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Your memory is much better than mine Sid, I think a general rule was that the Scandinavians didn't fare well at Belle Vue, obviously Ole was the exception but even he had bad nights there, Hans just came across as another who excelled on smaller tracks but struggled on the wide open spaces of Hyde Rd. I supposed once he learned that you just had to let the bike go and keep the revs on there was no stopping him, I'm sure Erik took to it quicker, such an electric starter though, I can't think of anyone who gated like Gundersen could.

Not sure about that . Swindon fans loved doing well and loved winning the title it was still a big thing for the fans and the crowds would good because of that . Doing well and winning things will nearly always have a positive effect on crowd levels . Spending money on marketing and publicity with a crap team near the bottom is a incredible poor business model

His stance with England really p......d me off who is he to dictate and preach how our Country progresses.He could not be bothered to ride in British Finals( often commentated though!!!) also how many of those Ben fund meetings over the years could he be assed to ride in.? Was never a mate of Rossiter ever but Woffinden made his position with England unteniable for me Woffinden is what he is all out for HIMSELF alone.

You laugh, but in a way it is true. If anybody were to look at this forum to get an idea about the sport, they wouldn't go near it. The general consensus is that the sport is either, dead, dying or not the way it used to be in the good old days

Mikkel Michelsen who lives in Poland is refusing to sign his Polish contract with Lublin because he won`t agree not to be allowed to leave Poland as he wants to ride for his Danish team and sponsors.

BLRC nights were the highlight of my year as a kid - incredible atmosphere, a bit of friendly banter between supporters (and it WAS friendly!), and the feeling that you were experiencing something special. Obviously Hyde Road was a great speedway track and there was good racing, but it was the sense of occasion that made it memorable (a bit like Wembley World Finals)

Yes Sid, probably saw them all, he just seemed to have a hold over that title, won it in both wet and dry conditions. Can't recall specifics but I'm sure I saw him have stinkers in league matches there, although they were probably in the twilight of his career. BLRC was such an occasion, all the coaches from every single track, even 2nd division clubs were represented, I think the capacity was 25,000 and you couldn't move in the place, we always had seats on the entrance to the pit bend but one year my dad forgot to get seats and we stood on the steps in same area, I didn't get to see as much of that meeting but the atmosphere was enthralling.

I also liked visits to Plough Lane...the stadium just oozed atmosphere. Mike Bennett never lasted at Cowley and he has bitter memories of his time spent there.

Are you seriously saying going to Prague to watch a SGP sitting on a plane for two hours eating drinking in Prague using public transport sitting in the stadium- it’s worth the risk of getting COVID ??

..And poor old Martin Ashby discovering that he was on a few grand less than the others!

But the sad thing is, the Tories even when lying are still miles better than Labour.

You were warned on several occasions !!

Sadly sky have already provided massive (in speedway terms) financial assistance in the early days of their TV coverage. Sadly like most things connected to the BSPA that golden egg was dropped and smashed in pieces. Hence the poor revenue for later contracts and then the almost give away to BT sport. From 1999 to mid noughies speedway had the media partner and the money coming in to really turn the sport around... The rest as they say is history!

Totally right H Gould remember Simmo commenting once about him saying he had great aquipment like Ivan but was not half the rider.Yet he sold himself very well and always had good sponsorship over the years.Remember Simmo saying that all the number 1 riders got together and told each other what they were being paid Davis always earned well.

Mavis Davis for me would be in the "vastly over-rated category" out and out gater, backed by very wealthy family and often picked by National Team over far better riders like Betts / Wyer / Kennett (in earlier career) L Collins / Phil Collins / Grahame's later on. He was a good rider no doubt, a gater who could beat anyone on a slick track, but nowhere near the greats.

Nope. I bet very few of the 122,000 or 105,000 postal tests have been returned yet. And they can’t say they’ve met it until they’ve tested 100,000 people in a day. At least another week away from that. Shame they had to resort to lying. I voted for this lot.

Surely this is a good thing as you get a refund? Wheras when the GP gets cancelled, if your flight was still valid you wouldn't?

