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Never stopped you from including Tom before! Still, it's nice of you to give some other names a plug... Steve

Wot? No Tom Farndon? Steve

Bob Andrews, Bill Landels, Tadeusz Teodorowicz, Ronnie Moore, Joe Weichlbauer, Dave Gifford, Rune Holta, Mitch Shirra, Roman Povazhny, John Cook. Steve

Hate to do this to you, but Coombes was a Kiwi... Steve

I take it they don't have to be native New Zealanders to make the list, John? Steve

I'm shocked he didn't fill all ten places! Steve

Wilbur Lamoreaux, Benny Kaufman, Ernie Roccio, Dewayne Keeter, Bruce Penhall, Ron Preston, Dennis Sigalos, Denny Pyeatt, Bobby Schwartz, Buddy Robinson. Steve

Aye, what a night that was in '77... Superb maximum from Colin, including one win in 60 seconds dead... Steve

I really doubt that there is any video footage, but there is a good chance that Wally Loak may have covered them on audio cassette. Not sure if anyone else knows, or perhaps even has the recordings. Steve

Me too, and I was at Plough Lane when they had a practice before the I-C Final... Steve

Actually he did, in one of his earlier posts, but then reverted back to the no- "I" version. Steve

I figured you would be following this closely...

I would just like to jump in ahead of Doug and say that a comment like that does seem strange coming from a person who has caused a number of issues on here because of that very fact. Who can forget his attempts to turn the BSF into the BFTF? Steve PS If you don't remember the discussions, please don't ask; it is a l-o-n-g story!

This site SHOULD be one of the most fascinating, and most valuable speedway websites out there, but the overall quality is extremely poor. I usually do the "right thing" and contact the webmasters to rectify errors, but - and I really hate to say it, - there are so many items in need of correction (from poor spelling and grammar to factual mistakes) that I fear I would appear a bombastic nitpicker with my honest input (that I would basically rewrite and reformat everything). As I said, I hate to feel this way, as I know only too well the time and effort that goes into such projects. Steve

Okay, let's take everything literally... Thing is, I have read obituaries for bit-part actors I have never heard of, and lower-level footballers I have never heard of, and quite honestly, I don't really see their significance. However, I accept it. Recently, we have had obits for a Tibetan monk who was imprisoned by the Chinese, and a Russian dissident who fought for "freedom of thought". You get my drift? Forget the "speedway bubble"; of course it is now a minority sport, but it wasn't always like that. When Booey was at his peak, speedway was the second most popular spectator sport in Britain, and he can rightly lay claim to be England's best rider of the 1960's. You feel he should only be remembered for being on a winning WTC team? That is doing him a GREAT disservice. A 20-plus year career, most of which was at the top level. Almost a decade as England's top rider, and probably in the world's top ten for that period. Were that a footballer, a golfer, or a badminton player, that kind of CV would undoubtedly be enough to earn an obituary. In a hugely popular spectator sport of the era, it clearly meant nothing. For me, it is all about RESPECT. If you are one of the elite, you deserve the respect regardless of your field... What I am saying is that I am not complaining about who IS included, but a small handful who are NOT included. Steve

Yes - and no. Of course, many of speedway's problems (well, BRITISH speedway's problems) are self-inflicted. However, there are many that aren't. I am not going to keep going over the same ones, but I haven't previously covered the media ones. Now, it would be wrong to accuse the BBC alone, and it would be wrong to think it is just a speedway (or sports) issue. Unfortunately, the world is a very different - and very much more self-opinionated - place these days. We are all aware of the problems on public forums with opinions seemingly taking precedence over fact, but it is not limited to the general public. The days of reporting "news" are gone; even the legitimate news services display ridiculous bias. The sad thing is that with modern television, the opportunities are there to cover so many more sports than ever before. With so many channels now, all running 24-hours, there shouldn't be any problem covering everything. Of course, there is, and it appears that it is better - and cheaper - for the tv companies to keep showing the same handful of sports, and to keep repeating the same programmes. When the public complain, we get, "Sorry. Your sport does not fit in with our plans". In other words, the station (or more accurately, a person or persons within the station) don't like that particular sport. Same with newspapers and other publications, although the world of print has suffered at the hands of the internet. And then there is the internet... I check the obituaries on the Telegraph website on a daily basis. They basically cover anyone who was anyone. Actors who appeared in two episodes of Corrie, footballers who played a handful of games for Rotherham Utd in 1964, etc.. Speedway? When Nigel Boocock died, I contacted them, and said that I thought that he deserved inclusion. I submitted a concise but detailed obituary. I received a "thank you", but that was it. They published an obituary for Ivan, but nothing for Ronnie. Is that REALLY not their fault? High-profile and successful figures who were literally household names who merit inclusion more than many others who are published? So, the media cannot be totally absolved from blame... Steve

It's a good thing that Hot Rods are TOTALLY unrelated to stock cars, as Barry Lee won four World Championships... Steve

It's not like it would take THAT, long, is it? We are not exactly blessed with dozens of 'em... I didn't see it, but were Lisa Ashton, Glen Durrant, Steve Holcombe, and Rob Cross mentioned? Like Tai, they SHOULD have been. Steve

Why??? Please don't think I'm picking on you, Sidney, because you are not the only one, but nowhere - NOWHERE - has anybody said that Craven, Collins, and Lee WEREN'T greats! They WERE greats. Of course they were. However, Tai's record in World Championships sets him apart from every other British rider. Neither is Tai a certainty TO BE the greatest British of all time, as it is possible for someone to come along in the future (if there is a future) and improve on his record. As it stands, though, Tai's record is comfortably better than those others mentioned, and it is likely to get better still. We have repeatedly said it is difficult to compare different riders from different eras, and it is difficult to compare formats. What is pretty much certain that the top riders would have been top riders in whatever era that they had competed. Steve

I'd like to know what this "Pennell" guy did that is so worthy of a mention... Steve

So did Graham Drury, when he was a promoter. Steve

I think ALL speedway riders did. A lot of people don't realise how fit motorsports competitors are, and while it is not about how fast they can run or how high they can jump, speedway riders in particular have plenty of upper body strength and stamina. The only problem I recall was with Michanek in the weightlifting; he is round-shouldered, and was physically unable to lock his arms to the desired position! Steve

I wonder how much his lifestyle and dedication (or lack thereof) contributed to not only a lack of real top-level success, but also to such a short career at that level. Chris can certainly be classed as an under-achiever when you consider his talent, and he should definitely have been around for longer than he was. Steve

When it comes to equipment, track conditions, riding styles, professionalism etc, there are no advantages or disadvantages to be had when attempting to compare eras. As has been stated many times, it is the same for everyone at any particular point in time. PC's professionalism can only be compared to the professionalism of his rivals. Even though the riders today are far more professional, Tai's own professionalism can only be compared to that of his rivals. It is all relative. The thing to remember is that speedway - like all sports - is constantly evolving, and the top guys evolve with the sport. That is why they are the top guys. Steve

Can't argue with any of that! Steve