Technik

I can't see Speedway ever returning anywhere within the M25. The councils are doing their best to make it a pedestrian area with all the extra costs for congestion & now emissions. Back when Speedway was great in London with racing from Romford to Stamford Bridge Congestion & Emissions were free & stadiums were full!!!

I hope that all it is a a proscribed drug & all this can be put to bed very quickly. I understand that procedures have to be followed & the testers are asked to find certain substances at the time & their time & equipment at the trackside is limited. A friend was once an aspiring cricketer & had an injury in his shoulder that affected his batting & he was warned off over the counter drugs & told to consult the pharmasist & ask for something that was not on & did not contain anything on the IOF list. The best he got was "I think this is OK". He continued to play with the pain. It's easy to see how people can get into trouble quite innocently The Scottish Skier & Kyle Howarth are prime examples of Sportsmen that rely on their own decision making not being a heavily paid member of a national sports team or club. On the other side of the coin if it is recreational drugs then everything the offender gets they deserve.

It was announced he was medicaly unfit to ride & just before the start he left in his van going out the gate at the 4th turn. He looked sick in the passenger seat holding his head. I understand Paul Starkes Father was also ill during the meeting so maybe there's an illness going around.

During my time I have been one of the merry band of volunteers at a few tracks for pre-season duties & then throughout the season & yes my reward was free entry for myself & usually a programme, At one track there would be a tray of sandwichs & a fruit cake for us after racing, The biggest problem in recent years as the single volunteer still gets their entry & often a programme or at least a race sheet. But greed has become a factor & many expect to be able to bring a group of family & friends in with them & if one volunteer brings 5 people in for free that works out to be £2K+ by October. You don't need many of those before you have a big dent in your budget.

Speedway & Greyhound racing have always worked well together. The race circuits are the same shape & with the speedway on the inside the greyhound track offers a safety zone to protect the public from low flying motorcycles. the safety zone is required in the speedway rules (2M minimum). In current times it is difficult to finance any arena to host a single sport more so when the sport is seasonal. Greyhound racing can opperate all year & several times a week & even practice or trial in the daytime with little or no noise. Maybe we loose a massive amount of dogs after their racing careers are over & that is a sad situation & in a pet friendly country it should never be that bad, I know there are organisations that rehome retired greyhounds. I think racing dogs are some of the best looked after before & after they race they undergo a medical examination by a vet, All the dogs must be registered, I know in the 80's this was a number tatoo in the ear but I imagine now it would be a chip. After racing is the issue. But what if there were no racing.... What would happen to all the dogs already in training?... What would happen to this breed? No racing would equal no need for the breed... Would the greyhound fall so far out of favour that the whole breed would dissapear or become so small in numbers that the breed would become a single mutation carrying any abnormalities through its gene pool.

I don't mean any disrespect. But I feel putting this issue on an open public forum is not going to help you at all. Can I suggest that you make contact with the BSPA and/or Oxford speedway direct as they will be the only ones who can possibly assist you with this.

I fear for the future of the World long track Championship as year on year there are less riders wanting to take part. I remember in the past 8 rider races then 6 & now 5. The Polish have a round on a speedway track but there seems little interest from any Polish riders to compete outside their homeland. The Germans are nowhere near as keen to watch after many great years with Muller, Maier, Lausch & Riss. Tracks are closing for many reasons, I understand it's a massive undertaking to hold enough land for a 1000 metre circuit to host 2 meetings a season when it could be used or sold for development.

Between 5 foot 4 & 6 foot 2!!!!

Maybe your right. But another angle, He has been struggling with engines this year & now has new ones. Just maybe it's a chance to test them & get paid to practice to find his best set up & in turn record better results for Poole in the long term.

Reading have had 4 I believe Racers - Rivits - Ravens & the last will remain unsaid B******s

A concussion brings an enforced break, sometimes if the trackside MO feels the concussion is severe they may tick the box that means the rider will need medical clearance before returning to racing. The end result is after a concussion the rider may feel fit but if unable to pass the test they cannot be signed off as fit to race

I think the Referee was correct to put blue out in the first he lifted going into turn one & the second incident the riders clashed out of the start & did not get apart unsatisfactory start was a correct call. we all slam Referees but they have to make a decision on what is in front of them, It's very easy to say from here on turn 1 it's this or on the back straight I saw this but the Referee sits in the same position at almost every track.

I can only say to all Newcastle fans "Keep the Faith" all the time the stadium stands there you can hope! After 14 blank seasons at Cowley the Cheetahs returned to the same stadium! Always dream big........ what if it comes true?

Bob Humphreys training track is a vivid memory the old house used as a changing room (use at your own risk). I remember one weekend getting stuck in there as there was a concert on at the bowl & the police wouldn't let us out so we were allowed backstage to watch U2

My opinion of the young Kiwi was about on the money. But to take him out at this stage & replace him with Jack Smith who has proved time & again that the Championship is beyond him. I think if that was my option I'd stick with Congreve, at least you still have hope that he can improve.

