lucifer sam

Fourentee, I did have a look for you - but not in the pits. The youngsters put on a great show at Northside. In fact, we had a good weekend of speedway - and the Red Arrows especially travelled to Newcastle yesterday to greet us. All the best Rob

Fourentee, I'm coming up with Shaleshifter so I'll see you there. All the best Rob

Just two - blue and red I'm fine with the directions, as long as I don't come across any roundabouts with bus stops on All the best Rob

Yep, that photo does make me look like a psycho killer All the best Rob

Oxford Mail report for the meeting: http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/4636132....eturn_to_track/ All the best Rob

It was good stuff wasn't it? Good crowd, good racing. And an encore performance next year. All the best Rob

Just as the 4 Cradley riders will have picked up very odd accents by the end of the night. All the best Rob

BFD - we're not all whingeing Pomgolians, some of us are looking forward to the meeting at Coventry tomorrow. All the best Rob

Well no, it was Jesper B Jensen - which is even worse. Pepe did finish top of the averages though. Anyway, can we get off the topic of our 2007 Elite League team, which not only is wiped from the official records, but I'm trying to wipe it from my memory. SB, are you coming tonight? Still plenty to attract the neutral supporter - plus you'd be helping to keep the name of three famous old clubs alive. That's REALLY what tonight is about. All the best Rob

SB - you've got your years mixed up - our No.1 under Waggy was Nicki P (for half a season) and Greg (for two-and-half years). Now if you'd have said another certain promoter, who had Pepe as our No. 1 In any case, I reckon the Oxford quartet can still put up a decent display tonight - Bridger (who IS an Elite League No. 1) is our top rider and not Batchelor. I think we can edge Reading out of third place. And more than anything, it's about seeing the team back in action and riders going around wearing that famous Cheetah on their racejacekets. All the best Rob

Yes, well done to Gary Patchett. Really looking forward to the meeting tonight. All the best Rob

Fourentee, I hope that's the attitude of the Oxford fans tonight. The loss of Crump is a big blow, but I'm afraid that's speedway - while I will have very little time for Iversen unless he comes up with a very valid reason for pulling out at the 11th hour. But that's still a team wearing Oxford Cheetahs race-jackets out there tonight - and it's the first time that's happened at Elite League since May 2007. I'm going along with my Cheetahs top and jacket and will be wearing them proudly tonight. MR has faced all sorts of problems in putting on this meeting, but he's perserved and I hope the response for the public from Oxford, Reading and Cradley is enough to convince him to do it again. All the best Rob

Of course, they would have been guaranteed one finalist, but imagine if e.g. Kelly Moran had qualified and Bruce Penhall been eliminated. And to get those 3 finalists, Penhall threw the 1982 Overseas Final. I was a big Penhall fan, and even as a child, I knew what had happened. Penhall had been told what to do by the US bigwigs - it was obvious. I was almost in tears by the end of that meeting, as even the Cradley fans turned against him. And then Carter was grinning ear-to-ear on the truck as Penhall recevied a torrent of abuse from the fans - which gave me yet another reason to dislike Carter. So: rather than that unsavoury situation, would it have been better to seed 3 US riders to the 1982 World Final? It goes against most the principles of most people, including my own, but are principles as important as attracting a crowd? Food for thought. All the best Rob

And there was also the 1979 World Team Cup Final - amazingly England NEVER qualified for a World Team Cup Final at White City, slipping up on all three ocassions in the qualifiers. All the best Rob

I guess that's slightly different, but it still meant he skipped the tough Nordic and Inter-Continental rounds. Of course, "flying" Dutchman Henny Kroeze was seeded to the 1987 World Final (After being eliminated from the qualifiers). Actually I think the Poles were seeded in 1986 & 1992 as well - again after being eliminated. Ironic that these days it's the Brits who rely on seeding - and shows how far down the totem pole we've slipped. All the best Rob

Rob, it was only the World Champion who was seeded though - and surely there's some justification in that. The practice didn't last for that long - it began (I think) with Craven in 1956 and lasted until some point in the 1960s. I'm pretty sure the Swedes and Poles seeded their riders through when they were the hosts of World Finals during the 1970s. Can anyone else back this up or disprove it? I'm almost certain Jan Andersson was seeded to the 1980 World Final. And in 1977, Peter Collins was seeded to the Inter-Continental Final. All the best Rob

