lucifer sam

Jayne, that's somewhat worrying to read. I was encouraged by the introduction of the NL last year - because it seemed that it was more-or-less the CL, but with proper rules (the "rules" were always the bane of the CL). However, it seems that costs, which were already on the rise in the third-tier, have spiralled even more. It should be remembered that one of the primary reasons for the introduction of a third tier in 1994 was to provide a cheaper level of speedway, so that tracks could open that otherwise could not have. And it's also provided the entry point to the sport for Somerset, Scunthorpe, etc. If Buxton can no longer sustain NL speedway (after 15 years of running in the third tier), then something has gone badly wrong. All the best Rob

Hi Tony, thanks, see you there next week. I'd forgotten that there's also the books of Ivan Mauger & Leigh Adams coming out next weekend. It's going to be an expensive weekend. All the best Rob

Well I put him in for Torun, selected him as captain and moved from near the bottom to near the top. It took me ages to find my team (in the end I used Ctrl F), I wasn't expecting them to have moved up like that. All the best Rob

Actually, wasn't it Peter Craven who was the youngest ever World Champion? All the best Rob

Tony, Are you going to be at Somerset for the Pairs? If you are, I'll come and buy both the 1970 World Finals DVD and the Michael Lee book. Also plan to get Jeff Scott's new book that day. Going to be an expensive trip. All the best Rob

BFD, no, Malcolm is one of the good guys All the best Rob

British team should be: Scott Nicholls Chris Harris Lee Richardson Tai Woffinden Ben Barker All the best Rob

Ah yes, that's a good film for its own reasons, but difficult to discuss on here. All the best Rob

If you recall, I said, during the 2008-2009 winter, that I felt that Hampel had to be in the series, because he was amongst the best 6-8 riders in the world. But I think not getting that 2009 nomination actually did him the world of good. He has come back such a better rider. Although I think he still has slightly too much respect for Gollob, he should have slammed the door shut on Gollob in Heat 10 in last weekend's GP. If he wants to compete against and beat Gollob, he's got to be tougher on him. All the best Rob

This should be Lindgren's last year in the GP, unless he can turn things around before the end of the season. Just how many chances does he expect to be given? All the best Rob

Old Team: 1 Jason CRUMP £50,000 6 Nicki PEDERSEN £45,000 9 Fredrik LINDGREN £35,000 10 Hans ANDERSEN £35,000 13 Jaroslaw HAMPEL £25,000 Out: 1 Jason CRUMP £50,000 6 Nicki PEDERSEN £45,000 9 Fredrik LINDGREN £35,000 In: 2 Tomasz GOLLOB £50,000 4 Greg HANCOCK £25,000 8 Kenneth BJERRE £50,000 Gollob as captain for Torun please.

Great. You're persuading people to take money out of the pockets of Weymouth Speedway, which needs every penny it can get. All the best Rob

Nicki P as my Prague captain, thanks. All the best Rob

Come on mods, sort this out, it's a pretty poor show after the effort put in by Ballinger to run the compeitition. All the best Rob

Pete, Can I switch my captain to Jason Crump. Thanks. All the best Rob

My guess would be that Nicola's English is probably a lot better than your Italian, though. All the best Rob

And the inevtiable Heat 15 from Gollob & Pedersen clinches the match... Pretty dull, part from Vaculik's third to first in Heat 14. All the best Rob

HenryW, cheers got it now - I had a general problem with sopcast, but it's OK now. Not that I've seen any racing yet. All the best Rob

Are the matches on sopcast? I can't access them. All the best Rob

Given the huge success of the 1973 tournament (apparently sponsors Daily Mirror gave it back page coverage for the two weeks), why wasn't it repeated? And, no, I'm not counting the rather half-hearted 1975 competition consisting of just 6 meetings and with no final. Was it another sign of the rather blase attitude of the 1970s promoters, who thought that speedway's popularity would stay no matter what? All the best Rob

There will be an Oxford Speedway reunion at the Plough Inn, Wheatley on Sunday, July 25, 2010. It is a free to attend the event, which will take place from 11.00am until late. There will be a raffle, etc and any profits will go to the Speedway Riders' Benevolent Fund. The driving force behind the event is Ann Booker (nee Cross), a very well-known figure at Oxford Speedway in the 1980s. More details to follow. All the best Rob

My team is: 1. Jason CRUMP £50,000 6. Nicki PEDERSEN £45,000 (captain) 9. Fredrik LINDGREN £35,000 10. Hans ANDERSEN £35,000 13. Jaroslaw HAMPEL £25,000 All the best Rob

What's the draw for Saturday's GP? I assume the ridiculous idea from last year of doing the draw on the Friday has been scrapped. All the best Rob