BobC

Good Luck to all riders today,but especially Chris Holder and Tai Woffinden. Take a look at Ht19.... R) Holder B ) Woffinden W) Batchelor Y) Lawson Rostrum places decided here....

We will be in the Rye for a leisurely lunch,between 12-1.15-ish.If the weathers good,outside in the garden. I will be there with forum regulars Rabbit,Piratewoman and FerndownRacer. Inside the stadium,probably stand somewhere near the start,although we havent decided yet. See you all there.

Well,Im bringing a car full up with me, Hoping to see some real speedway for change !!

Definitely ENGLISH! You are right Wanderer,he did go on to become British Champion in Karts. I remember one night at Halifax.hHe rode at reserve for Poole.After taking advice from Eric Boocock,he tried different things in the second half,and promptly got to the Final.Not sure from memory,but I THINK he came second. Immensley talented,and would have stayed in Speedway,but the Knotts wouldnt stump up any cash to help him set up,and he returned to Karting.

The line ups according to the Poole website are the same as those posted by Dutchgrasstrack. Shame that Emil Sajfutdinov (Russia) wont be there. Never mind,at least Holder will be.

Unless Stressed can confirm different,Im sure he announced that wasnt the case. On countback,both teams were equal.The only difference was a faster heat winning time for Jerran.On double checking the rules,it had to be decided on the toss of a coin.At least that was our understanding on the back straight. That said,I was well pleased for Jerran,as he always rides well at Weymouth.Very unlucky in the semi final.Cockle shoved him very hard into the boards coming out of the 2nd turn.If Jerran had fallen,Cockle would have been excluded.When Congratulating him and his Dad Steve afterwards,they did confirm that Cockle had appologised to them for his actions. First time Ive seen Aaron Summers race.Its obvious why most folk are raving about him.Superb effort that deserved to win it for Redcar.Well impressed.Well done to Boston,as they both came from the back to win it.I believe Lambert blew an engine big time in ht2. Best wishes to Jon Armstrong who took a very nasty fall.I hope it was more of a precautionary Ambulance trip.His influence to the Weymouth team cannot be over exaggerated. Also good to see Rob and the Oxford mob,even if they tried to sell me raffle tickets,again.Do you guys ever give up? Overall,a very good advert for Conference League Speedway.

Found these items on Ebay,Australia. Thought they might be of interest to some of you 'old timers' ! Bluey Scott: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=023 Bonnie and Jack Waddell: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=023 Syd Littlewood: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=023 Keith Cox: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=023 Keith Gurtner: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=003 Speedway Machines: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...A:IT&ih=023

Exeter.... Ashby and Poole unknowns-68-1 L-r Bill Andrew,Neil Street,Bruce Cribb,Martin Ashby. Chris Julian 73-2...I think its Bob Coles Jimmy Squibb vs Coventry unknown........Its Les Owen Unkown 68-1...Tony George Newport.... Unknown @West Ham 68-1..Outside George Barclay,Tony Clarke?,Inside Bob Hughes Unknown v Oxord unknown 68-1....definitely Jon Erskine.(This photo also appears in the Oxford gallery) Unknowns@Oxford 68-1...Inside Bob Hughes

Sincere thanks to Tsunami for the regular updates from this meeting. Brendan called me,and was rightly pleased with his efforts.11pts,and a fall while leading aint bad at all. What with a 9+1 on Saturday vs Sittingbourne,he can be very pleased with his weekends work. Well done mate.

Yes,its definitely Brendan Johnson,all the way from Poole! He was disappointed to miss our Academy Cup Final up there last season. He will riding at Weymouth on Saturday,along with Luke Priest. I know Tsunami will give him a right Geordie welcome. Look after him for us please.

He also rode for Poole in 1958.

Never a doubt about Smart winning this one.Halsey was steady,without really impressing.Lee Strudwick was a particular surprise,looking very quick and controlled.Gareth Isherwood rode very steadily,and stayed upright while those around him hit the self destruct button. Kyle Newman was the revelation on the night.After a fx in his first ride,in which I wasnt expecting him to score anyway,he stormed through his other races.Can count himself very unlucky in the Last Chance Final.Burchatt over cooked his entry into turn 3 and left a gap on the inside.Newman turned inside,and at the same time Burchatt tried to close the gap.They touched,with Burchatt falling.IMO,it was lack of experience,rather than anything nasty from Newman.Oddly,Burchatt did almost the same thing in the rerun,but this time falling on his own while 3rd. Main Man,get Baseby some superglue! It was unbelievable that he ended up without scoring a point.In ht2,he DID go onto the centre green,albeit being forced to,before bringing down Halsey.Ht8,he was giving Smart something to think about all race,when he lifted off the 2nd turn,and clattered the fence.He was hobbling around,his left ankle looking swollen. It was strange,as we had Baseby who was involved in some exciting action with Zero from 3 rides,yet Bates,who you wouldnt have known was there,was on 7pts.Im not knocking anyone,but it didnt seem fair or make sense. Parsloes,in ht9,Burchatt simply seemed to pull up,nothing obvious,with Strudwick well away. Re texters comments on ht17.Johnson fell on the 1st turn,trying to avoid MacPhail,but remounted.Got back up and chased the others.A case of one more lap,and he might have got points. Ive seen better meetings,but some lively action all the same.Congrats to Smart,Halsey and Strudwick for qualifying.

