SPEEDY69

You're forgetting Linlithgow/Lathallan. Tidy little track with a nice bump into bend 3 that I remember well. Of course, being serious, 'best' can mean lots of things - best for passing, best for facilities, best for location, best for when it's raining, best for value etc. For racing then I think most tracks have their moments. I particularly enjoyed the Bradford World Final in 1990, the Semi they had there and the WTC in 1989 was dramatic of course - all for the racing and atmosphere. I remember seeing a decent Czech league meeting at Pardubice - the space there is astounding and in the middle of the woods. Mildenhall is a cool little track and Peterborough awesome to ride. Scheesel was an eye opener, simply for the speed reached, although that's longtrack so probably out of scope for this thread.

Not sure why people are criticising Robert Lambert, or bigging him up. For his first season in the EL he has done ok, beaten some riders you might not expect him to and lost to others you might not expect him to. That's speedway - his age is a complete red herring, he has been riding for years so is experienced on a bike. Another rider might be 23 years old but be in their first or second season of riding a bike so you'd expect them to be worse tham Lambert. A big advantage for younger riders though is that they often have less to worry about outside of speedway i.e. no house to run or partner or child etc. I think Lambert will be a star of the future and if he can avoid serious injury is one we should all be applauding (if you want British riders to do well of course!)

Shame for lynn that the weather reduced the 'racing' to gate and go but there's every chance they can still win the second leg.

don't disagree with this but let's not forget that those in the qualifiers relied on a pick - certainly the brits were selected by BSPA/Rosco, so not all riders had the chance, but I know what you meant.

As I said before, I've yet to see a poor ELRC. All the riders want to win and the racing can be cut-throat at times. Long may it continue!

Still seems a good line-up to me for the Norfolk Arena, Lambert should generate local interest. It's unfortunate to have withdrawals but aren't they all for legitimate reasons?

You may know more about them than me but having houses in different countries doesn't necessarily mean they are domiciled elsewhere. The second point is fair enough, his choice, I won't lose any sleep. I see that K Bjerre said recently that he'd probably drop Sweden rather than Britain - again, his choice and as self employed people they will decide on the basis of personal circumstance. I've found it odd that Nicki P lives in Stevenage but does all his riding abroad - except one GP of course!

It's called Earth, one of the 8 in our solar system and third nearest the Sun - thanks for asking, are you doing an astronomy degree? I wasn't inclined to but will try and point out again my argument. 1) You original statement said "He wanted what most riders want from the EL - less meetings" That doesn't mention "top riders" nor does it specify any group of riders, just most. Ambiguous and not accurate. 2) You now say "scores of riders". A score is 20 so that infers at least 40 riders, yet you only mention 6. Again, the evidence is not there. 3) You expect me to disagree with the "evidence that's been proven" but I can't as there no evidence to disagree with. For example Paul Daniels, Cilla Black & Tim Rice once said that if the Government changed they would leave the the UK - the Government did change but they went nowhere - that was the evidence bit, not the view beforehand. Oh, and evidence is used to prove a case and does not in itself need to be proven. I didn't want to get into a petty debate but I've felt compelled to, not helped by the opening personal remark. My overall argument is that we should not pander to the opinion expressed by the very few well-off over the many.

It was because an earlier post mentioned Tai was on the way to Sweden as a reason for not being at the ELRC so I was just pointing out that others may also be but still intending to return to the UK on Thursday.

It was inaccurate because you don't have the evidence, simple really. There are 9 EL teams so that makes 63 riders - this means you'd need evidence that at least 32 of them want less meetings in the EL. Quoting one rider saying that they know of others who share an opinion is not that evidence. I understand some riders' motives but for me the priority for the BSPA shoudl be thsoe who want to ride here under our terms. Counsel rests

That's always been the life for many many speedway riders and is nothing new. In days gone by there were also less frequent flights and more driving with that often being done by the rider as well! The important thing to remember is that nobody forces them to do this - they sign the contracts and want the reward so have to deal with what that entails. I cannot feel sorry for them.

I wonder when the revised line up will be put onto the BSPA and KL sites? Some riders are riding the playoffs in Sweden tonight aren't they?

only saved post once but it pooped up several times - don't know why.

This is completely inaccurate but I assume was just an error? There has been no survey so we form opinions - mine is that a few top EL riders, plus some who don't ride here, want less meetings for their own reasons as they ride in several countries and don't need the additional money. The majority of EL riders are happy with the number of meetings - the reduction last year was criticised by some riders for not giving them enough meetings. Small point but I don't think the EL should be held to ransom by the few - those who want to rider here then fine but it should be on terms that best suit the sport here.

Really? Thanks for that, didn't realise My point is that I can't remember there being quite so many as this year and serial wild carder Lindgren wil get in again due to them. It's not a gripe as such just an example of sod's law!

Well done to the riders who qualified from this challenge. Whatever the GP line-up is each year is always subject to controversy in one way or another and is one reason I have little interest in it. Injuries have played more of a part this year than most - for example I think Lindgren and Jonsson for example would both be out of 2015 if Darcy wasn't suspended and Iversen got injured. Several riders pulled out of the Challenge meeting due to injury, which hasn't happened as much before and although Harris cannot be faulted and rode well to qualify - although he wouldn't have been in it if it wasn't for withdrawals. It would be great if everyone could get into the series without any controversy, but then the forum may be less active!

I've witnessed a few BV meetings this year, all away fixtures and he has been mediocre at best, must've done the business at home then?

I'll be heading up to Lynn for this to support the EL. Despite all the well worn lines about pull-outs, those ELRCs that I have attended have been well worth it - 2011 was a cracker, as was another at Swindon when Per Jonsson won it. I hope the Lynn track provides good racing.

As others have said, the reserves have been a big factor in league placing this season, across all teams. As for the rest of the team, they have to improve away from home to stand any chance of being in the hunt for play-offs. There were some near misses for away points early in the season where Cook, Worrall & Zagar let the team down and Belle Vue have not had the good fortune to meet the patched up sides evident at present away from home as much as some other teams, but you can never predict or do anything about that. At home they have been very good and that should keep the Aces fans happy as the team looks to move into the new National Stadium and I really hope this goes even better than expected, for the sake of the sport in this country.

Can the 'witholding services' be referring to the meeting at Belle Vue? Whatever the situation I applaud Leicester for actually dealing with the matter because for far too long riders have swung the lead on this issue. We all know how easy it is to get a note from a doctor as well but as a fan I view it as I'll make the commitment to attend the meetings on the expectation that the riders are alos committed to being there.

Hi all, just to let you know I got my refund within a few days of filling the form in they sent me via email, back on 1st september. Best of luck with yours.

I think coventry have a strong chance to win the play offs as their reserves are very good. Would like to see a Cov vs Lynn final.

When did he drive, thought he was already banned from doing so?????? Failing an alcohol test for a GP is not illegal.

All this legal talk though is surely irrelevant Ward has not been criminally or legally charged has he? I thought he'd failed a test to compete in a sporting event and surely any punishment etc. Is solely a matter for the sports governing body? Take Dwain Chambers for example who admitted using drugs. There was no conviction under law but simply the sports governing body banned him. In fact he is banned for life from representing GB at Olympics but other athletes from other countries haven't been. This suggests it is wholly a natter for whoever governs the indivuduals' right to enter events. This si speedway though....

you're never too old to learn buddy.