salty

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.

Come on Parsloes! The qualifying system is open for all ( albeit a Brit would have to qualify by having a good British Final the previous year). I admit that only having 3 riders able to qualify is too low and I'm not entirely happy with the nominations going to riders who have finished in 9th, 10th and 11th in the GP's. Personally I would prefer a return to the old style GP challenge where the bottom 7 in the GP's would race against 9 qualifiers. Unfortunately, I don't see the nominations method being done away with as it allows the organisers flexibility to tailor the field for whatever purposes (generally eonomic) that they see fit. Regarding the system suiting youngsters - in recent years Emil, Tai and now Darcy have all been given a free pass into the circus. That wouldn't have happened in the past. I think the biggest issue is that the expense of competing in the GP's is now so great that it is hard for newcomers to compete with the long established riders in terms of their support teams. Twas ever thus, Mauger had more money to throw at bikes than most, but I think the effect is magnified with the series being over 11 meetings.

You've been peddling this nonsense about Herbie "allowing" Harris past for years and I haven't a problem with that - it is after all your opinion. But what's with the "we all know" and "everyone in the sport"? As far as I recall I have yet to see anyone agreeing with your theory, both on this thread and the many others which you have expounded your views. Henry W makes three excellent points. Firstly, by reminding us of Darcy's failure to overcome the qualifying hurdles and secondly by giving two very valid reasons which explain why the older brigade still hold sway.

Tai. Harris for all but one year (last) when he did finish in the top 6. Nicholls - a number of seasons. All picked purely because they were British.

Possibly, but irrelevant. We don't have one-off Finals so it's pointless speculating. Ward will no doubt show flashes of brilliance next year, but I think he will find it hard to achieve the level of consistency to challenge for the rostrum. I would expect him to be more of an Emil than a Tai, but the GP is a tough arena. Holder has had 2 years in the GP's and has won a couple, but has still only finished 8th in the past two series.

I'll second that, bumped into him a couple of times at airports and hotels and he is an absolute gentleman. I've always thought his light weight has helped him generate so much speed rather than merely fast or (somewhat suspect) machinary.

Totally agree that Holta should be in front of Harris and Pedersen when it comes to nomination for next year. He's qualified in the top 8 for the past four years I think and finished 4th last year as well as heading the averages in Sweden. He's obviously been riding injured all year and if anyone deserves a pick it's him. He's certainly no gating tart either, I would imagine in the previous seasons he has done as much overtaking as anyone in the GP's.

Red button working for the GP on SS4 on Virgin. Just came up when the programme started.