Grachan

How was the 1977 Inter Continental Final the greatest meeting ever? Pretty sure I would have gone, but can't actually remember it. Incidentally, if this cock up in track preparation should mean the end of the GP series, then should the cock up in track preparation at Wembley for the 1975 World Final have meant the end of the individual World Final?

Definitely. Four copies for £20. Bargain. Tell you what. Four copies for 19.99. Can't say fairer than that.

Speaking of ridiculous book sales, if anyone want to buy my own ridiculous book "Swindon Speedway - The Year that ended in a Seven" for a fiver, then Paypal a fiver to miki_am@grachan.co.uk and it's all yours. Definitely belongs in Years Gone By section. It describes a year when the Elite League still had strong sides and Swindon reached the play-off final.

Nick Bates! The second greatest rider of all time (after Brian Leonard) to come from Newbury!

Probably because he went round with a big smile on his face and waving after almost single-handedly beating us. He was, I suspect, taking the mickey.

21 points for Wolves when they won at Swindon using R/R. Then did a lap of honour with mask off, big smile on his face and waving as the entire crowd booed.

Not a bad meeting. Coventry always looked a likely winner as the meeting progressed, but a good performance from Swindon - particularly from Mads. Great to see him back to his pre-makeover form. Was hoping for a dramatic last race, with Leigh letting Hans past to try and block Harris and help Mads get through etc etc, but it never quite turned out like that, and I wouldn't have expected the same from Mads to reverve the situation, although it would have been nice to see him have a go. Stay away riders didn't ruin it as the main guys were still there. I can accept it from Andreas Jonsson if he's just become a dad, but Nicholls just made himself look daft by by not doing this meeting. Why is he not banned?

They only become pointless in the first place because people like him pull out of them.

Not sure I agree. Surely any way of getting kids into speedway is a positve thing. I can't see there being many objections if a lot of youngsters from ethnic minorities were brought into the sport unless white kids were excluded from it to accomodate them - and nobody is suggesting that. At the end of the day a speedway rider will rise or fall on his own ability anyway. It's not exactly the sort of job where "positive descrimination" would have any real effect.

Brafield closed midway through the 1967 season due to small crowds. Not sure if it ever re-opened after that. I don't think they were ever a league team, but took part in a number of challenges against British League team's junior sides.

There's quite a lot about Tyburn Gallows on one of the "History of Speedway" videos. reg Fearman talks about him on the Sixties edition, and, while not saying as such, it heavily hints at the whole "Hangman" thing being completely made up. There's also a tale of when Cradley visited (can't remember who they were visiting - Stoke perhaps?), they set a gallows up on the centre green and Mr Gallows hanged an effigy of a Cradley rider before the meeting, thus making the national press in the process.

Jamie Habbin.

Jurica Pavlic is riding according to the Manchester Evening News. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/spo...et_for_aces_bow

Did you see the Danes shouting from the pits and trying to get Kenneth Bjerre to slow down to stop Poland using the joker? I thought that's what they were doing, and Hans Andersen's after-meeting interview pretty much confirmed it.

TRACK: Reading (Tilehurst) - a track I never went to but have often tried to imagine. Would be great to go back in time and have a good look at Oxford Road at that time and see how the stadium looked. (Would love to see Custom House as well as a second choice). CAPTAIN: Leigh Adams - the best I've ever known at Swindon. OTHER RIDERS WHO HAD TO BE IN THE TEAM: Andrew Silver and Shawn McConnell for a start. To get another chance to see old favourites like Martin Ashby and Bob Kilby would also be a must. And wouldn't it be great to see Per Jonsson do jut one more stalk and pounce on the final bend race PROMOTER: Avtar Sandhu - just to get him back into the sport. TEAM MANAGER: Tim Sugar (there would, of course, have to be R/R and tactical substitutes a-plenty just so he could show his worth. ANNOUNCER: Graham Guthrie - an announcer I've often heard about but never got to hear announcing. In fact, the very first meeting I attended at Swindon contained an statement that he had died. RACE NIGHT: Saturday, 7.30. Sat in the back of my dad's car in a queue through Stratton St Margaret and having to get out early and run aross the field that is now becoming a by-pass in order to get a programme before they sold out. MARCH OUT MUSIC: Oxygene by Jean Michelle Jarre - with lasers naturally.

And I bet there's still someone out there who just won't believe it!

You're not suggesting they change the rule book every year are you? Why on Earth would they want to do that?

So there it is. Phil Crump should NOT have been excluded. Ref wasn't Polish was he?

I guess you'd have to check an old rule book as I don't think they use the 30 yard marker any more. So I don't know. I've certainly seen it written on many occasions that the 30 yard marker was for outside assistance though.

The 30 yard marker was always for outside assistance to riders rather than when riders can go off from their line. It was just one of those myths that caught on. I've read that to be the case several times over the years.

Pretty much sums up how I felt when he announced the team. Kennett, in particular, is an obvious choice and Tai proved in the British final that he has what it takes at top level. I'm sure Stead and Allen will pick up a few points and we'll get through to the race off at least, but so would Kennett and/or Woffinden. Same result, but without those two gaining the World Cup experience.

I would agree that being in front doesn't neccesarily mean a rider can go where they like. This argument often comes up and I don't always see the relevence. You can still be dirty if you're in front. In the cases of Leigh and Bjarne I would agree that Leigh did move off his line, but compared to how much off his line Nicki moved it was minimal to say the least. Nicki just came swooping across and into Leigh's wheel. If Leigh had stayed straight Nicki would have still hit him as he did with Bjarne, who, as far as I could see, never moved off his line at all unti after Nicki hit him. Leigh's exclusion was definitely wrong, but the exclusion of Bjarne Pedersen was absolutely scandalous. He just rode to the corner like any rider from the inside gate should.

Be a bit silly having two people on the rostrum wouldn't it?

Of course he's going to stay down. Any rider is going to stay down on the track if they've gone down on the first bend. I'm sure there's not one rider in the GP who wouldn't have stayed down. Still would have booed him though. Boooo Nicki Pedersen! Booo!

Love Nicki. What would we do without him eh? Still would have booed had I been there though. All part of the panto. Perhaps he could paint on a curly moustache for the rest of the series.