arnieg

Have a look at the first ever GP in 1995 - only three riders over 30: Nielsen (35), Ermolenko (34) and Knudsen (33) Josh Larsen youngest at 23. 75% of field between 24 and 30 Average - just over 27

I don't know whether to be relieved that the name of Jack Young is no longer associated with such a half-hearted end of season competition OR disappointed that the memory of Jack Young has been so casually disregarded in the re-vamping of what was the Young Shield

Try looking at: http://www.speedwayfiction.co.uk/ The central character of the books, Joe Barnes, is a Wimbledon rider and they are set in 1975 and 1976. There are some quite evocative paragraphs that certainly chimed with my memories of that era.

OK maybe they could have done it a little better (I like the idea of a brief tribute film played on the large screens) but this thread is over dramatic. There were three full pages devoted to Lee in the programme (plus a full page advert)

Norweigan, signed for Racers in 1979 'On May 7 Siggy Pedersen broke a leg in the second half at Exeter. He did not reappear until the start of 1980, when after three early season challenge appearances for Reading he drifted on to Eastbourne and then Wimbledon. Pedersen's 1979 Racers form was ambiguous, just a point from six away matches, but a healthy 6.09 average from his seven home fixtures. (Most of these were Spring Gold Cup appearances.)' from Tears & Glory

I don't vouch for these being 100% accurate, but I think these should be pretty much there: Club Dragons 51 (Ross Walter 22+1, S Pearce 12+1, Willy Kennis 11+1) Sittingbourne 60 (S Hazelden 18(max), Jack Kingston 15+2, Mark Bibby 14+1) Interesting name in the Dragons team:- Aaron Mogridge. A chip off the old block, he fell in five of his six races, most while well placed. Ross Walter had 8 rides including a TR so could have scored 27! Kingston lost his maximum when defeated by Walter in the last race Intermed Dragons 47 (Mike Osborne 15, Gordon Walker 11) Frittenden 67 (Ben Harrison 19+1, G Knowler 17+1(max), James Peters 15+1, Stefan Kalisz 9+1) James Peters impressed me, his win from the back over Gordon Walker was easily the best race of the day. Support Dragons 45 (Shaun Crawley 13+1) Sittingbourne 66 (Charles Wallace 18, Tony Raybould 14) Wallace was heading for a 21-point maximum until he fell while leading the last heat

Sixth in 1972 Swedish Under21 Final. Principally rode for Vargarna, for whom he averaged over 8 (5 ride CMA ~ 6.4 for 4 ride CMA) in three consecutive seasons (73-75)

Philip Dalling's History of Nottingham and Long Eaton speedway contains several mentions and a couple of photos of George see http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nottingham-Long-Eaton-Speedway-Philip-Dalling-2007-/150620185980?pt=Non_Fiction&hash=item2311a9a57c

On that basis I suggest that Team GB should be: Hancock Holder Crump Ward :P

Apparently Jason Bunyan has withdrawn as he feels it inappropriate for him to ride given that he has so firmly nailed his colours to the New Zealand mast, and that he should stand aside to give a young Brit (presumably Worrall or Newman) a chance

Scorers from Slangerup: Denmark 78 Martin Steen Hansen 13+2(max) Sam Jensen 13+2(max) Frederik Jakobsen 13+2(max) Jason Jorgensen 12+3(max) Andreas Lyager 8+1, Casper Olsen 8, Jonas Jensen 7+2, Emil Engstrom 4+1 Sweden 30 Johan Jensen 10 Filip Hjelmland 6 Kenny Wennerstam 5+1 Andreas Runesson 4 Alexander Johansson 2+1 Christoffer Selvin 2 Maksymillian Bogdanovich 1+1 Joel Kling 0 Johan Jensen (who won the Swedish 80cc championship 3 days earlier) was the only Swedish race winner, although Hjelmland was leading Hansen and Sam Jensen in ht 16 when his partner fell and the race was stopped. I thought Frederik Jakobsen was the most impressive Dane. Erik Gundersen was the Danish Team Manager Danish scorers from Malmo (via Frederik Jakobsen's website): Sam Jensen 14+1(max) Andreas Lyager - 12+2 point Frederik Jakobsen - 12+2 point Casper Olsen - 11+1 point Jason Jørgensen - 8 point Martin Steen Jensen - 7+1 point Jonas Jensen - 4+3 point Emil Engstrøm - 3 point

Just watch the last 5 races. Four of them had overtaking, but they were all for the minor places so if it was 'follow the leader' camera work you may not get much out of those either

I don't think they'd ever broadcast speedway again if I did that!

Well if you are watching the Slangerup v Holsted match look out for me in the crowd

Second Semi Final is happening now in Germany http://live.sportowe...y.pl/zuzel5.htm After 5 races Sweden 15, Russia 7, Germany 5, Finland 3 [edited to correct score]

Rider Control is mostly associated with the 1965-76 period but there was some control over rider moves before that - so when did it originate and how did it develop? (I know that in 1946 there was an allocation of riders for the first post war season, but I'm less clear about what happened after that. For example I believe that there was a period when only foreigners were subject to SCB diktat over where they rode)

2012-06-16 Kval Miskolc, Ungern 2012-06-16 Kval Tarnow, Polen 2012-06-16 Kval St Johann, Österrike 2012-06-16 Kval Gustrow, Tyskland 2012-06-16 Kval Berwick, Storbritannien 2012-06-30 Race Off Lonigo, Italien 2012-06-30 Race Off Balakovo, Ryssland 2012-06-30 Race Off Divisov, Tjeckien 2012-09-29 Challange Gorican, Kroatien from aktuellspeedway.se

A classic example of the perils of a sudden death decider. None of the top three after 20 heats ended finished on the rostrum!

Promoters don't like admitting they are wrong - so instead of saying "2011 was a mistake we are reverting to the 2010 set-up with the Premier Trophy and Young Shield" they treat us like imbeciles by trying to persuade us that they have introduced these brand new and exciting competitions

He looked fantastic at Vojens (a five ride maximum with three wins from the back) and Grindsted (16 points a nd a win over Kenny Bjerre) when I saw him last year - well worth keeping an eye on

And don't forget Reg Neal who rode for Provincial League Exeter in one match in 1964. This happened a couple of weeks after Ronnie Genz walked out of National League Oxford. ... could they be related in any way?

If you mean the one used in 1993, that was probably the most unsatisfactory format used in the last 42 years. My recollection is that there was almost universal agreement to go back to 15 heats in 1994. We could debate tweaking the format forever but it is unlikely to make much difference. Personally I'd go with 13 heats. That would make double headers more feasable (which could help encourage more tracks to run a second team) and provide second half time for more Anglian Junior/Midland Development League type events

"Top 5 positions only" according to the book, so there were obviously more competitors

From Peter Morrish 1998 yearbook: 1997 International Dutch Open Championship (held over 4 rounds): 1 Roy Verbrugge 88 2 Ralf Strack 86 3 Patrick Verbrugge 86 4 Jim Groen 68 5 Maik Groen 65

B - time exclusion (Vremya is time in Russian and in cyrillic a capital V is a