waiheke1

The racing in GPs and SWC in the 2010s is the best I've seen in my nearly 40 years watching. And similarly as good or better than anything captured by tv cameras from earlier years. Proper race tracks, world class fields, a format in which every point counts and suspect that air fences make riders more willing to make aggressive moves round the outside. Frankly to indicate that today's speedway is not "speedway as it should be raced" is snobbery and closed-mindedness of the highest order.

Ok. But you are quoted as saying you worked for speedway mail from 1972-1984. I'm just wondering how you never saw Phil Crump or Billy Sanders race? Or how you are unable to recognise Ivan Mauger?

Does anyone know who this is?

A trend in general in the GP era. Is it that a season of performing at the highest level is exhausting and unsustainable? Compared to world final era which required a one night peak, and maybe the experience having won gave an added mental toughness?

Out of interest, when did you stop watching speedway? The 60s?

Used to happen all the time in the days of one off finals. Some awful finals in the 80s - Ullevi and Norden finals stand out.

I think you can guarantee it would be in Poland , so chances of a good race track are pretty high....

Depending if you include all meetings, or just BL.If the latter i think Hans wins

If you can't gate, you won't be regularly competitive at the top top level, unless you are a once in a generation talent like Gollob or Peter Collins.

Agree. A young Andy Smith was arguably the most exciting sight in the sport at the time. Injuries hampered his progress, though 10 points on world final debut highlighted his potential. overtime arguably improved his gating but became less exciting to watch, but his gating remained short of what was needed to become world class rather than international class. One of my 5 favourite riders of all time.

The rules didn't allow the ref to award the win. Or to award second like he did.

In 73. The controversial exclusion of the Russian rider when he clashed with Plech late in the meeting, and the refs decision to make up a rule to award Plech points? In 83 arguably because, to quote a certain Brit "ole olsen has some of the fastest bikes in the world and he just passed him like he had a puncture" (may not have recalled the quote exactly). Plus it was an indisputable fact that Egon had unlimited practice laps and that the track was totally different on final day than the previous days practice. But surely if you want to look for home rider conspiracy, you look at 1982.... That said, there are plenty who say Nielsen in 86 and Ermolenko in 93 only won the title due to a poor refereeing decision, and they weren't home riders...

I assume the main issue is that if they crash, it impacts on the health system capacity?

I think you just made a strong argument for GP series being harder to win than the old world champs. Easiest: win an individual gp. Finish top half of field, finish in top two in one race. Be best rider in one race Harder: finish in top "x" in 2-4 qualifying meetings. Be best rider in one meeting (typically a line up missing at least a couple of the worlds top ten riders, and containing at least a couple of riders well short of world class standard) Hardest: be the best rider over a series of 6-13 meetings, containing 15 of the worlds best riders (typically including all of the worlds top 10 riders, rarely containing more than 1 rider not of top quality).

No. Arnieg showed that one 4 posts up? The headings on the link on norbolds post surely indicate broadly what he is trying to share?

Same error for me

If you'd said after 81, that Penhall, Lee, K Moran, Jessup would all make only 1 more world final each and that Knudsen and and Carter would never as high in the world final again, i think people would have considered you crazy...

For me two reasons. First I never saw him, I started going in 81. Secondly, my point was to highlight top riders lost in a short space of time, not all the top riders who missed out on that era. Jansson possibly/probably would have been a contender in the 80s. That said, PC was a couple of years younger, a notch ahead of Jansson, and he didn't make a podium finish in the 1980s. You can point to his injury in 1980, arguably his last season at the very top, but this lead's back to Chunky's point, that you just don't know what would have happened to riders. I'd add, in that era, I can think of very few riders who were at their peak after the age of 30. sport if full of what ifs. what if Tommy Knudsen hadn't had so many injuries. What if the Moran's loved enjoying life a little less. What if Egon had focussed on speedway. The 80s speedway landscape could have been very very different.

I think it was 89, same time as nominated riders heat. Possibly Steve is right with 88, definitely in place by 90

From late 82 to early 86 the sport prematurely lost Penhall, Sigalos, Sanders, Carter and effectively Lee.

I think taking those stats only, you'd have to say Hans was the greatest. His average in 89 is equivalent to a high 11+ in other year's when you take into account the nominated rider's heat introduced that year.

Or if the world final was held only at belle vue - would kenny carter be a double world champ, mighty Mort a world champ...

One estimate of the number of grains of sand in the world puts the number at over 7 quintillion

My household (me, wife, two kids) got a test done on Sunday a week back. I was very pleasantly surprised when on the Monday (a public holiday here in NZ) we had the results by mid-morning - so turnaround in under 24 hours, despite the public holiday. Out of interest, in UK are they taking a nasal swab (have to say it was a pretty weird sensation having the swab up my nostril)

why not post this on the earlier thread on top 5/10 kiwi riders, rather than starting a new one? second on the list, behind Ivan, ahead of Mirac.