PHILIPRISING

MORE SGP riders don't wear them than do so presume that would be a no. All riders want air-fences ... although that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvements

WISH I could. Must be in his head, certainly not his equipment although he has tried to blame that. Has always been en enigma but not to this degree. Quite extraordinary given how he finished last season. Totally devoid of confidence but cannot remember a rider of his previously proven ability having quite such a poor run.

THEY did indeed ...

AND there will be a reply in SS this week but the gist is that neck braces aren't the answer to every crash of this sort and the fact that not every rider uses one already tells its own story.

THEY will quite soon ....

CHRIS completed practice. Met him at Tegal (Berlin) airport this morning ... looked absolutely shattered.

I THINK you have spotlighted the big difference between Elite and Premier. I agree with you ... Thursday night used to be Wimbledon night for me. Regular as clockwork unless the weather intervened. But that hardly applies to EL tracks these days. PRESUMABLY they will just carry on riding in Sweden, Poland, Denmark, Germany or Czecho. There is nothing to stop GP riders racing here now, it's their choice and all but seven choose to boycott the UK.

EXACTLY but opens the door for another rider in Melbourne where Darcy would have been offered the wild card place.

NEW British TV contract negotiations underway ... interest being shown by BT, Eurosport (now owned by the Discovery Channel) which wasn't the case last time around) and Sky.

WE need to get back to regular speedway nights, whether that be weekly or fortnightly, so that fans get into a routine, something that is sadly lacking amongst Elite League fans at least.

IN Lambert's case he has both parents constantly by his side.

ON a par with Jim Tebby beating Ivan in Heat 1 of a KO Cup match at Wimbledon ...

YOU seem to be suggesting that cutting the money paid to riders in the UK, which is hardly excessive, will solve all the problems. It won't. They cannot be blamed for the cost of equipment which has spiralled in recent years. We have an acute shortage of riders now. All that would happen is that more and more riders would not find the sport viable and disappear into the sunset.

ON the contrary. While I don't agree with many of your views, especially regarding the SGP and IMG's involvement, you make some valid points about domestic speedway that are worthy of consideration.

DO you include yourself in that?

IN SS this week a number of suggestions put forward for thought and discussion plus a rare interview with BSPA Chairman Alex Harkess... in the next few weeks will be trawling the bsf and elsewhere for sensible and objective comments

I MIGHT have done if I knew what the hell it was!

OF course but a regular speedway event rather than one every four or even five years would have had more appeal to the Wembley owners. Suspect what you like but that was the official complaint by the FA at the time.

VERY good post.

MY memory must be fading (it is!) ... I had a very good relationship with the then SCB Chairman (Michael Limb) and we had both public and private spats about the SCB giving up Wembley but a critical factor was the FIM not agreeing to hold the World Final there each year (hardly surprising given pressure from Sweden and Poland) and Limb said he had no more cards to play. That much I do remember INCIDENTALLY, if Michael Limb was still Chairman of an independent Speedway Control Board, speedway would not be in the mess it is now. As secretary of the RAC, at that time the ultimate governing body of motorsport in the UK, Michael and the SCB had real power and weren't afraid to use it. Michael was at the helm at the time of "Black Sunday" as SS headlined it when the People newspaper began a series of race fixing disclosures which rocked the sport. Along with various national newspaper colleagues (Peter Oakes, Keir Radnedge, the late Graham Baker) I attended every day and the Daily Express (the paper I worked for at the time) carried daily reports of the Tribunal that he set up, quite often with page leads. It was major news at the time. Now it probably wouldn't even register on the radar of any newspaper. Michael and the Board, especially when the abrasive Dick Bracher was secretary, kept the BSPA on a tight rein. However, as he told me once: "It is much easier to impose strict discipline when tracks are making substantial profits and fear losing their licences." The ultimate sanction held by the SCB. Threaten to withdraw a licence now and the offending track will probably put it in the post!

WE did years ago. The SCB caved in when the FA threatened to pull some internationals from Wembley. It was a no-brainer really ... a World Final every few years (and the gap between them was getting bigger) against the FA's internationals and Cup Final.

Has it ever really been prove that was the reason, given that the FA didn't actually own the old Wembley? Probably more a convenient excuse with respect to the cost of staging it there. ALTHOUGH the FA didn't own Wembley they undoubtedly put enough pressure on the stadium to kick out speedway because it was allegedly damaging their hallowed turf. More so, apparently, that the Horse of the Year Show!

PROMOTED by the late, great Trevor Redmond? I actually watched one meeting on the throne in the Royal Box! Make of that what you will

YOU really don't get it do you? Do you go to Cardiff? Thousands of fans arriving and spending all day in and around the stadium with plenty to do, drink and eat creating a fantastic atmosphere. How would that work around Wembley if everyone got on a tube and disappeared into the London metropolis? If Humphrey thinks London is cheaper than Cardiff he probably hasn't been there lately.