steve roberts

Used to enjoy attending Test Matches (Denmark/USA/ Sweden etc) but not sure if fans, or even some riders, have the desire to ride for their National Team any longer but certainly worthy of debate if speedway is to try and raise it's profile certainly within the media.

Used to dislike the 4TT formula which relied on riders of other teams to help either increase your team's overall lead or close the gap depending on the scenario...but with the ever increasing threat of track closures in the recent past and/or present there may be only four teams contesting a particular league anyway! However my particular dislike of the 3TT beats the aforementioned whereby your team didn't compete, if I recall, in a third of the meeting!

Not whilst Clark Osborne is in charge!

...yes he was one of speedway's true inspirations and lesser sung heroes.

...the 'experts' said the same about vinyl but I do tend to agree with newspapers (but not necessarily specialised magazines) as I don't buy one anyway!

John Davis who comes over as very articulate...although was never a fan of his when a rider despite seeing him blossom at Oxford.

Thanks for that although it does seem somewhat ambiguous regarding the compulsory purchase order...fingers crossed but I have concerns.

Great photo!

Towards the back end of my attending speedway (2003) I was finding it more and more difficult trying to identify riders with their matching kevlars and full face helmets I have to say.

Couldn't agree more...my uncle who was track photographer at Oxford during the middle seventies and once passed on to me hundreds of his images for identification purposes...and I got every one bar a couple. Styles, leathers, helmets, boots and masks were distinctive back then!

...Forgotten the Pusey link! Great one! And good old Kingston 'Bagpipes'!

Difficult to pin point when the change took place but I guess that the invasion of the Yanks during the late seventies early eighties when styles began to alter. Remember watching Henny Kroeze at the 1987 World Final and he was the only rider riding the old fashioned (then) leg forward style!

....I agree with most of your points however dinosaurs were hugely successful living in various guises for hundreds of million years before becoming extinct...which is more than the human race will achieve or, indeed, the sport of speedway!

That was obviously the case once upon a time but as you say things are very different now with people's expectations. Not sure how it can be changed, however, considering that many promotions only rent/lease their stadiums. I used to watch 'The Rebels' during their three seasons at Wood Lane and the stadium was magnificent...so was the racing sometimes...but it didn't offer the best view in many people's eyes. Trouble is that stadiums like White City, Wimbledon, Crayford, Oxford and now Coventry amongst many others have disappeared for differing reasons and the fan base is no longer there to be able to construct a stadium that compares with non-league/amateur football never mind premiership standard. Football received many incentives from successive Governments but, alas, speedway and/or greyhound stadiums were left to fend for themselves. I've not been to the new Belle Vue so can't comment but Hyde Road offered tremendous racing in a stadium that was beginning to show it's age and suffered thru' the Taylor Report amongst other things. Really chicken and egg scenario and I, for one, have no answers however basic facilities like toilets and catering are a must and I do remember on my visits around the country that these basic needs varied considerably!

I did exactly the same for thirty plus years travelling the country experiencing all sorts of racing in all sorts of stadia...the racing was more important to me than the surroundings.

A point I have often made in the past. The racing, surely, is the most important thing but unfortunately the public now expect more in the way of facilities and speedway will never be able to match football ground standards (with massive incentives from successive Governments) hence the problem the sport now faces.

Saw Ronnie ride twice during his last season in Britain (1972) and it was clear then what a class act he still was. I remember him scoring 14 points at Poole whilst riding for 'The Dons' and during an end of season challenge at Tilehurst (Reading).

I seem to recall that there was talk (and it may have been just that) of having someone hold a length of rope behind the bikes so as to stop them from moving back once the green light was activated.

...er yes I understand what you were implying with your initial post to which I added an observation that Ronnie could have chosen to ride for either his place of birth, and presumably parentage, Australia (which I understand he seriously considered way back when he started out on his long career) or New Zealand. I recall Mitch Shirra had a similar choice (and if I recall did actually turn out for Australia) before adopting New Zealand although, apparently, he could have ridden for Scotland as well! There's obviously a differential margin where one was born and where one was bred...some people chose either depending on the criteria under discussion whether it sport or other walks of life. PS Having visited Huddersfield I can well understand why your brother regards himself as a Kiwi!

Remember the 1972 World Final, in particular, whereby some riders were so far back from the tapes that they were getting enormous flyers and the referee letting it go much to the bemusement of some that were present.

Bernie (North) Leigh Keith Bloxham Arnold (Hailey) Haley Mark (Sutton Courtenay) Courtenay Nigel (Sparsholt) Sparshott Andrew Appleton Ian Westwell Carl (Brightwell) Baldwin Ray (Moreton) Morton

...Tasmania comes under the flag of Australia so Ronnie was actually born Australian and could have ridden for Australia but chose, instead, to ride for New Zealand...his adopted home.

During Nigel Wagstaff's tenue at Cowley he introduced a post meeting discussion with one or two riders in the bar after the meeting. It proved to be quite popular with the fans I seem to recall.

...because as I have often stated I personally no longer feel that speedway offers good value for money since the demise of second halves and after taking petrol and running costs into consideration a trip to Sheffield doesn't appeal. When I lived in Oxford the track was literally on my doorstop and I continued to attend because of the convenience of same...but during my last ten years attending I very rarely travelled to away matches only taking in Cowley.

I said this right back at the start of SKY transmissions when everyone was getting excited about live TV transmissions...it's fine if the world and his wife are watching from home but it's those who attend their local tracks that count but I was 'shouted down' at the time. I knew of someone who would watch a featured live match from Cowley and preferred to do that rather than walk the half mile to watch it live from the terraces and pay his £15 or whatever the admission was back then. I could sort of understand his logic (saving £15) but if everyone had decided to do that then there would be no speedway to view anyway. Bit like the Play-Offs which apparently attract huge attendances whereby the run of the mill league meetings appear to struggle attracting reasonable crowds?