PHILIPRISING

NONSENSE ... but for whatever reason your deluded comments again bear out your hatred of Briggo.

YES they do, especially around Cardiff time, but I have said many times on here that the National press is a very different animal now than it was when I worked in Fleet Street. Ironically, newspapers devote far more space to sport than they did 30 years ago but there is little interest in motorsport (other than F1) in general whether it be two or four wheels. Banging their heads against the proverbial brick wall. It is vastly different in Poland, of course, and the Danish nationals still carry speedway in a significant way but don't think there is an awful lot in Sweden other than for the Stockholm GP. Speedway doesn't sell newspapers... and even if you look at the Daily Mail online (the most viewed online newspaper in the world I believe) it is over 90 per cent football. Even cricket, golf and rugby are barely mentioned on a daily basis and tennis only when a Grand slam is on and Murray is involved.

AS you are so smart why not make one yourself. As previously stated, it is the FIM who impose the rules but there is no closed shop so get to it.

BELIEVE he is one to have a rather inflated value of his services right now.

WHEN Holder and Ward were at their peak for Poole every track in the country reported one of if not the best crowd of the season when they visited. Of course crowds are nowhere near the 80s but sadly those days are long gone but it doesn't mean that the top riders cannot attract more fans than normal. Look at what Sayfutdinov achieved during his all too short time here. The franchise idea is being discussed by some interested parties and is very much at an embryotic stage but venues like Glasgow, Belle Vue, Wolverhampton and Poole could provide suitable venues and attract decent crowds if the format was right on and off the track.

PATHETIC ... anyone can make a dirt deflector or adf for that matter and as long as it meets FIM regulations get it homologated. Your antagonism which borders of hatred of all things Briggs is plain to see and always has been. Very sad.

IT'S a very long time since all the top riders rode in Britain and I'm not sure crowds were falling, certainly not as dramatically as in recent seasons, when they were. Lots of reasons why crowds are falling, including lack of regular weekly fixtures, continuity of teams, too many guests and absent riders but I have little doubt that if the likes of Sayfutfinov, Nicki Pedersen and many of the young Poles were racing in Britain attendances would rise significantly. I know of plenty of people who would travel significant distances too see these guys in action but wouldn't cross the road for some of the teams currently on display.

AND a few that haven't. Simple supply and demand.

NO guarantee they would get into the Premier League. TV requirements I believe ... just as soccer is now shown here on various days and nights, so be it with speedway in Poland.

ANYONE having problems with Kupbilet send me a PM with your tel details and will pass on to BSI who will contact an English speaking rep there with your request.

NOT going to reignite that surely. Tai is British and no doubt the British hospital that he raised £100,000 for will be eternally grateful.

SORRY to be pedantic but when was the World Cup Final held at King's Lynn? NOT sure you can say that of Sweden right now

THE big battle between BT Sport and Sky is for your broadband business. That's where long term the battle will be won or lost.

CANNOT agree with much of that. Speedway is a career for these guys, not a hobby. They are not riding for expenses but a wage and hopefully the chance to invest for a long future when they stop. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that what Joe Public wants to see is the top riders here. The trick is come up with something new that fits their schedule and appeals to the public.

NOT very easy to emulate what cricket has done, at least on the track, but some serious thinking outside the box to provide non-stop entertainment for fans on and off the track is feasible.

EVEN MP didn't own all the teams let alone the stadiums. COULD be on the cards. NO.

HE was also approached years ago ... as was Bernie Ecclestone by his mate Barry Briggs who told him that the only way he would be interested was if he owned all the stadiums and all the teams. In others words, the sport needed a dictator in charge and he was probably right.

PEARSON and Tatum will provide the commentary for BT's coverage of the SGP and SWC with BT taking the World feed as did Eurosport for the past three years. Sky's domestic coverage continues this year.

BUT there is a world of difference in booking air travel or even hotels than a fully fledged tour with all that entails which is where Travel Plus appeal to so many.

