RobMcCaffery

We feared it but knew it was possible to avoid it if the government allowed. They didn't. Still, it gives all of the experts the chance to pat themselves on the back. Who cares what damage this will do the sport as long as they know they were 'right'?

The concern is not who rides for the tracks but whether they can all survive a 17/18 month close season. It is only the correct decision in the circumstances dictated to us by our governments. This is now nothing to do with who was right and who was wrong and when it was right to pull the plug. While many others will no doubt be patting themselves on the back at how clever they were in saying weeks ago it wasn't worth trying to run in 2020 there are far more important matters to deal with now. I feel sorry for promoters, riders, staff, sponsors and most of all genuine supporters who truly love the sport but most of all I grieve for the sport itself, one that has been a major part of my life, as for many, for half a century. May all tracks be with us still in Spring 2021. To those who wish to now boast about their incredible wisdom in saying wee should have given up weeks ago, enjoy your twisted delight. Hopefully your track will survive this.....Hopefully.....

Apologies. Story deleted. Easier not to bother. Don't want to get in the way of your excellent work.

It's fa\r from uncommon for Polish sides to do his, then at the last minute put in the real rider. It's all part of the Polish mind games.

Sorry,that really is a disgusting comment. If you do feel vomit in your mouth reading articles I suggest an urgent trip to the doctors. There are limits, even in this cesspool.

Kent can run on Tuesdays or Mondays. They just will not get priority over riders. Premiership will get first call on the Bank Holidays and Sweden on Tuesdays. As has been reported Kent realised that the lack of Swedes in the Championship this year would prevent clashes if start permission is granted for the 2020 season. In the same way, in theory, Poland's regular use of Mondays for extra TV events would see any British activity that night take priority......in theory.

And this outfit will have Premiership speedway when it returns and soon will the SGP and SON. Still they offered good money, just don't expect good coverage or scheduling.

I suspect the promoters have more of an idea what's worth running than a cynical onlooker desperate to be proved right.

Or if you just see the movement chuck them out, no 15m handicap in Britain. I've watched over 100 meetings online during lockdown and we didn't have the current problems once the tape touching rule was created. It seems to have steadily grown in Britain to the point where it is becoming a major disruption to meetings. You look forward to a race, off they go, on go the red lights and you find something to do for five minutes. Eventually you just want the race over. This wasn't the problem when the first rule was created, so why now? This is one aspect of the sport that the Poles have exactly right. No need for hi-tech, just use the eyes of the ref. Works in Poland.

1 hour highlights programme on Eurosports 2 tomorrow night at 6, repeated at 9. Beware. It could well be just the final hour unedited rather than a sane edit ;-)

It helps when an exclusion can really hit a rider hard in the pocket given Polish pay rates!

Normally I'd recommend buying the Speedway Star's excellent season preview issue which has a comprehensive look at speedway in all nations, including fixtures and team lineups where there is a league, for those you asked about. It might be a tip for next year.

There are repeats on Eurosport tonight and twice tomorrow, but I suspect the poster doesn't have access.

It's because the main broadcast to Poland carries studio discussion, rider interviews and longer ad breaks to fill the grading gaps after heats 4, 7 and 10. For the non-Polish viewers they simply supply pictures of the racing so far with a musical background. Bear in mind we aren't the intended viewers. Selling the coverage to us and other countries is just a minor bonus to Polish TV. As Bagpuss says, watch a recording and fast-forward. The gaps will always be there.

I think there are Monday TV events for a while now. There was a piece a while back which quoted a Polish source as talking about the new Friday-Monday TV service and saying how Saturday 'used to belong to the Grands Prix'. It could have lost something in translation but it is something to be carefully noted if true.

You do wonder if this isn't just a Covid crisis development, and this regular schedule of televised Monday meetings is an attempt to take Mondays off British speedway long-term. If this meeting was being staged in normal times with Britain properly up and running I can see quite a few names that would be expected to be in Britain on a Monday. It's a question of trust.......and I've lost mine where Polish speedway's concerned ;-)

"Today's meeting is decided on points over 15 rounds, unless we have a submission or knockout". Just like being at Eastbourne in the old days!

I wonder if the awful track preparation is a result of Torun's relegation from the Ekstraliga and a big reduction in budgets, including track curation. On a happier theme, how many ways can we pronounce Ermolenko?

Just waiting for the Box Nation audience to be wondering how the competitors can land punches on each other while riding bikes. Is Nicki P riding?

Join the club. It doesn't answer the minor point about the helmet colour revision where heat leaders/senior rider appear to be going mainly in yellow, Polish-style, instead of white.

Yes, the ideal source and typical of the Star's excellence in this troubled year.

Yes, we've fallen into an appalling gap between two extremes, that of a free for all and near-total discipline. I've watched over a hundred old meetings during lockdown and the free for all days resulted in far fewer delays than now. Yes you had to wait a few seconds while riders rolled into the tapes and rolled back. Even half a dozen such incidents would take at most 20-30 seconds until a clear start resulted. Take today. One less than perfect start and it's all back to the pits for a five to ten minute delay. The Polish answer IS the way and the cost of setting up any technology required will pay itself back in preventing the reaction "Not AGAIN, to hell with all this, what's on TV". ;-)

I visited Charles in his office once. Alongside being in a business meeting with Ivan Mauger it counts as one of my most memorable moments in the sport. I can't bring myself to watch the drone footage. I lost my track at the age of 16. It still stings. Keep fighting while you still have one brick to save. Once lost they don't come back.

One of my strongest memories of speedway at Eastville Stdium in Bristol was seeing Maurice touring the track by tractor, after racing had finished, taking up the shale to expose the sand for the next dog meeting.

"Coventry Drone" ? That's no way to talk about Peter York!