lucifer sam

I suggested that a few years ago in a letter that was printed in the Speedway Star. It's common sense. There was a shield - it must be somewhere. Hand it over to the league table toppers. They get something for finishing top. And one of the great riders of British Speedway is acknowledged. Would have been particularly nice this year, with Belle Vue winning it. On Sky too. That's the minor title. And then the teams go for the major title in the play-offs. All the best Rob

What does Scotsman do when it's Ipswich vs Peterborough? All the best Rob

Since Josh Bailey is out for the season with a collarbone injury, it might be difficult using him as a guest. All the best Rob

Really enjoyed my recent visit to Foxhall, because of the "Massif". Macca, it has made a real difference to the atmosphere at Ipswich Speedway. You need a thick skin to post on here - don't let one or two voices upset you, and get back to having a bit of fun at Foxhall. All the best Rob

I was following Live Updates with disbelief. At Scunny on Friday, better use of Branford could have got you a point. Last night, it definitely cost you the win. If Rye finish bottom this year, it will be down to the team manager, not the riders. I don't think Rye are the weakest team in the league - you certainly gave us more of a match around Scunny than any other team in our final four home league meetings. All the best Rob

I'm glad I'm not the only one who is finding this particular GP and track a bit lacking. Zmarzlik and Pawlicki put in a good battle, but I suspect those two riders could have a great race on any track. Let's hope it has a decent finale. All the best Rob

It would appear that Fritz Wallner hasn't had enough of racing around the EWR in 2016... today he's racing a stock car!! All the best Rob

Another enjoyable evening. Track was definitely a bit drier than normal due to the wind, but still produced some great racing, especially towards the end of the meeting. Good to see the Birthday Boy Ryan score a paid max, and MPT and Lewis Kerr were simply quality once more. And Josh rode his socks off for 6+3, I think he had to score every point from the back. The end-of-season interviews were interesting, and nice firework display. All the best Rob

Lewy, Rob Godfrey has speedway at heart. Scunny and Plymouth have had their run-ins in the past, but that's just the nature of sport - rivalry is part of it. But the most important thing is that every team keeps on going - we've lost enough teams over the years. All the best Rob

Lewy, the main thing, though, was that you got this meeting on, despite the dreadful attack on your air fence. Well done to everyone involved on this score. All the best Rob

Looking forward to this tonight... and can't quite believe it's the end of the season already!! All the best Rob

That must have been rather awesome! All the best Rob

He would if Rye weren't riding at Scunny. Actually just noticed Coventry NL also riding, which also definitely rules out Davey. All the best Rob

No Dan Bewley then... what price Mitchell Davey as a guest despite the fact he shows as NEG on the NL Green Sheets. All the best Rob

Tsunami, yep Newcastle, in turn, is Scunny's bogey track, because we struggle around a wrongly shaped track, with turns which are too tight in comparison to the length of the straights. As for watering the track during a daytime meeting, Scunny do this well. I've been to daytime meetings at e.g. Rye House, where I've struggled to see the other side of the stadium by the end of the meeting. On the other hand, Scunny only tends to have a bit of dust right towards the end of a double-header. An example is how good the track was for the recent MDLRC, which followed the Scunny v Newcastle meeting. All the best Rob

Although, on second thoughts, they could have been Edinburgh Monarchs socks. (I'll do anything for a Wagon Wheel) All the best Rob

MPT on fire on Sky tonight!! All the best Rob

You only got 40 points at the EWR with your top two. But yeah, it's something of a bogey track for the Diamonds. Still don't fancy you across two legs against Somerset. All the best Rob Gazc, although he was trying to hide them, I couldn't help but notice the Scotman's Peterborough Panthers socks when I saw him at Ipswich. All the best Rob

Did we ever get to the bottom of the various sources? My betting is Gavan's is Ketchup, while Shovvy's is HP. All the best Rob

CHEETAHS’ LONGEST-SERVING RIDER PASSES AWAY OXFORD CHEETAHS’ legend Ronnie Genz has passed away at the age of 86. London-born Genz started his speedway career at New Cross in 1950, also racing for Wolverhampton and Yarmouth over the next few seasons. Ronnie moved to Oxford in 1954 and spent 11 successive seasons at Cowley, often as a leading light. He topped Cheetahs’ averages for the first time in 1955. Oxford moved up to the top flight for the first time in 1957. Ronnie, alongside Jack Biggs, led the Cheetahs’ charge, but he suffered an eye injury which affected him for the rest of his career. The Cheetahs were surprising National League contenders in 1960, before having to settle for third place in the table, behind the mighty duo of Wimbledon and Belle Vue (Manchester). Ronnie reached the penultimate stage of the World Championship in 1961, the British Final at Wembley, and narrowly missed out on claiming a place for the final in Malmo, Sweden. It was closest he came to reaching a World Final. The same year a serious injury to Cheetahs’ Danish superstar Arne Pander placed even more emphasis on the contributions of Ronnie towards the side. In 1964, new promoters Cyril Melville and Rodney Rycroft took over at Cowley. They brought in Ron How and Jimmy Gooch; and Cheetahs swept to a glorious treble of National League, National Trophy and Britannia Shield. During that season, Ronnie had found himself in hot water, after riding one meeting for Provincial League Exeter under the assumed name of ‘Reg Neal’. The Provincial League tracks were running ‘black’ after a dispute with the Speedway Control Board and Ronnie was fined £5 for his indiscretion. 1965 saw the formation of the British League, and the newly-formed Rider Control Committee ordered Genz to move away from Oxford to Poole. Nevertheless, he enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career, leading the Pirates’ averages on 9.45. After three seasons at Poole, Ronnie returned ‘home’ to Cowley in 1968, and once more topped the Oxford score-chart. He completely missed the 1969 season through injury, but was still a heat-leader on his return in 1970. Halfway through the 1971 season, Oxford wished to strengthen. However, a move for Belle Vue’s Tommy Roper was counter-balanced by the enforced release by the Rider Control Committee of Genz to Newport. Ronnie spent one-and-a-half seasons with Newport Wasps, before retiring from speedway at the age of 42. Genz scored 2740.5 points from 314 meetings across 14 seasons (1954-1964, 1968, 1970-71) for the Cheetahs. Long-time Oxford supporter and former Supporters’ Club treasurer Cliff Peasley said: “Ronnie was such a good rider for such a long time for the Cheetahs. “These days, he would have been granted a testimonial meeting for his lengthy service. “Apart from a couple of years, we had a pretty poor team for most of the years that Ronnie rode for Oxford, but he was always a strong scorer.” Genz lived in London in his later years. After a period of illness, he died over the Bank Holiday weekend. Oxford Speedway has lost another of its heroes.

So what's been cooking on this thread? All the best Rob

Newcastle? Their away form may trip them up - they've very much dependent on stuffing everyone at home. I'd say Somerset are firm favourites to win the championship. All the best Rob

They tried that... it was called the Jack Young Shield, and the crowds were appalling. The play-offs only attract the crowds when they determine the league champions. Only speedway supporters would complain about something that is a success and is a crowd-puller. All the best Rob

Met him once at Brandon. Certainly not the brightest - I think his carers let him out once a week for the speedway. All the best Rob

I think you'll find the year 2007 came before the year 2012. In 2007, KL topped the table, while Rye House were deserving winners of the play-offs. Newcastle were another team who got their just desserts for picking the wrong team for their group. Went for Somerset instead of Edinburgh, and then got knocked out by Somerset. Only got themselves to blame for that. All the best Rob