Derrickn

Correct me if I am wrong,but as I understand it,Eurosport is no more,and Warner Brothers have moved all that was previously on Eurosport to TNT,at a cost of £31 per month.The cycling fraternity are up in arms,as previously free to view events like the Tour De France will now only be available on subscription to TNT.I don't know how this will affect Speedway,but the signs are not good.

Or anywhere else,there is a track ready to go in Bradford,but nobody wants to promote speedway there,and with good reason,it would lose money hand over fist.

Their coverage of cycling is usually pretty good.

No air fence in the 60s,so track would have been wider.Also,Frank Varey knew how to prepare a track,and there were also rakers dragging the dirt back.

Eurosports presentation does speedway no favours in my opinion.I know they have little to work with,with poor crowds,and often gate and go races,but it all seems very amateur,especially when you compare it to their presentation of cycling.Kelvin might be a nice bloke,but as the face of speedway,he does not cut it for me.Only my opinion of course,I am sure some will have a different take on it.

Then the rakers are not doing their job,they should be dragging the shale away from the fence,not letting it build up through the meeting.

I used to go to Sheffield regularly during the sixties and seventies,and always thought it one of the better tracks,and never thought of it as narrow.Of course,that was before air fences,and the bikes were more controllable then.There were always plenty of rakers on the bends,who would drag the shale back to the middle of the track after every race,don't know if that happens now.Very pleased to hear that Emil was not badly injured.

In 1966,Halifax also won the KO cup,and the Northern trophy.

They used to do it at Halifax,I was friends with the guy who dished it out.Mind,that's a few years ago now.

The Greenfield track was usually described as "having a bit of dirt on it" which could be why it was referred to as rough.You are right about the team,mostly old stagers like Reg Duval,Wal Morton,Geoff Pymar and Jack Winstanley,but it did include a young lad on his way up,Tommy Roper,who went on to have a good career in the sport.Towards the end of the 62 season,they did strengthen by bringing in a couple of riders from Belle Vue,but by then it was too late,and the track closed at the end of the season.Ironic that just a few years later,Halifax,which is only about 6 miles from Bradford, re-opened to huge crowds.

It's the lease that is up for sale,currently leased to the rugby league.The stadium is owned by Bradford council,who are practically bankrupt,and have no money at all to spend on Odsal.

If I remember correctly,when Bradford rode in the provincial league,they rode at the Greenfield greyhound stadium in Dudley Hill,less than a mile from Odsal.It was a typical stadium of its time,and now long demolished.

Against the likes of Sheffield,that is not a competitive side.

They could run the ndl fixtures as double headers with the championship fixtures.

Clubs used to run every week with a 16 club British league,and still have spare dates for cup and individual meetings.

So which are the six clubs who have said they will run in the NDL.?.

If I were the Leicester management,I would be inclined to say to Poole,take the bloody trophy,we can't raise a competitive team,and to be honest,we don't give a monkey's about it.

No stage on any grand tour race is 200 miles.You must be thinking of kilometers.Also,drug testing in cycling is more stringent than it has ever been.

When Halifax 're-opened in1965,Long Eaton were the first visitors,and on a rainy night in front of 11.000 fans ran out victors by 41-37.Rim must have been riding that night,but it was a young Ray Wilson who caught the eye.I still remember that night,if only we could turn the speedway clock back to those great days.

He had a second hand car dealership in Denholme,not far from Halifax.I think Dennis was possibly the second man in British speedway to use the ESO/Jawa speedway bike.I think Rim Malskeitis,and i have probably spelt that wrong,at Long Eaton was the first,although i stand to be corrected.

So with Kinsley scoring nil,Buster would have had to pay somebody more money anyway.

But as owner of both clubs,Buster would have had to pay points money for 90 points,irrespective of who scored them.

Yorkshire television used to show the odd event,and sponsored the Yorkshire TV trophy,usually from Hull.Some of the footage is still on You Tube.

Maybe the grass/longtrackers would be interested in the engines that become available,the rolling chassis should still be usable for speedway.

Pehaps Bomber could get one,he knows all the tracks well.