Aces51

Ah, a hanging offence. I've never understood why the NHS is such a sacred cow. It is something of which we should be immensely proud but that shouldn't stop it being beyond criticism, or is it just that a foreigner isn't allowed to criticise it.

I am sure that you will be able to buy tickets at the stadium. I can't imagine it is going to be a still out but if you want to be absolutely sure telephone the stadium on 0161 711 0828 and choose option 2.

I hope that the SON doesn't replace the SWC but that both competitions continue by being held in alternate years. The SWC, minus the Joker, is fine as it is but the SON format needs to be changed so that the nation scoring the most points wins. That could be either by taking the scores at the end of the normal heats or adding the scores from a final race . A solution also needs to be found to make the race off events more entertaining by ensuring those taking part are of more equal ability. Perhaps the lesser speedway nations could be involved in a quarter final and the top 2 progress to a semi final with all of the top nations apart from the nation hosting the final, who would continue to be seeded or, my preference, that only the lesser nations are involved in a semi final with only the winner going into the final. And I forgot to add, change the name to reflect it is a World Championship as I and others have previously said.

Barry Briggs, who was of course a New Zealander, was the first ever British Champion in 1961.

You are in danger of falling into the same trap as SteveBrum. Records don't tell you anything like the whole story. Just to give a few examples, Peter Collins has far more World Championship medals than either Craven or Woffinden but you have to take into account that England were the best in the world during much of his era. As a result he was advantaged by being a member of World Cup and Pairs winning teams. There was no World Cup or Pairs to win during Craven's career and Woffinden hasn't had the quality of team mates that Collins had. The British Championship was first held in 1961 so Peter Craven didn't have an opportunity to win it during most of his career. He did win it in 1962 and 63, the year he died and remember that at that time Australian and New Zealand riders, like Briggs and Moore, also took part so it was more difficult to win than in recent times. I also previously touched on the better quality of riders during the Craven and Collins eras as compared to now, which made it more difficult to win a title.

Those of us who have witnessed speedway from that era to the present day are better able to make a judgement. Peter Craven raced in an era when there was the big 5, Craven, Fundin, Moore, Briggs and Knutsson, who were all capable of winning the World Title and did so. Peter was unfortunately killed when only 29 and I have no doubt would have added to his achievements had he lived longer. Tai is without doubt an outstanding rider as he proved again this weekend. Where he will eventually stand in the overall ratings has yet to be seen but at the moment the quality of opposition at the highest level is not where it was in the the Craven or Collins eras or indeed, in the days of Rickardsson and Crump. At the moment I rate both PC's more highly but that could change.

I always thought that was the ultimate challenge of human intelligence. If you can achieve perfection the world is your oyster and your pronouncements are to be listened to with reverence. Many an announcer has felt the lash of my tongue when they've wrongly announced the line up or result of a race causing me to make an amendment.

That was his first meeting in Poland. Not the strongest opposition but everybody dropped points apart from Batchelor and Bewley. In his first and last races he came from last to second to finish behind his partner. Apparently, he was using one of Craig Cook's Polish bikes.

It was 1984. Peter Collins and Chris Morton. It was held at Lonigo. Morton took the inside gates in all of their race so a similar strategy to last night.

Some brilliant racing which shows that the format can work but it would still be better with 4,3,2,0 scoring and the team with the highest point score wins. Lambert showed just how much he has matured this year and his improved gating skills enabled him to to control the white line whilst Woffinden came round the outside. Woffinden, what can you say. The way in which he protected and shepherded Lambert as much as he could whilst also controlling the race was incredible. To do that and to go through the meeting unbeaten despite giving Lambert the inside gates was something to be long remembered. We need a similar track tomorrow. Team riding will be more difficult if the track develops more racing lines on the outside.

Many of the Poole assets are foreign riders who became assets simply by riding for the team, so not really any financial investment involved. As it's working out any financial investment would have been far better used to maintain the track rather than allowing it to deteriorate to such a state where it may not now be affordable to do the work necessary. The track is the most important asset for any team yet so many seem prepared to skimp and save on it. For Matt Ford to complain about not being able to use his assets currently riding in the UK is just plain ridiculous. He agreed to loan them out so can't now complain simply because his situation has changed. Whilst understanding the potential difficulties of the legal position I think that teams should be able to retain the registration of riders they have bought and riders they have developed but the registration of riders gained simply because they ride for the team should be time limited if they are not used. It is ridiculous that Belle Vue still hold the registrations of Tomasz Jedraszek and Patrick Hougaard but right that they have Steve and Richie Worrall and Max Fricke because they bought them and Dan Bewley and Kyle Bickley because they have helped them develop from novice to where they are today.

I assume that you are trying to contact them during the hours shown on the website; Mon, Tues & Thurs 10am - 4pm. Tel. 0161 711 0828 Option 2. I have only once needed to contact them on that number and had no difficulty but that was last year and I have no idea if it is usual to have problems. I can confirm that OveFundinFan is correct and that there is no seating in the South Stand only in the Grandstand. So far as I know, but others may know better, there is no facility to use your mobile phone. The ticket can either be printed out or you can arrange to collect it on the day from a manned, is that still acceptable or do we now have to say personned, desk by the ticket office.

