iris123

Mr Sceptical here.You are a big fan Jack.In all those years,books,interviews etc why didn't he mention it?

Morian Hansen as well.Not only a great rider,but ALSO a war hero

Thing i would not be certain on is would Williams or Price have won a title if it was held somewhere other than Wembley?Ronnie i am sure would have won a title at some stage no matter where the Finals were held.But we are getting off the topic here.....

I sort of feel the same that riders should gain from qualifying for the semi/final and actually winning the meeting,but just have the worry that a rider might only qualify because he has a lower number race jacket.And that makes me a bit wary of the system when a rider goes through and gets extra points because of his performance the previous year.That is where i align myself with Parsloes for instance who says the system favours the riders already in the top 8 or 10.....

Not sure it is quite so forgotten as you insinuate.I or others have mentioned it a few times here.It was my first visit to Oxford for about 10 years and like you say the public was screwed really.Nielsen was i would say the best rider in the world at Cowley,so for him to be reserve and just get two rides near the end of the meeting was a small scandal

There is the proof of "interests outside the sport" then.It certainly has got the interest of a number of tourist boards,local councils and now Government......hotels etc.

Been hearing very good things about Arslan.Was in Germany for a little while and Egon Müller was extremely impressed

Add the Champions League into the mix as well

Does seem to be down to availability of Trotting tracks to some extent.I don't know how many there were in Britain back then.I have heard about motorcycle meetings on Trotting tracks in Germany and Austria around 1924.Would guess meetings were held in countries like Czechoslovakia as well.Not sure just when Pardubice opened,but i seems very different in the early years to the track we seee now.Much bigger.Just what sort of racing were the likes of Jack Parker and Gus Kuhn doing before the arrival of AJ Hunting?.The path racing at Crystal Palace for instance seems a very strange type of racing as i guess were the hill racing type meetings in the US and also Britain.At some early stage motorcycle racing started to evolve in different directions,but basically at that early stage oval track racing was the same animal,no matter how many riders or how big the track or what the surface or how many laps....

To move this on a bit.I would like to know about the motorcycle racing in Australia before and around the time of Maitland.We know there we different surfaces,but what of the races themselves?Was it a case of anyone with a motorbike turning up and racing or where there different classes?Where there differing numbers of riders or was it the classic 4 riders that we know now?When was 'speedway' officially recognised in Australia?Like maybe when did Speedway have an official organising body or was affiliated into the Australian Motorcycle Union or whatever it was back then.Or did this only happen recently in the 70s when Australia went into the WTC?Not that this helps with any argument,just would like to know what sort of racing was being presented to the public

So,for the sake of his team place in Poland,Darcy has cocked up the plans of his beloved Promoter and team back in his adopted home of Poole

Oh yeah,that'll work You race monday,tuesday or so and we have Cardiff on a saturday!!!!Why?EL race mostly on a monday night anyway,so you have Cardiff on a monday and the rest of the GPs stay on saturday thanks.Suits the rest of the world Don't often agree with Know,but he is dead right here

Been watching speedway since early to mid 60s.Only ever went to two World Finals(Wembley 75 + Bradford 85?).Been to at least twice as many GPs

Well my response might seem predictable to you Parsloes,but here it is..... If i remember right Kennett opted out of the British league for a while as well at one stage.Sure he had some problems and just rode in Sweden if my memory is correct.So personally Kennett isn't a rider who is likely to make it to the top as i think he has problems in his head and maybe other places as well.Rather like another of the young talents who you saw many years back at Plough Lane and predicted he would be a world beater.Don't think you can blame the GPs for young talent not making it to the top.That has happened for donkeys years without any GPs

I wasn't talking about individual riders who didn't want to use the silencers.More the fact that the Polish league itself didn't use the new silencers at first until forced to back down.Plus it showed the other side to the GPs.The fact that the riders did back down because they wanted to be in it.Otherwise they could have just pulled out of the GPs and SWC like they threatened to do....

Oh yes,the FIM are feeling a bit cocky now after giving Polski Zuzel a bloody nose over the silencer affair.I can see them dancing around doing the Ali shuffle now Lets get ready to rumbleeee

Yeah sorry.I meant to write "apart from Dave Watt + David Howe"....

That's an interesting statement.Can you give us a number of examples?

Oh you gotta love him.....i just knew he would believe in that dusty old book.Goes from Eddie Izzard to Ricky Gervais...."the other name for the bible is the gospel.So it is all true.Clue is in the title..." The Bible But i don't think we should get into that discussion as well as trying to sort out the speedway question

Don't think there should be any surprise that Krasnikov is named.I didn't think he talked of giving up entirely,just World Championships.But let's see about that one.Not really too surspised about Ivan Ivanov.He seems to have been on a down turn for a couple of years now.Bogdanov has also gone as has Baltaschev who i was a bit surprised at.Thought he was fairly young.But looking back it was 2007 when he made the GPs and came 3rd in the European Final and hasn't done much since.Quite a few new names who i hope might make a name in the coming years Bit sursprised to see Germany have only 4 places in the qualifiers!!!!Czecho have more and they don't have the numbers or quality that Germany.Fingers crossed our Finnish friend Järf has a very good season

I tend to disagree on that.But i guess Jack favours the Eddie Izzard "no flag,no country" view,only with plaques and speedway instead

I'd rather see Kevin Wölbert in than those two Yanks

Yes,it has been talked about for a few years now,but finally happening.Foreign riders in the Russian league.I see Simon is named for Kamensk in their squad

Damn i missed that.Been years since i have seen anything that good.Been years since i have seen any South Americans playing pan pipe music as well.Where have all the accordian and pan pipe players gone i wondered.......IMG have cornered the market

Sure there is a long queue outside FIM HQ trying to get the NZ gig.And i can just imagine all the applications for Argentina!!!!! And the amount of online spanish lessons being taken now....Hey Muchachos,where the women at? Oh mines a large one.....Baby you are hotter than an enchilada.....Would you like to tango in my room?....