Weren't all five Poles seeded in 1973? They had a qualifying criterion and Jerzy Szczakiel just made it in fifth. The Poles thought about swapping Szczakiel for another rider, as they thought he would be totally outclassed in the World Final - instead he was the best rider on the day (and yes he was riding better than Mauger even before the run-off) and won the final. All the best Rob

Just to answer my own question, Sanders was white hot in the 1983 World Pairs Final as well as finishing runner-up in Norden. So he's a contender - along with Nielsen, Gundersen, Lee, Sigalos and maybe Carter. I think '83 may be the hardest year of the lot to try to work out the winner (although 1936 is still causing problems ). Who would it have been in '83? I'm really not sure. The contenders are: * Hans Nielsen - won the Nordic and Inter-Continental Finals, was favourite heading into the World Final, would have probably finished runner-up in Norden bar an engine failure whilst leading Muller, and in great form for Birmingham all season. * Erik Gundersen - won the BLRC at Belle Vue, scored a maximum in the WTC Final, and led Cradley to victory in the British League. * Michael Lee - a move to Poole revitalised his career, finished third in the World Final. * Dennis Sigalos - topped the BL averages with Ipswich. * Kenny Carter - partnered Peter Collins to victory in the World Pairs Final, but not quite the rider he was in '82. * Billy Sanders - the individual star of the World Pairs Final, finished second in Norden and registered an impressive average with Ipswich. Six riders who COULD have won the '83 GP series, but no-one stands out... All the best Rob

It's not my fault you're always doing the tiling All the best Rob

Parsloes, I've heard stories about your driving - surely it can't be THAT bad!! All the best Rob

I'm not convinced at all regarding Sanders in '83. Other than second place in Norden, what else did he do that year? There's more of a case, I would say, for Nielsen, Gundersen, Lee, Sigalos or maybe Carter. I'm not sure whether a GP series would have suited Carter or not. He had a habit of going to pieces at a vital time, and I don't think that would help in either a World Final OR a GP series. Although in 1982, it's arguable that he could have got into such a situation where it wasn't that tight. But had Penhall stayed with him with '82, he would have nailed Carter in the final couple of rounds as the Englishman went to pieces. Another tricky year is '79. Olsen and Collins both dipped in form that season, and Mauger had one last great season, but could he have kept it up all season in a GP series at the age of 39? In the end, I plumped for Lee, who in many ways, rode better in '79 than he did in '80. All the best Rob

Before we start that, we'll have to work out the venues for each World Final All the best Rob

In '93 probably, but not '92. That would have been Jonsson's year. TNT, how do you figure Ermolenko was better than Jonsson in '92 - he blantantly wasn't All the best Rob

Well, since we're racing ahead, I reckon: 1979 - Michael Lee (and yes he would have been in it. In fact, he had an outstnading 1977 season and would have qualified for the 1978 GP series). 1980 - Dave Jessup 1981 - Bruce Penhall 1982 - either Bruce Penhall or Kenny Carter - discuss 1983 - no outstanding candidate, probably Hans Nielsen but I could be persuaded elsewhere on this one 1984 - Erik Gundersen - IMO, this was his best year and I think it unthinkable that Erik wouldn't have won a single GP series 1985 - Hans Nielsen (Nielsen stepped up his game even further this season) 1986 - Hans Nielsen 1987 - Hans Nielsen 1988 - Hans Nielsen 1989 - Hans Nielsen 1990 - Hans Nielsen (Actually not Hans's best year by a long shot, I think Gundersen's accident was on his mind, but who else could have won a GP series this season? There isn't anyone!) 1991 - Jan O. Pedersen 1992 - Per Jonsson 1993 - Hans Nielsen (remember lay-downs would be allowed in the GP series and Ermolenko didn't have one ) 1994 - Hans Nielsen Sorry TNT, but I can't see Ermolenko ever taking a GP series. In Ermolenko's best domestic season (1993), Nielsen would have had the advanatage of being on lay-downs. Nielsen looked the fastest rider at the '93 World Final by quite a way. All the best Rob

Norbold - just to confirm, I had Plechanov for '65 not '64. If you have Briggs for '64, who do you have for '65? All the best Rob