PHILIPRISING

BROCHURE consisted of 24 pages ... additional pages in SS that week? 24...

WHOSE round is it?

WOULD be the wise and logical choice ... doubt whether he wants his last GP race to be one where he was dumped on the track in Stockholm

I AM sure there will be an announcement re Bydgoszcz tickets... I will certainly post here as and when.

ARE you going to step forward? Think a million down is wrong by a large margin.

TOMMY was a bit unlucky to be around when Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen were at their peak but he won Pairs and Team gold medals and a number of GPs as well. I wouldn't vote against Leigh Adams but it's not an open and shut case in my view.

Tommy Knudsen?

WHY do you assume that they (Go Speed/Terry Russell) made a "hash" of any negotiations outside of Sky. There is no actual evidence that any TV company other than Sky were remotely interested in screening domestic British speedway. If, as rumoured, TR has secured a deal along the same lines as the previous Sky contract, then the BSPA should be taking their collective hats off to him. There is no doubt that late last season Sky were not interested in renewing their speedway deal. Their change of heart is probably in no small part due to the challenge of BT Sport. In the grand scheme of things British speedway isn't that significant but Sky was perceived to be on a losing streak as far as sporting events was concerned and even retaining speedway was seen as a plus.

RIDERS in the SGP this year will be able to choose their own number to go on their race-jackets... something many of them and particularly Greg Hancock have been campaigning for. Hancock will wear 45, Iversen has chosen 88. But Tai Woffinden has resisted 108 and decided that he will stick with the number he would have had anyway. Good choice, what better than 1.

BUT as no one knows how can be either trumpeted or ridiculed?

WHY is it diabolical when you don't even know its terms as yet...

SPEEDWAY STAR Xtra will be available online (via speedwaystar.net) again this week and will include stats from Track Reviews published in Speedway Star in recent weeks...

STAND corrected...

BRIGGO once talked to his mate Bernie Eccelstone about getting involved with British speedway. He had one criteria ... own all the stadiums and all the teams. Nothing less than total control. Bernie is an admitted advocate of dictatorship rather than democracy but, not surprisingly, he couldn't quite see a profit at the end of the tunnel.

THINK Russell Lanning works for the Daily Mail compiling a lot of their sports stats... Phil Lanning is on the Sun in Glasgow

SHOULD be on sale in a couple of weeks. Have also asked about postage ... they are investigating.

WILL enquire at BSI tomorrow ...

THE original plan was for a GP in either Australia or the USA immediately before or after the one in New Zealand. Obviously this would have enabled the huge cost of transporting riders and equipment halfway round the world to be shared between two or even three events. Various venues in Australia were looked at but none were suitable and since then only the Ethiad in Melbourne has come forward but it is only available in late October/November. Efforts to find a suitable venue in California or Florida (Daytona) also failed to materialise. The Home Depot stadium in LA (now re-named I believe) was far too expensive and the Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, which hosted World Team Cup Finals in 1985 and 1988, simply wasn't interested in even renting their facility. Logistically a GP in LA the week after NZ would be perfect ... there are direct 12 hour flights between the two cities and it would then only require a further flight back to Europe. But despite the best efforts of BSI and, indeed, Monster Energy (based in California) the various hurdles remain.

TWK ... BSI pay the FIM a considerable sum of money every year. Your argument really should be with the FIM and what they do with that money.

SENT by first class mail on Monday ...

SHOULD have been available from Dec 24 ... Christmas is a bad time for us as on sale dates get confusing for people who buy through a newsagent or supermarket.

BIT like those throwing millions at F1 events NOT in Auckland ... already know of some who had intended going to the speedway but have now switched to the Stones MIND you, looked online and tickets for the Stones start at £272! Might put a few off...

BUCKLEY wasn't throwing money in BSI's direction. He had a dream about staging a Speedway GP at his beloved Western Springs and was financially able to make it come true. He also bought his wife an Aston Martin which was probably not a financially sound idea either but it wasn't just throwing money at their Indian owners. He was to make her happy. CORRECT. Last year there was inconsistency in the starting positions, largely as a result of the way the water ran off the track after watering, and hopefully that will be tackled and rectified in April. But the shape and size of the track and the actual surface was highly praised by the riders on both previous occasions.

SPEEDWAY date was fixed first and not that easy to change after flights, etc, have been booked. Buckley isn't being set up for a fall. No one ever pretended that without him a SGP in NZ wouldn't have happened and he only ever had a three year contract. Having spent some time with him earlier this year, and gone on radio programmes to help garner support for his lease at Western Springs to be extended (which it has but only for a short period) I know how frustrated he gets with the local authorities and those trying to have motorsports banned at Western Springs in favour of the more tranquil cricket. Unfortunately Bill can also be his own worst enemy, he isn't getting any younger, his wife has a big influence on him and he may just feel that he has now "been there and done that." Humphrey, no one forces these promoters "with more money than sense" to stage SGP rounds, they do it of their own free will, and Bill went into it with his eyes wide open. But I know it is all run through his multi-million dollar business so I doubt whether his losses, large as they will be, are quite what is being suggested after his accountants have been at work.

SADLY the 2014 NZ GP will clash with an appearance by the Rolling Stones in Auckland on the same night. While genuine speedway or indeed motorcycling fans might still prefer the GP the visit of the Stones will undoubtedly impact on the GP. Last year the England cricket team were in town and the date clashed with several other motorcycle events across NZ. Also, it has to be said that Bill Buckley and those he appoints to run events at Western Springs don't go overboard in promoting the speedway, which might help cut his losses. I am told that over 40,000 motorsport fans attend the Springs over Christmas but offers from the likes of Jason Bunyan to attend with his bikes and to promote the speedway were met with total indifference. It is also true that Buckley hasn't had much support from the local authorities but he can be an abrasive character and his bull (or should that be Bill) in a China shop approach doesn't pay dividends. Bill is a very rich man and no doubt his accountants work their magic but there is no doubt much of his enthusiasm for bringing the speedway GP (which he loves) to Western Springs (which he loves even more) was ruled by his ego and that may be waning