old bob at herne bay

Well Scott Nicholls was definitely at KingsLynn .... looked very quick.trying out a new Godden Engine.

Surely Speedway race nights and times at Kent are dictated by the local council planning authority? The NDL admission charge is the most expensive in the country, so IF as suggested the speedway has been running “rent free “ under Roger Cearns’ ownership, I would say that NDL racing at Sittingbourne will become untenable. I think much will depend on the profitability of CL speedway in 2021 . If not successful maybe dogs will take over every evening ..... I am sure the locals will prefer barking greyhounds every night rather than revving motorcycles.

Te complete lack of information coming from most clubs on their plans to restart the season in less than 4 weeks time fully supports my opinion that they have their heads in the sand and are hoping that this all goes away by May 16th, and it will "business as usual. " All pretty shabby, certainly doesn't inspire confidence that the speedway stadia will be low Covid 19 risk environments. Frankly I would be amazed if half the stadia were allowed to open as planned in May. Only Eastbourne appear to have grasped the nettle, and set out their plans to their supporters.

Go on surprise me “Trees” ..... soap is now available in the toilets at Saddlebow Road.....and there is more than one entrance to the race bowl from the field used as a car park ?

Much still to be done before crowds are allowed into Speedway "race bowls" in the UK IMHO. Gone are the days of banks of turnstiles located at several entry points around the tracks ....... with spectators located all around the entire circuit. The sanitary facilities at most "race bowls" are now so scarce and rudimentary , lacking even a bar of soap, that surely will be questioned by local authorities in assessing attendance limits. The last track I regularly supported struggled to maintain electric lighting in their facilities. Oddly, I suspect that social distancing there woudn't have been a problem, assuming you took a torch to the gents ;-) Eastbourne have laid out their stall with some commonsense planning ... but whether the local authority have given them any feedback on their plans ....

Talking of Eastbourne, I seem to remember some un sportmanslike behaviour from their NL team manager to delay a meeting at Kent and invoke the curfew, and prevent 15 heats being run. Seems there nothing in the rules to prevent "time wasting" .....

Jason Crump and Chris Holder jointly hold the Eastbourne track record set in April 2008 ..... will Jason improve on that in 2021 ???

Just needs an air fence, some track lights and a starting gate.

Aha Hackney Hawk, not so keen on attending speedway anymore .... not so much a supporter of Kent rather a very occasional attendee. tbh I haven't the patience to sit around (even in Kent's palacial surroundings) watching the seemingly never ending delays to racing. The last meeting I attended was at Kent in 2019, with frequent delays and ended before heat 15 due to the "curfew" restriction, and I haven't been back since.

Yes this mandatory advance ticket booking is going to make it impossible for last minute decisions on attending due to weather. Not sure how late in the day you will be able to book online tickets ... but if the cut off is days before the meeting this will deter some folks from booking tickets. Like blueherb777, I have been bitten once too often to even consider travelling with a dodgy weather forecast. A shower of rain nowadays and meetings are OFF.

If only half the stadium is open - this will reduce the maximum crowd capacity , and pro rata reduce the maximum crowd permitted under the 50% of the max capacity rule under the Covid 19 rules for sporting events. You have to have the whole blinking stadium open to allow for social distancing , not just huddle them all together !

Might have been intended as a gag....... but seems appropriate for an Aerospace sponsor. Nice one. :-) :-) Might spoil the grass :-)

Thought I read he was taking a job at Peterborough ? Unless Saddlebow has moved to Alwalton ?

Just to add to the "fromafar" post .... my last regular attendance was at Lakeside as a social habit with a small group of regular attendees. All had been supporting speedway for 50 years plus. Has to be said that what turned out to be the last season at Lakeside the endless delays to the meetings, the petty antics of riders on the start line made watching 15 heats of speedway a test of endurance on the cold and draughty grass/mud banks in the Spartan facilities at Lakeside. For the first time in over 50 years I found myself leaving the track before the end of the meeting. I knew then it was time to hang up my programme board/ gas rattle. It's so much more comfortable watching the delays and hold ups from your sofa with a beer , and you can record it all and fast forward 50% of the stuff with practice starts/gardening and air fence repairs. Will I go back again? Maybe only for selected meetings to see Jason Crump. I will put up with the delays and gardening to see him one more time.

