nw42

I have just given this some more thought, what defines greatness for me? Not sure how many will relate to this but I whenever I have watched speedway, either live or on the screen there are times when a rider pulls a move that actually has me leaning over in the chair without realising, almost replicating their movements because I am so engrossed in their skill. I can distinctly recall this happening when I was sat in Lstand @ Hyde Rd and PC was in full flight, I still find myself doing this when watching Gollob, obviously not every time he races but many times over the years, maybe that's my greatness barometer. Agreed, Chris Morton is another but as you say he didn't scale the heights in terms of the world stage.

I don't speak for everyone but I'm quite capable of making a judgement whether or not it is within 24hrs of his latest performance, I have memory of many fantastic performances to add to the pot when considering where he stands in terms of greatness. 30 years on I can still recall some of Peter Collin's enthralling races and I get that same thrill when I see Gollob race and he is on song. That's what speedway is all about for me, thrills. Obviously I would never suggest Mauger wasn't a great but that is purely based on his haul of trophies, I never considered him exciting to watch, he was immaculate, Olsen & Nielsen fall into the same category for me. I would include Mark Loram in my list of greats but not Gary Havelock(no offence), yet they both won World crowns, it's not just about trophies for me, it's about value for money, it's about riders who appear to be at one with the bike, who ride lines that other riders don't even know exist and most wouldn't attempt if they were aware of them. What Gollob did on Saturday wasn't just about his riding, it was the way he played the captains role, he inspired his team by his attitude, they were all just pulled along by him when it looked like slipping away, I already had him down as a true great but he went up a couple of notches for his captains job, it was the first time I had seen this side of him, I know the manager was also instrumental before anyone feels the need to remind me but it I think it was Gollob who turned it around.

There are one or 2 posts earlier in this thread that appear to cast doubt on the integrity of the Poles win. As you say, sour grapes, it was a great fightback.

I agree with that wholeheartedly, he took the meeting by the scruff of the neck and turned it upside down in those 2 heats. Chris Harris has shown similar inspirational qualites in domestic racing and if he can continue to improve we may well one day have our own version of Gollob, now that would be nice, it may be 10 or so years away though.

That's true, he was fast everywhere, although I would have thought Ole will have had the better of him at Monmore on most occasions. If you were to ask fans who attended regularly back then at any track up and down the country who they would look forward to seeing visit their home track I reckon it would be PC, not Mauger, or Olsen, now I wouldn't imagine that anyone would have an argument against Peter being seen as an all time great, why did everyone want to see him, because he was a proper racer, just like Gollob. There's very rarely a dull moment when Gollob is on the track, you never know where he is going to come from if he's behind, he is a great speedway rider.

Maybe you would have said the same about Ivan Mauger at the time, all he had was fast bikes and was quick out of the gate, he wasn't a thrill merchant by any means, just immaculate. Now Gollob has fast bikes, can gate too but if he misses the gate he just hunts down his opponent in the most thrilling way, there isn't another rider that generates that excitement so consistently for me, that makes him one of the greats in my book. My favourite rider over the years has to be Peter Collins and when Gollob is in full flight he gives me the same thrills as PC did back in the day.

National pride, riding for the flag maybe.

Correct, the most decorated, successful rider on show tonight said something along the lines that it was a priviledge to ride in such a competitive meeting, surely if there were any suspicions of cheating he would have been the first to mention it, he can whinge with the best of them when he wants. Agreed re the joker, it enhanced the entertainment value of the meeting, even though the Scandinavians failed in theirs it still made the middle of the meeting interesting.

Can't agree with that, he is amongst the best riders I have watched since the late 60's, it's not just fast bikes, he is an extremely gifted rider imo. I could watch him race all day long. Can't understand what exactly you think the Poles did tonight, are you suggesting they swapped bikes? Can't see that going unobserved in the pits. Please explain what you think they did. There are non more competitive than the Aussies and Jason Crump didn't seem to have any complaints there at the end. That was a fantastic meeting, best I've seen for ages.

Not sure why anyone's complaining about this meeting, I'm finding it really interesting, 15heats gone and the result is still in doubt, ok the Poles may pull away now, maybe not, I reckon this is as closer than we have a right to expect. Nearly all the predictions were for a Polish walkover, well it certainly isn't that. If the next 10 heats deliver as well as the first 15 I'll be happy, not bothered who wins, just grateful for a decent stream of a good meeting.

I think they were referring to the earlier part of the thread where I think there was discussion about whether or not the Aussie was trying to throw the race by almost coming to grief on the 3rd/4th turn, was it Troy Batchelor? You are right though, there's always been riders who seem to hit the deck easier than others, just like there are diving footballers, it's cheating but not always easy to detect, that's where it boils down to opinions. The problem is that some of the opinions expressed go too far by hurling personal abuse, it's quite embarassing to read some of it when considering it is spouted by people who are old enough to know better, proper playground mentality. I'm sure you are right about the Americans and laying the bike down, it should be part of every riders training really, it may save a life sometime considering it's the quickest way to bring the bike to a halt, look at last night, but for the skill of the Russian it could have been very nasty for Scott Nicholls, there are plenty of other instances where the skill of the rider following a faller has avoided serious injury for both. The problem is that, as you say, some riders use their laying down skills to their advantage, I don't know how you could stop them though.

Great first post imo, the attitude of some on here is nothing short of disgraceful, it goes beyond just expressing an opinion or having banter in some cases. Thankfully these people are in the minority, a seemingly increasing minority though. I hope you stay to post again.

