davidba

Thanks Rico,though i've just looked at about 10 weather sites and they are all predicting some amount of rain on Sunday,so it's squeaky bum time!Will lady luck finally desert me on my travels?Please behave weather i've looked forward to this one more than most!

I think i'm recovered enough from a bug/sunstroke i picked up in Poznan and will be able to fly out again this Sunday for the short hop from Poznan to Gneizno.So as usual i will ask if anyone has been there before but also any tips on whats worth doing in Gniezno,seems to have some pretty old churches/buildings? I'm staying there in the Starej Kamienicy Hotel(Couldnt get into the one on the track). Really looking forward to seeing Daugvapils in action with their 3 under 21 finalists A.Laguta,Bogdanovs and Tarsaenko on show as well as my favourite madmen Laguta senior!So no injuries at Gdansk the night before please.Both teams doing well so should be good racing,looked ok when i saw the streamed meetings from there earlier this season.

If Hackney Wick still stood i'd almost be able to see it from my window!I dream of having a track i can see from where i live, nearest one is 16 miles for lakeside and 21 miles for Rye House!

Though not so pictureesque after you've walked 5km out from the nearest town because there are no buses!!

So you reckon the final pre play off meeting on 1st August v Czechostowa will be a warm up for the relegation decider? Hope it's a good atmosphere for my first trip to the mecca of speedway, and Gizatullin + Szombierski better ride!!

Well that was the hottest i've ever been at a speedway meeting,far too bleedin' hot for a Notherner like me! Wasn't the best of meetings as it was clear from early on that Rzeszow were going to win comfortably which obviously quietened the home crowd.Miskowiak was excellant for Poznan,Kosciuch was ok as was young Szewczykowski, but with Skornicki looking well off the pace after his injury and Proctor et al struggling, they were always up against it against a very strong Marma side. Chris and Lee both rode well,Okionowski looked excellant until heat 15 and Mikeal Max, Ludvig lindgren and Lampart all rode well. The racing wasn't great, though it had it's moments.though apart from the heat i had managed to poke myself in my left eye with my sunglasses earlier so i did watch the action with a swollen eye,looked like a sweaty pink pirate!! On to Gniezno next weekend, please let it cool down a bit there before then(Was 35C yesterday).Though the ice cool Tyskies tasted extra nice while watching the world cup final after wards! After the footie finished i flicked through the channels and found a channel (WTK i think?) which was showing heats from Poznan v Gniezno, but suddenly ended after heat 7??Is this normal, do they show old meetings in parts on TV?

yeah but they wont hide my drooling tongue!!

Yeah but they are always attached to 6 foot 6 shaven headed body builder types, i daren't get caught looking!! I kinda like the neglected stadiums too, i feel more at home!

Sorry for the continuing smugness,but i am off to Poznan on Sunday for what should be a close meeting near the top of the Polish first division(2nd tier).Has anyone been to this track?I know it's a big near 400 metre track,but does it produce good racing? I'm so desperate to go as i haven't been to a meeting now anywhere for nearly a month due to my back operation(Which seems to have gone well,though it's still too early to be 100% sure). Injury doubts on Skornicki for Poznan and Richardson for Rzeszow, anyone know if they will be fit by then? Will let you know how it went on Monday/Tuesday.Supposed to be 36C there!

A great undertaking Tom, will be wonderfull when it's complete and very usefull resource to those of us who like to travel to watch speedway. Thanks!!

Yeah i think i'm going to give up!

Thanks

Any team news,i'd like to know who i'm watching!

Her teenage son will be living with us next year, so she owes me in advance!! Thats when the 2 nights away trips become not just possible but essential

Be a damned shame if he's not fit for my trip to Bydgoszcz on 1st August was really looking forward to seeing him there.Well its nearly a month still, he might just make it(Prays to god,Anders Michanek,Bob Latchford and all other deities!!)

Sorry to hear about your leg and i'm sure you'll make it over one day soon.

Should have known Vicar would have added them up too,is there no end to the lads talents!!Would have saved me lots of time if i'd seen that feature before,duh! Anyway i think things have altered a bit from 2009 figures,sadly quite a few tracks have dissapeared from the 2010 listings. II wonder how these figures compare to 10 years ago,how many tracks have opened and closed in your area in the last decade?there's been a decent amount of new tracks in the UK(Redcar,Plymouth,Scunthorpe,Birmingham etc) but we've sadly lost Wimbledon,Reading,Oxford,Hull etc. 220 odd tracks currently running eh,thats gonna take some time to get around to!! With leicester,Sittingbourne Central,Bristol on the horizon hopefully in the UK,are there any new tracks rumoured to be opening anywhere else in the world,or are there only further closures ahead?