Why are you pissed off at BA cancelling your flights? Are you aware of what's currently happening?

"Greg" Hancock advises that there was 105,937 corona virus tests carried out on Friday.Twice in two days he's smashed the 100,000 figure. What a man. But if you discount Thursdays figure, cos you don't want to believe it, he has beaten the target of 100,000 a day late. Shocking, there'll be people asking for his resignation now.

I cannot begin to describe my loathing of these cretins who question and moan and complain about a Government which is trying its ar*e off to get us out of "the plague" Just imagine the horror of a Government headed by CORBYN/McDONALL/ABBOTT. These cretins have probably never had to run a company, never had any REAL responsibility, answerable to literally thousands of people. I bear no love for the Governing party, but my loathing of the gripes, moans and questioning of these self important idiots literally knows no bounds.

Tom Farndon. I understand there are still a few people who don't consider him the greatest ever!

Hi, Yes we already have face masks available and pretty smashing they are too. Initially I ordered 200 which have all but been taken up by frontline, NHS, Carers and key workers. We gave them away and asked for a donation and managed to raise £505 when went to Capt (now Col) Tom Moore They certainly seem popular

I don't see much change going into 2021 when/if things settle down again even with the aviation industry currently in a mess someone will come along and go for the budget approach as it worked for Ryanair for years and someone with the financial capability to offer cheap air travel will enter the market if those currently in the market increase prices or go bankrupt. However all this mess is a great opportunity for British speedway to remodel itself rather than constantly just rebranding the same turd calling in elite league, premier league etc. Promoters aren't going to voluntarily give up the sport so the maximum number of tracks will still want to operate and if we stick purely to british riders we will go further backwards as there are just not enough riders coming into the sport in this country The guys involved in youth speedway are doing a great job but still the numbers coming into the sport are not of the past. To progress to any sort of professional level we need the foreign riders I'd like to see two leagues, in the second tier the only requirement being all reserves are British

i thought the book would have sold more and got a better reaction that it has got. For me seeing it on the shelves in a big supermarket makes it worth it just for that.

speedway should be ok then..... sorry couldn't resist Actually that's not good at all if proves to be true

Yes I agree, I have nothing but admiration for what he has achieved and the sacrifices and work he has put in to achieve it. I'm certainly not a hater. It must be frustrating too when you're putting in the hard yards and your team mates aren't, I get that. He's right about fitness, no doubt. Look at Dave Norris. He spent most of his career playing at it then after cutting out the booze and getting himself fit he almost became a world beater till injury ended his career. I wonder what could have been if he'd done it earlier? There's been plenty of Aussies too though that have come here and lived the party life style without attracting Tai's criticism. It's his almost resentment of his heritage that doesn't sit comfortably with me. I understand though that after living surfboard lifestyle in the sun then moving to a caravan in Scunthorpe you might have a tainted view of the UK!

Were you surprised how Hans mastered Hyde Rd NW ??? i was i went from being a real doubter of his to being a real fan.My wife who went with me regularly said to me once does this rider Nielsen ever lose at Oxford superb rider great team rider to.It is no exaggeration to say that Hans in another time could of won 8 world titles great rider a great example to any young rider coming up.

They cant control deaths with lockdown it seems!Follow Swedish example maybe!

Yes thanks...I ordered it a few days ago and awaiting delivery.

Silver for me is a guy who i have total respect for how long has he been around donkeys years.?? Met him last year at Swindon for the youth meeting got him to sign a picture for me what a nice chap he was the enthusiasm still oozing out of him. My trips to Hackney speedway were great days don't think i ever see Swindon win there .?Iris you being a regular visitor to Plough Lane must of been special? it was to me i loved the stadium the history of it was special can always remember the pits being smokey there.

His opinion holds up very well for me Iris a man who i had great respect for Berry or Chapman ??? no comparison eh!!! John was a legend in my eyes a chance was lost when we didn't let him revamp speedway in the uk and nothing has really changed since.

