Grachan

Solid as Belle Vue were, nothing can top the riders in the Cradley team. Broadbelt, Wilkinson, Eyre, Pusey - not in the same class as anyone in the Cradley team. Just look what every member of Cradley achieved in their careers. Gundersen - 3 times World Champion Wigg - British Champion /World Long Track Champion King - World Number 3 Grahame - British final runner-up, 5 points from 2 rides in a World Final Collins - Overseas Champion Ravn - starred for Denmark in World Team Cup final Pedersen - World Champion Not bad for a side supposedly weakened by the loss of the previous year's number one. And Phil Crump got a maximum against them!

Thanks.

I don't really follow Polish speedway, but watch it if it's on Freesports or Box Nation. Can someone explain Robert Lambert's position in his team for me. He seems to be the equivalent of a number 8, but is by far the best rider in the side. Are they using rider replacement or is this a tactical position?

Live Polish speedway is, rather bizarrely, on Box Nation tomorrow, which is a Boxing channel that you can get if you have BT Sport. 3.30 is Wroclaw v Zielona Gora 6.10 is Grudziadz v Leszno

I believe elite sports people are exempt from quarantine. So that still rules out Poole. Bmmm tschhh.

Thanks for those. I haven't seen the aerial shot before, which gives an interesting perspective.

I'd love to see some pictures of the stadium from a bit further back to get an idea of how the whole are looked. I've seen many from inside and of the entrance but some shots from further back would give a nice perspective of how the area looked in those days.

I would have loved to have gone to Tilehurst, but was a year too late as I started watching speedway in 1974. I've even gone on a pilgrimage to the old site and tried to imagine what it aws like when the stadium was there. I've seen pictures and can see what you mean about Cowley - the big scoreboard, the same white fencing and a railway track running along the back!

I regularly go past the stadium site on my way to get my noodles at See Woo. It still feels strange that it's no longer there, and it is still sign posted, which must confuse away football supporters! When it was first built it was hidden away at the end of an industrial estate, but the new road system put it at the side of a major route. I believe the stadium was never even finished. The portacabins on the home straight were supposed to be temporary but were never replaced. When it first opened, the place was packed and the atmosphere there was amazing - particularly on the back straight. It was definitely neglected over the years, though. The back straight was eventually closed off, and the terracing around the stadium eventually collapsed and became grass banking. Smallmead had the best pits view in the UK. You could see both home and away pits clearly from the top of the third bend. People would stand there to watch races, then all make a dash to the back to get a good view of what was going on between races.

I used to love the 3TT. I used to watch all 3 clubs regularly though, so maybe that helped.

Live Polish Speedway on Freesports next Friday (19th) at 5pm.

Poland has three because it can fill out the stadiums. GB has one Grand Prix, which has yet to be a sell out. If Cardiff was full then I would say it would be great to have another in the UK, but it isn't. The World Finals at Wembley used to sell out. These days a one-off World final would probably not be a sell out, but if it was it would be mainly because of people coming from Poland. Whether we like it or not, Poland is the centre of the World as far as speedway is concerned.

Is it? Surely they should come to a decision together and come out with a statement regarding the season that applies to all clubs. What we will get, instead, is clubs dropping out one-by-one, which isn't a good way to present things.

Bernie Leigh spent a year at Swindon, although, of course, Reading didn't have a side that year.

I think that for a while Nielsen knew he was the best in the world and it got to him. He over-rode in a few finals and it cost him. He was even guilty of it when winning his first title and was lucky to get away with it. I think a GP would have enabled him to settle a but, although Gundersen might have been the master of the GP when they had the KO system instead of regular heats. It's weird to say it for a 4 time World Champion, but I think he under achieved. I've never seen a rider anywhere near as good a Nielsen. He should have been the undisputed greatest of all time.

I remember that, too. I never heard of him other than for that.

Bob definitely held the track record at Exeter at one time. I remember him being in The Guinness Book of Records as the fastest speedway rider - which was always the Exeter track record holder.

See, you're just being silly now.

That was in KO Cup matches I believe. It also left him free towards the end of the meeting to be used as a TS if needed.

Depends who the team manager was. I always thought that using a number one in heat 8 was a waste of a tactical considering you had 2 other heatleaders available that could possibly win that heat. You could then save the number one for later if required in a more difficult heat. A lot of team managers never thought that way, though, and stuck the number one out in heat 8 regardless. Maybe the number ones demanded it!

I remember that. And a food bar in the stand at the back straight.

I particularly remember when a 16 year old Mel Taylor came onto the scene. There was a lot of talk of him being a star of the future.

I'm pretty sure I remember Jimmy Nilsen beating him a couple of times. I remember the Carl Blackbird meeting. Didn't he beat Hans more than once? A remarkable meeting for Carl. It shows how good Hans was, though, when you remember times he was actually beaten.

Hans Nielsen is the only rider I know of to manage a perfect 12.00 league average away from home during an entire season. He dropped a few races at home, though, bless him. It was 1986. He finished with a league average of 11.83. From what I remember, that year there was a small league and the League Cup took up half the season. His average in that was lower so it drops below Ivan's. In league alone, though, I'm pretty sure Hans in 1986 wins it.

It wasn't one that built up 4 levels with a hole in each level was it? That's what I had.