Mr Snackette

In Scott's case no one. A couple (maybe three) years ago I was at Riga airport to pick up the TP group for the transfer to Daugavpils. Scott arrived on the inbound London flight, and I fully expected him to be picked up by one of his entourage. To my surprise he joined the queue at Hertz to hire himself a vehicle. Now anyone who has been to Latvia knows that the road to Daugavpils is not the best in the world, a three to four hour journey on roads with potholes the size and depth of the bunkers at St Andrews. This was Scott's first GP back after injuring his collar bone, and as luck would have it the erstwhile Mr Easter stepped up and offered to chauffer him to the track. This is when Scott had the likes of Ham Racing and Havelock working in his corner. They together with mechanics were all in attendance at the GP, yet no one to get the rider from airport to track.

The problem for speedway on TV, is not audience numbers but the make up of the audience itself. Sports such as cricket, rugby union, golf , eventing attract a far greater proportion of the higher socio economic groups. These are vital in generating advertising revenue, which is the major driver in Sky's business model. All the sports listed above have significant numbers of viewers in the A, B, C1 classification, whereas speedway ( admittedly my information now being a few years out of date) has traditionally had a much higher percentage of C2, D, and Es. This type of audience which traditionally has a much lower net disposable income, is far less attractive to advertisers and thereby the advertising slots during speedway broadcasts are less easy to fill, not attracting the premium that other sports can generate.

The rail timetable for June 2009, is usually released mid February. However it is interesting to note that the last train to London in the last week of February is 9pm (20:59) arriving in Paddington at five past eleven. Jump into a cab from station round to Langhams. Get Bernard to have a bottle of Chateau La Fete Rothschild on ice, and settle down for a nice relaxed evening. Wembley? Who needs it?!!!!

Flights permitting!!!!!!

Very enjoyable meeting. The Travel Plus group had a great time and were made to feel so very welcome by all concerned. Indeed the same could also be said of our visits to Industry Hills (last Wednesday) and Perris on Sunday. It appears that in this country the Promoters have grasped the basic concept than pleasing the fans is the number one priority, and the whole presentation is run with that in mind. A few UK promoters could indeed learn a few leasons on on to promote and stage a meeting. Having stayed in LA, the group have now moved on from Vegas (mostly with cash intact) and have spent the day sampling the amazing delights of Death Valley. Yosemite beckons tomorrow, before our final meeting on Friday at Auburn. Somehow Foxhall on a Thursday really doesn't seem that attractive now!!!

Having done the journey on several occasions I estimated the journey at "around 60 km". According to both the RAC and Via Michelin the journey is actually 54.5 km. Clearly I must take time to be a little more accurate when helping people in future!!! Or more likely I won't bother.

Actually Krsko is about 60 Km from Zagreb. The train thing is possible (I haven't done it myself), but would agree that hiring a car is by far the best option. Met a couple who did do it by train. They caught one around 1.30, and involved changing at Dobova, got to Krsko around 3.30. The stadium is, I'm told some 3 km from the rail station, and the taxis are not plentiful. Whilst getting there wasn't an issue, getting back again was, as the last train left around 10 o’clock. In the end the couple ended up blagging a room in Krsko for the night, and travelled back on the Sunday. Admittedly this was a couple of years ago so things may have changed, but I would certainly be exploring the hire car option ahead of travelling by train.

I cetainly did. I can send you the empty bottle if you like?!!!

Well I for one enjoyed the Aussie Champs, as did most of the TP group. I thought Gillman provided the best racing, Sydney the best venue. Many thanks to BFD in his role as official "Tour Interpreter", and for those that are interested pictures from the tour are posted on the TP website. Taken from there is a snap of a reformed ZZ Top taking in the action at Gillman : http://www.travelplusontour.fotopic.net/p47588568.html

Having just returned from watching the fireworks in Sydney Harbour, may I be the first to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I look forward to greeting TP clients old and new in 2008, and may those who wish travel independently do so and enjoy it also.

By going to the link the thumbnails should load, and then click on the thumbnail to enlarge the image. I hope this helps.

