PHILIPRISING

EXACTLY ... or should that be exactly

UNDERSTAND that but not why the postman couldn't keep it dry. If that happens again call Dave on 020-83351113 and will send a replacement.

HEADLINE in the Daily Mail today ... BT (shares) slide after warnings that it pays too. much for sport ... that will amuse the BSPA

SIMPLE reason ... cost. BT take the world feed from BSI for the SGP and SWC (no production costs other than their studio) and they have out-sourced production of domestic speedway and are not paying the BSPA any money. Basically, they are just providing the air time.

BECAUSE II'm an idiot

WILL enquire WHY was it in the rain?

COULD you elaborate?

BARRY Briggs MBE

BT do cover the SWC ...

THANKS for the dig. As you yourself put it, Erik Gundersen said... so it was his opinion not mine.i Unfortunately other than Poland and possibly Australia there aren't any youngsters coming through which will have a major effect on international speedway including the SGP and SWC in the not too distant future. The Swedes have no one, nor the USA., nor Slovenia or indeed Russia or Slovakia. There are no longer the superstars to inspire young boys to become speedway riders. The kids of today have a million other things to aspire to, earn more money and considerably less dangerous. I know the FIM are looking at setting up academies but the horse may have bolted.

INVEST in the future and at the moment the only candidate is Lambert. Should have been drafted into the British Final as well.

ME too and I was sitting in the booth next the referee

FLEMING Gravesen supplies Doyle's engines. He actually used three different bikes last night.

FLEMING Gravesen supplies engines for Jason Doyle. Incidentally, he used three different bikes last night. Holder went all out for trying to get out of the start, and did so after this first two, but still lacked top end speed. ONE more year at least. Pavel Ondrasik and Tomas Topinka are during a great job at the Marketa. Gradually they have been introducing a new racing surface and are reaping the benefits.

SOME riders use several different tuners.

TAI was on PJR engines but he blew his chances when he broke the tapes after a sensational win. Doesn't seem 100 per cent with it. Emil not the rider he was. Now married with two-year-old son and with a number of nasty injuries still on his mind. Unlikely to mix it like he used to.

CHIT chat around the Prague pits today .... Lindgren did 114 meetings last year and spent 3,000 euros on his engines and even some of that was unnecessary because he thought there might have been a problem in one but there wasn't. Another SGP rider did 75 meetings and spent 35,000 euros ... another did around 100 and spent 70,000 euros.

ENGINES from a new (not PJR) tuner for Hancock tonight.

DURING a conversation last night I was told that Hancock, Woffinden and Zmarzlik have all recently acquired GTRs and been testing them but have not yet decided whether to chance them in a SGP. It would appear that Hancock, normally so electric from the tapes, Holder and Woffinden have all been having trouble at the starts although they do not know why. At least one of them will have a new PJR in Prague.

FINDING any mistakes in Bryan's calculations would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Great asset through the pages of Speedway Star but also his term at the BSPA.

THE actual coverage of this event and all other domestic meetings on BT this year is in the very capable hands of Steve Saint, who also directs BSI's TV operations from the SGPs. Steve will have a very experienced crew working with him, including Keith Munrow (graphics, who also does the SGPs), Steve Brandon handling interviews and all of the cameramen and technicians will have worked on speedway before, including for Sky. I am sure he will do a good job.

THE current crop of riders, including Dan Bewley, would still benefit enormously by spending a day with top class former riders (they have more time than those still racing). The BSPA should be looking to have a day at the NSS with (in my opinion) people like Mark Loram and Kelvin Tatum (who is also hugely knowledgeable on the mechanical side), to name but two, who can iron out flaws in their technique that will eventually come back to haunt them. It would not be a costly exercise but one that could bring rich dividends. If more money was available then arrange a short trip to Denmark to spend time with Erik Gundersen. As they progress media training and how to go about securing and maintaining sponsorship should also be on the agenda. Back in the day when I managed to acquire an impressive sponsorship package for Tatum when he was at Wimbledon and later Coventry, the wise words of Ivan Mauger, whose meticulous attention to detail (such as having sponsors logos on his left shin because that was so often captured in photos) was extraordinary, always rang in my ears. "It is one thing getting a sponsor but quite another keeping them," he told me.

BOB was a highly valued contributor to Speedway Star over many decades. Although not a journalist by trade - he was a VAT inspector- his rider interviews, Bob Radford's Travels and his coverage of Swindon were first class. His passion for speedway, along with travel, especially cruises, made him a very special person and we will miss him personally and professionally.

NO ...

BRITISH speedway needs a plan for these kids ... proper tuition to hone their good points and eliminate their bad ones. No matter how talented they are should not be left to their own devices in the hope that they will keep climbing the ladder. Invest in the future.