Grand Central

If Cook feels the answer to any question is 'Mark Courtney'. Then he has been asking himself the wrong questions. But hey isn't it good to have a really professional outfit running the British team? Cackhanded management and adolescent press releases are just the thing we were looking for. Well done boys.

To be fair. The 'dressing' of all these things will be dolled up with this 'Monstrous Speedway of Nations' baloney. Probably most cost effective to make just the one set that can then be chucked away after this year. Then they can get the SWC stuff back out of storage. And normal service can be resumed next year.

At least this format creates the opportunity for a Castagna to ride at the NSS. Which is nice.

Doyle £25 less Cook £25 more Lindgren £25 less NKI £25 more Milik £25 less

Too right it wont. And just two years ago that speedway backwater of Great Britain got a commendable second place in a REAL World Championship TEAM event on home soil at the new National Speedway Stadium. And we all know the incredible 'force for good' that had on the sport in this country or on the public's perception of it. Similarly for running GPs in Italy, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Latvia, Australia and so on. It is idiotic to offer this argument of helping the lesser nations when we know it has zero validity. Why are sane people being so daft?

But it wont Might as well have a two day world final in Amsterdam and hope for a Dutch speedway revival. This argument of stimulating interest in small nations is as false as it has always been. And I can't believe it is still being used.

It's looking a bit like those pairs events from British Speedway of the seventies and early eighties. Where they made up some pointless 'pairs' with a heat leader partnered with a reserve and then other pairs with two second strings. As if that would make the pairs 'equal'. And give great team racing to boot. To think we used to have a World Cup to look forward to.

Apparently they are in talks. Meanwhile it's easy to watch Freesports online for free at tvplayer.com.

Ahh ... That makes a lot more sense. Not the 'wrong colour' really. Yes a silly mistake and almost a 'technicality' rather than being idiotic as it first seemed. But the FIM rules are crystal clear and I suppose to the continentals it probably looked downright weird as they use the plain yellow everywhere. Pity not a single person was able to give the lad the nod before it was too late. i thought green or white thing mentioned sounded stupid and couldn't be the reason.

How do you ever get to the place where you have the wrong helmet cover for your first ride in a individual meeting ?

Whichever way you look at it it is not that many at all. If the third tier hadn't existed but we had either second halves, junior league or something else i imagine those same guys would have made it just the same.

Too much time can be spent on fannying around with the young guys and 'not too quickly' thinking. Woffinden and Lambert are the obvious choice. And let Dan Bewley explode on the scene at the NSS, if he can. If he doesn't so be it; but the experience of being there will be well worth it. tbh no one will know which CC could turn up on the day, no matter what his 'form' the week before. Bewley is actually less of a risk and there is so much more to gain long term.

True. But what sort of a thicko director would have cut to an interview with NKI anyway? His relevance as an interviewee at this stage tonight was zero.

True. But no more than 1000, apparently. are.

It's unfortunate though when some of the things one is most 'sure' of. Turn out to be wrong.

I imagine Sheffield would like a few hundred (?) extra Aces supporters cheering CC on to pay at the gate on Thursday? It still is what pays the bills.

There should be an easy way for CC to make the Friday practice on an early flight but it would have been so easy for the British authorities to have smoothed his passage on his first appearance as a fully fledged SGP rider. Most other nations would probably have given him that extra assistance. Rather than all the flim-flam of airy-fairy promises from the new GB set up .... I would have thought to be a much more effective role for them to play in helping the riders. I imagine getting to the GP a little earlier to settle would be far more useful for a nervy character like Cook than an army of back room staff at a centre of excellence fannying around in matching polo shirts. But that is not their remit.

Hancock 20 LESS Holder 20 LESS Pedersen 20 MORE Laguta 20 MORE Lindgren 20 MORE

You do know that the GP is in Warsaw, not Wroclaw, don't you? The 8.05 plane is going to the right place. Which would help, enormously.

I often enjoy collecting hilarious examples of over-hyped millennial verbiage that can litter online forums. All the better if it combines evangelical zeal with plentiful platitudes and cliches that create total hogwash. I have a feeling that this thread is to become a treasure trove for such gems.

I thought it an excellent, well balanced article. Peter Oakes was able to fill two A4 pages with all the 'major coups' and superlative-packed prose so deftly. Directing the Communication without any hint of a conflict of interest issue. Well done, Granddad.

The reports for Glasgow and Leicester meetings refer to him being excluded in those races, even though the heat details do not record it. They don't actually say what the exclusion was for but tapes is inferred. I have completed programmes from a few of those matches including the Leicester and Wolves home match; but on every occasion the notation used tells us that he was excluded and replaced by someone else but not WHY. The 2 minutes exclusion at home to Wolves is surprising. Ivan not ready for heat 1? ... that would have been worth noting whereas tape breaking was quite ten-a-penny that year. That meeting was also his first appearence at Hyde Road after winning his second title and first as an Ace, There was all sorts of presentations done before that meeting ... so whether it was tapes or 2 mins quite an anti climax in heat 1 for the new champ! Someone must remember that. In my own defence I was only five at the time so have an incomplete memory and had a slightly unreliable programme filling technique back then

It could help circulation no end if they always had a front cover with Ivan Mauger on. This week's (enforced) step back in time just reminds one of the 'samey' ness of modern days photos of modern day riders. Contrasting sharply with the vivid richness in so many photos of the seventies stars; and the individuality of the riders depicted. or is it just me ?

A wonderful tribute to Ivan Mauger in today's Star with great words by people who clearly knew and loved the man himself. Made it very difficult to read this morning But brilliantly put together by the whole team. Looking forward to next week's issue which is promised to offer even more and, hopefully, by then the emotions of his death will be a little less raw for us all. I particularly appreciated the chequered strap at top and bottom across the pages ... a great touch. And I have to say the new style Star front page combined with the stunning 1970s photos of Ivan look just beautiful. Thank you to all involved.

Indeed there are. And anyone with a money spinning Good Friday meeting would, I am sure, prefer NOT to be having it broadcast LIVE on TV. Or to be running against a live TV meeting elsewhere. Common sense what impact it would have on their bottom line.