Vince

Let's hope it's like Belle Vue which seemed just as unlikely to ever happen for a while

Round 5 of the DTRA National Flat track Championship is being held on Friday 7th July. The event will be live streamed and details will be on the Dirt Track Riders Association page on Facebook at 6pm. Classes running on Friday will be Pro, Restricted, Vintage, Thunderbikes and the final round of the Hooligan class. Kings Lynn generally throws up some good racing dependant on the weather and track conditions. Might be worth a look between SWC races

I think it would be relatively easy to say that if you have represented another country at international level you can't ride in the British national championship. It does make a mockery of the title.

Its the claim culture that is the issue. If he wants to walk around in flip flops it's not a problem. If he gets hurt as long as he can resist the urge to grab a couple of grand it's still not a problem. Not sure if I was a promoter I'd be willing to risk having to pay out that couple of grand rather than get him to wear something appropriate.

Isn't that the point when we are talking about the Gerhard engine? Better engineering supposedly makes it more reliable and comparable to mainstream engines.

Plenty of modern single cylinder engines rev over 13000rpm with no problems.

Didn't really work for a certain Welsh lad who went on to be a Promoter

I think that is part of it but also, like with all the foreign lads, only the best and most dedicated get here in the first place so we don't see all the lads who don't make the grade like we do with the British lads. They also get a lot of help and advice from their fellow countrymen which isn't so much the case with British lads, that's not always the older British riders fault though. I think the asset system in the country is almost designed to hold back British youngsters as well. It has always been easier to get rid of an underperforming Brit rather than let him find his feet compared to a foreign rider doing the same although that has changed a little for the better. Youngsters probably do go into the NL too early, mine did but it's the only way to get them riding regularly enough to improve. As said by others second half racing is cancelled at the drop of a hat. We once turned up to a team second half at Swindon which was cancelled because Mads wanted to test an engine. When I asked Mads about it he had no idea the youngsters had been cancelled which I had guessed because he is one of those riders who is great with the kids. It wasn't urgent for him to test at all, he had mentioned it so the promotion cancelled the kids as they aren't important! He also told us how in Denmark he used to be able to pay £8 to ride all day any day at his local track, there is nothing as important as seat time.

Personally I think it's far more to do with the shape and dirt than the size. Generally I like small tracks although you don't get the same sensation of speed. Think Wolverhampton is great because the surface is generally prepared at its best to suit the track. Mildenhall on a good day is an example of a small track that rides like a much bigger one. The new Belle Vue looks great on video but also looks like it needs a really good motor to do well.

I'd have thought that the more circular the track the higher the speeds and the more important horsepower becomes. Certainly you can have small tracks that ride 'fast'. Long straights and tight corners make being able to turn hard and find grip more important than horsepower in my opinion, usually gives less racing lines though.

If these bikes aren't found abandoned within a couple of days then it's really bad news as they have no use outside of the speedway/grasstrack community. Hopefully it doesn't become like mx bikes where everybody who owns one has either had one nicked or knows several people who have. The police generally don't even attend any more despite these thefts often being in the tens of thousands of pounds.

Kevin also rode in the Pro class on Sunday and I think finished about 8th or 9th

The Pro and Hooligan races will be streamed live in two 45 min shows on both days at https://www.dirttrackriders.co.uk/

I think it's a valid point to some extent that if you have older lads coming in from other sports they should be able to take advantage of the training on offer or even if you have a lad been around the amateur scene for a while but suddenly makes a breakthrough to NL standard. However if you've been around for several years without breaking into the league it seems unlikely that you will progress much further in all honesty. It's still a fact that time and again I've seen in Speedway that hard work and dedication will make for a better career than natural talent.

I would say that having a lot of lads filling team spots in the top two leagues is far more important than having one reach the GP's or even be World Champion. I firmly believe that having local youngsters in the team is one of the few ways you will attract and keep young spectators. Of course the more people in the PL the more chance that one will develop into a GP rider but the important thing is to allow the youngsters to get as far as they can and enable them to stay in the sport long term.

