East End Fan

Amen to that !!!

As an ex-Hammers fan and now a converted Kent follower, I would have expected some kind of official explanation of these new rules. At present I have only picked up bits from this forum and since most of those are just opinions, they haven't told me much. Just sounds complicated.

Just been picking up stuff on this forum about the Rising Star plan and my immediate reaction to all I have read is that this plan seems far too complicated for old fans like me to understand. Lots of criticism from folk who seem to understand it all. What no one has answered is the question...what does the plan set out to achieve that is not being achieved already ? To find more good young Brits ? Or is the idea to simply rid the sport of all the riders over 25 ? I am a natural sceptic of complicated plans...I wish I understood this one fully.

I keep seeing references to rising stars on this forum. Does anyone actually know what the rules will be on this subject ? If it actually helps young Brits to succeed, I am all for it. Neil Vatcher's Youth programme seems to have been a good plan and I would have thought that this should have been enlarged maybe. And thinking about it, some years ago it was planned to encourage Moto-Cross riders to take up Speedway, but I have not heard anything in this direction for a very long time. With travel restrictions likely to be in place all over Europe for many months to come, I cannot see how riders from Sweden and Denmark, or anywhere else will be able to ride in Britain unless they live here permanently.

Saw in today's Daily Star quite a long column devoted to Paul Hurry joining the Kings. Not important in itself except that it shows that newspapers will print stuff about Speedway if it has a slant, and the slant in this case was the fact that Paul Hurry has been a top international star, only hit by injuries but who is now determined to get back to his former position. Maybe there are other Brits of ability (like Lewis Bridger ?) who might consider getting back on their bikes. With the strong likelihood of a lack of foreign talent this could be a very important issue and we should all give encouragement to such riders.

With all the problems surrounding Brexit and the current travel restrictions which are likely to continue for a while, I think that to use British riders was the right move. While I don't study team make ups normally, being a bit bored in lockdown, I saw the figures on this forum which made interesting reading. It looks like Eastbourne, who chose Brits for 2020, and able to keep them all under the new rules ( which I have not had the chance to get to know and/or understand) have the strongest team in the league. Almost everyone else, who had listed foreigners originally (like Covatti at Kent) is now playing catch up. No one's fault, just the extreme circumstances that have hit us. For myself I will not worry about winning or losing this year, just happy if I can see some action.

Part of the Youth Training programme alongside Bacon and Gilkes. For me, as a Hammers fan of many many years, it will be like welcoming back an old friend. He was always a favourite of mine. Always gives 100%.

Where did that info come from ? I've seen nothing about it. Must say that when Paul Hurry rode for Arena he was one of my favourites He was very unlucky to suffer some serious injuries, but when fit, he was a great racer who never gave up.

Well, Boxall did very well for Kent in the early days, so I imagine the track holds no fears. Has never achieved his early potential, but a very good rider none the less. Could fit in well at Kent.

Can you explain what you mean ?

Is Bridger racing again ? Too unreliable for my liking. When he was at Lakeside we were always on edge about him. Can be brilliant on his day.

No one could argue against that thought. With 13 weeks between Jabs, most older people will not get their 2nd dose until March/April. It then takes a further 3 weeks for the vaccine becoming effective...so June is a realistic time for the vaccination factor to come to force, or even later if the vaccine is to be given to the middle aged to get the herd cover that everyone talks about Easter start is becoming less likely by the day.

Understandable view, but pessimistic. Personally I am optimistic that we will see some Speedway just after Easter. Serious though things are at present, at least the vaccinations have started and the probability of the Oxford one coming on stream any day now will open up protection to huge numbers of us. I think most clubs expect to start at Easter, but I think that is unlikely.

Just goes to show, there is no "One size fits all". The injuries you describe to Holder, Doyle and Brennan, would not have happened with the same accident situation at Kent, so he fence there can be different to other places Clearly, where those riders got hurt needed a different design of fence so that riders cannot slide under. Maybe it is time for a campaign to make that happen ? No one likes seeing riders hurt.

Since I have been going to Kent after Arena folded, I have seen several riders slide under the air fence and get up and walk away without a scratch. Now and then a rider will do that, but get tangled with his bike as well which obviously can cause injury. But I suspect that if the rider and bike cannot slide under the fence injuries would be worse.. I'm no expert, but just see what I see. Don't know what is behind the air fence to hold it up, but it can't be much.

This is a very jaundiced view. In certain areas, Speedway thrives and, although many people over many years have predicted its death, we still have over 20 clubs still operating. It would not matter which rules are put in place, not everyone will agree with them. Good example of this is the Guest Rider rule. Almost to a man, Speedway fans everywhere hate this rule, BUT if their team uses guest who wins them a match, for one night only they love the rule. Same with points limits. If the limit happens to suit your team you are all in favour of it and vice verse. We are a fickle lot. I wonder how Ben91 would change the game??? Maybe he'll tell us ?

I do not know chapter and verse about what happened, but as I remember it, Silver sold out to a local millionaire car racing guru who promised to sink loads of cash into upgrading the stadium and all the facilities. But on my last ever visit, I was appalled at the state he had allowed the place to get into so his promises were very empty. So you are quite right, Silver sold to the wrong people. Be nice if we could turn back the clock.

No one thinks it is "just rosey", but by the same token, it's not that bad either given the highly unusual circumstances the sport (and the country) finds itself in. Brexit causing a whole new set of headaches, some known, some not, on top of other rider problems caused by the Pandemic. Add to that some interference in our affairs by Poland ( must admit I do not fully understand this situation) and there will be decisions taken that many fans will not like. My personal complaint is that all this should have been sorted within the last month. Maybe we will get a big Christmas present with all the details we are looking for from the BSPA ?

I think the plans for all of us in 2021 will be to get back into our stadiums to watch our favourite teams....Hope we all get the jab in time.

You must have inside information. I have not picked that up as a news item recently, so how do you know ? Or are you guessing?

Of course I am aware of that, but the situation is likely to change if the standards are lower to take account of many missing riders. Such a scene could cause quite big changes to some teams and my question remains...when are we going to know ?

It is now December and none of us have any idea about who the riders will be that make up our teams. I understand why such news is later than normal with the Pandemic and Brexit interfering, but if anyone on the BSPA is reading this, can we please have some news ???

First day of the new 3 tier regulations and the first day of a vaccine being approved. Best news the spot has ever had. Back to normality in 2021. Cannot wait to get the jab ! My arm is ready !

So who now owns the stadium ? A friend suggested that it is the same company that owns the Go-Kart track. Is that right ? How is it known that a gym and football pitch is in the plan for the future ? Or are these just rumours ?

I do not know if my memory is correct. ( maybe someone will tell me?) but when Silver sold the club to the car racing bloke, he carried on running it for at least one season. Maybe it was a period when he was training the new owners ? But it all ended in tears and finally ended not only the Rockets, but also my own Hammers as well. Terrible for the sport, but who was at fault ? The BSPA for insisting on mid-week racing, or the new owner in moving up to the top league ? In all of the years that Rye House had success, they were never in the top league.