Ok i've edited with your info,up to 188 tracks now,but haven't included Debrecen or Wittstock as there's some doubt over if they are still running at all.I know that what counts as an active track will be hard to pinpoint but it's good to get an idea of how many there are worldwide. Still waiting on someone with the info on Australia/NZ to add to the list i only know a few of the obvious Aussie tracks. Keep 'em coming!

I thought Debrecen had closed?If your correct we have added 6 so now have 186 current tracks, so i need the Australisian tracks from someone and hopefully we can break the 200 barrier!!

Us Polish league lovers should meet up at a Meeting over there at some point!

Being lucky enough to go to quite a few meetings abroad the last couple of years i was wondering last night just how many active tracks there are in the world at present? So with Speedway Star world preview issue at hand i went through listing the tracks which had at least 1 meeting listed for 2010. They dont list Aussie,Kiwi tracks, so help on those would be appreciated. I included one offs for GP's and have included Northside,Iwade and Lydd in the Uk. I'm sure there are others i've missed,or some of these that have since closed, but the figures are: UK=32(28 league+Cardiff,Lydd,Iwade+Northside) Poland=22=24 league teams minus Miskolc+Daugvapils-Are there any one off tracks, cant see any listed? Sweden=20-9 elite tracks plus Gothenberg,Mariestad,karlstad,Stockholm,Nykoping,Avesta,Malmo,Eskilstuna,Linkoping,Huddinge,Nassjo. Germany=21-Landshut,Olching,Wolfslake,Brokstedt,Pfaffenhofen,Herxheim,Diedenbergen,Straslund,Gustrow,Teterow,Norden,Ludwigslust,Meissen,Neustadt Donau,Abensberg,Morrwinklesdamm,Haunstetten.Pocking,Berghaupten,Nordhastedt,Dohren Denmark=14-Copenhagen,Holsted,Holstebro,Glumso,Slangerup,Fjelsted,Esbjerg,Vojens,Grindsted,Brovst,Outrup,Vejilby,Skaerbaek,Vissenbjerg USA=14-Batavia,Action park,Marion County,Canton,Wauseon,Costa Mesa,Industry,San Bernardino,Victorville,Perris Raceway,Ridgecrest,Auburn,Vallejo,Osweg(I'm sure i got some of these mixed up?) Czech=10-Prague,Mseno,Slany,Plzen,Pardubice,Divisov,Liberec,Brzeolupy,Svitavy,Chabarovice Norway=7-Oslo,Drammen,Elgane,Riska,Kristiansand,Mjoesa,Kongsberg Italy=6-Lonigo,Teranzano,Serego,Verona,Cialtroni,Giavera Del Montello Finland=6-Lahti,Seinajoki,Pori,Kauhajoki,Kuusankoski,Forssa Russia=5-Balakovo,Vladivostok,Togliatti,Salavat,Oktyabrsky Argentina=8-Bahia Blanca,Daireaux,Carhue,Bolivar,Colonia Baron,Pique,Cordoba,Carlos Caseras Austria=3,Natschbach,Mureck,St Johann Croatia/Slovenia=4-Gorican,Ljubijana,Krsko,Lendava Ukraine=3-Lviv,Rivne,Chervonograd Hungary=2-Miskolc,Gyula Holland=3-Lelystad,Veenord,Blijham France=2-lamothe,Macon Canada=2-Paris,Welland And 1 each from:Romanis-Braila,Belguim-Heusden Zolder,Slovakia-Zarnovica,Latvia-Daugvapils,Bulgaria-Targovrubbishe,South africa-Walkerville=6 So without the Aussie/NZ tracks i make that a cool 190!! Please add/amend etc so that we can get to a proper figure for how many tracks there are in the world at present that are in use. Amended now with your info,not added Debrecen or Wittstock as some doubt over those

Yep i will be on one on my way to Poznan v Rzeszow!!

See,he's better than Dudek!!

Though up against Janowski,Andersson and Dudek he wont be likely to get more than 1 ride!!