chunky

What tool bar?

Sorry, I can't read that. Could you make the font a little larger, please?

Thanks for that! Must admit, I'd never seen that one before. What I will say is that - and I know there will be those who disagree - but I LOVE the layout and appearance of the site. For me, staistical websites have no need to be fancy or confusing, and this is so easy to navigate.

Of course, but that goes hand-in-hand with speedway being forced out of the city centres. Look at all the London tracks we had; only Hackney could be considered a "rural" location, and even then, it was only a couple of hundred yards from one of the busiest roads in London.

What I've been saying for years... The state of British speedway isn't solely due to mismanagement within speedway. In particular, speedway used to be a city centre sport, but most of the tracks we have now are out in the sticks, and invisible to most of the population.

Aye, that's where I used to get my results!

That's why I used to watch the second halves from the centre green; we were good friends with Jim!

Well, obviously due to last week's screening, someone has now uploaded the episode to YouTube! So, I have now seen it. The quality of the footage for the time is astounding...

No, just Ventura. I've been to a few other American tracks, including the old Mid-America speedway in Indianapolis, and Lawrenceburg, plus one-off tracks in Duquoin and Springfield (both Illinois)

I was there too. Scary to think it was 40 years ago! Yeah, the sport has never meant anything to the US public - or media. We went to a meeting at Ventura the week before, and it was like no speedway I'd ever been to before. The locals acted like we were all weirdos with our team gear, and one guy saw all my badges, and said, "He must have 20 lbs of metal round his neck"! I had a great time, and we DID have the holiday of a lifetime. We (two coaches) spent the week in LA, and then drove back to Dallas, taking in some great sights. We bumped into dear old Vaclav Verner and Emil Sova in Disneyland...

Good move by Madsen...

Well, we couldn't hear Dave because of the noise WE'D be making during the race!

Like everything else, team nicknames have become "old hat". I loved Dons, Aces, Hammers, Lions, Tigers, and Bees. Same as football (and cricket), there is a need for "rebranding". NO. THERE. ISN'T! I'm all for progress - in certain spheres - but you don't have to mess with the things that made the sport what it is, and what we all love...

One of the problems with modern speedway (for me, anyway) is that it has become too "clean". I know H&S has played a part, but there's more to it than that. Yes, machinery dictates the track surfaces, but I miss the deep dirt on the tracks, with he-men struggling to control bucking broncos. I miss getting covered - or trying to avoid getting covered - in shale. I miss bags of sawdust being dumped on the bends. We never knew what a poxy "blue groove" was. That was all part of the show for me, like riders doing the parade without helmets, rakers, being pushed off on the track, tractor rides, bike racks etc... I loved the fact that it was a lot simpler and more basic back then.

You can buy earplugs...

I don't disagree with anything you say, but my main point was that as far as British fans go, that was perfectly okay. Things have changed, and it's almost like British fans resent the fact that we are only a bit-part player in modern speedway. Again, I agree with everything you say. If we want a successful GP series, we have to go with what works. A great point that people seem to forget...

Funny how times change... Had we had a GP series 50 years ago, all the British fans would have wanted/expected the majority of the rounds in the UK - and it would have been considered "fair"...

Thanks; I figured it was someething like that. Still, it just seems that it's another excuse for people to complain...

Yep, I think we all get it...

Mauger was another...

I like Vaculik, and when he's on form, he can be unstoppable. Trouble is - and he's already shown it this year - when he isn't, he can look like a complete novice.

It's hard to disagree about Pocking, seeing that Ermolenko definitely wasn't under power at the time the race was stopped...

The key to success in any competitive sport is confidence - and he has been gaining that every time he takes to the track.

And ANOTHER semi-final for the Englishman who doesn't deserve to be in the GP's...

Respect!