martinmauger

Naw that was Barry, Briggo Snr....

Yes indeed. Watched Emil's form in 2023 with great interest, possibly surprising he joined Ipswich, not necessarily every rider's favourite track, he mighta bin expected to sign for, say, Belle Vue, Sheffield, or Peterborough but he's ridden Foxhall from day one like he was born there. Devastating from all year, and away from home too, be interesting to compare his winning times with Doyle, another excellent rider & also King who has ridden Ipswich for years. Reported to be a nice guy off track too, would be an asset to the SGP series & just love his cool Imperial Stormtrooper-style crash helmet....

Tony Briggs stacked it big style at Coventry & broke his neck, think he went on to ride a bit of grass / longtrack but was never the same, 'invented' air fence, now has a role within SGP series. Think Kym Mauger made a bit of progress with Newcastle then Glasgow but suffered bad leg break, also returned & rode bit of longtrack in NZ then drifted away, now works in film industry. Super tough following a sucessful father with a famous surname, extra kudos to those who manage it....

Really (really) hope this meeting goes well for Robbo, a popular & whole-hearted trier in his too brief time of one season at Hull in 1997. Quick question: (apologies if posted I''m supposed toe be working) will the programmes be available before or after the meeting to buy via post, hope so....

Big shame, I recall Gordon riding for White City then Eastbourne at Hull 1977-81, and he didn't give Ole Olsen a fright in the 1978 World Final at Wembley. RIP Gordon....

Sad news. Dennis had a Hull connection riding for the Vikings in 1972 & 1973, though he didn't move up into the British League with Hull in 1974, had a few matches for Sunderland, retired from riding then went on to be the team manger at Halifax. RIP Dennis....

So close, obv bit disappointed but GB had the Poles worried. In their own back yard. That takes some doing....

This is true, also the 'enviromental mats' placed under each bike in the pits....

Agree with above, prob a bit rich given my user name . Personally don't have an issue with 'preparing' the starts, before the start of the actual meeting. The track is obv the same for all 4 riders, they are professionals so on the track walk should be able to decide "ok the starting area & track is slick / grippy / whatever, so I need to ride 'like this' & set up the bike 'like that' ". The more experienced rides advise the lesser experienced ones & team captain make sure everyone is happy, then keep an eye on track prep, how the track is riding, etc. So much of the 'set up' can be changed in the pits; ignition timing, carburation jetting, gear ratio, length of bike (adjust rear wheel within frame) & prob a few more I've forgotten, only the compression ratio cannot really be altered once at the track as a paritial engine strip is required. And surely all riders carry a little black book' with favourite set info. Not suggesting any rider is called Shirley . Like I said the track is the same for all 4 riders, I do have slight issue when gate postions can be indiviually prepped before each heat favouring home riders, though it could be argued it's also part of the kidology & fun. Speedway, eh?...

From what I've seen in the flesh and, speaking as I find, they arrived / left in big diesel & petrol cars & SUVs (Beemers, Mercs, Transits, etc), curiously parked out of sight....

Jumping in; friends recently saw Rod Stewart & The Who at Craven Park, Hull, yes last venue of Hull Vikings, and a tray of chips - just chips, mind - was around £9 ....

Hey GL, how goes it ? Never occured to me to meet up with the Monarchs fans & look up your good self, that said I guess I 'went over to the dark side' as I'm also pally with a Glasgow fan . Still it's all speedway ain't it & Pickering, Borke, Fredriksen & also Cook (after 1st ride) took the fight to the Scorps but - insufficient back-up. Still, some good racing though with some outside blasts, enjoyed it ....

Almost. He had then Exeter promoter Peter Oakes change the Falcons race nite from Monday to Friday, that sealed the deal . Not Barry Briggs, Anders Michanek, Ole Olsen, etc, etc could believe Ivan & Oakesy managed it, many still can't to this day . Good news for British Speedway tho if Tai does return....

If not on my own I woulda, these days don't give a **** (frig) & wud seriously ruin their day (don't underestimate those with nothing to lose: you never know). Sadly 'you always get the odd nutter;' whereva you go, but speedway is still a great, friendly sport.....

Similar happened to me at King's Lynn, but in the 1980's. Went on Hull Supporter's Club coach, was taking photos and moved away from the Hull fans to the other end of the stadium, standing at the very front of the terracing, some worse for wear 'supporters' came down from the top row and said "you are spoiling our view ! Move ! Now !", was on my own so I did. I may have worn my Hull scarf, shouldn't have made make any difference, not at speedway, don't think those characters were Stars fans at all, Lynn colours were yellow & green in those days and we've always found the Stars fans, & speedway fans in general, to be a friendly bunch. Been back to King's Lynn a few times, mid-2000's on, but never been a fan of the place since. Shame, like I said, 99.99% unknown behaviour at speedway, worn Hull cap, jacket with programme board many times, at many venues, never any issues....