He used to call Cradley fans cabbage patch kids, top man for that

Interesting analysis by John Berry in his "More Confessions" book where he had broken down a riders assessment on "equipment", "mental strength" and "ability" marking out of ten. For John Davis he wrote "You would have thought nobody could ever fault John's equipment. Certainly it was immaculate and was never short-changed. I just wonder, though, if a bit too much effort was spent on the bike looking the part rather than being the best performer. Still, eight and a half for that part of the formula. Strong mind? John could certainly talk a good race and did his homework and preparation well. He was also not worried about mixing it with anyone, although I am not sure he was quite up with the 'best' in the ruthless stakes. Eight points for that. Where John slips up in the ratings is in ability. To get as far as he did on such limited talent was incredible. For riding ability, I have to dip as low as five points I am afraid". Fair assessment I thought.

It's all about opinions isn't it Sidney; and Davis was always a bit of a "marmite" character as I remember having long arguments (friendly banter) about Mavis back in those days. We all have our favourites and those we just can't understand what the hype is about. That's speedway and it's an interesting thread for that reason.

An ex-girlfriend once did the same to me, but only the once. She gleefully informed me "I threw out all those music, speedway & motorbike magazines while you were at work, the dustmen arrived and took them all away". I informed her with equal glee that if she did anything like that again all her clothes would go into said dusbin for the dustmen to take away, was but one of very many reasons she became an ex-girlfriend and is no more. I replaced the lady in question and time replaced all the mags too. So, hah! . Was tempted but no, she didn't end up in the dustbin ....

Should have been called The Don as it was at Oxford that he came of age

I used to have a huge collection of Speedway magazines dating back to 1932. I got married in 1969 and when I came back from honeymoon my Mother said to me "I've had a good clearout and have thrown all those old papers in your old bedroom away." Thanks Mum!!!!!

Don’t want to put a damper on what is already incredibly tough times, but personally, can’t see a speedway season in the UK this year.

As good as it gets ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhA4zsHJPT0

Didn’t you see all the cotton buds sticking out of him when he turned to leave the lectern!

....and hopefully his lockdown will be longer than everyone else's!!

Probaly that was due to having joined the Championship at the last minute, resulting in the very weak team!

Denmark have done the same. I think Poland's attitude to this situation has been appalling. They should be working with other organisations to solve this mess. Maybe the organisations can come to some sort of agreement. A scenario like the below could work. June/July - Polish League August - Swedish League September - Danish League October - British League

Have I made it?

As a matter of interest, John, do we spell it "woosh" or "whoosh"???

How do you edit norbold gustix? He seems OK to me.

On Ivan's last visit to the UK to promote his book around 2010/11 "Ivan Mauger: The Will to Win: The Autobiography" I bought myself a copy and in there he said "if you can ride Brough Park you can ride any track in the world" and that was when the track was not only longer than today's track but approximately a whole lane narrower and the bends didn't really open out as much as they do now... so much more of a trick track back then I would say. The best laugh was I was standing in the pits with Kenni Larsen whilst Dalbers was interviewing Ivan on the centre green and he asked "Well Ivan what do you think of the track these days" Ivan's response was "you've ruined the place! you've made it far to easy to get round now" and Kenni turned round and said "whose this old nutter who thinks this is an easy track to ride" and when I explained who Ivan was and what he had done winning six world titles and when at Newcastle had an average of over 11 points... Kenni who had never heard of him previously was in awe of the guy and by the end of the interview was well impressed... Kenni even had a chat with him later on in the meeting and Ivan said he was impressed with Kenni's starting ability and his style on a bike. (which I think was fair praise indeed) Great talent Ivan and a true speedway legend sadly missed (and on the track side of things at Newcastle you could say the same about Kenni) Regards THJ

It’s a real shame as Blair was a cracking guy. His parents also some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Gutted RIP.

Thats funny when we have just come accross that old film of him.. I remember him as a real hard and tough racer, second was never good enough and you knew whatever race jacket he was putting on he would give 100%. At Custom House he was a real crowd pleaser, the same really at Wembley, bit od a norwegian version of Eric Boocock as far as agression went, dont know how many times I got his autograph as a kid, I guess thats why the fans liked him as he had time for them too.