Hammer

Yes, I bring this up every year The Speedway world cup is not a team event, it is an accumulative score based on individual rides. It should be a team event!!!!!! Pairs of riders riding as a team, IF it is this format because of Australian cheating, then good refereeing should be employed Hypothetically, would the forum users who like this format, like League racing to have the same format?? (obviously assuming it were logistically and financially possible) WHY?

Have a read of my question and then read Humphrey's posts

I thought I would try my yearly SWC question again and have failed to have it answered, again I'll try again next year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But why is the world cup a meeting of individual riders and not pairs like league racing??????????????????????? Surely it would be better if it was

I can't improve on this - this is Speedway heaven (well I'll add the fact that I'm wearing my replica Hawks racejacket which had to be removed by surgery!!!)

Hello all, wonder if you can help me. My dad told me a story about Ron Johnson and I was wondering if anyone else had heard it. Apparently the New Cross skipper was being interviewed about riding the 'frying pan' and the journalist asked him where the 'shut off points' were, to which our hero replied "shut off points? - there are no shut off points"!!!!!! Does anyone know if that's really what he said or is it a bit of exuberant hero worshipping on behalf of my dad??!!! All the Best - Hammer

An Excellent post and I agree with nearly all of it. Not sure about Chris Harris and Edward Kennet though

Quote - Nigel Pearson Sky Sports 17th July 2008 "Team GB have done us proud tonight and can hold their heads up" *silence* from co-commentator Kelvin Tatum

Ok Maybe I was wrong

Thanks D.I.G Gosh, who was talking about Arena-Essex???? why has it become personal??? and as you bring it up. Arena-Essex is a dreadful place to watch Speedway but it's my nearest track.

Ok Now listen carefully.........If you're new to Speedway I'll have to explain this one to you. You can have any number of teams competing a match and still race in pairs in the heats. It's been done many many times in Speedway, mostly in the old 3 Team Tournaments If Non Speedway anoraks were watching last night they might be well within their rights to ask, Why the hell is it Team Speedway????????????????? And Tomasz Gollob, cleverly team riding a Russian, does not make the whole meeting exciting. When the commentators were pretending that they thought the Adams/Hampel race off was going to be a cracker, I thought to myself, I bet it isn't............and it wasn't And thanks for pitying me but I watch Speedway objectively as a sporting spectacle and not as an Anorak that thinks the most exciting thing about a Speedway race is the winning time. Why does it always have to get personal and insulting on this forum????????

No I stand by the fact that the racing is processional and usually quite boring Why are the races fixed in SWC but not league Speedway. and anyway surely we should have proper team racing and the authorities just make sure it's not fixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every year I post this so I'm sorry if it's boring but I must moan my little head off The Speedway World Cup is NOT a team event. It is an international Individual event and they just add up the race scores for the riders that are from the same country (apart from Matej Ferjan and Rune Holta of course) Why the hell don't they race as teams like League Speedway - you never know it might even make the racing a bit more interesting because as usual with the world cup I'm losing the will to live with how boring it is

If the SWC is an international team event, why do the riders ride on their own????? Speedway outsiders must think team speedway is a joke if it's just a collection of seven individuals It would be much better to have team pairs in the races - maybe then the abysmal standard of racing would be improved? Could we have a fairly interesting World Cup this year please, with maybe some of the riders actually bothering - if not, lets scrap it

Amazingly, Raleigh did a Speedway pushbike in the mid to late seventies, it wasn,t very good though

I thought Malcolm was spot on about appealing to kids, with bicycles and accesories. Most of us had our imagination captured by Speedway when we were children, there needs to be clever marketing in main stream shops as well. I spent many happy years proudly wearing a golden hawk race jacket. If good quality club kevlar type replica shirts are sold in different sizes, we should all wear them around high streets and give the football shirts a run for their money. Non Speedway people might start to wonder who the Witches or the Aces are. On the subject of GP Speedway, I think Matt's right. Following Formula one in to constructor teams might well destroy the essence of Speedway where personal skill wins the race. I know there is disparity in equipment now, but imagine Speedway in ten years if Scott Nicholls on a Minardi equivalent bike can't finish on the same lap as Tony Rickardsson who is on a Ferrari. This is a little simplistic but you know what I mean. Also So many Tracks are poorly prepared. The ELRC this year was absolutely shocking, Back to basics, Matt's right.

