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I used to climb the fence at Armadale. The steward caught me and told me to get back in.

The Championship should have two "juniors" like Poland have in their top league. Giving the UK lads a guaranteed perfect stepping stone from NL to a higher standard... Seems crackers that the top league have rising stars but not the league below, given that the RS's in the top league race against world class talent each night.. The sport doesnt need a plethora of World Class GB riders, (it always seems to naturally get 3 or 4 who are of that level), but it does need plenty of "decent" home grown talent that can fill up team places in both Div 1 and 2... The middle tier would be a perfect breeding ground for the development of those riders..

I think that Thomas has a much better attitude and in my opinion would be better than Rowe, Poole must have thought that or they would have picked Rowe in the first place. I would also say Kemp has more ability but his attitude has cost him a team place.

Premiering tonight at 7pm sees the last of the 2022 season Gladiators TV rewind streams. Thanks for watching throughout the close season guys, we hope you have enjoyed all the action.

i really do not understand why we did not start the season with either an open meeting such as the Billy Sanders memorial of a friendly. This year with three riders who have not ridden the track before and another returning from injury it makes more sense than ever to give them some track time before riding a league meeting. It 's been said in the past that these meetings do not attract the crowds to make it financially viable, that cannot be the case this year with with supporters anxious to see Emil and Keynan.

I'd have to disagree, he has a higher average & is younger than Thomas, personally I think they are similar just now, but Rowe will likely end up the better rider.

BSN were always streaming it, we just didn't tell you

The first Swede I saw ride for the Robins was a young long haired blond lad called Jan Andersson. I was there at his Abbey debut against Sheffield I think. His first ride he was first out of the gate, hotly pursued by Carl Glover, held him off for a debut win. He struggled the rest of the meeting but you could see he was quality. Gutted when he moved on to the Racers, but proved me right as to his world class ability. Also had a soft spot for Soren Karlsson, although never in the same class as Jan Anderson, he was a really good team rider and on his day you felt he could beat anybody. Always seemed to get injured, but a real battler and in his first season with the Robins he was in heat leader class.

BSN now streaming this. £14.99

Gote Nordin was one of the best riders in the world in the mid-1960s and a big favourite of mine. I watched him cruise to two consecutive wins with sublime displays in the Internationale at Wimbledon in 1966 and 1967, each time against a field of world-class riders. He also claimed second place in the event in 1965 and but for a fall he might have secured a top three finish in 1964. In 1961 Nordin joined Ove Fundin and Bjorn Knutson on the rostrum to complete a Swedish 1-2-3 in the World Final. Between 1964 and 1967 he had three seasons in Britain, averaging over 10 points per match for National League Wimbledon, then in the British League for Newport and Poole.

As a Don, Tommy was my hero. I still remember picking up the Daily Mirror on the Friday morning to see the headline, "Speed Star Killed"; seems like yesterday. I was at West Ham for Christer Lofqvist's first meeting, and immediately took a liking to him. There are so many others not mentioned here that I remember well; Leif Soderberg, Soren Karlsson, Stefan Salomonsson, Bo Jansson, Bo Wirebrand, Haase Danielsson...

I hope we have well and truly received your jinx Lisa. Can you put it in writing please

Championship had RS for one year but said early on they would not repeat - and they didn’t. Now a bigger gap is emerging between PL and CL, it would be a good idea to revisit the idea for CL. Not sure the glamour, trophy hunting teams would wish to see this but it’s a good way for CL to get something of a grip on costs and encourage homegrown talents

Thanks, Steve. I've just started a new thread on the Swedes in the 'Years Gone By' section.

As long as BV has as much chance as anyone else of being peed off

Five minutes with...Workington Comets' Connor Bailey - cumbriacrack.com

A ton of water on the track?

A good interview in the Speedway Star with Phil.... States he may "upset some", but he does seem to have a lot of clear understanding of what needs fixing to make the sport credible in the UK.. Let's hope he has the mandate to do so...

July I believe, so goodness knows what happens then as I have Eurosport included in my Sky package but not BT sport

Apologies, a great insight though. It's very rare that these kinds of meetings get any widespread coverage these days and some big names in there as well. Used to be the my favourite part of the meeting when I was a kid going up to Swindon

It would be interesting and maybe conclusive if the PC list/letters could be published or posted on hear which would see who’s telling the truth or not once and for all.

