steve roberts

When I bought a rule book many years ago now it was ambiguous in some places and left to all sorts of interpretation...and certain Team Managers were able to use that to their advantage and Ian Thomas comes straight to mind!

...who'd be a Team Manager! I recall John Louis being quoted in an interview who was unimpressed with constant rule changing as was the late Bernard Crapper.

Interesting to read Swindon's Alun Rossiter's comment in the latest 'Star' over the wording of the above rule (number of rides)..."How do they come up with theses rules." "The trouble is it's the way it's worded in the rulebook. It's wrong, but is was very frustrating (recent encounter against Leicester), the ref was going by the letter of the book and again the SCB are bringing out so many amendments it's unreal.They write a rule and there is an amendment, all I get coming thru' is amendments, nearly every week, it's crazy. How can it be? We've got to get it right and then wonder why people get infuriated." The rule book has always been open to interpretation and created issues down the years and it appears to continue to do so.

Reported in the local press that Ari has died aged 58. RIP

Just bought my Speedway Star (two in consecutive weeks!) and enjoyed the articles on Ivan...especially Alan Wilkinson's tribute.

That is sad news if confirmed. Saw Ari ride many times and, if I recall, was the brother-in-law of Kai Niemi.

...likewise. I attended Cowley for over thirty years but since moving to York 14 years ago haven't been to a meeting since. I'm afraid the thought of having to travel to a speedway costing petrol money no longer appeals...used to walk to Oxford and I was one of the unusual regulars who actually enjoyed the second halves back in those days. 15 heats of racing just doesn't offer good value for money in my view (together with many other issues that I have often cited on this forum...over dependance on non-descript foreigners being one)

Back in the 'Good Old Days' we used to go to Reading (occasionally) on the Monday, White City on Wednesdays, Oxford on Thursdays and more than occasionally Swindon on Saturdays.

...personally I always preferred race jackets and the choice of individual leathers. It made it easier identifying one rider from another.

Many thanks for that...it just looks very messy in my opinion whereby the idea of team suits was to make the sport look more 'professional' (although I disliked them personally) and now it appears that it's left to discretion of any one promotion as to which way to go...team suits or race jackets.

Having flicked thru' a recent edition of 'Speedway Star' I happened to notice that Poole on a recent visit to Belle Vue appeared to have dispensed with team suits adopting race jackets instead. Scanning further thru' the mag it seems that some teams are re-adopting race jackets whereas others have the club insignia on their team suits. Are team suits no longer compulsory and left to individual clubs to adopt whatever suits?

...having not bought a copy for a year or two having read the Ivan tributes I just flicked thru' the rest of the magazine and pictures of similarly styled riders looking the same didn't particularly inspire me. Individuality seems to be a thing of the past.

...an interesting insight regarding Ivan's change of approach to the 1979 World Final. The more I think of Ivan's passing the more apparent that a great part of the sport that I once knew no longer exists.

Saw a copy at Morrison's today with Ivan on the front and bought it purely for the articles on the great man.

Agree 100%...under the Grand Prix System Ivan would have reigned supreme during the seventies as Hans Nielsen would have done during the middle/late eighties.

Ivan's chosen records were Joseph Maori Girls Choir - Pokarekare Ana Herb Albert - Lonely Bull Jim Reeves - Distant Drums Dick Van Dyke - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Oliver - Consider Yourself Roger Whittaker - I Don't Believe In If Anymore Johnny Cash - Ring Of Fire Herb Albert - Tijuana Taxi Interesting selection and his luxury? Box of family photos. Speedway on Desert Island Discs? Wouldn't happen in a million years now...the roaring seventies speedway's last 'Golden Era!'

...another superb edition! To think that a speedway rider had a column in one of the dailies! The 1970's...speedway's last Golden Era! Glad that my formative years were spent following the sport during that time.

...hang on Sid! We're not talking Dave Younghusband here are we?

...or Cowley Stadium in 1975/76!

...now that doesn't surprise me! Wouldn't trust him as far as one could throw him.

Good post!

...thought I hadn't seen any publicity lately as I drive along the A59 towards Harrogate.

An obscure entry but Ivan won a meeting at York Stadium, Green Hammerton, near York in 1982. It was essentially a shale-surfaced trotting track and I recently visited to view Harness Racing which was quite interesting for a first visit!

...personally I rarely bother trawling thru' to see if there is a similar thread on any particular subject before starting one.

...I visited Brough Park three times in the distant past and was (B)rough to say the least!