SPURIOUS!!!! you cheeky monkey, I mean Lion Every thing I have said is the result of years of pains-taking research and in -depth analysis of all sideways type motorcycle behaviour. I was filling in programmes and drinking awful tea from polystyrene cups before you were even a cub. Lots of love- Hammer

oooooooooooooooohhh - ark at you I wasn't commenting on your grammar,spelling,syntax language etc, I just meant that I did'nt understand the point you were making. You seem to bend over backwards to misunderstand what I post so that you can remonstrate with me. Of course if English is'nt your first language then I wouldn't get on as well with that as you, so what a childish point to make. You're right that i have gone off topic briefly, but that's because you sabotage the arguments that I put forward. Lots of love - Hammer

Lioness - It took me that long as I had to consult a professor of encryption and arcane language to work out what the flip you are going on about. I think that Speedway promotion is too amateurish and transient, OXFORD SILVER MACHINE god help us. It would serve the sport better to have consistency, better presentation of meetings (not expensive- just better) more team identity, Swindon didn't even seem to have a Robin on their race jackets this year. If I was a Swindon fan I would have been most upset. Speedway is still run more as a sideshow than a sport, your perspective as a sidecar enthusiast is different to mine. If anyone wants to know how to do it, go and watch the Poole Pirates. Lots of love- Hammer

Dear Mr Sidecar, They have let me out for the christmas period as long as I comply with my strict medication regime. On the other hand, surely this forum is for the development of one's understanding of speedway matters and not for commenting on the mental health of it's supporters. lots of love - Hammer

Dear Lioness, you seem to be arguing with yourself. I used Wimbledon as an example of how ripping out a team identity, gives that team no credibility as a singular entity. Your hair splitting over how the backroom business was actually executed has nothing to do with my argument. Let's make this really easy and take Hackney as an example. Could you imagine a Football team being called the Hackney Hawks, then the Hackney Kestrels and then the London Lions all in recent times and all at the same location?. The identity completely gone, Hackney supporters confused about what they should do?. In the end Speedway just becomes a wall of death type spectacle with no loyalty to local history. And what's more, along with club credibility, the sport's credibility suffers as well. This is why most normal people see Speedway on the same level as banger racing or, god forbid, sidecar racing. lots of love- Hammer

Dear Kevin Waterden road stadium had become extremely run-down and tatty, but - then it was a speedway stadium after all. Has anyone been to a good speedway stadium recently. (no, not the millenium stadium)

Dear Stevehone I have met a few Speedway promoters in the past and I have to say that you wouldn't trust them with an adult knife and fork. I presume it must be the same with whoever allowed Wimbledon F.C to get in to the state it has. Alot of people in charge of local teams have no idea of the history and place those teams have in the heart of the local working class men and women who look forward all week to cheering on the Dons, Hammers etc. Or if they do Know, then they don't give a monkey's..... Lots of love - Hammer

Lioness Whilst I appreciate the fact that you enjoy being contrary without furthering a sensible debate, I make comparison,s to football as it is the biggest sport on the planet and is a convenient reference when debating issues surrounding team sports. Yes, you are right that football teams do change their strip regularly, but if any league team tried to rename themselves(just look at the Wimbledon example), the fans would go mad. Even nicknames or team emblems are part of the team's history and have an important place in the psyche of the local community. The fact that Speedway teams have a habit of doing this contributes to the outside world thinking Speedway is a toy sport. Edinburgh Weasles in 2004 then Scotland Baxters Soup Haggis's in 2005 (would you like it) Mind you, most Speedway fans would watch seven Chimps on tricycles if the promoter's tried it. Please reply in a relevant and constructive way Lots of Love - Hammer :roll:

I have never understood why there is no traditional team identity in speedway. Teams change racejackets and nick-names so often, if football teams tried it, fans would be apoplectic with rage. I understand promotional changes, licence transfers and how it happens, I just don't understand why it happens. But actually, given the general level of a Speedway promoter's understanding of promotion, it's quite obvious. - I mean, WEST HAM HAWKS for christ's sake!!!!! :?