I think you would probably have to lend him a ladder!! Poor old Spanner appears to be one of these people who likes to tell people how to do things, and then derides them if they choose to do things their own way. It is very disappointing that he didn't take the opportunity to apologise to other Forum members for his insulting remarks, and can only assume that the money he saved over the years, hasn't been spent on a book of good manners!!! Despite an invitation to provide our trip to Slany for £2 per head, as per our specification, we are still waiting to hear. As they say talk is cheap, which in Spanner's case probably makes him very happy!!! Anyway back to more pleasant issues. I am currently in Oz with the TP Group, and for those that may be interested, photos of our Sydney City Tour & Harbour Cruise may be found here: http://www.travelplusontour.fotopic.net/c1431671.html

As someone closely involved I’ve sat back and watched the various comments come in. Clearly there are people who enjoy doing there own thing, whilst others prefer to have it all done for them. There are room for both. On a personal level when I’m flush with cash there is nothing better going to see my little man in Jermyn Street, who will run me off a quality hand made suit. Sadly most of the time I have to settle for a good old M & S job. Now in both cases the suit does the same job and meets the basic need of covering my bits and keeping me warm, and in my case that takes a lot of cloth!!!! But the hand made “whistle” just has that extra edge, which makes it worth paying three times more than the M & S version. It all a question of how someone chooses to spend their disposable income. What I do find offensive is someone like Spanner 47, referring to TP clients as “stupid”. A lot of these people are contributors to this Forum and I don’t think it’s too pleasant to refer to other Forum members in this derogatory way. However Spanner 47 you are clearly an expert in Czech travel. So I will be asking Mr Easter to send you a PM so you can organize our next trip to Slany for £2 per head, which represents fantastic value. The spec we require is as follows and matches exactly what we did before: 1. Luxury coach (please send full spec within 14 days) plus 2 others on standby. We will confirm exact numbers 24 hours prior to event. Coach(s) from hotel to Slany. 2. Admission and programme to Slany Speedway, and reserved seats (if required) in grandstand. 3. Full 3 course meal at hotel on way to venue. Please send choice of three menus within 28 days for approval. 4. Choice of drinks at restaurant, please send with menu options available. 5. Use of local guide. Please provide full details of the guide’s experience and qualifications. 6. Name of contact at the stadium, and confirmation of bus parking facilities. All this for £2!! Fab!!!!!!!!! On a more serious note, best wishes, and compliments of the season, to all those who have travelled with us this year, and I look forward to greeting many of you again in 2008. In the meantime it’s off to the Colonies, to try and bring a little culture and sophistication to the locals. I may be a while!!!!!!!!!!

Dissapointing that no Ekstraliga fixtures are planned for the Sunday after the Leszno GP. Do any of our Polish friends know if any meetings are planned for Sunday 11th May?

I have received a couple of PMs requesting details of the available accommodation. Go to the following link for full details: http://www.tptours.co.uk/CardiffHotels2007 I hope this helps. Brian

Whilst I can fully understand the concern about foreign individuals being invited to take part in a national championship, I must say that I was delighted by the news of young Sitera's inclusion. The Travel Plus European Tour 2006 took in meetings at Brezolupy, Slany, and Divisov, and on each occasion Filip was the star of the show. Very much a crowd pleaser, he became a firm favourite with the travelling entourage. Indeed his popularity was reinforced this year, when the TP Group saw him win the Kasper Memorial at Mseno on the eve of the Czech GP. If there are any other non Australians to be invited how about the boy Pavlic? Now a series with him, Sitera, Batchelor and Noddy all doing battle, would certainly go some of the way to compensate for the absence of the super stars. Plans for the TP Tour to Oz are now well advanced, and we will be taking in the series from Round 2 onwards. Naturally we are all eagerly looking forward to meeting up with some old friends, and running through the highlights of the English rugby team’s victory in the quarter final of the World Cup!!! Obviously anyone caught gloating will be severely censured!!! Brian

As part of the Travel Plus tour to Prague, we went to the Czech Best Pairs Meeting at Divisov. The Divisov team of Jan Holub and Michael Hadek were sponsored by Travel Plus and this young pairing finished a very creditable fourth. Both the young Czechs are from speedway families. Jan is the grandson of the former Exeter Falcon and World Finalist, the West Country link continuing with Michael’s father, Bo who also rode for the Falcons in the mid 1990s. On the way back from the meeting the race jackets worn by the Travel Plus pairing was raffled, together with some other memorabilia supplied by the Divisov club. This raised a magnificent £270, which will be donated to the Garry Stead appeal. A further £100 was collected last weekend at Malilla. In addition Travel Plus obtained a very special commemorative race jacket signed by some of the legends of Czech speedway. The intention is that this, together with some other items, will be auctioned off over the rest of the season, with all proceeds going to Garry Stead. Full details can be found on the Travel Plus website, www.tptours.co.uk, and click on link Travel Plus on Tour, or you can go direct via the link below: http://travelplusontour.fotopic.net/c1348005.html

Simota rode at Divisov on Sunday, may not have been available for Mseno. As for the GP, I reckon he ranks well behind Tomicek, Franc, Kus, Rymel and Sitera in the Czech pecking order.