Why the insults, he played the joker at 6points down, if he hadn't played it then and we cut the Poles lead in that race he may not have got the chance again, it transpired that he would have had other opportunities but it wasn't a given. Whatever your opinions about him as manager you are being unfair with those comments, then again it seems to be the norm on here these days for posters to throw insults from the safety of their front rooms. Very boring meeting you say, well it is all about opinions but seriously, did you find that boring, or are you just disappointed in the outcome? I thought it was a decent nights entertainment from the safety of my front room.

Not sure about that, the changes the Russians can make shouldn't really bother the British lads, as long as Sayfutdinov is out of the picture, a more competetive first bend (ie 4 riders) will give the Brits a better chance of being in the mix. I think we provided 9 race winners tonight, the Poles 12 or 13, without the mishaps we would have been closer to them. Either way, putting aside the disappointment of GB not winning the meeting I thought it was decent nights entertainment, the track didn't seem as good as last year but it still provided some close racing, passing and plenty of incident, to me thats what speedway has always been about, thrills & spills. Ben Barker showed he can do the job, can't think of anyone I would consider replacing him with, I reckon he deserves to ride on Thursday. Kennett did all that could be asked of him, Nicholls had a bad night at the office but along with Harris will be relied on heavily on Thursday, Woffinden did ok too apart from the obvious, he and Barker are just young lads, I like their spirit, obviously they get carried away sometimes but both are good enough to be part of the team. I hope Thursday & Saturday serve up more of the same.

thanks for checking it out, oh well Geoff's memory has held up better than mine, although I know I've always thought it was him so it's clearly of a case of mistaken identity on my part. As for Graham Plant, maybe but assuming he was riding that night he would have had leathers on, this character didn't, probably just a mate or brother of one of the riders, come to think of it back then the riders viewing area was always pretty full @ Hyde Rd, plenty of blokes got in with pit passes etc, my dad managed it a couple of times. Anyway, thanks for clearing it up, makes me wonder just what else I have misremembered, did the Aces really win 3 league titles in a row back then or was it just the way I saw it?

thanks for the response. I'm sure it is just something that has stuck with me rather than anyone else, including those involved. I remember seeing the pictures in the Star & News the following week, it was news at the time. Anyway, thanks for the link, I have previously enjoyed an hour or two on your website and you are right in that there is plenty of intresting content. I have left you a message there. thanks again.

Apologies if this has already been posted on here but I haven't come across it before and it's well worth a viewing if anyone hasn't seen it before. It's in 5 parts and the links to the others are on the right of the screen. http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/circuits-of-gold-1987

Well I stand corrected on the year but I was unsure anyway, as for Geoff not riding, agreed on that, he was wearing civvies at the time, but he was there in the pits, probably spannering for Chris. Either way they were both entertainers and the type of characters speedway could well do with today. TeamBouchard, my cousin had a spell @ Station Rd, Jon Roberts, have you chased him up for your publication yet? Is "Trackin' Down" available online anywhere, if so I'd be happy to pay for a read.

Thanks Tony, looking forward to this one, I'm sure I will enjoy reading the article on Chris (RIP) & Geoff, I wonder if Geoff will mention the Leicester incident @ Hyde Rd in 73(?), I was 13 at the time but if I close my eyes I can still see him jumping the fence from the riders viewing area and piling in along a good few other riders. It was the first and last proper brawl I saw at a speedway track. Other than that I have many memories of watching them both ride, mainly Chris, he was always good value for money and seemed to be able to team ride with any of his team mates. He was also always happy to sign my autograph books. Keep up the good work with Backtrack, I have subscribed from the start and have no plans to stop. Please pass my regards to Suzie, always helpful when I have ordered books or DVDs.

Moxey thanks for the pm, unable to reply for some reason, the message says 'not allowed'. I have emailed the mods to clarify but either way I will get back to you. Think I've noticed you on the BV forum, will try to reply via there if thats ok.

You are welcome Dornier, as it happens the quality of the stream tonight was a little inferior to the usual but as I said earlier it's free, beggars can't be choosers eh. Glad you were able to catch it, I noticed he is showing a Polish meeting tomorrow too, not sure which it will be, obviously the commentary will not be English but then again some of Nigel Pearsons rantings don't make a lot of sense, so no change there really. From some of the comments I have seen it appears quite a few are getting ready to ditch their subscriptions to Virgin/Sky etc, got to say if they are messing people around the only way they will sort it is if they see their profits affected. Just like all the other technology providers they don't seem to care about keeping their customers happy, all the emphasis is on grabbing new clientelle, to me the golden rule should be to protect what you already have in the way of customers and the rest will take care of itself, still, what do I know.

For those who are struggling with the red button issue (unsure what its all about tbh) here is a link that will have English commentary, invariably a decent stream too. http://www.wockychannels.com/speedway.php I gave subscription tv up long ago, not worth the expense for me I'm afraid. Can't recall missing a meeting that I wanted to see in the last 4yrs, ok sometimes there have been problems with broken streams but there is generally an alternative available somewhere. The link above also has streams of some Danish & Swedish league meetings midweek, there are no charges but you an donate a few quid for the cause if you see fit, the fella seems to re-invest the money into new and better equipment/facilities. Either way I am pleased with what I get from it for just chucking a few £'s in the pot now and again. Hope this helps.

When you refer to Brits I wonder if you mean the team, from what I saw and heard last night they were upbeat and confident, they all seemed relaxed considering they are in unknown territory. Whatever their mentality I was impressed with how they all came across. If they ride tomorrow with the same passion that was so obvious at Kings Lynn then I will be happy, if that in turn leads to a rostrum place I will be even happier. If that's what you call settling for less then so be it. Any sport is/should be about passion for the game, to do the best you can is all anyone can ask, I love my country and I will support any of our sportsmen/women that are prepared to give it their all for the cause.