squibby

Must give a shout out for Matej Kus' performance tonight as guest for The Devils. 13 points on a small & tight track. Now that is pretty unusual for a rider from the Czech Republic. Well done Matej !!

Exeter beat Arena Essex 75-15 under the 15 heat format , and the following week beat Glasgow 74-16. Can't remember which year it was, even though I was at both meetings. There was precious litle real racing at the County Ground on many occasions, but those two meetings were pretty dire. You want to see your team win at home, but preferably with some entertainment along the way !!!

As a big fan of Czech speedway and its riders over many years, it was great to see Sam Simota scoring big on what is a tiny track by his home country's standards. Superb !

Totally agree with comments about Adam. He has been a very exciting rider , but he must see sense and retire now. All those injuries will most definitely bring crosses to bear in later life, I'm afraid, but I'm sure he knows that only too well. As for grasstrack - I don't think so. Just as likely to hurt himself again doing that. Karting is a much safer option.

Seb Alden quitting British speedway. Now where have I heard that before ??!!! Very disappointing. He will always be a hero of mine thanks to his 17+1 paid max at Newport as a last-minute guest for Exeter Falcons in their last season, enabling us to sneak a 46-44 victory, our last ever away win, but he does have form in the quitting the UK department.

Sadly, I was there tonight, up from Exeter. The forecast was for ongoing sunshine, but this was wrong, as a layer of cloud came over the the whole area around the OTA and prevented the track from drying out as much as no doubt the promotion had expected. It looked to me that more dirt than usual had been put on the track, and so presumably more water than usual as well - maybe the home riders had requested this extra material after what happened in the home defeat last time out ?? Anyway, it took quite a while for the blade to actually appear, I guess because it had to be attached to one of the two tractors instead of the grader. It was little more than a cosmetic exercise, and the referee called the meeting off before the blading had finished. By this time the bends didn't look too bad, but the start/finish 'straight' was still looking a bit like a ploughed field. Whether or not the riders ' wimped out ' is a matter of conjecture. What really annoyed me was the total lack of tannoy announcements from the promotion. No explanation of the reasons for the cancellation ( weather change, no chance of competitive racing, curfew approaching fast etc ) and no advice as to re-entry or cash refund availability. Not everyone present was aware of the rules in such cases. Quite a few folk were milling about trying to find someone to clarify the situation for them. As has been said, a total PR nightmare, I'm afraid. In the end, there was a sizeable queue for cash refunds. Will any of these folk return ? Couldn't blame them if they don't ! Total frustration !

I seem to recall Mr Bowden telling the assembled masses at the end of the season meeting that he would ensure the team for 2012 would be much stronger than this year and one capable of challenging for, at the very least, the top half of the Premier League table. Now we hear that he has signed a rider who has been out of the game for at least three years, and is nearly 40. Poor old Brent is going to have a lot to live up to, that's for sure. Also, Mr Boxall's sudden departure from Somerset a while back, by way of a text message to his promoter, has obviously not registered on Mr Bowden's radar. Another huge gamble, I think, by said promoter. Ricky Wells and James Cockle. Fine with Ricky - a great trier and crowdpleaser, and a capable heat leader home and away. Cockle did well at reserve after he came back. I thought it was surprising he did return after the unceremonious way he was dumped before. Maybe no-one else was offering anything ? Whatever, fair play to the lad. As for Jesper Kristiansen, he reminds me of David Ruud. His scores so often seemed to be a mixture of 3 and 0. From what others on here say, it doesn't look like he will return, so whether or not Plymouth should use him may become irrelevant. As an Exeter Falcons fan, I am very envious of what Mr Bowden has got down at Plymouth, especially the crowd potential. If that was at Exeter, I'd hope our promoter would do right by the paying public and put out the very best team he can, not a second rate effort and then expect the fans to get / stay excited about it all. Anyway, I wish Seemond all the very best in his role as team manager ( for home meetings at least ) - he may need all the luck going !

Is it correct that Emil cannot ride for Russia tomorrow because he did not make himself available for the Kings Lynn meeting, and is therefore barred from competing in either of the other two SWC meetings this year ?

That's brilliant - you're a star !! I am in Exeter - still keeping fingers crossed that the Falcons will get up and running again in 2009. I always enjoyed going to the Clay Country Moto Parc - a unique venue. Walking down from the car park and seeing the lasers on the cliffs was terrific. Such a shame it had to close. Looking forward to hearing from you in the New Year - a very merry Xmas and a great 2008 to you and yours !

Thanks for reply mate. Exeter visited Trelawny at least 3 times that year - can you confirm the Exeter meeting is the PREMIER LEAGUE clash on Tuesday 31st JULY 2001 ? If it is, then could I borrow the tape to copy ( I'll reimburse postage of course ), or if you want to sell it, perhaps you could send me a pm advising how much you want for it ? I see from the programme that the Swindon, Sheffield and Exeter PL meetings were on consecutive weeks in July i.e. 17, 24 and 31 - looks like you might have the one I am looking for ?! Cheers. Squibby

Hi All, I am hoping someone out there has a copy of the video made by D L Videos of the Premier League meeting at the Clay Country Moto Parc on 31 July 2001 between the Tigers and Exeter SVR Falcons. I would arrange to copy it and then return the video, of course, or I am willing to buy it if no longer needed by owner. The Falcons won 53 - 37 that night so I don't suppose too many Tigers' fans bothered to buy a copy of the video !! I've tried the old telephone number in Plymouth for D L Videos but the line is dead. Anyone know if they are still going and/or have a contact number for them ? All / any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers folks. Squibby

Bomber would have had a yellow card for ' simulation ' if it was football. Mind you, it made a change to see a Brit do something like this, as we are usually so ' fair play ' minded in sport. He clearly learnt from a certain World Champion who did a not dissimilar thing at Cardiff a year or two back when Floppy passed him on the inside of the first bend ! ( sorry if any of this has been said before - dont have time to wade through 23 more pages of this thread ! ).

I'd nominate the late Chris Julian. He was always a great character, on and off the track. He'd have us in stitches at times, but sometimes the devil in him revealed itself in a firey temper. I remember once looking down on the pits at Exeter after Chris had been excluded. He demanded to talk to the referee and started to shout down the phone, only to then realise he couldn't hear the reply as he hadn't taken his crash helmet off ! If only riders were allowed to be colourful characters like back then - P.C. rules in speedway, like everywhere else these days ( no , not Peter Collins ! ).

Has anyone by any chance got a video of the Strongbow Yorkshire TV Trophy 1978, won that year by Vaclav Verner, please ? If you have, reply to this post initially, and we can then get in touch. I'm happy to pay a fair price + p&p. Here's hoping !

In terms of sheer volume I'd have to say Wally Mawdsley - he was involved in promotion at well into double figures track-wise, so if number of tracks promoted is the criterion , then Wally must be right up there

I believe he was - according to ' Who's Who of World Speedway ' he rode for Bopfingen in 1973, and spoke German, as well as French and Czech. Quite a talent. He was only 61 - a very sad and untimely passing.

A tragedy in every respect, not just from the speedway viewpoint. I trust he will rest in peace now, after such a violent demise. Every time my mates and I talk speedway, and Poland comes into the chat, it always seems to involve memories of Edward Jancarz and Zenon Plech. Makes you think, doesn't it - there but for the grace of God etc.