooth, cambered, and usually prepared well. But that doesn't guarantee good racing. Obviously with the rain stopping racing usually, having lots of covering is not essential. But being a soft southerner I feel the place would certainly benefit from some extra shelter from the wind. I find it like Buxton, you can get sun burnt and hypothermia in the same afternoon....

Of course we are concerned not least because Tesco and Sainsbury are our biggest selling outlets. This is probably the biggest challenge we have faced. We can only suggest ask those who purchase their weekly copy at either a newsagent or a supermarket to consider a subscription. There is also a significant saving too.

Andrew Dalby is a great guy to have IMO as a Centre Green Announcer and we are very lucky indeed to have his services. But, do you know what, I think I have a slightly sour taste in my mouth about the departure of Roy Clarke. Maybe I shouldn't, but my recollection is that he stepped in at very short notice to replace Andrew without having any previous experience of undertaking such a role. That takes some gumption and like his style or not, he was ever dependable and became much more proficient in the role as time went on. He was also very knowledgeable about the sport and had the ability to chat away during those long pauses which sometimes occur when fence boards are being replaced in between heats, or during a long track grade. There's a lot worse than Roy and I suspect we might well miss the rapport that he had with the riders and a large number of Diamonds supporters.

Have just received the latest edition of "Backtrack" and the list of riders who averaged over nine points is a real "Who's Who" of riders back then during speedway's last 'Golden Era'. Michanek, Mauger, Olsen, E.Boocock, Simmons, Lovaas, Boulger, C.Pusey, M.Ashby, Louis, Betts, Lofqvist, Eide, Valentine, T.Jansson, Ray Wilson, Jessup, Cole, Persson, S.Sjosten and McMillan. Again interesting reading Martin Rogers' comments regarding the Old Anglia and Central Junior Leagues quoting "...worthwhile proving ground for young riders on the rise" and "...It should also be noted their presence on the back-end of the programme was a popular value-added component of the night." I always find Martin's observations very pertinent having been General Manager/Promoter/Announcer/Journalist during that era and although I have taken issue with him in the past (which he answered honestly) I find his input very refreshing!

Tsunami is notable for his absence on the other, more detailed, discussion of Covid-19..