stratton

I will have to get the book,keep meaning to get it as for Brough would of loved to av seen the two owen brothers there.i saw Ron Henderson at a few southern tracks liked him and later Rod Hunter. Joe i rated see a few times for Hull IN DIV 1 was a class act. Brough park i think was a technical track if you mastered that i think you were a gud un.

Kenny had one doubling up season, with the diamonds ive only been there twice but it looked to me quite a hard track to ride?Dunno if im correct i think Kenny was in the race that the poor Chris Prime got killed.

How long have you been watching speedway 2 minutes ?THE KNOW by the sound of it you KNOW nothing.By the way if things go backwards anymore you wont have speedway to watch.

I am middle aged and would like to think im not stuck in the in my day category.I still go now,enjoy it but nowhere near as much as i used to.I feel guilty for feeling like this but natural progression and moving forward i havent seen it happen.I go to the abbey, swindon great track [when prepared]but the stadium is a dated stadia now and money wasnt invested when the good times were hear.wouldnt change it for the world?theres loads i would change but it wont happen so its no good worrying about it.

yes the art of team riding was great to watch,i thought it was a joke when they took B.P off the averages.4 paid 8 is the same as 8.i dont say everyone rides for themselves but when i first started going team riding and partnerships were always there.probably one of the best Phil collins and Alan Grahame.

You are having a laugh arnt you the top class riders standard is higher you are joking. In yesterdayyear I could name at least 50 top class riders who would of been good anough to ride in the gp series.now you are scratching around after the 16 in it and thats relying on crump gollob ect not retiring.As for louis when he came on the scene, the leagues were booming gulf british league individual advents he probably rode 120 meetings a year thats how he progressed into a worldy rider.now some riders dont ride for 3 weeks.Dont get me wrong todays top stars are great and they would of been in any era. But overal the level is knowhere near the standard top class as it used to be.

Football i no the money isnt comparable [the point i was making was the gps should be the pinnacle of a riders career] therefore should be rewarded.If the gps series is doing well,why arnt they being rewarded.Also dont believe that people dont get paid for the olympics,[ie]Messi played in it was well rewarded athletes [supposingly not proffesional]Lord Coe, Ovett; Cram, Gunnell,and numerous others kenyans,ehiopians ect all made shed loads of money appearance money not sponsorship.AN EXAMPLE if say ward had to pay say 30,000 outlay bikes team ect to challenge for the title but see say to get third place on the rostrum would net him 70,000 it wouldnt be so bad would it.Also if the gp series product is so good,surely out of the pool of money 1 million could be put a side for the top 3 prize money.I think the money is there but greedy individuals the wrong people are making money.Us the public have no idea of how much money is there and who gets what.Thats why until i see the prize money go to the correct level, i cant say the series is a success and also the league clubs should be compensated as the gps cause them mega problems.

Be great if you were right,and the minimal affect on the leagues happened again.Ihave been watching since 1969 ,i loved the one off finals.i would love to know if many of the gp lovers are in our age group.ive never really taken to it,can remember watching the berger grand prix,s in the 70s and were bored of them to.

Cant agree with that,i think the gps have alot of hard work ahead because i dont things look that rosy.The thing that annoys me is that it seems the gps are the be all and end all.That has affected the league structure bigtime i no stupid rules ect hasnt helped.As long as the gps are hear i never really see the leagues regrouping and prospering again.i was looking back on dvd and Dave lanning said michael lee winning the title in 1980 could be worth up to 100 000 to him this is in 1980.So if the series is in great shape where does the money go ive no idea.

If its that successful why are riders earning peanuts?i want them to get the rewards they deserve.if i hear the riders are getting well rewarded and they are happy then i will agree its been succesful.If you play in the premiership, a high accolade you are well rewarded.Why if the gp series is doing that great why arnt the riders reaping the rewards? i think Darcy ward not entering this year tells you alot.

Change yes all for it if its made the sport as a whole better ,it hasnt.And also dont just presume the gp product will go on for years to come without hard work and improvements because its a hard old world out there with loads of sports rivalling speedway.

I am with you, is a myth that the gp series has dragged speedway along into the new ara for the better of the sport.Rubbish prize money,the british leagues forgot about and by the way is struggling at the moment.Ive always been amazed that most people think its all hunky dorrey and the gps are great ive never thought that.I also have always prefered team racing to individual events.

