salty

Hopefully the joker will be done away with, though more likely I would expect it restricted so it can't be used in the last 4 heats. Regarding seeding the home team through, having been at White City to watch sparsely attended WTC Finals when the Brits didn't qualify, I'll be surprised if that is done away with.

Do you mean Heat 18 or Heat 19? Surely the team that scores the most points (not counting the joker) deserves to win? Great effort by the Russians to clinch 3rd>

It's happened before and will continue to happen whilst the joker (how apt) rule stays in place. Makes the sport a farce.

So what's the chance that we might some shenanigans regarding the joker in the next couple of races? I can see Denmark trying to keep the lead at 5 and the Aussies looking for 6.

When PK was interviewed at Eastbourne the other Monday he said he was in the squad and available if needed.

Denmark win 6 races out of 8, we win 1 and yet we're only 2 points behind. Don't know if its fair but the joker certainly keeps things close.

According to Crump in his interview he thought Ward was 2 or 3 weeks away from full fitness. Probably right that a change from Lynn might be due, but I guess we must be thankful we get a home tie each year. I thought the Czechs put up a good show tonight, especially compared to last year.

Right decision by the ref, whichever way he arrived at it. Got to love Nicki, saying THJ threw it down - I don't know how he keeps his face straight....

Never knew that about the 1983 Wtc meeting. A quick rummage in the attic for the programme confirms that there were a couple of sub 57 second heats, but the track record of 57.4 held by Siggy was still the official mark afterwards so you're spot on. I can only surmise that the tapes were pulled back towards the 4th bend after the new track layout was introduced at the start of the 1968 season so as to give the riders a decent run to the first turn.

My memory is slightly different - the helicopter landing and all the presentations were on the Saturday but the meeting was rained off. Re-staging was the next Wednesday without the pre-meeting palavar - and you are right that Lee was brilliant. Wasn't sure that all 3 wins were from the back but I can definitely remember Lee showing great speed down the back straight to get past Bruce.

I was at the meeting at Dudley Wood in 1981. It was the first since Bruce had taken over the mantle of World Champ. If I remember correctly at least two of Lee's victories over Bruce were from the back.

Maybe they should talk to Trevor the lotto winner mentioned in the article, who has 26 million dollars to play with. Apparently, motorsport is his passion so you never know....

Which reminds me to renew my sub!!! Looking forward to this issue - Christer Lofqvist in particular was a rider I loved to watch.

Surely it will make it financially more attractive if an Aussie GP can be linked to the NZ event next year (or the year after), as it will balance out the transport costs to an extent. Remains to be seen whether Western Springs was a financial success, but the crowd looked very encouraging to me considering the sports current profile in NZ. Surely an Aussie GP at a place like Gillman could be a goer,

Not so sure it was at the end of the season. From his interview in the Speedway Star I recall the decision was fairly late, causing him difficulty in getting fixed up elsewhere.

Wait until "Kiwi" sees this thread, he'll give you an opinion!

Can't do a link I'm afraid, but the Speedway Plus website has posted an update on Gary. Sad news I'm afraid.

Was a nice early Xmas pressie. I like the recent focus on figures from the National League and in particular the feature on David Walsh, who is a fascinating character. I'll always be grateful for his cup winning exploits in Heathens colours, but I was equally interested in hearing about his life post-riding. Hats off to all for that article. As an aside I note the CD-rom version of the 1982 Speedway Yearbook. I used to love the Peter Oakes editions of this title (though my 1977 copy got mislaid a few years ago and I've yet been able to replace it). I would be interested to hear any feedback about this new format from anybody who has already purchased.

As Marvyn says himself in the last issue of Backtrack "As far as I was concerned, I was still riding for Britain. They gave me a German body colour but I insisted on a British or English flag for the parade. It was a talking point but I wasn't going to carry about a German flag on the parade".

Point taken. Unfortunately, the nomination process appears to be a necessary evil given the commercial interests that have taken over the competition. I personally would like to see the back of the nominations and a return to the old style GP challenge with the bottom 7 taking the track against 9 qualifiers. Why do you think 12 GP's is too many? Because of the effect such a programme has on our domestic calendar?

True Bryn, but I don't know whether you can use the word "merely" to describe finishing in the top 8. It's a pretty big achievement to break into that rarefied company and there is a lot of very good riders who have failed to get into the top 8.

True, but the Speedway was a financial disaster in 1996

1981? Billy Sanders (3rd in1980) didn't even get through to the European rounds, being eliminated (along with Phil Crump) in the Australasian Final.

Got to agree that somewhere within the M25 there should be a suitable location. I think the only hope of getting a local authority on board is to offer a package similar to the one mooted at Leicester, with training facilities and learning centre. Getting planning and a site is one thing, but finance is another. Even if you build it however, will they come? THe changes in demographics in London over the past 30 years mean that Speedway areas around Hackney and Wimbledon have changed for good. With Plough Lane being gradually run into the ground by RCP it's hard to see a positive outcome for a return for the Dons.

If Pepe pulls out then I assume Vaculik gets the next call. However, as Darcy is a nomination I guess the choice goes back to BSI/IMG as to who offer a chance to (imo should be Holta). Pepe withdrew when, as first reserve, he should have been covering the injured Emil's spot in 2010. One wonders why he bothers doing the qualifiers if he is not fully committed to take part.