moxey63

ABS The answer to your question... yes! If I can get a free pass...

Waste of time having a glass... if there's nowt to put in it! That's my concern.

Really good news that Belle Vue have secured the new stadium deal... but will speedway still exist in 2014?

Nothing new, tv comapnies moving people to make the crowd look bigger. At Belle Vue they asked the people on the centre green to stand on the terraces for a while. As for introducing newbies to speedway... I'd give it a wide berth right now. Imagine some would get confused, thinking whether they have attended their first track-grading conference or speedway match, or why this rider was racing for this club only last night but is now riding for another club First impressions and all that... best getting the product right before attracting people that are just there... mainly to fill out the racecard and add another programme to that pile in the back bedroom.

How come they don't make characters like Tony Childs any more? Sad to discover yet another who once helped fill terraces has now gone forever.

Yes, indeed, one poster stated that speedway has been a dying since the 30s... but is still going. They said the same about Ronnie Biggs a year or two back... but even that's only a matter of time.

I contributid meny times to the Male... what speeling misteakes.

Any magazine that is foolish enough to stop Angs Kix glamour league can't be as good as it was when it had AKGL.

It was a shame really, but always thought the Mail existed hand-to-mouth from one week to the next. From a fan since the mid-seventies, I was only a school kid at the time and couldn't afford a speedway publication, so a neighbour often passed me his copies (along with the Speedway Star). The Mail wasn't as polished as the Star and came in a newspaper form back then, and you would always end up with black fingertips as the ink rubbed off during your thumbing it. As a strange boy who didn’t like getting his hands dirty, I was often irritated during my flick through its mass pages. In saying that, I remember some of the pictures as being quite superb, some of the features of interest for a kid feasting on facts and figures at the time. Ended up ordering both the Star and Mail, which used to arrive at my newsagents on Wednesday and Friday respectively. With the Mail being out of date by the time I had read the Star two days' earlier, and with finances stretched, sadly, as time progressed, one of the weeklies had to go - and it had to be the Mail. Then, in 1987, I noticed it had gone from newspaper to magazine form, and I started getting it weekly again. Being a stats anorak, I could and would never rely on the Mail for reference, and the latter years of the Mail, well, it was only out of habit I still got it. I think it went from weekly to monthly, if my memory's is in fettle Then the inevitable happened. I went to pick it up from the newsagents one day... and was told it had gone bust. Sad, but it was a hailing publication that had to be put out of its misery - a sick pet that had to be put down. God, yes, I recently threw my nine copies away. It was a good idea, the SPEEDWAY NOW, but the editorial was mainly the throw away sort of stuff which doesn't stand the test of time... Again, as with the Mail, I got to the newsagents - or was I buying it from the track shop... Anyway, went to purchase copy number 10, only to be told that Speedway Now had joined many other speedway publications in that great skip in the sky. They come and go, but non have stood the test of time.... and we must salute the Speedway Star for its longevity. As regards giving a meeting marks out of ten etc... I did this for years in my programme, listing the most entertaining rider, man of the match etc... or when passes were made and on what lap. In fact, get any of my programmes out from the last 10 years' watching, and the score page is like one big ink spill!

Still expect some posters to say riders were pronouncing their names wrongly and they had to turn the sound down!

Iris123 Funny you should say that... the logo kept me entertained for much of the 23 heats as well!

I think "congratualting" is a bit of a strong desription... people are just relieved Eurosport actually used the feed, and used it well, because my experience of this network when covering speedway still gives me sleepless nights... even 20 years on I remember them with one World Cup Final, I think Engand (as we were back then) had a great shot of Gold. However, by the time Eurosport had aired a 2 minute commercial slot, they resumed coverage, missed several races, and England... well, they were back to being England and had blown all chances. I also recall one World Pairs they did, spending what seemed like hours in the pits before the meeting, then showing a few heats before running out of time and going off air!