Going slightly sideways, which is what we do here, what did the crowd look like ? I only ask as the Humber Bridge was closed due to an RTC til quite late, so travelling from Hull woulda meant a bit of a detour. While not exactly 'via John O' Groats & Lands End' still a bit of a trek, but seriously, we (self and up to 6 mates) mostly only have a travel window of an hour or so from arriving back from work til start time so last nite was 'no go' for us. Sigh, oh well....

Think it was a Bell Magnum Ivan & Ole used & meant to say "they come with a peak already attached, though it can be removed or easily snap off or detach without necessarily breaking in a spill". Recall Italian brand AGV made light-ish off-road full-face helmets, presumably used in Moto-X as, like the Bell Moto3, they were fitted with studs so as to attach a peak. Think it will be in SCB regs somewhere about full-face lids being compulsory. From personal experience, I can confirm a full-face helmet will help prevent facial injuries. Years ago I got swiped off my road bike by a car "I didn't see him, to be honest I wasn't looking. I never do as I know this road (!)", despite wearing an almost new Arai 'gold star' ACU / FIM road & race-approved full-face helmet I suffered a concussion & lost 4 teeth (!). Bell Helmets once ran an advertising campaign "if you have a 10 dollar head, get a 10 dollar helmet"....

Big Alan Grahame wore an open-faced helmet until at least 1996, think full-face helmets became compulsory in 1997 or so. Recall reading many riders weren't keen on the 1970's / 1980's full-face helmet due to impaired vision & also potential increase of a whiplash injury due to the extra weight as the full-face 'lids' of that time at least were intended for road use & car racing. The Bell Moto3 appeared in 1980 or so & was popular with many riders though Ivan Mauger & Ole Olsen wore open-faced helmets, Bell Magnum or Star I forget which, for pretty much their entire career as did Peter Collins until 1979 or so. The modern full-face helmet we see today I beleive were originally intended for Moto-X, they come with a peak already attached, though it can be removed or easily break off in a spill. But said peak is angled upwards at which affects riders vision at sunny meetings, I noticed some riders at the Scunny v Redcar match last friday wore tinted goggles, many don't.....

Wouldn't disgree, don't follow scores as closely as I prob should thought Redcar would score a lot better, think even some Scunny fans predicted a 6-8 pt home win, like I said track same for everyone . It didn't seem to bother Bailey too much & I do realise Bears TM gave him ht 15 as he was 'on it' & to keep his mojo going....

Adding 2p's worth: I thought the same. Track seemed heavy early on, whether to suit Scunny or poss Redcar wouldn't like it or to keep the dust down which to be fair it did, not keen dusty meetings, woteva the racing did improve as the track slickened off. A few times Redcar riders lined up a pass but didn't make it stick, maybe hit with wet shale ? King & Wright don't tend to go well as you might think at Scunny, anyway as the saying goes "it was the same for both sides". But Connor Bailey: was this really the same rider who struggled at Glasgow? He top scored, a strange meeting when a No.6 does ht15 and he took the fight to Scuny all nite. Like I said, track slickened off and the racing improved a lot as it often does at Scunny, & produced a good & enjoyable dice late on between Wolves team mates Douglas & Worrall, that was good fun. Not my team(s) or rider(s) but I enjoyed it, I always enjoy speedway....

Belatedly adding 2p's worth: new Worky track is 'stupid wide', i.e. plenty of room, as my mate Tim puts it, he's not wrong there. When the surface settles down and the dirt builds on the outside, there will be nowhere to hide, the attack from riders at the back could come from anywhere. The prospect of watching Champs League & even Prem League riders on that track is literally mouth watering. Very good indeed to see and brilliant stuff for all involved with the Comets ....

From memory, not that I have any interest in riders's, erm lower backs, from memory: Kelly Moran: See Ya, Jan Staechmann: Johnny Knoxville, Kauko Niemenen: You Found Nemo, Rosco: Wide Load, Mark Loram: Summer Job, an Ipswich rider Savalas Clouting ?: Adios Amigo, Jason Bunyan: Trained By Tomasz (Gollob ?), S.O.Else (forget) Losing Hurts Get Used To It, and I'm sure I once saw: I Have The Droids You're Looking For, etc, etc I guess....

My first meeting of the season due to, reasons, but enjoyed it some good racing, good nite out, were some relative newbies there who also enjoyed it. Like Arnie said "I'll be back", just not sure when, but I will be. Back. ....

Good stuff & thanks for the clip. On Costa Mesa track length I read somewhere it measured 180 yds - but around the outside i.e. circumference of the safety fence, not 1 yard out from the white line as is tradition. Happy to be corrected if not so, such things are important and I am a somewhat self-confessed 'track anorak' ....

I coudn't make it but I know folk who went, well they set off anyway. They got to 10 mins away - hit by total thunderstorm, rain bouncing off the ground, thunder, lightning, couldn't see ahead, so they turned round, meeting was officially called off at 7pm apparently. Was starting to rain heavily in Hull at that time & my uncle who lives in Newport, not the Welsh place but a village 25ish miles west of Hull, said it was absolutely hammering down. British weather eh ?...