THE DEAN MACHINE

You have to wonder about leszno this season,with hampel leaving and sayfutinov doubtful to be picked over money

While I dared to criticise the elite cartel that obviously runs the mag these days and obviously the cage doesn’t like being poked, there has been a marked improvement in the interviews the last few weeks and that doesn’t include the best of them all (mine ) but it’s still clear that a lot “their work” is going on but my biggest bugbear is the filters used on the photos, what is it with photographers in all mags etc are using filters, stop it, a good pic is a good pic it doesn’t need bloody filters

Well there is a piece in this weeks edition from one bloke that is worth reading

I’ve been mountain biking for the last 7 weeks, something I have noticed while out is I’m not alone by a very long way, the canal tow paths are full of bikers, walkers and fishermen and I’ve been working delivering around the country and in parts of London you would be hard pressed to know there was a lockdown on

Apex motox track was open last week and many riders were there

Done and voted for Jonathan Rea

Just got our tickets , no seats left just 2 standing sections left

I think off track things were the final nail in bens career

I did feel guilty about it at the time and appolgized to Ben but he was fine about it, he understood it was an accident and it happens, you can’t dwell on these things, it happens and if you are thinking about crashing or other riders then it’s time to retire

Ben Taylor , I broke his knee/leg, he was out for quite a while and did eventually come back but only briefly

I had so many crashes at Newport, I very rarely left the stadium in my own van it was always in an ambulance , I broke my shoulder there and my collarbone and my profile picture was took there where I smashed my helmet on the fence and I pretty much ended a team mate’s career there when I collected him after clipping an opponent but despite all that I quite enjoyed racing there, I got on well with Tim stone but was aware just how stubborn he was, I don’t think the toll would of made a lot of difference, a lot of Newport fans stopped attending because of Tim and his stubbornness and well the less said about the ending of Newport the better

I don’t have with a problem with any rider riding in the NL as long as a standard pay rate is stuck to, who benifits by paying more ? As with higher leagues there is no bike control so costs spiral but we have set the stall out by paying demands and now it’s expected and quite frankly a joke, instead of a reduced points limit teams should of been made to reduce admission price so they can’t pay more, I see Judas himself has already dumped a team for more money elsewhere, is that really what fans want ?s

That is not a problem ,no other sport pays to learn a trade no matter what the out goings are, you’re not supposed to be making a profit at that level or even breaking even , it’s got beyond a joke, basically anyone can buy a bike and some equipment, string some laps together and now expect to be paid to do it, the league has lost the plot now and Buxton’s demise is the final nail, apart from some rider sponsorship I’m sorry to say I’m done supporting this league now

In other words nothing

I don’t really understand the rules anymore

And so the doubling up begins, for me very few positives have come out of this years agm, it’s just carry on the same ,truly have had enough of british speedway, only went to around 10 meetings in Britain last season, think it will be less next year

Beyond sad ,something is very wrong with our sport

That’s fair enough

I think the aim is to make the riders conform rather than exclude them

When that clock goes to zero ,you’re not ready to go you’re out no ifs no buts out ,works well in the GPs

That along with the 2 min clock is good news at last

I’m not against riders earning a living but at this moment in time speedway can’t afford it. That is the simple economics of it, riders should be building up other business outside speedway anyway, Greg Hancock has business outside speedway so does richie worral and many others, it should be a priority but clearly with some it isn’t, in life just as in speedway you have to make it happen , it won’t come to you

When I decided to ride speedway it was because I wanted to be a speedway rider (still do in my head )I didn’t care about the money, it was a nice bonus but just the Privalige of being a rider was everything to me, I run my own business along side speedway for most of my career often working around 60 hours a week and doing all the bike washing myself, yes there were times I was shattered and just wanted my bed but would I do it all again? Hell yes, I would often drive from Wolverhampton on a Friday do a couple of deliveries in London or Kent then on to Weymouth or Plymouth to race that night get back home at 2am and I loved it ,but I just don’t see that desire anymore from riders , it’s all about the money, I read “I’m putting my life on the line so I want big money “ I never thought I was putting my life on the line(except when I raced against roman matousek) I was just loving being a rider and racing my bike and to do that for a team was just amazing, where has that love for racing gone ?

We all know this but getting any promoters or riders apart from chris Louis to go for this is banging your head against a brick wall

And that’s where holomagated parts only come in, it is not difficult to implement but there is no will to do it, there will always be a tiny advantage for someone somewhere but speedway is one of the very few motorsports that is all but a couple of rules a free for all, which is the reason prices have rocketed