Falcace, i thought i must be going mad in my old age,agree with everything said as much .Started as a novice really old second halves at the shay progressed at a rate of knots. I see him score 2 pts at reading for the dukes looked a prospect within 2years see him get his first cap at swindon v australasia.Talent loads of it.

I think if Ward has a year of riding the leagues this year organising for the future 2013, i think he would have a great chance of getting in the 3.Also wouldnt be impossible to win it unlikely 1st time around thou.I no this might seem a strange comment,unless he is helped financially to lodge a challenge for the title i would think twice about racing in it if i was Darcy.I would be thinking of my future as you are a long time not riding and he will want to earn money.Alot of other people have mentioned the prize money is a joke and with all his investment ect aquipment team,will Darcy want to be out of pocket.Hope he does go in it as this series needs him bigtime a crowd puller puts bums on seats.

The numbers are not there now thou are they quality wise.Also to get in the gp series now is difficult.Riders like Lee tested themselves at a young age because he got the chance to.If say 5 pulled out of the series tomorrow out of the established stars ,where are the stars to come in straight away theyre not there not yet anyway.The worrying thing for me at the moment only 2 riders for me good anough to go in the series now they are Ward and Batchelor,[i do think laguta and zagar are good anough to.]The point i am trying to make the numbers in quality are not there like yesterdayyear.

The gp series at the moment,looks good quality wise but do people think in the next 2 to 3 years the quality might not be as high?.If Crump,Gollob,Hancock,Pedersen,Holta,[Adams retired]all go does the next batch of stars look good anough at the moment.I no it all goes around in cycles,and riders appear from nowhere but i do think it is a bit worrying.Even the riders who have the ability,have to qualify first which Parsloes has made a good point is hard to do the way it is at the moment.And even if they do you need the financial clout and organisation to be able to compete.I think it is a bit worrying,what are other peoples views longterm.

I was looking at the gpseries if say within a couple of years , Crump, gollob,holta,hancock, pedersen, dont ride in it i think the series will look quite weak.i no newcomers will come along i suppose morris,ect]and bridge the gap. But i remember in the 80s speedway lost loads of stars all at one given time.Mauger,collins,lee,penhall, sigalos,louis,carter,autrey,olsen,.And it took along time to replace them,.The quality in numbers, strength in debth is not there now.Wheres i was thinking,in the 60s,70s80s, for sixteen places you would have at least 50 top class riders to pick from.maybe i am wrong and there will be a resurgence of stars come through quickly.

Can have both couldnt we wont happen now but could do in the future.

Is it change thats benefited british speedway as a whole, not so sure some people dont seem to realize clubs are really struggling.Change is ok but do i think british speedway as a whole has got stronger no i dont.actually the elite league is pretty average,

I think those meetings you mentioned, are a fine example of what we have witnessed and now miss.I am the same as you, i no the gps are the future.maybe if speedway can pick up financially in the future we could have a one off championship with the gps?I like you am surprised about Phil Rising opinion on the gps and is a big supporter.He has knowledge of the sport which i respect immensely so what he says i take on board.

We no the money isnt there to the silly football salaries level,but the money to me is not going fairly into the riders pockets.From the outside it looks great, gps covered by sky mostly nice stadiums to ride in.Think there must be a nice pool of money made, where does it go?.Watched snooker the other day,Shawn murphy won a event in brazil got 32000 for it.not even saying riders will get that but not convinced the moneys not there to reward the riders higher.

No what i mean,is if it had of been a one off final he would of had a 15 pt max won it.The point really was, the gps,are not always fair could maybe improve certain aspects.I no the one off finals were unfair exclusion ef,.bad ref decision maybe thats what made it exciting.

Do you think the rewards are good anough? The riders i think deserve them,risk there lives to bring us the great sport we love.Maybe the money isnt there you were write on ward i no to properly enter the series and win it[Which he can] takes alot of organising.

Do they work ?that point i made on crump,was by far the best rider on the night by a mile and didnt even reach the final.And comparing speedway in england to Poland is a silly comparison in england we have loads more going on Football[national game] cricket, ect as much as i love speedway its always going to be down the pecking order.And is never going to get loads of press

I think his point is valid,some people in privaliged positions lording it up first class ect.if people like Ward are thinking twice about gps,surely that tells you something rewards not there when they should be.Think the gp series might have some thinking to do.