In the free world of the United Kingdom, I would like to think that people have a choice when or not to drive their vehicle. Age certainly isn't the only issue as to whether you should be driving at night. By all means introduce a compulsory eyesght test for ALL drivers periodically , rather than the present honesty system, but a blanket ban based on age alone is surely not justified. (and probably illegal under "human rights" legislation !!)

Swindon..... didn't they used to race at the stadium at Blunsdon ??

Did you mean the STANDARD of speedway has deteriorated :-) Supporter of New Cross, West Ham, Wimbledon, Hackney, Crayford, Canterbury, Arena Essex, Rye House speedway clubs. What's there to whinge about ??

Agree ... very poorly worded and insensitive post by "@SpeedwayGB" An unnecessary post IMO.

Think I am old enough to say I have seen more Speedway clubs than "Rosco" Rossiter fold than have ever been rebuilt/ relocated. However he is entitled to his optimism, based i assume on hope that the developers adhare to their planning permission. Looking at the most recent examples ... Rye House. Allegedly the new owners have violated their planning permission by demolishing the speedway track. Required to submit new planning application. Will speedway track ever re appear ?? Lakeside. Allegedly Local Council have stipulated to developers that land must be alloted for a new sporting facility within the Thurrock area to replace the Lakesde motorsport arena. Who what when this new land will be developed ........open to suggestions

Agree with others on here that Eastbourne's Promotion do seem to be proactive in informing the public how they see speedway taking place at their track in 2021. There's no rocket science involved, just plain common sense and communicating with the public to assure them that their health and safey is being taken seriously and managed. Most other clubs appear to be sitting on the air fence and waiting for ........... ?

East End Fan , I have some sympathy with my local club ..... but I do think they have failed to sharpen their pencils in respect of trimming costs of the 2021 National League operation. Additionally, there are NO senior concessions on the prices. No doubt thay pay a significant rent for the well appointed stadium at Sittingbourne, but they surely have a reduced riders wage bill than that of 2019, given the standard of riders under the new 35 point limit. I was always told that riders wages were the major cost of operating a speedway club. They have pitched their CL offering at a competitive price with some attractive team members in a side who must command high wages. I am left to assume they are paying the NL team members much more than other clubs.They need to deliver attractive entertainment to provide value for money if they are to survive beyond 2021 IMO.

Adult Admission £18 for Championship and £15 for NDL

From Flemming's website (courtesy of Google Translate The Dane Flemming Graversen, currently one of the most sought-after tuners in the speedway scene, is now coming onto the market with an in-house design: a DOHC cylinder head for the short-stroke GM engine. The aim of this new design was to achieve a higher torque in the lower speed range in order to improve the acceleration after the start. Therefore, the maximum speed is only 11,000 rpm. but an increase in performance between 2 and 3 hp compared to the series was achieved. The camshafts are driven by 2 chains, whereby the chain coming from the crankshaft drives the inlet camshaft and a second chain then branches off to the exhaust camshaft. The camshafts are mounted on one side in needle bearings and on the other side in ball bearings, which keeps friction losses low. By using light metal materials with very low weight and machining with the latest CNC milling technology, the weight of the The complete engine, as offered by Graversen, weighs 27.2 kg, only about 1.2 kg more than the production GM. As is usual with four-valve engines, the spark plug is placed exactly in the middle of the combustion chamber. The inlet valves have a plate diameter of 34 mm and a shaft diameter of 5 mm. The plate diameter of the outlet valves is 33 mm and the shaft diameter is also 5 mm. The valves face the combustion chamber at an angle of 22 °. So he has built a completely different cylinder head (double overhead camshaft ) completely changing the characteristics of the original GM, but re uses the the GM "bottom end" ? Lots of tuners have done his in the past ... adding new top ends to existing bottom ends. So don't see an issue. Sounds like GM need to step up and offer thier own dohc motor ?

Worrying times for speedway riders who have opted to ride in Poland. I just cannot see how riders can realistically expect to race in both Poland and another country's speedway league (be it UK Sweden or Denmark ) with the limited options for travel around Europe at the moment. Fewer flights and long delays and lots of health checks on entry and exit. I guess most will go for the money and stay in Poland, rather than stay in the UK. ..... or woudl you stay in teh UK for less money but lower risk of COVID? ??

Philip, Just want to say one satisfied customer with the new delivery service down here in Herne Bay. As always a good read this week... and full marks to all involved with the Speedway Star for keeping the stories, interviews and features going throughout the past 12 months.