No typo error, just facts. It is a pity that proboards never cover the best entertainment on offer. Look how all the talent on that day is doing now. Northern Junior League scintillating speedway was served up at Scunthorpe Speedway today when Halifax `Golden Fleece`Dukes entertained Berwick Border Raiders. The cream of British Youth speedway served up entertainment superior to most professional matches and a narrow margin of scores showed the evenness of the teams. Heat 1. With Dan Gilkes making his debut for the Dukes, all looked well with Kean Dicken following round the first bend and the Dukes on a 5-1, by lap 2 Kev Whelan had made his mark with a inside swoop for second place. All looked well on the last bend when disaster struck for Dan with a sudden engine failure, Kev Whelan sped through with Kean Dicken second and Kieran Douglas third for a early Berwick lead 4-2. Heat 2. Saw the first ever Northern Junior League 250cc race and what a race. With all 4 riders entering the first bend no quarter was given by any of the riders, side by side until the straight where Dan Thompson took the lead. With Jordan Palin, Leon Flint and Joe Thompson in hot pursuit the race was not over, lap after lap the boys rode hard with Berwick securing another 4-2 advantage. Heat 3. Dan Gilkes had to resort to his second bike, but who would have thought it. A magnificent start and holding his nerve under pressure from Kieran Douglas and Kev Whelan, Dan emerged from bend 2 in front and kept the lead throughout. 3-3. Heat 4. Dukes duo of Jordan Palin and Joe Thompson raced away for a superb 5-1 and to level the aggregate scores to 12-12. Heat 5. All 4 riders into the bend together and again with Dan Gilkes holding his nerve he gained advantage down the back straight with Kev Whelan, Kean Dicken and Kieran Douglas following. Douglas reeled in and passed Dicken and doing that split the heat score 3-3. Heat 6. With all to race for, Jordan Palin and Joe Thompson away from the gate with Leon Flint and Dan Thompson not far behind. Slowly Leon Flint reeled in Joe Thompson and a pass, but Jordan Palin was gone and tad too far for Leon Flint to reach. 4-2 to the Dukes and a narrow margin win 19-17. Credit must go to all riders who displayed fantastic skill and ability for their years, but most of all to their parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, families and friends for without these nothing would be possible. Thank you all. Halifax`Golden Fleece`Dukes 19 Keen Dicken 2, 0, 0, 2 Dan Gilkes ef, 3, 3, 6 Jordan Palin 2, 3, 3, 8 Joe Thompson 0, 2+1, 1, 3+1 Berwick Border Raiders 17 Kev Whelan 3, 2, 2, 7 Kieran Douglas 1, 1+1, 1+1, 3+2 Leon Flint 1, 1, 2 4 Dan Thompson 3, 0, 0 3

That's fair comment.

Not so sure Ipswich can afford to carry him either, if they are serious about silverware

Newman will move up in to the team and Rowe will drop to reserve at some point. Rowe at reserve will excel....

I love that keeping the same line up is considered controversial

That's what he says, but that is disputed by others who say they have the letters that show that to be false. In the thread I linked even Phillip Rising said he had seen the list and it was stretching it - and Phillip said he was a friend of Peter's and was carefully choosing his words. In the end we all have to choose which story, based on the info available, we believe is most credible In any event, isn't it the case now that the current owners do let ex riders in free with the only requirement that they contact Mark lemon in advance to say they are coming? Given that the seats are numbered that doesn't seem unreasonable

Curse of rider power comes into play again though with many going i only ride in X brand so rather than 7 suits made by one manufacturer gaining both bulk discount and continuity (always looks ridiculous when the colours aren't the same shades). however as covered above its very rare that suits are paid for by the actual club and are sponsored the majority of the time. Sorry for the tangent Redcar fans......

What you mean is that you've read the book written by Collins, where Collins claims that Collins didn't demand free passes for hundreds of hangers-on. However various BV promoters past and present who received the letters demanding free passes for hundreds of hangers-on, and those who have seen the letters, would beg to differ. (N.B. I have changed "ex-riders" to "hangers-on" since many of the 100+ names were not ex-riders. They were Collins' friends, ex-sponsors, and a selection of nobodies).

