Ray Stadia

It could be a prequel 'The Rise of the Tatums'!

I don't know if Jawa countershafts are the same as their gearboxes, but their older gearboxes had a taper shaft and then a spline shaft came in. So, the clutch hub/carrier, in this case, are different. Also, older clutches were 3 spring. I've probably not been very helpful.

Very interesting. Thank you.

I am not quite old enough, but I believe the 'Provincial league' was a 2nd or maybe 3rd division league? I was speaking to a friend of mine recently, who keeps up to date with non-league speedway stuff and it appears there are many non-league riders looking to ride. Yes, many 'wobblers', many up-righters, which might mean some 'old boys', but they are out there. I think speedway needs to look 'outside the box'!

I remember Kerry Gray, I fell off during a training session at Hackney and he ran over to see if I was ok. Smashing fella!

I fully get that Jayne. I suppose Buxton could run meetings on a similar line to how the Isle of Wight ran this year?

Apart from Moto GP perhaps. That has to be close to F1.

But if the promotion is a limited company and goes into liquidation, the directors can probably walk away.

Aldershot used to run speedway at the old stadium, but it didn't last. Not sure how many seasons it ran for. With the army camp being there, I would have thought it would have been well attended? Arena Essex/Lakeside was a small track. Aldershot say their track is 350 metres. Arena Essex was 252 metres.

If I was far younger and yes, I would have loved to have been a speedway rider, I would have preferred to have had a job/career, and speedway was my hobby. I would have accepted that the only way my costs were met or exceeded, would be based on results. There is no way speedway will survive as it is presently, with people (promoters) running a team hoping the gate (the income) will pay the outgoings. Speedway will survive, but not in it's current form.

Things can be twisted, to suit someone's agenda.

What is happening, especially in the UK, is there is everyone else and there is that horrible scum, labelled 'white privileged'.

But you are disrespecting those people who choose to believe!

Phillip Rising, used 'capitals' in parts of his messages!

Probably first year after Rayleigh folded, so 1974 I would guess?

I agree, that would be the situation now, but could have been introduced years ago! We have 3 cycle speedway tracks in Ipswich, The Ipswich Cycle Speedway Track and Great Blakenham Cycle Speedway Track, not sure about Kesgrave. The tracks are in superb condition, but as far as I know, the Castrol R version, pays little attention!

I think over the years, speedway missed a trick. Tracks should have insured they all had their own cycle speedway teams, with cycle speedway tracks actually built on the infield. That way, youngsters would feel that they were part of their local speedway team, with aspirations, perhaps, to move to the motorised version. Cycle speedway is down in the dumps, but a few hang on. But, to my knowledge, none of the cycle speedway clubs are affiliated with the methanol version.

There are two ways to look at professional. Professional as in 'run professionally' or professional from the point of view the riders earn their living from speedway. As we know, riders do earn money from speedway and in my opinion, this is where the problem is. In the 'old days' most riders in the 2nd tier leagues would be semi-professional riders, they would have a job too, which made up their money. Yes, probably most of the top tier riders would have been fully professional. This has been mentioned many times and to cut to the chase, the costs riders spend on their gear is astronomical, with no sign of reducing costs. The gates are reducing each year, so the circle is not being squared. You either radically change the sport/activity or watch it go up its own fundament!

That is true, but I don't think the rate of closures we have seen over recent years, was seen in the 60s and 70s, but maybe I'm wrong?

Some people might be offended by blasphemous words!

There is also a black very good American moto X rider, James Stewart.

There has been a couple of black riders that I know of, Paul Muchene, lost his life at Hackney, very sad and of course Antonio Lindback. There could be others. I think there was a rider who rode second halves at Wimbledon, in the mid 80s, who was part Asian, I think.

Sorry, I meant to say 'woke up'!

A play on the word 'awake' I suppose. Maybe those who have 'woke up'?

My understanding, is it's a word to describe people being 'very awake' to issues such as racism, LGBTQ issues, saving the planet issues, championing veganism, and other current issues.