That applies to every sport and every nationality. Only a few make the grade equivalent to that which will let a Speedway rider have a career and a miniscule percentage reach the top. It is encouraging to me that there is now a decent route into Speedway in the same way Grasstrack used to be. Get enough kids doing circles on bikes and the best will come through and if they are lucky enough to avoid injuries and able to get through the financial difficulties they are the future. It is certainly an improvement on recent years and the first really promising time since Peter Oakes tried in the early 2000's. This time it looks like it has more support from the BSPA so can only be a good thing. I think Philip is spot on though, these kids shouldn't be left to their own devices once they hit NL teams. They need skilled help with their development until they reach the highest level they are capable of. If that's the NL or Championship for the majority then we have to accept those team places need riders too, success in bringing on youngsters shouldn't be measured by the amount of GP stars it produces. Now keep them out of the asset system for a few years (or even better do away with it) and the futeure would look even better.

It's a catch 22 though. When Speedway was a well publicised and popular sports companies would employ riders and give them the time off that they needed. Now that just isn't going to happen, it is very difficult for a youngster to find a job now that allows time off for Speedway. For most it comes down to self employment if possible or working off season. In all fairness very few riders make their living out of Speedway, the majority do something else at least off season.

On a personal level I'm not much of a fan although Tai seems to have matured a bit the past couple of years. However as a rider I think he has all the qualities to be one of the all time greats and clearly has the ability to make the most of the equipment and people he has around him. If I had a lad riding Speedway these days I would welcome the opportunity for him to be taught by Tai, there's lots of kids who can get around a track on a bike OK but very few know how to organise the rest of it. The current UK system appears to be a big improvement and kids are being far better educated on all aspects than previously. For most though it's still dad or Uncle Joe offering advice and help as best they can the majority of the time, whether they actually know what they are doing or not. It will take time for the training to take proper effect so the more good quality instruction that is available the better. Instruction and seat time is where the Aussies, Danes etc are so much better off than the Brits. Massive project having a kid? I would say it's easily the biggest life long commitment most of us will ever make so not an unreasonable statement.

I believe Oliver Brindley, the young British rider who is currently 7th in the GNC singles class after solid results in the first two US rounds is going out to ride his first Mile event at this meeting.

Times of racing for the weekend, going to be a busy one! Sat AM 9.00am - 11.00am Rookies and Youth Senior Practice (This session includes manditory practice for all riders in Pro and Hooligan 10.30-11.00am) Sat Show 1 12.15pm -1.00pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat Show 2 2.30pm - 3.15pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat PM 4pm-5.45pm DTRA Racing Restricted and Minibike Clear pits for speedway by 6pm Sunday Sun AM 9.00am - 11.00am DTRA Racing Vintage and Youth Jnr (This session includes manditory practice for all riders in Pro and Hooligan 10.30-11.00am) Sun Show 1 12.15pm -1.00pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sun Show 2 2.30pm - 3.15pm Pro and Hooligan Exact format TBD Sat PM 4pm-5.45pm DTRA Racing Thunderbike and Youth Inter

I agree that safety fences are there to protect spectators, after all riders would be better served by having nothing or a nice soft pile of people to run into. However given the number of spectator fatalities and injuries I would question that the board track fences were adequate.

That is pure porn!! So good that if I quote it then it will be seen twice. I've got quite a few dream bikes but that is the absolute top of my list.... at the moment anyway

Could it partly be some people going to meetings because they can't get their Speedway fix on TV at the moment?

I'd have loved to have seen this live, proper pioneer stuff. 100mph plus on tyres you wouldn't trust on a bicycle and clothing suitable for a brisk walk. https://www.filmpreservation.org/preserved-films/screening-room/beverly-hills-board-track-racing-1921

Round two of the DTRA Championship takes place at Peterborough showground as part of the Motorcycle News festival on 13th & 14th of May. Expecting it to be a full entry in almost all classes. Not sure of timings for all the classes yet but do know that the Pro and Hooligan classes are racing from12:15 each day as the headline event on the Speedway track. Speedway on the Saturday night as well with Newcastle the visitors so could make a good day out!