All I can say is the latest BSPA NDL declaration has Henry Atkins in the Plymouth team.

If you go to the FIM website you can find the rules for the SGP & it will explain how the semi-final & final gate selections are made by the finishing positions after the first 20 heats & how ties are worked out by race wins, seconds & thirds, even how a non finish is rated depending on the reason.

The track has been there for a few years, But I'd say it's only used a few times each season. It has always cut up & produced ruts but everyone knows that & takes a wider line to avoid the ruts, if a rider chooses to brave the ruts on the inside then they must weigh up the pros & cons of their actions. This may not be the best race circuit but the need for more nations to be included means the local fan base has to be catered for as well

Henry Atkins is & always has been a spoilt brat. He was mascot at Somerset for a few seasons & his Father would badger the Referee , Clarke of the Course & Pit Marshall before each meeting to get him on track as often as possible, before & after the parade, after Ht 14, Straight after Ht 15 & even control which riders should be allowed in second half events. anyone that might have a chance to be Our Henry would not be allowed to often. After an U21 qualifier that Young Henry was in at the OTA he was in the bar telling anyone that would listen that he should be racing in the top league & not wasting his time at this level. look where you are now Mr Atkins.

I know it's not a double barrelled name but stick with me. Today being a bank holiday thanks to Betty from the big house in Windsor I was able to watch some trash on TV this morning. At the end of each programme there is a list of names that are refered to as "the credits" well at the end of both "Cheer's" & "Fraiser" an Associate producer is called Mary Fukuto. This opened my eye's to a couple of overused hyphons being used to make that surname a much different statement. Just to be sure I used everyones friend Mr Google & it seems that not only is it a real name but Ms Fukuto is a much decorated producer.

( Pardubice 21.05. 2022) The first of this year's six World or European Championship races, which the Pardubice Club will host throughout the season, took place at the Pardubice Speedway Stadium. That race was the semifinals of the European Under-23 Championship. The dramatic battle to advance to the finals of this competition, which could only be secured by the winner of the race, was decided only by the last twentieth race. By winning it, Dan Bewley secured the first place in the race for British colors. The biggest star of the race, a participant in this year's Grand Prix series, did not lose a single point in the race, he was the first to finish his race five times and he completely dominated this race. In addition, the other teammates did not let themselves be embarrassed, they created a balanced team, they won in another six races, which earned them the first place in the race and the way to the October final in Krakow. Their biggest rival in the battle for every point was the Czech team. Jan Kvěch, just like Bewley won in five races, his colleagues Petr Chlupáč and Daniel Klíma each added two winning races, but the British had an advantage in experience and in the quality of the fourth rider. Both of our remaining youngsters Bruno Belán and Jakub Exler did not collect as many points, it is known that they are just entering the world flat track and of course they do not have experience as their colleagues, finalists of this year's Junior World Championships. Our team lost four points in the final count, but the team has a very low age average of nineteen and a half years and can be in a virtually unchanged line-up for another two years. The French team finished third and the fourth place went to the team of riders from three countries. This Euro team replaced the last-minute apologized Netherlands. Celina Liebmann, a competitor who will compete with the world elite in Friday's final of the Prague Junior Championship, also presented herself in his colors. 1. Great Britain: 46 1. Dan Bewley(3,3,3,3,3) 15 2. Tom Brennan(3,3,2,2,3) 13 3. Drew Kemp(T, 2,3,3 , d) 8 4. Jordan Palin(2,1,2,2,3) 10 2. Czech Republic: 42 13. Daniel Klíma️ (3,2,3,2,2) 12 14. Jakub Exler️ (-, 1, R, -, -) 1 15. Petr Chlupáč️ (2,3, 2,3,1) 11 16. Bruno Belan️ (0, -, -, 1,2) 3 20. Jan Kvěch️ (3,3,3,3,3) 15 3. France: 21 9. Steven Goret(1,2,2,1,2) 8 10. Mathias Trésarrieu(2,1,1,1,1) 6 11. Tino Bouin(1,2,0,0, 1) 4 12. Thomas Valladon(0,0,0,2,1) 3 4. Team Europe: 11 5. Celina Liebmann(1,0,1,0,2) 4 6. Mika Meijer(2,0,1,0,0) 3 7. Miran Praznik (1,1,1,1 , 0) 4 8.

I think the fans will support it well enough. My concern is more weather the riders will support it as I would think the pay will be based on BSPA pay scales & not the riders contract agreements. I will wait & see for the future rounds.

I don't think it would be a wise idea to replace BWD or Congreve, I'm almost certain that neither would have traveled 12,000 miles from NZ without a substantial financal input from Newcastle speedway. I'd say Mr Grant would be keen to see his investment show some return in the not to distant future. All the time BWD is on his starting average he's an asset for a "Horses for courses" guest facility whilst he's still on sick note duties

Petr Chlupac is no slouch either, it would be no suprise to see him as top Czech on the day

There was a lot of green light go starting tonight & Birmingham worked it out. I have to say Oxford need to take a good look at a few riders returns around their home circuit.