AS Mimmo kindly points out, the Travel Plus brochure is included in addition to the usual 48 pages. TP's continuing success in providing speedway tours is testimony to the fact that many people do not want to search for these things online or in thousands of cases work out their own trips. In that respect many speedway fans are no different to people booking all-inclusive holidays in other aspects of life. HA is probably right that it reflects the current demographic of speedway fans ... an older audience with disposable income who prefer to have the arrangements made for them and to enjoy the considerable benefits of choosing to let Travel Plus do the work.

POLISH tracks are also intrinsically a bigger part of the local community than those in Britain and in many cases the bulk of the riders are local too and therefore much easier to harness together for such outings. However, that shouldn't (and occasionally doesn't) prevent British teams from following suit.

LOVELY part of the world especially if the sun is shining.

WE invited Joe Parsons to reply but had no answer. I'm sure messrs Pearson and Tatum will raise the issue at their Poole talk-in when Parsons is due to be a guest.

THIS was in Speedway Star ... SIMMERING discontent behind the scenes at Speedway Grand Prix events has come to the boil with the news that a potential sponsor of the series has pulled out because of the perceived behaviour of another. Nicki Pedersen’s major sponsors, Moldow, have scrapped their plans to increase their involvement in the light of what they perceive to be the unfair attitude of Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons and their branded riders towards the Danish triple World Champion. One of Denmark’s leading newspapers, Ekstra Bladet, last week carried a story claiming that while Pedersen accepts having enemies amongst his rivals, it is inappropriate for Parsons, who is responsible for the energy drink’s sponsorship of the SGP and SWC, to “take part in the war against him.” Parsons, a larger than life American who is omnipresent at World Championship events alongside Tai Woffinden, Greg Hancock and Chris Holder – and, of course, previously Darcy Ward – is also accused in the Ekstra Bladet report of being in the paddock and cheering on local wild card Sam Masters when he had an altercation with Pedersen and his Polish mechanic in Melbourne during the Australian SGP which brought the curtain down on the 2015 series. According to Ekstra Bladet sources, Moldow chose to pull the plug on negotiations with BSI and sent a letter to the SGP owners at IMG in which they justified their decision by saying that they did not wish to support the series as they felt there was an unfair smear campaign against Nicki from various camps. Pedersen admits that “he has difficulty understanding the behaviour of the Monster Energy boss.” He added: “I have great respect for Parsons. He is the title sponsor of the SGP and the SWC and I have great respect for the way he runs his marketing. “But I have no respect for him when he behaves like a fan, jumping, dancing, screaming and shouting and saying nasty things to people when they are riding. “It is unpleasant and it looks ugly. And I can feel around me that fans and others are disgusted and sick and tired of it.” It was also suggested that Masters escaped punishment for the fracas at the Eithad but the FIM have confirmed that he was actually suspended for 20 days along with a fine. Torben Olsen, Managing Director of BSI Speedway, responded to the newspaper report with the following statement: “I met with Preben Hansen from Moldow and we had a good chat. He is very complimentary of the series and has been a sponsor of Nicki for many years and obviously I respect his decision. “However, there is absolutely no hostility towards Nicki from our side at all. We are not biased towards the Monster Energy riders. “Nicki has been and still is a much valued rider in the SGP. He is one of, if not the most, professional guys on and off the track. “He is a great racer and a three times World Champion. He is a brand and understands how to promote himself and the sport even though sometimes it is as the bad guy. “He also understands how to look after his fans and sponsors but also the sport as a whole. He is box office and helps us keep and increase our audiences.” Pedersen’s altercations with his fellow riders, and not just at SGP events, have been well-chronicled over the years and it was at a Swedish league match last year that Hancock lost his cool and assaulted the Dane after an on-track incident. But the tough as teak Pedersen will always claim that he never deliberately goes out to cause any harm and that as often as not he is on the receiving end.

WOULDN'T put too much credence by that remark.