iris123

I'd say it was all pretty obvious to most people.You have a superstar who though only a part-timer on flattrack,can compete and beat the top flattrackers.No wonder locals will go and watch it and no wonder someone will put up the Euros for it.But that isn't the case for speedway.Ok if Marquez gets a wildcard for a Spanish GP you might get a good crowd the first year,but after he can't cope and gets thrashed,who will want to put up the cash or go and see it the second year?We already have seen that speedway was there over 20 years ago.There must be a good reason it hasn't been seen since

Think i saw a figure of around 12,000 for Copenhagen,which was very surprising as i seem to recall the figure being 25,000 or so when i was there a couple of times in the last around the turn of the decade!!!!Maybe memory playing tricks.And of course we had the Bydgoszcz disaster and the clash with the mighty womens basketball game

Winter has arrived,just a bit too late.We had snow here yesterday and the cars are all frozen today.(-1° outside just now)......and it is even colder down south,but like i say........too late and it is getting warmer again in a few days time Quick look at Alpenpanorama just now and the temps in 4 places in Austria were -9,-10,-11 and -13,but in two the snow machine was busy making new snow

There is a difference in Denmark

I'd think that is true.I am not saying Edinburgh have made a mistake and should have signed Härtel,just that i think he will develop into the better speedway rider.But like i say,maybe the Riss brothers(Mark seems to have a problem staying on the bike)and Härtel will all become very good riders.

In my opinion Härtel,who is current German U21 champ and a couple of years younger than Erik is a better prospect.But fingers crossed all goes well as Germany need a decent prospect or two

Pretty impossible to judge someone just by walking past by a tube station.You'd have no idea on what career they have.I have seen video of 'stars'(at least they have record deals and play packed out concerts) busking on the streets and have heard a brilliant opera singer busking in London.No idea if she was a 'star' on the opera scene or even in musicals etc........

Although tragic and irresponsible,i don't think anyone intentionally goes out to have an accident and kill or main someone.The same can't really be said about someone who rapes a person,imo

Isn't it a joint Diedenbergen/Berghaupten team?White Eagles.Similar to the old joint Parchim/Wolfslake team i guess

Unfortunately the British authorities have a lot of support from the fans as well.Lost count of the discussions i have had on here with British fans who see the old UEM and now these new FIM Europe etc comps as 'mickey mouse' and taking riders away from league meetings.For a decade or so i have been defending Euro meetings and saying what a great opportunity they would be for Brits(especially the younger riders) to gain experience.Like i have mentioned before when i asked a team manager here why they never picked British riders for their team they answered "because they have no experience of our tracks"....... The one disappointment in all that time is the gap between the best countries and the others seems to have grown and i'd guess this new money being pumped in will only enlarge the gap.Despite all the Euro meetings in places like Miskolc,Gorican and Lonigo there is now real sign of a new Zagar,Pavlic etc and no-one from Belgium,Holland or Bulgaria on the scene.Czecho seem to be on the slide and even in Germany we have had a lack of new talent after the Smoli,Hefe Wölbert period.I tried to set Huckenbeck up with a British berth last season,but he wasn't interested........ Now it is Poland,Denmark,Russia and Australia and nothing much after that.Finland can't even get a team together nowadays and Hungary are far behind....

He'll be ok.Olsen takes care of the temp tracks and if anything goes wrong the locals get the blame.Money for old rope

Ukraine?

Larry is looking through rose tinted glasses a bit there(Don't we all?)as i did see Erik Gundersen have a stinker at Cradley against Hans Nielsens Oxford.Think he only scored 6 or 7 after having beaten Hans in the Golden Helmet.Also never saw Per Jonsson score more than 7 or 8 in the few meetings i saw him ride in.Having said that the speedway was better as a product back then for me,due to the Plough Lane stadium and even Hackney stadium.The atmosphere and i must say the riders.They for me had more character back then.I find myself not caring one iota for most riders these days.That might be down to me though,as i feel much the same for football players as well.Back then i had a lot of respect for players like Billy McNeill and loved the antics of the jokers like Alan Gilzean.......

Bloody Greenham Common activist eh?

You have been found guilty by the elders of the town of uttering the name of our Lord and so as a blasphemer you are to be stoned to death.

People(Sidney is one i think) are always telling us that Tiger Louis' career started when he was 27,so we can look forward to welcoming Ward back in 2016 as a changed character and watch his rise to the top.Everyones happy

Seems to sum up one or two on here to a T I'd say the age was high,but i guess if you take into account those 'fans' who just watch at home on tv and the net then it might be accurate....

Agree.Saw him a number of times during his racing career and then a few years ago had the pleasure of talking to him at Inzell,when he was there for the Ice Speedway.A few years after that i got to meet Reg Wilson.Two old school riders and both very friendly and happy to talk about the old days and also take a big interest in the sport now

I think Cowes sailing event claim something like 200,000 spectators for just a few days which alone without any other sailing event rates well against a season of speedway

This all started up again because of a list of titles,some quite obscure that Bast won........At the end of the day he chose to be a big fish in a small pond and that is how he will be remembered.Some of his compatriots chose another route and have their names among some of the greats of the sport as do one or two of his compatriots from the 30s.No-one can blame him for choosing to go for money rather than honours,but some of his fellow countrymen rode against the best away from home in foreign countries and adapted to foreign tracks and beat them quite often.That is deserving of a better place in the history of our sport than someone who mastered a handful of tracks.They probably rode more meetings on a variety of sized tracks in one season than Bast did in a decade This isn't true.We have had a number of discussions over the years about those 3.I have mentioned being at Wimbledon at the start of the 1973 season when Autrey and McKnight rode in the second half,before they had signed for anyone,i think.What i didn't know is that Autrey had ridden at Plough Lane in '72 as well and all 3(i think) had arrived in the UK after doing a winter in South Africa/Rhodesia.As it is i think there were some comments that could be traced back to another American start that suggests Woods never really had the commitment to the sport that it needs to reach the top.Again,we will never know

Think it was the year before when i travelled up for the Danish Individual semi-final that was rained-off,the next day they tried again and had to call it off after 6 heats or something and eventually had to move it to Fjelsted.But Denmark is wet + windy quite a lot.Funny,it is only a short drive from here,but the climate is quite different.I also have lots of bad memories of Vojens in the rain though

Are you seriously saying you have never seen a rider slow down to drop a point?

You just don't get stuff like this on those new fangled Fb groups like,speedway friends with no sense of humour!!!

Mike Bacon telling porkies!!!!

Chelsea and Stamford Bridge maybe?Chelsea seem to be doing quite well and have announced the 5th year in a row making a profit and sit on top of the Premier League.......