Cook is riding, he has said he is ready to race. It was ridiculous of Rossiter to drop him. Even if you accept that Rossiter mistakenly thought Cook had a medical certificate for 7 days, rather than the automatic 7 day suspension he did have, it would have expired before the race day so mean we couldn't have brought in a replacement for him for illness or injury. There were only disadvantages to dropping Cook because if he doesn't do well he can be replaced by Lambert in any race but if he was dropped and Woffinden or Lambert weren't scoring or, were injured, we would have no reserve to put in. Fortunately, those now in charge of GB saw the stupidity of what had been done and quickly reversed the decision.

It wasn't long ago that you were telling us that Poole didn't have all of the equipment necessary for track preparation. Has that changed? At the beginning of the season Chris Holder said how pleased he was that work had at last been done to improve the track. If I remember correctly, he said that the track had been neglected for a number of years because Matt Ford had not considered it a priority. Are the current problems related to neglect and/or a lack of investment, to the lateness of the remedial work, the quality of the work or to some other reason?

Well done to Speedway GB Team and Allied Mobility. It certainly looks as if those now in charge of the national teams are putting in place what is needed. The future could be successful with Woffinden, Cook, Lambert, Bewley the Worrall's, Ellis and some youngsters showing good potential. We are in a better position with riders than we have been for many years and with more professional people in charge might be able again to challenge the Poles in a few years time.

I'm sure the racing will be better on Tuesday. Yes there are riders who are much below the standard of others but there are enough quality riders to ensure some and maybe, a lot, of entertainment and excitement. Like others I thought the racing was dire last night and the format was over complicated. However, I've seen some dire GP's and meetings in all sorts of domestic and international competitions so, not a good start but I am prepared to wait until after the final before forming an opinion on this competition. For what it's worth I like Nigel and Kelvin's commentary. Yes they get things wrong sometimes but don't we all.

Bewley has so far this season averaged 7.85 at the NSS and 7.05 away, so it's not just at the NSS where he is doing well and particularly so for a rider who is only at the start of his third season in the sport. You can understand therefore why he is rated so highly. He is definitely not a rider just doing well at a specialist home track. However, I agree that we shouldn't put too much pressure on him and accept that he may welll lack consistency and have the occasional nightmare meetings at this very early stage of his development.

This idea that you only need to be a throttle jockey with a fast bike to excel on the big tracks is utter rubbish. Those who have watched Dan at the NSS not just beating good riders but beating them from the back, have seen that he has done it not by having the fastest bike but through using his skill and ability to choose the right racing lines and waiting for the best opportunity. So far this year he has, amongst others, passed and beaten Batchelor, Andersen, Masters and Kasprzak and I'm not talking about passes on the first two bends. All of the those are very good riders who have bikes just as fast as Bewley and who are more than capable of getting the right set ups. Tracks like Lakeside and Wolverhampton do require different but also important skills but they are tracks that by their nature give riders who race there regularly a big advantage.

We have to see that as a golden opportunity for the rebirth of the sport as an exciting, dangerous, extreme sport. We have then to hope that new fans can overcome the initial reaction as they enter the mostly dilapidated stadia and enthrall them with the yet to be developed dynamic, modern, thrill filled experience that will by then be speedway. I say that tongue in cheek but with the right people in charge it could be done. We could start by allowing riders to react to referees and other riders as they did in the 70's and for teams to be able to say disparaging things about the opposition to build up rivalries and enthuse the fans. It was all pantomime but brought an extra element to the overall experience that is now lacking.

I don't think the number of riders choosing Poland would be anything like the numbers some are suggesting. For many of the current riders, who race mainly for Polish league 1 and 2 teams, a guaranteed 30 plus meetings in the UK in one big league would be more attractive than being part of a Polish league 1 squad with no guarantee of being a regular pick. They may not like having their opportunity to race abroad curtailed but I think many would accept it. The UK has got to find a way to operate that initially makes the sport here sustainable and then able to grow. Staying as we are is not an option.

So hopefully that answers any questions. Increasing the fee to £5 seems a bit steep but I suppose BSI want to maximise any profit and would argue that it is a World Championship semi final. I never park on the street, it's not the best of areas.

The bottom line will be whether any increase in ticket sales is sustained and importantly, whether profits increase. Although, as you and others have said, the overall picture will be distorted by food, confectionery and drink sales so it may be difficult to draw direct comparisons. I've never understood those who refer to speedway as 15 minutes of entertainment. To me it's the whole package. The build up to the race, the race and then often discussing the result. At the NSS we have Chase the Ace, a good announcer and centre green presenter and the post meeting press conference so I rarely find that I'm not being entertained in some shape or form throughout the meeting. The only exception is if there are long delays between races but there is nearly always a good reason and an explanation and apology.

There's no reason for confusion or concern about parking. The parking permit application form made clear that it does not apply to FIM or BSPA events so permit holders should be aware of the situation. If they want to check and can't find their application form copies can still be downloaded from the Belle Vue website. Unless the situation changes over the next couple of days I also doubt there's any need to worry about whether there will be sufficient parking spaces overall. Looking at the current grandstand ticket sales there should more than enough between the 3 official speedway car parks, even if there are fewer or no spaces in the North car park.

That's what many said about Belle Vue when it was first announced that they were negotiating with the council. If more promotions were prepared to do their homework, have the vision and come up with a good business case and then spend the many hours that David Gordon and Chris Morton did in countless meetings with the council and overcoming the many obstacles then who knows what might be achieved. I find it hard to believe that Manchester are the only council in the country that can be persuaded. We just need can do people with the necessary ability.