Just back from Divisov where the pairing of Rymel and Tomicek turned out to be quite comfortable victors, beating the Franc / Kus partnership in the final. 3rd place went to Sam Simota and Adam Vandirek, who beat off thye challenge of the Travel Plus sponsored Jan Holub & Michael Hadek. Young Holub (part of the Holub dynasty) was called in to replace Filip Sitera, who was required by Wroclaw following Crump's withdrawal (yet another reason to dislike the Ginger One ). Young Hadek is the son of the former Exeter Falcoln, Bo Hadek, who was in the pits lending the boy a hand. Pictures on TP's dynamic duo can be found here: http://www.travelplusontour.fotopic.net/p43594759.html http://www.travelplusontour.fotopic.net/p43594757.html The Divisov club looked after the TP Group extremely well, laying on a very nice BBQ. On the way back on the busses the race jackets were raffled, and some memorablia provided by the Divisov track was sold off. This raised approximately Kr 11,000 (around £270), money that will be donated to the Garry Stead Fund.

To be technically correct heat 21 was a run off with three riders tied on 14 points. Indeed it provided the best race of the night with Sitera beating Rymel from the gate, only to be be passed and then repassing to take the victory. Saw the boy at Brezolupy, Slany and Divisov last year, and he is certainly a crowd pleaser.

The line up for the Czech Pairs meeting at Divisov on Sunday, has been posted at the following link: http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/ind...showtopic=36181

Line ups for the meeting on Sunday: Group A: PSK Olymp Praha 1 Adrian Rymel 2 Luboš Tomíček 21 Richard Wolff ZP Pardubice 3 Marián Jirout 4 Hynek Štichauer Liberec 5 Vladimír Višváder 6 Matyáš Hlaváček PDK Mšeno 7 Jakub Hejral 8 Jaromír Otruba AK Divišov 9 Filip Šitera 10 Michael Hádek Group B: SOND PO Miletice 11 Adrian Szewczykowski, PL 12 Pawel Zmarzlik, PL Markéta Praha 13 Josef Franc 14 Matěj Kůs 27 Pavel Ondrašík ZP Pardubice 2 15 Pavel Fuksa 16 Jaroslav Petrák AK Březolupy 17 Martin Málek 18 Martin Gavenda HBC & Rarach Team 19 Zdeněk Simota 20 Piotr Dym, PL Once again the TP group will be there "en bloc". The Divisov club are very kindly providing a BBQ for the group, and in return Travel Plus will be sponsoring one of the pairs. Looks like a fun day.

The line up for the Toni Kasper meeting at Mseno, has been posted at the following link: http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/ind...showtopic=36180

Line up for this meeting has been posted: 01 RYMEL Adrian PSK Olymp Praha 02 ŠTICHAUER Hynek ZP Pardubice 03 MÁLEK Martin AK Slaný 04 ONDRAŠÍK Pavel PSK Olymp Praha 05 VANDÍREK Adam AK Markéta Praha 06 KOSCIUCH Norbert Polsko 07 JIROUT Marian ZP Pardubice 08 VACULÍK Martin Slovensko 09 TOPINKA Tomáš PDK Grepl Mšeno 10 WOLFF Richard AK Markéta Praha 11 PETRÁK Jaroslav ZP Pardubice 12 SZATMARI László Maďarsko 13 HÁDEK Michael AK Plzeň 14 ŠITERA Filip AK Plzeň 15 VIŠVÁDER Vladimír PDK Grepl Mšeno 16 HEJRAL Jakub PDK Grepl Mšeno ------------------------------------- 17 ROZENBERG Sjoerd Holandsko 18 OTRUBA Jaromír PDK Grepl Mšeno The Travel Plus group will be there in force, supporting this worthwhile event. No doubt many of our party will be following the progress of Filip Sitera, who became a big favourite with the group during last year's tour.

I will be there along with around 80+ Travel Plus clients. Apart from the GP itself, a full programme has been organised with visits to Meseno for the Tony Kasper meeting on the Friday, and then off to Divisov on Sunday for the big Czech Pairs event. As they did last year the Divisov club will be laying on a barbecue for our clients, and in turn TP will be sponsoring one of the pairs. Let's hope the weather holds up this year!!