iris123

Trouble is the journey from Jutland,which is the main speedway area in Denmark to Zealand where Copenhagen is.Bit nervy and time consuming and possibly costly for the Danes.I know i done the journey and after the meeting stopped on the motorway to fill up with petrol and took about half an hour to pay because of the long queue...then the toll bridge.It wasn't a favourite with the Danish speedway fans

Sure i saw him a couple of times over the past decade as he was an FIM official RIP IIa

And Fritz Dirtl rather than Frits Not sure if Karl deserves to be in the top 5 as a rider,but could be make it into the Top 10 with his speedway record https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrXTKP3uuW0

Yes.Think in his car in a multi storey car park if i remember correctly.But not sure if they ever released the whole story

Matej Ferjan

That is what we call an own goal,i think

As i said,ominous for next season.Danes will struggle to qualify,so will be looking at the GP Challenge and if that doesn't produce a rider then a wild card.Even then none of those riders will be doing anything more next season than trying to get into the top 8.The Danes are very patriotic,but love winners.Without Nicki next season we could be looking at another 10% drop in crowd if it is still at Horsens.Novelty of the place wears off as well,which has to be taken into account

Not sure who Manfred Hauzinger is.The father of Manuel Hauzinger possibly?

At least we can finally put this Bast theme to bed.He was a big fish in the California scene,but a small fish on the world scene.The top Americans were all big fish on the world scene.And Scott the photographer doesn't know much about the world scene and it seems much about what the Americans achieved in Europe,so not in a great position to judge.

I do graps the fact.The fact is he didn't have what it takes/took to be one of the best,so your mate Scott is way off the mark.I don't care if he made a lot of money in California.Who cares?That isn't what this thread is about.He just didn't have what it takes to be considered one of the top 5 Americans ever.So just try and grasp that fact

Ivan Mauger is the ultimate example.Came over and it didn't work out for him.He could have just gone back and made a living in NZ and been a small footnote in history.But he had the determination and desire to work,work work.Drove a few times around Australia to get things right and came back to have another try.And became one of the best ever,if not the best ever.Moved the sport to another level with his professionalism,whereas Bast remains a 'what might have been'

When that John Hyam retired.........If i remember correctly he was the editor of the Speedway Star when speedway had a major decline and lost many big names in the sport trackwise.The negativity hasn't stopped though,nor has the constant harking back to the 1940s.Gone they are.Get over it I imagine you meant "Can anyone recall other beneficial changes to speedway?"

Fact is as you say this Scott the photographer didn't watch European speedway as you say.he concentrated on California.So might not have even seen American on the other side of his own country let alone the other side of the pond.So not really in a position to place Bast anywhere against the European at the time,because it was in Europe where the world championship was raced. As for Bast,like others have said,he lacked the ambition to race on the tracks where you needed to prove yourself,in the competitions you needed to ride in,so will never be considered one of the worlds best,by anyone 'respected'.Bast might come up in threads about the most talented or the riders who could have achieved more etc.But Californian or US National titles in his own back yard mean very little on the world stage

Wonder how much of an effect Nicki pulling out had on the crowd?He is amazingly popular and the new generation just don't have his record or his popularity.Add to that the drop off at the moment.Must be the worse GP season for the Danes in a long while and nothing on the horizon.............ominous

Not just limited to cricket and rugby.Football and Handball for instance have big problems/numbers.FIFA did try to put a stop to all the Brazillian who were moving to Europe and representing teams here.But one of the main culprits is Qatar,who almost won the world championships in handball with a team mainly of ex-Yugoslavian counties nationals.Just look at the names in their current team.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatar_national_handball_team The german wikepedia site even lists the countries some previously represented https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarische_M%C3%A4nner-Handballnationalmannschaft Even in speedway,Armando Castagna will know more than most about changing nationality,because Italy have profited from 1 or 2 Argentinians who have changed to an Italian passport to further their career As Armando said But we must remember Italy was the country that have had one or two passport scandals.One involving sport... http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/players-banned-over-false-passport-scandal-9159027.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/07/italian-police-bust-fake-passport-racket-amid-terror-fears/

Seems Smoli has pulled out of this meeting as well as todays SWC quali

Erik Riss has had a car crash in Poland and won't race either.....

Also remember the time Zola Budd's citizenship was rushed through so she could run for GB in the Olympics.Think we also had some dodgy ',Brits' competing in cricket and rugby

Can only imagine this journalist is 'respected' in the same way old duffer John Hyam might be 'respected'.Ever decreasing circle,springs to mind

Leave the poor guy alone.He has enough problems coming from a country that has won the same amount of individual titles as the mighty Wales!!!! Lol He probably wasn't even born the last time Poland won the title,judging by his posts

I am puzzled as to why a query about post-war riders is accompanied by a photo of a pre-war rider????

So if Bunyan has lived in NZ for 15 years and has won 10 national championships,by my reckoning it was only 5 years after he went there at the most when he started riding in them.Surely Rory has been in the UK a lot longer? I don't like it and am no fan of his but it seems the more you find out,the less grounds for complaint there are.Like it or not,we are moving towards being in a similar situation to Germany and god help us,I hope it is a long way off,but even the likes of Argentina

Bit biased maybe?Surely Kenny McKinna and Dougie Templeton were better than Grieves?

Just came to me because i have Mike Patrick photo with George racing,but wasn't sure if he was an Oxford rider or one of the oppo.Thanks for the confirmation that my memory isn't too bad

Andrew Tully was the last Scottish rider i saw in a world U21 meeting in Güstrow,proudly wearing the saltire around his shoulders.Think he was born on the Isle of Man.Not quite as exotic as Malta