TheWellBehavedWorrall

That was my first speedway meeting since 2016 and second in ten years; I’m hooked again. I’ve no idea where to begin, but it won’t be tonight. I’m knackered, so I’ll fire my thoughts in here tomorrow, but wow. The atmosphere, the smell, the racing, unbelievable.

£20K, really? That’s incredible. I find it fascinating how the economic climate is turned on its head in speedway. The GDP of the UK is vastly greater than that of Poland and even with this country’s current slow economic growth, it’s significantly eclipses that of Poland. I wonder what the genuine cause is because in very few, if any, industries and environments would Poland financially outmuscle the UK. I imagine it can only be down to the management and promotion of the sport. I’m sure I read that the top flight of speedway’s attendances in Poland are higher than football’s equivalent. Surprisingly, I’ve encountered numerous Polish people while working abroad and naturally, I mention speedway, but none have been fans and only a few have been aware of it.

You’re making it sound like they’ve just brought in James Grieves.

I couldn’t agree more, but the most important word here is ”if”. If Craig Cook is indeed suffering from mental health issues right now, which I sincerely hope he isn’t, then why are Edinburgh Monarchs and the SCB releasing statements to the public, staying that he is ”withholding his services” and “refusing to ride”? Forgive me if I’m being naive, but I seriously doubt Alex Harkess, John Campbell and/or whoever else is in a position of authority at Armadale would throw Craig Cook under the bus in such a manner, had mental health been the issue. Edinburgh Monarchs’ representatives will have been in regular communication with Craig Cook and following an evaluation of the situation, declared that he’s simply refusing to ride.

Wow. We’re now literally rhyming off speedway riders who died of suicide because Craig Cook has been criticised. Genuinely, wow.

I’m sorry, what? Are my eyes playing tricks on me? We have a leading British rider who sacked-off the CLRC within which he was a notable feature and his club have now confirmed he’s ”withholding his services”, but you don’t want people speaking about it? No problem, Kim Jong Un. It’s almost like we should be grateful, honoured and privileged that these riders risk their very existence for our entertainment, so accountability goes out the window. It’s almost a childish outlook. I paid BSN £14.99 with the hope of seeing Cook in the CLRC, but got two laps and footage of him scraping sh*te off his steel shoe in the pits, so given that I got about £1 worth, I reserve the right to an opinion.

What is actually going on with Craig Cook? Whats known? I haven’t been here long, but but one of the most notable things on this forum is the cloak-and-dagger approach to Craig Cook. I remember when Cook was unreal for Edinburgh. I went through to Armadale a few times in around 2013 and he was frightening. Didn’t he help Dan Bewley? Kyle Bickley too. When he was in the GP, was he the first Premier League rider to do so since Carl Stonehewer? The CLRC was the first speedway meeting I watched this year. I tuned-in to find a disgrace of a line-up for such an event, but Cook was a reassuring and notable name within it. He retired from his first ride, then withdrew from the meeting. The commentator said he ”didn’t have a bike”. I’m sorry, what? I didn’t realise you pulled-up to the tapes in a goat for your first ride. Now, he’s withholding his services from Edinburgh. Accountability is absent, it seems, both in Craig Cook’s actions and Richie Worrall’s statement; terrible conduct.

That’s a weak statement from Worrall, I’m afraid. Of course his own test produced a different result; that’s biology and taking such irrelevant action is purely for his own benefit. Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but this doesn’t look great. I by no means know the full script, but I do know that non-negative result is the consequence of a banned substance being detected and awaiting confirmation from the guys with the gloves and beakers.

This, 100%. For the avoidance of coming across as a know-it-all, I didn’t remain in the field post-graduation, so I’m not an expert, but I studied Sport & Exercise Science at university and one of the modules was around performance enhancers. Speedway isn’t even close to fitting the profile for this topic and for so many reasons. This sport is arguably 50% mechanical and 50% physical, so it’s a significant financial risk to invest in performance enhancers, only for your chain to snap on the first lap. Even then, being stronger or having more stamina through artificial gains is irrelevant if the rider to your left is simply on a quicker bike. @iainb is highly likely spot on; cheating mechanically is where illegal gains are to be made in Speedway. As someone who spent his youthful summers in Ibiza, but who eventually grew-up, I’m 99.9% positive no-one is using cocaine for confidence in speedway. In the finance industry where outbound, non-face-to-face interactions are the regular, yes. In motorsport, no. Despite what you see on TV, such as confidence and self-assurance, the riders’ condition would instantly be recognisable and his handling of the bike would be beyond concerning. Don’t get me wrong, I imagine, as with most professions, there are those who enjoy casual drug taking within social settings, but I can categorically confirm that no rider is taking cocaine before a race for performance enhancement purposes. I genuinely shudder at the thought of that, but rest assured that it would be identified before said rider reached the tapes.

Who knows? That’s the problem with twins.

Amazing. Odsal, what an arena. I saw the 1996 PLRC there and the line-up was as good as any GP I’ve ever seen. British speedway was at its peek. Chris Louis led the final until his change snapped on the last bend. Heartbreaking, but Sam Ermolenko took advantage. Here it is;

In all honesty, you’re probably right. I was too busy playing with my miniature replica Lars Gunnestad figurine and listening to Dukes’ fans singing ”there’s only one Andy Smith” to notice. What a stadium, though.

The D&A Assessor to Steve Worrall at Plymouth last night.

Petition for these bad boy race jumpers to return. Has anyone got Simon Stead’s number?

Bradford’s Odsal Stadium will never be beaten. Never. The Beatles couldn’t even produce a better track than that.

Yeah, they were joking with each other too.

You’re a kinder soul than me, Lisa. When I’ve forked-out £14.99 to watch the CLRC, no-ones safe. Not even Craig Cook.

Elaborate.

To put my answer into perspective, Exeter and Hull were still active when I last attended speedway regularly. Now, spill the beans. Craig Cook and a photographer. The photographer leaked Cook’s nudes, so Cook had Mike Hunter force the photographer to listen to an interview with Kenny McKinna?

You’ve opened up a can of worms there, Lisa, but I’ll tell you what, I’m up for this game. Charles Wright and Claus Vissing are joined on the naughty step by… Hans Andersen, Nicki Pedersen, Andre Compton, Tomasz Gollob (Craig Boyce likes this), Roman Matousek, Jan Pedersen (it must be the surname) and… Martin Goodwin. No, Dugard. No, both.

What happened with the photographer?

What’s actually happened to Craig Cook? I saw something about a photographer mentioned in the CLRC topic, but couldn’t find anything on it. It’s disappointing because on his day, he’s a tremendous speedway rider.