Robert Lee

.........would HAVE really suited him.

There's nothing much new here - all these themes have been done to death many times over. However, a common thread seems to be more racing, less grading and less delays generally. So what about 6-man teams, 18 heats, no superstars? Or 5-man teams, 20 heats? Riders' wage bills could be the same or less without the globetrotters, so the promoters wouldn't incur extra cost. I've heard all the arguments against dropping the "superstars, but they all come from diehard old gits like me on this forum. If you want a new audience, they don't know or need to know whether their favourite home rider is a GP contender. I know nothing about ice hockey, except that it seems to be a minority sport that's more popular than ours, and I'm guessing the spectators don't know/care whether any particular team member is an international star. And most of the team are on the pitch at the same time, so the argument that smaller teams mean you'll see the same riders in too many races doesn't hold water, either. Oh, and DO AWAY WITH TACTICAL RIDES.......

Well, not exactly what was required; he started as hot favourite and finished 4th

mmm, maybe. I thought they touched, but I thought at the time that Kelvin was a bit short on gamesmanship, rather than bottle. He had nothing to lose by laying down and hoping for a re-run, it's a common ploy.

Thought I'd have a look here to read about Penhall, as, for various reasons, I never saw him ride. However, it seems to have digressed into who would/wouldn't have won world championships and why. Fascinating debate, so I'll chuck in my 5 penn'orth. People have mentioned Hans Nielsen's occasional desperation moves, and I remember the 1990 final, heat 9. He went under Kelvin Tatum in a distinctly iffy move, but Kelvin somehow hung on and didn't go down, but finished last. If he'd laid it down, odds-on he'd have got a re-run with Hans excluded, and who knows, he could have gone on to win...... This was the one where Per Jonsson beat Shawn Moran in a run-off, both on 13 points. What if that had gone the other way? Oh, and Todd Wiltshire was 3rd - remember him? I'd put him above Leigh Adams. Hans was always a love-him-or-hate-him character. I always loved him; that is, when he was at Oxford I loved to hate him, but when he came to Cov (what a coup that was for Martin Ochiltree) I just loved him!

And pass the poison chalice to whom? A virtually unpaid, totally unrewarding and unappreciated dead end "job"!Suitable willing candidates step forward.....

It's not on the site of the last MK speedway stadium by any chance??

Been following this discussion for months now, just thought I'd look up Stadia UK, not knowing anything about them. A few things spring out: On their website, speedway is very much a footnote, mentioned at the same one-liner level as the car boot sales, so it doesn't seem to be high on their agenda They have only two stadia, so can't imagine that they could afford to lose 50% of their business by letting Swindon close The other stadium is Poole - it's amazing that the conspiracy theorists are not blaming M Ford again! Swindon page on their website mentions a restaurant - must have missed that when I've been there (no mention of the back straight ablutions, which I didn't miss, and won't miss when they are gone) Who attends greyhound racing on working days? Is it all old gits like me? If so, it has something in common with speedway! Just a few observations - not sure whether it is positive or not for my 2nd favourite away track.

Nowadays, the grease would be to stop them sneaking out.....

I tried that, but I think the white beard gave me away.. Won't be winning any from the gate, then!

What's wrong with another Jamrog situation? Kacper either comes up to scratch or is replaced. It worked all right last season, we were top of the table for most of the season, but came up short at the end for various reasons, nothing to do with the initial team-building. Exactly!

Oi! I'm getting a bit fed up of you English armchair critics impugning my ability on a speedway bike. If you are not careful I'll tell uncle Mick to stick his £100/point and I'll go & ride for that South Coast lot. Kacper

You need to tread very carefully here, Neil. You've signed one of Gemini's blacklisted riders; if you sign another, you and Mick had better stay away from the 4th bend when that sheepdog is around.....!

What's Starbucks? What's a cappuccino?

I blame Matt Ford

I hear they offered him £14/ point but he's holding out for £16.

Blimey! Isn't there a forum somewhere else for the old v young, L v R argument that has nothing to do with speedway. Coming back to the subject, I wonder who the new No 1 will be......

Arithmetic was different when I was at school - £16 used to be more than £14.

Thought the price "reduction" might cause a bit of a flutter, but if it's good enough for Gemini it's good enough for me! I guess it's good business sense - at a rough guess we of more mature years make up about 75% of the crowd , the takings will be up overall. Hope they spend it on a real No 1.

Me neither. Maybe it's something to do with elf n safety these days.... Thinking about it, they didn't have such big peaks on the helmets "back in the old days", so they could put their heads down to shade out the sun and still see where they were going. Used to do it myself, but not often, 'cos we mostly wore helmets to keep the rain off. Sunny days, it was flat caps, but the same principle applies. Don't try this at home, kids, helmets are a good thing - we just didn't know it at the time.

Only been to KL once many years ago and can't remember whether they had a sun v riders' eyes problem then - it only seems to have become an issue on here recently. However, I can't see that they "have no choice". How much can it cost to put up some form of screen, strategically placed? Or plant a few trees? By the way, how much does a line of coke cost over there in the sticks?

Actually, Cov ran on Saturdays for most if not all of their first half century. 3 matches a month with Stock Cars on the first Saturday of the month. It was when they changed from Saturdays that I stopped going to every match.

Don't they have the internet in Rome?

Agree, Len Silver has done a lot for speedway over the years. Hope he continues the good work at Sittingbourne. However, no-one has said much about Warren Scott, the new owner. He's a former Superbike racer turned BTCC driver who has in the space of a few years built up the biggest and arguably most successful touring car team from nothing. That's in a sport where you need mega-million budgets to compete at the top. Seems to be an out-and-out motorsport enthusiast who knows how to make a successful business of it. I'm guessing it's his main business, and he doesn't have a private fortune to indulge motorsport as an expensive hobby. Just what speedway has been crying out for in recent years, so no doubt the old guard at the BSPA will already be plotting to oust him, just like they did Sandhu.