AndyM

Using the same judgement, it would have been logical for the ref to exclude Pedersen when Holta walloped him in the rerun!!

Well, Pedersen should have been excluded if anyone for the simple reason that Adams was clearly leading, but if I had been ref it would have been an "unsatisfactory start, all four back."

Let's say that NP had more than his fair share of assistance from the ref during the meeting though. And that Adams had more than one reason to be cursing the guy. This should hopefully mark the end of his international refereeing career!

That's right. Back of the sports section, demonstrating how riders slide around bends and advertising the GP.

First I'd call a halt to the existing GP circus altogether. Then I'd have a completely open qualification process whereby each country selected a quota of riders based on whatever criteria they wanted to apply. Barring seeded riders, all would compete on an open draw and qualify for the following GP series. Thereafter, the process would be repeated with only the top 4 from the previous year being guaranteed places.

My comment was based on what an older rider told me donkeys years ago. As I recall, Tommy Price was born around 1911. Don't really know what he did early in life, but I was definitely told he first rode on a speedway track in the late 20s, which I remember because my dad was born in 1929. Don't know any more than that, but if you've written Tommy's biography I shall defer to your superior knowledge, Norm!!

Sure Norbold can come up with a few, but I'm pretty sure Tommy Price for one was riding in the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

I know the feeling too - several projects on the go here too!

Not Lynch's fault if we have no decent riders. He has to encourage other riders to think they're in with a chance, which is why he has an extended squad. But you're right - if you could ride a match between that squad and the squad 30 years ago (at their peak), the current team would be trounced.

I wondered what Barbie might have to do with the speedway museum. Perhaps Ken has a bike and appears occasionally in Pirates colours? You should have popped round for my BBQ, Norm!

With that name, he sounds more like a porn star than a speedway rider!

How would you go about raising sponsorship and advertising revenues to help fund the event if you think it's all a waste of time, then? Most advertising for those sorts of events is not about prompting people to rush out and buy the product (not true of KFC and CocaCola, obviously), but to ensure that either businesses or individuals retain the brand name in mind for when they do make purchasing decisions. It's about brand exposure and positive associations.

He has one bad GP and you've written Crumpy off? Those are the sort of words that come back to haunt you... Seem to recall some people saying that after he won his first world title and had a bad year after that. Crump certainly ain't finished yet, and this year's GP definitely isn't over yet.

Not sure I can remember my first race as such, though I'm pretty sure it would have been at a Coventry home match in 1971, so I expect it would have included Nigel Boocock. The first race I can definitely remember was a race at Belle Vue early in 1972, though I'd been to the mighty Hyde Road the previous season and seen Mauger there. Why? Watching the teenage Peter Collins roaring through the field, of course!!

I was going to ask if it was called the Argentinian Individual Championship because only one rider took part, but evidently the scene down there is thriving more than I would have expected. Have they taken part in the WTC yet?

Am I right in thinking that Bristol scored a maximum 5-1 in every heat using a 16-heat format sometime in the 30s or 40s? Seem to remember my dad mentioning that to me, years ago.

Agree on the first point, since the original TS rule was fine and didn't need to be tampered with. On gate positions, do you mean that a team 8 points down could scrap the programmed positions altogether and put their riders on whichever gate position they wanted? For example, the team behind chose 1 & 3 with their star man on the inside, contrary to the programmed positions? And could the other team let their star select 2 or 4? In fact, why not go the whole hog and let them select ANY gate positions? If the team behind wanted gates 1 and 4, why not let them?

A case where an air fence probably would have saved the rider? Thank goodness fatalities are rare...

Wilkie was usually good for the occasional punch-up. Ah, them were the days.

Yes, though he was unpopular with most of the other riders because he was forever borrowing everything from bike parts to whole machines when his own conked out. Looked altogether a more professional performer at the end of his career at Rye House when the club went PL after reopening - he went through a golden period when he was breaking the track record pretty much every week!

And so it was - amazing to watch any rider going wide on the banking. Nothing remotely like it nowadays, which is a great shame (sigh!)

Likewise - I used to love going over to the Shay - Bradford was never quite the same somehow. Used to enjoy Coventry and Sheffield at one time too.

Sorry, I know you said NOT 007, but having seen the DVD of Casino Royale on the weekend, my eyes are watering even at the sight of the name James Bond. Anyone who's seen the film will know what I mean!

Obviously Alan Wilkinson, though he would never have been a world champ. However, I definitely think Andy Smith and Joe Screen, for all their achievements, never really fulfilled their full potential thanks to injury. Shame.

I was going to say... he can't be that shy if he's now got a youngster on the way. Evidently he's learned a few things along the way!