Lamberts 7 + average to replace Fricke is not the point really. Even if he had been reassessed to an 8 which seems to be the average that returning g p riders are assessed at he was replacing a rider on a 8.55 average so what's your point.

"010.2.3 Amended MA's With the approval of the BSP LTD GC or Directors for: - a) riders who have been absent from British Speedway racing for more than 3 seasons (The MA may be increased or decreased) b) riders who have been absent for more than 1 full season due to a speedway injury ..." Not sure which point remains, because that's the same as last season - and why Lambert was able to return on his previous average. No idea why the BSPA hasn't changed it. Ironically, I believe Lambert's average would now be subject to potential amendment, and Zmarzlik's average would most likely be amended - up or down It seems that for new riders, there's a grading system to decide on their assessed average, although I don't think the system has been published - the BSPA will probably work something out if they need to, and the details will never be published.

i put this clip on my youtube channel a long time ago ..

Anders, is a pretty good, hard riding speedway rider. Unfortunately, where it all goes wrong, is in the " gating department". Here is where Anders is among the most inconsistent in the championship and thats being generous.

Maybe just maybe rew doesn’t want to ride for Poole .

A very un Poole signing, fully expected rew. Has the talent but always seemed to lack consistency. A step down from Thomas imo and will probably end up at reserve first set of averages. Not strongest side on paper but it's Poole, so they'll be up there come end of season

I’m glad Poole didn’t put someone else out of a job fair play not a bad signing let’s all look forward to the start of the season.

Well it looks like E bikes will be the thing in the future which will likely open up the possibilities of speedway being staged in venues that currently would stand no chance with combustion engines? Nottingham Greyhound stadium as well?

Certainly a tough one to predict for me, don't think there will be big difference between 4th & 7th

I'd get that calculator. it's £5,040

Think both go hand in hand really, I've always liked team race suits, but no way should a rider pay for them, one form or another of sponsorship is essential, commercial or fans, just shows that all clubs need a good promotion to sort it.

I can't think of another team sport where members aren't in exactly the same attire. It's now 25 years since they were first introduced and still we have teams not using them in the UK, not wanting to look professional and give themselves an identity. Looks so amateurish IMO.

Completely agree. Any rider that has a year out of British Speedway should be reassessed before the next new season.Some riders have made massive strides in their career since out of racing. Lambert was a completely different rider in 23, it’s a mockery to bring a rider in on a false average. Lidsey has had 2 seasons of progress in the toughest league in the world yet gets to keep his outdated British average. Bonkers, another false average. Bellego has progressed in the world of speedway yet comes back on his last British average from years ago. Bonkers again and another false average. Woffy coming in for a wolves in 2016 ruffled plenty of feathers because he was a world champion on his low real average and this was one that seemed to stir this whole hornets nest that we have now and the one that seemed to stick in the teeth of Aces fans mostly (but happy to use that now). I think the common factor is that fans don’t like riders coming back and using outdated averages at a gain to other clubs (unless it’s the fans of the club that get the advantage I guess). It seemed that loophole was closed but reopened to suit any club or promoter asking. I think for transparency (not a word the BSPL seem to like) riders missing 12 months from the UK get an annual reassessment based on their Polish and Swedish averages. Surely any rider who rides in the GP should at least be a 9 surely? Minimum 8. I don’t think any fan would begrudge riders being fairly assessed on their current ability, not an outdated one.

The real problem is tracks, they are generally very slick which makes passing in most circumstances very difficult, which of course makes starting well a necessity, which is why we have the usual pre race shenanigans and gardening. If tracks were prepared more for racing as opposed to super slick, trapping wouldn’t be the be all and end all of the racing. Follow the leader crap is not what most supporters want to see.

Latest DVD release from the Retro Label is "Swedish Riders"...will be worth having a look at. So many greats to choose from. My particular favourite was the elusive Hasse Holmqvist who rode for the "Cheetahs" and "Rebels" (previously for Wolves) and I remember the occasion that he parked his caravan outside my house for a brew up!

Shame on Zmarzlik, Gorzow brought him through as a junior. No loyalty in speedway.