Although I watch speedway on SKY and appreciate the coverage offered, perhaps their product has become a little fatigued and needs a re-hash. Last night's show proved there is no real need for studio guests or chat. I think SKY get a product to a certain level and fail toadd anything extra of interest. After umpteen years of covering the sport, perhaps their failure to insure footage for any of last season's rain-off - apart from rehashed GP footage - was a bit of a disappointment, The mid-meeting clip on Greg Hancock was a welcome and refreshing change and far better than studio analysis.

Watched the live programme (recorded) last night and was impressed. When Eurosport's name crops up, always think it's going to go off the rails a little. However, it was similar to SKY's coverage and nice to hear a different voice commentating. Also different that there was no studio chat, which I feel was needless in the past anyway. It was different to watch the interval piece on Greg Hancock instead of listening to talk about something we'd just witnessed. Apart from a few exceptions though of brief entertainmenti, shame the racing let us down.

You speedway fans never learn. Accept the coverage you get and stop bellyaching about daft little things. Look at the winter you have just had... SKY not covering this, not covering that... people threatening to stop their subscription and close down the channel, as the wave of speedway fans adopting this approach threatened SKY's profits. Now, live speedway retained, we still have them... "The camera work was this," "it (the meeting) was on too early," "I had to watch with the sound down," "I had to watch with the sound up but picture off." Just be thankful you have another chance of watching live racing.

Not many riders in modern day speedway would retain such interest - never mind when they are still actively racing... let alone retired for 30 years. Ivan came from an era we're never likely to witness again... and the likes of the great man, especally on track, we'll possibly never witness again. Here's wishing he has a wonderful retirement from public life. Thank you for the memories, Ivan... the first iconic rider of my learning years.

"Soon there will be nothing left of the sport." You said it.

How much, for example, could a promotion save by cutting back two heats from 15 to 13? Could be a saving for paying customers on admission prices, especially when one of the heats potentially trimmed from the format contains the top riders. Bet it could save a couple of pounds off the average admission fee.

The current format does encourage strong sides that have two decent riders for heats 13 and 15.

I think top riders meet each other too much in a league match. In my day, you used to have to get there for the start of the match because quite often the likes of the two number ones only met once - in the first race. The nominated heat, I feel, has taken the gloss away from top riders meeting one another... it's a bit like having fish and chips more than once or twice a week. Something special in time loses its appeal when it become less special. Less is more, so they say.

Have always been - and always will be - a huge supporter of 13 heats. The sport enjoyed its most productive and enjoyable periods during the years it operated this format, I believe 1968-87. It would reduce costs for a start, just need to do something about a few additional heats for after the interval (end of match, that is, and before the second-half feature of junior league or scratch heats).

Yes, because that's the only chance of Belle Vue coming first...

Oh, and another good idea... what about the much shortlived "Skid" magazine from a few years ago... or was I just dreaming that one? The current economic climate isn't ideal for starting any new venture, and I wish the new mag good luck and all that... but I'm out. The Speedway Star has stood the test of time, it was like the VHS compared to other weeklies being Betamax. What else could be introduced into a magazine that Speedway Star hasn't already done (Angus Kix league could be a way forward), but for fellow researchers alike, there has been no better weekly product to store away and delve back into, from time to time, when you need to find out some gen. Even after forty years, some of the Angus Kix Glam League pics still look fine vintage as well. Would an interview magazine, like the new one, be more of a use once item?

It has nothing to do whatsoever with the magazine, but I enjoy Speedway Star mostly nowadays if only for the features on old-time speedway, so why would I wish to even buy another magazine that panders to modern-day stars that don't even know what team they'll be lining up against that evening, never mind having anything of interest to say. Had a thought the other day... speedway riders are simply agency workers not knowing where thier next job will take them. The proposed new mag will probably end up consigned to history vaults of other good speedway ideas - Five-One, Speedway Now, Speedway Supporter etc. Mark these words.

Remember "Hugger" Lee Duckling, a white-line rider. Is he related?