lucifer sam

Not a U-turn by Mr. Gollob, surely? Ladyluck, my dear chap, does that mean you'll be branding Mr. Gollob a coward for backing down. All the best Rob

True, but also should remember that, in 1995, there were only 20 points for the win. So it all balances out. And the GPs are easier these days as well, with a weaker line-up. Gollob took advantage of that last year (and fair play for him doing so). Gollob was never a match for either Rickardsson, a fully-fit Crump or a properly firing Nicki P. All the best Rob

This table just shows how classy Hans Nielsen was. He's eighth in the table, despite the fact he only rode 5 seasons in the GP in the twilight of his career from the age of 35 until the age of 39. And his average is above everyone's bar Rickardsson's, who has the advantage of being in his prime whilst the GP was running. At the time of his retirement, Hans had won 6 GPs and Tony 5, despite Hans being 10 years older than Rickardsson. All the best Rob

Interesting to see Krasnikov not having it all his own way for once. I miss not being out there this year (including my session putting the speedway world to rights with Conkers in the hotel bar on Friday night ), but I do plan to return in 2012. All the best Rob

I think there's nothing wrong with the odd older rider in the third tier, as long as there are enough youngsters around them. As for whether Dean Felton holds the appearance record, it depends if anyone from the 1947-1953 period surpasses him (the third tier was called Division 3 from 1947 to 1951 and then the Southern League in 1952 & 1953). But unfortunately we don't have the same kind of detailed information on this period. All the best Rob

66 months and counting on the Parsloes grudge-o-meter... All the best Rob

Spin King, but it's still a cracking line-up and will be a great start to the season. I'm particulary looking forward to seeing Bomber Harris in action at Scunny, and I'm hoping that he misses the gate five times. All the best Rob

Indeed it did Bryn. Some great moments that season - such as the away win at Rye and the home win against Wimbledon. Happy days. All the best Rob

Paul Ackroyd chooses the riders for this meeting, and he would have liked to have Tai ride if it had been possible, but Tai wasn't in a position to be able to do the meeting this year. All the best Rob

It's more a case of a succession of different promotions. All the best Rob

Oxford WCQR (May 22nd, 1969): 1 Jay (excluded), 2 Everett, 3 Gifford, 4 Timmo, 5 Saunders (res for Pander), 6 Saunders (replaced Bishop who was excluded, not sure reason why?), 7 Jarman (ef), 8 Owen, 9 Saunders (res for Pander), 10 McKinlay, 11 Jay, 12 Timmo (excluded), 13 Saunders (res for Pander), 14 Everett, 15 Bishop, 16 Saunders (res for Owen), 17 Saunders (ef) (res for Pander), 18 Lukehurst, 19 Gooch, 20 Saunders (res for Owen). Oxford v King's Lynn (October 2nd, 1969): 1 Brown, 2 Major, 3 Persson, 4 Gooddy, 5 Persson, 6 Bellham, 7 Simmons, 8 Bradshaw, 9 Bellham, 10 Featherby, 11 Gooddy, 12 Timmto, 13 Betts. All the best Rob

Oxford v Scunthorpe (May 5th, 1977): 1 Whiting, 2 White, 3 Shedrick, 4 Sizmore, 5 Whiting, 6 Watkin, 7 Sizmore (Meeting adandoned after Ht 7) Oxford v Canterbury (May 18th, 1978): 1 Sawyer (fell, excluded), 2 Clifton (fell, excluded), 3 Kennett, 4 Askew, 5 Meredith, 6 Sawyer (fell, excluded) (Rumsey also touched tapes in Heat 6, being replaced by reserve Clifton), 7 Kennett, 8 Shilleto (ef), 9 Ferreira, 10 Clifton (R/R), 11 Shields, 12 Kennett (R/R), 13 Koppe (excluded). Oxford v Mildenhall (August 10th, 1978): 1 Hack (fell, excluded) AND Taylor (fell, excluded), 2 Moore (ef), 3 Askew, 4 Spink, 5 Bates, 6 Knight, 7 Henry, 8 Spink, 9 Lamb, 10 Bales, 11 Henry (R/R), 12 Bales, 13 Spink (R/R). All the best Rob

Hi Steve, I think of it more as being creative. Ok, let's stick to the third division teams: Oxford Cubs (1997) Oxford Kids (early 2003) Oxford Academy (rest of 2003 through to 2005) Oxford Lions (early 2007) Oxford Cheetahs (later in 2007) Is that more honest for you? All the best Rob

Oxford Cheetahs (too many seasons to mention) Oxford Rebels (British League 1972-1975) Oxford Cubs (Amateur League 1997) (i.e. NL level) Oxford Silver Machine (Elite League 2003-2005) Oxford Silver Machine Kids (Conference League: first part of 2003) Oxford Silver Machine Academy (Conference League 2003-2005) Oxford Lions (Conference League 2007) All the best Rob

1986, England v USA at Oxford. Simon Wigg scores a brilliant 18-point maximum, only to be excluded for pulling a wheelie over the line in the his final race. The place went nuts!!! All the best Rob

Steve, I'm so sorry, I've just realised I never got back to you with those other Oxford details. I should have all the details you need for the Oxford matches, I will post them by the end of the week. Apologies again. All the best Rob

Trees, I think "Mr. Meridian Lifts" would know a little about speedway sponsorship, wouldn't you? All the best Rob

Bagpuss, precisely. It's a line-up this already features Chris Harris. And KK. And Niels-Kristian Iversen. And Lee Richardson. And six names still to go. It's going to be a great meeting, especially at Scunny. Bomber alone will be provide so much entertainment around there. All the best Rob

Hi guys, before commenting on the quality of the line-up, why not wait until the final six names are announced? All the best Rob

Speedwayondisc, well done mate, that's got to the bottom of that. All the best Rob

So in other words, there was one than one trophy presented to the winners of the National Trophy, but ONLY one of these trophies was actually known as THE National Trophy itself. For which years did the Daily Mail sponsor the National Trophy? I wonder if any other "bogus" trophies were presented in lieu of the Daily Mail one. For instance, what about 1962? If Southampton received the original World Championship trophy for winning the league, then which trophy did Wimbledon receive for winning the National Trophy that season? Another trophy that wasn't the National Trophy at all? And if Oxford received the league trophy (i.e. the first World Championship Trophy) for winning the National Trophy in 1964, then which trophy did they receive for winning the league? In the meantime, we now have the following timeline for the original World Championship trophy: 1936-1938: Presented to winner of World Final 1962: Presented to Southampton for winning National League (was it also used for this purpose in other years?) 1964: Presented to Oxford for winning National Trophy (was it also used for this purpose in other years?) Sometime in the 1970s onwards until the present day: Presented to winner of the British Final All the best Rob

Norman, that's clarified things; so there were actually, at least, two different trophies used for the National Trophy. But John has confirmed what I thought - that the trophy presented to Oxford in 1964 was the original World Championship trophy. I didn't realise that it was still in use today, though. Are the names of Van Praag, Milne & Wilkinson still on the trophy somewhere? All the best Rob

Here, here. Who gives two hoots about the Polish League - about time they had to re-arrange their fixtures. All the best Rob

Ah, good news. Cheers Richard. All the best Rob

Hi, you've forgotten one trophy: The pre-war trophy won in 1936-1938 by Van Praag, Milne and Wilkinson. This was later re-used as the National Trophy, last won by Oxford in 1964. I wonder where that one went? All the best Rob