How does the PL pairs intrude on Newport? Stone didnt care that he cashed in on the night before the GP,directly against Somerset,who's regular night is a Friday.I have always gone to Somerset on that Friday,no matter who the oppositin are.Much better racing,full stop. Start the Open early,and folk can still do both.If people were going to do both anyway,albeit at different times of the season,wheres the problem? Ive put aside some cash for certain meetings.I know its awkward coming all at once,but if youve budgeted for it,wheres the problem? I do however agree that Swindon is not the right venue or that I agree with the new date.It is only practical from the BSPA's point of view.

If this wasnt such a genuinely serious issue,it would be hilarious. There was me thinking British Speedway didnt have any more feet left to shoot at. How wrong can you be? Pathetic.

I didnt go.Glad I didnt,the way things have turned out. When it comes down to safety,track conditions,etc,I wouldnt hesitate to listen to the riders. If riders say its not worth the risk,I would accept it.Its their lives on the line. Shame the Chapmans cant accept that the riders DO know best. Oh,and by the way,the ONLY person who can call off a meeting is the referee,not the riders. I must admit to not having a lot of time for the Chapmans.Even less now.

Now let me see......oh yes,Poland kicks off big time tomorrow. No wonder the riders wanted it off.

Also Poole in the early 60's ...61,62,63. Photo of him in the Poole section here http://www.classicspeedway.co.uk/index.htm He also made a very brief comeback for Weymouth in the mid 70's

There is a portrait photo of Wayne in the Poole section on this website. Of course,theres plenty of Barry in Saints section! http://www.classicspeedway.co.uk/gallery.htm

Some Poole updates. Laessing leads 68-1.......Ted Laessing,Chris Blewitt,Jim Squibb,,Geoff Mudge. Unknown + Betts 68-1...Geoff Mudge,and Charlie Monk (Sheffield) at rear. Unknown + Hedge..........Geoff Mudge Unknown 68-1................Bill Andrew leads Jim Squibb Unknown 68-2................Bill Andrew leads Ted Laessing Unknown vs Coatbridge..Bruce Cribb leads Bernt Persson(W),and Alex Hughson(Y) Unknown at West Ham 68-1....George Barclay(o/s),Bruce Cribb,Bill Andrew,Stan Stevens Unknown vs Street and Briggs at Exeter 68-1.....Chris Blewitt(not Street),Bill Andrew,Wayne Briggs,Geoff Mudge Thats what I believe.

Wrong again! For this meeting each rider started with 3 brand new tyres.They had to have their name painted on each one,and could use them as they wished.They could only used their own named tyres. I had been told this before the meeting,but have been waiting for the confirmation before confirming it on here.

Crap. If there were tapes at the 15 metre mark,where Crump was,he would have broken them long before Bjarne moved. Get it now?

Nearly right.Crump moved,the ref held the start up,then BP touched the tapes.Crump moved by about a metre.

Well,you all know Im not a fan of Nicki Pedersen. However,he was a deserved winner today.He showed exactly why he is World Champion.He was in a different class.Won it fair and square.One of the first times Ive actually enjoyed watching him race.Congratulations to him. SCB...you say cheats never prosper,and ask where was Bjarne? Why dont you ask the same about Crump? He was the villian of the moment.He touched the tapes and got penalised 15 metres.In the rerun,he VERY CLEARLY moved long before Bjarne touched the tapes,and he was penalised 15 metres.Crump should have been kicked out for cheating,not moved back to 25 metres.Bjarne was moving,I know that,but he only touched the tapes because of Crump moving a second time.That bizarre moment spoilt a very enjoyable meeting. The Russian Emil Sajfutdinov was a pleasure to watch,never far off the pace,while Chris Harris was a big disappointment. Good meeting to open the season with,Holder already looking very impressive indeed.

Cant see anyone at the Granstand entrance,and very few cars in the car park........at the moment! About to leave to set up the photo stall on the third turn.Pop round and say hello.I wont bite. Enjoy our 'Birthday Bash'. I know I will. See you all soon.

Morning all. The weather is absolutely perfect right now.We have had some of the wet stuff overnight,but not too much.More like light drizzle,as opposed to heavy rain.Just right for track watering etc.Bring a warm jacket though,as Im sure it will get a bit chilly later. By the way,personally I would ignore the Tatnum Pub .Its only a hop skip and jump from my front door,and wouldnt set foot inside there if you paid me! See you soon!