chunky

Actually, I just did a quick run through here. I had ten on 8, four on 7, and two on six... There are many options, but they all come out to an eight-point winner!

Absolutely. You are making the same mistake I used to make - working on the assumption that everyone was on 6 after four rides! Put some on 7 and some on 5 - that will still balance out. All it means is that the riders on 5 will win their last rides. I am at work at the moment, so I will show you exactly later.

You are wrong; it's 8... I used to think it was 9, but there are 120 points available, which means you can have eight scoring 8 (64) and 8 on 7 (56).

You are obviously UNbalanced!!! Tom Farndon was the greatest!

A few on here would do well to remember that... Overall, there were a couple of cracking meetings, and a couple of good ones, plus perhaps the best race of all time (Heat 2 on Saturday), and plenty of other fantastic ones, and the championship not being decided until three heats from the end of the series. I think that is pretty good, myself. Given the circumstances, it was great!

Don't worry, that is something I've already thought about! This is what is great, though; I love people coming up with these questions and possible scenarios. What's the lowest winning score in a standard 20-heat individual meeting? What is the largest winning margin? What is the largest number of separate race winners?

Hadn't really thought about it like that, but I suppose it's possible. I wonder if anyone has any old rules and documentation?

Of course, and as long as you have a balanced and realistic view, there's nowt wrong wi' it...

We both know that there are a number of people on the BSF who won't agree with that - or don't WANT to believe that... When I look back at some of the attitudes in years gone by, it's amazing how many people thought that world speedway should revolve around Britain, and British speedway. Now we are only a minor player on the world scene (largely self-inflicted, but not totally), there is a lot of resentment towards others - which is totally unwarranted.

Most of them I went to have closed down! My opinion as far as records and history (and darts is the same as speedway) is that the governing bodies have all the stats, so why can't THEY make them available? It's obviously easier now with the internet, but surely they have some kind of accessible history? Of course, we are talking about the British speedway authorities...

Most of us know about the famous Olsen and Stancl 15-pointers in opposition, but I just stumbled on another incident that deserves mention. On 20th April 1973, Swindon beat Halifax 42-36 in a BL match. Mike Keen was unbeaten in five rides (full 15-point max) for the Robins, while Eric Boocock was unbeaten for the Dukes in six rides (16+2)! Even though Boocock's maximum was a paid one, the fact that the two avoided each other in the meeting, AND were both unbeaten, seems pretty special to me.

Don't get me wrong, I love Speedway Researcher, but there are still a lot of results missing - including a number of whole years for particular teams. The advantage of the results there as opposed to magazines (particularly older ones) is that the result grids are displayed, rather than just heat results. I really appreciate what everyone involved with Speedway Researcher has done, so that is not a criticism in any way.

As I said, now I have all my books and magazines out of storage, so at least I can through some. Of course, it's so much better having the internet now, and at some point, I would like to create a website so we have all this stuff readily available! Just a matter of finding time...

Now, here's something I would like to add... Like every other old-timer on here, I have VERY fond memories of years gone by, and I think the top boys were fantastic. However, when I watch some of the stuff now - particularly from the 70's - some of it seems almost amateurish to me. Of course, it wasn't, but often... ...riders used to slow down and coast at the end of the straight. ...entering the bends, they didn't turn the bike until well into the corner. ...the foot forward style, particularly entering the bends, looks awkward and ungainly. Is it just me, or does anyone else think that? Be honest...

The problem with all this stuff is that there are no statistics readily available - unlike weird stats in other sports. With speedway, we have trouble accessing all official stats, and if we have any weird questions, we have to manually wade through pages of magazines and computer files...

30th July 1970. Colin Gooddy and Mick Bell got the 4-2 over Graham Plant and Alan Jay in heat 7.

Has there ever been a meeting where EVERY heat was a 3-3?

Sheffield won at Coatbridge (40-38) on April 6, 1973, and there were 9 different race winners. Interesting thing is that the first 8 heats provided 8 different winners! Top scorers for losing Tigers were McMillan (9), and Beat on and Sjosten (8), while the winning Tigers had Haley, Wilson, and Wyer all scoring 8. EDIT : I have yet to find a 13-heat match with 10 different race winners - but I have found one with 11! On September 21, 1976, Weymouth hosted a double-header, with the second match being the second leg of a challenge against Stoke. Wizards won 41-37. Five of the Wizards won a race, as did six Potters. Mike Sampson won three (the only rider to win more than one), and only Geoff Swindells, Martin Yeates, and Malcolm Shakespeare failed to win a race. The others were Chris Robins, Tim Nunan, Steve McDermott, Mick Newton, Mal Corradine, Robert Maxfield, Billy Spiers, Jim Brett, Les Collins, and Brian Leonard.

Kelvin said the same, and I agree. Have two or three select doubles, and one-offs for the others. Personally, I loved them...

Ah, that's what it is! Sorry...

I wish I had the time to put everything on computer! Actually, I wish we'd had the technology back in the 70's and 80's... I knew there had been several cases of all seven team-members winning a race, but I am sure there must be one or two cases of 10 (maybe 11) different race winners from 13. Obviously, the main thing is to look at a good team, solid from 1 to 7, and riding away from home. My first thought was Poole in 1969, but no luck there... I don't have all the figures, but I wonder if a Cradley team from the early 80's would be a good place to look. I should be able to a little more of my own research now, as I have finally got all my Speedway Stars that were in storage 400 miles away...

Risky for the riders too...

We are still the world leaders when it comes to whining and bitterness...

So, that makes it okay? That makes it "fair"?

It's still not the British way. Moaning is far more enjoyable...