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How about Ron How? Short first name and short surname, a multiple World Finalist, and a NL champion with both Wimbledon and Oxford. And he's got Mike Lee at No 1. A few tapes exclusions and Lee storming out of the meeting, me thinks. All the best Rob

Er, but my list of riders from 1981 was taken from riders who could have graced the World Final THAT year. I missed out a whole load of riders who were beyond their best and yet to rise - e.g. Anders Michanek, Malcolm Simmons, Ivan Mauger, Simon Wigg, etc. Whether you like it or not, the level of speedway rider has dropped. Unfortunately, talented youngsters are more likely to take up another sport these days. One which is better paid. Speedway used to me fairly near the top of the totem tree. It's not any more. Some of the third heat-leaders in those years were better than the No 1's are now. Forget averages, because everyone knows it's a different format these days. Instead it has to be judged on ability. These days, we have a top division full of also-rans. Not just the reserves, but often the second strings as well. The standard has fallen. Sad but true, and no matter how long you try to argue black is white. All the best Rob

Best Swindon side.... There isn't one All the best Rob

That's nonsense. I was at Wembley. Gundersen broke the track record, then suffered an engine failure while leading his third ride. He was good enough to be World Champion that year. You're tying yourself in knots, trying to prove something that is true as untrue. The standard of speedway rider in the early eighties was higher than it is now. All the best Rob

1981: Bruce Penhall Ole Olsen Tommy Knudsen Erik Gundersen Kenny Carter Jan Andersson Egon Muller Dave Jessup Hans Nielsen Michael Lee Chris Morton Larry Ross Dennis Sigalos Kelly Moran Bo Petersen Bobby Schwartz Billy Sanders Phil Crump Les Collins Gordon Kennett John Davis Edward Jancarz Zenon Plech Shawn Moran Peter Collins All the best Rob

Dunno. It's really hard though. Just been trying to do it for the Cheetahs: Oxford “all-time”: Hans Nielsen Tony Rickardsson Jason Crump Greg Hancock Nicki Pedersen Billy Hamill Simon Wigg Oxford “while riding for club”: Hans Nielsen Simon Wigg Arne Pander Ron How Greg Hancock Leigh Adams Marvyn Cox Blimey, how tricky is this? For the latter list, no room for Todd Wiltshire, Jimmy Gooch, Ronnie Genz, Dag Lovaas, Hasse Holmqvist, Martin Dugard, etc, etc. Actually Todd really should be in there. But who on earth should I take out of the side? All the best Rob

Wilkinson and Jack Young are definitely the top two. Shouldn't Tiger Stevenson and Arthur Atkinson also feature? And what about Wally Green? Simmo never seems to be gone above third heat-leader at Custom House, although he was very young. But isn't about how well the riders did at the club, rather than future achievements. Simmo was nearing his best at King's Lynn, and at his brilliant peak at Poole. My West Ham knowledge isn't strong enough to give a 1-7, but interested to see what Norbold comes up with. All the best Rob

But who has said Hancock is as good as Rickardsson? And as pointed out, Hancock would have had a great chance in '92 but for the incompetence of the AMA. He was flying that year, and beat the man who would be champ in a run-off in the World Pairs... All the best Rob

Greg was only born in 1970, so he was only in two World Finals (93-94). He should have been in a third (92) but the Yanks made a highly controversial selection for their seeds for the Overseas Final and inexplicably left him out. Greg still rode for the USA in the World Pairs and World Team Cup that season. The US won both, with Greg beating Gary Havelock - who won the World Final later that season - in the run-off for first place in the World Pairs. Greg finished fourth in the '94 World Final. He was one ride away from winning the title, but finished third in that race. So his World Final record wasn't bad at all - one-near miss in two appearances, plus success in the other World Championships. In 1995, the World Final was due to be in England. Greg won the British GP at Hackney in 1995, which would have been the World Final had the Grand Prix system not been brought in. To me, in terms of the modern-day greats, he's third behind Rickardsson and Crump, and just ahead of Nicki P. All the best Rob

Greg isn't boring to watch. He can pass, while his team-riding is a delight to watch. Greg alongside Travis McGowan was a great sight. All the best Rob

Very good on a speedway bike. Never progressed as far as maybe he should. All the best Rob

But it's the 17/18 year-old Ivan, which isn't the same as the all-conquering version of Newcastle, Belle Vue, Exeter and Hull. IMO the seven should be riders in their prime for that club. Geoff Mardon, Wilbur Lamoreaux, Bob Andrews, Peter Moore and Olle Nygren were all top men for the Dons, and scored far more points for the club than Ivan. Or how about Cyril Brine - he won more club honours with the Dons (7 league championships and 7 National Trophies, just for starters) than any other rider with any other club. All the best Rob

Yes, the final was always missing a few of the top guys, although arguably that could be taken as proof that there were more top guys around in those days. Pick any year from that era and I could give you around 25 worthy World Finalists for that year. And 25 into 16 (or 11, if you like, given the ICF/CF split, although let's give some credit to the likes of Egon Muller and Viktor Kuznetsov) doesn't go. Some riders did miss out - in some cases e.g. Bobby Schwartz, they never got there at all. Think about that. Transfer Schwartz's 1980 to 1984 form and he would waltz in the GP and stay in it for a few years. But between 1980 and 1984, he failed to qualify for a single World Final. A rider who won 3 FIM Gold Medals, and scored maximums in both the 1982 World Pairs and 1982 World Team Cup Final. But he couldn't reach a World Final. Boy, it was tough in those days. All the best Rob

Surely Gundersen has to be in there somewhere. If we're limiting it to ten, I would go for: Fundin Mauger Nielsen Briggs Gundersen Rickardsson Craven Moore Olsen Penhall Crump, Hancock and Pedersen, along with Young, Duggan, Wilkinson and Collins, would come in the next sub-group in positions 11-17. All the best Rob Indeed. Fundin used to put "Norwich Track Spare No 2" on the back of his bikes as a bit of kidology. All the best Rob

The analogy doesn't really work, though. Foreman retired for 20 years in between. And Greg did beat everyone, including Rickardsson and Nielsen, in 1997. Which again is different, because Foreman never beat Ali. All the best Rob

Greg’s overall record is better than Nicki’s – he’s won more rounds, plus Nicki has had to be seeded into the Grand Prix on (I think!) three occasions, whereas Greg has always qualified. Interestingly even Tony Rickardsson went 18 rounds without winning a GP (throughout 1995, 1996 and 1997), however again he was hardly “bumming around” with final positions of 2nd, 4th and 4th. But I consider every rider who has won 3 or more World Championships “an all-time great”, and of course there are other riders worthy of that status e.g. Jack Young, Bruce Penhall, Ronnie Moore, Peter Craven, Bluey Wilkinson, Jack Parker, Vic Duggan, etc. All the best Rob

SCB, Greg Hancock’s final GP standings from 1995 to 2004: 1st – 3 times 2nd – once 3rd – 3 times 4th – 4 times (also finished 4th in the last-ever World Final in 1994) 5th – 4 times 6th – 3 times 9th – once 13th – once How is that “bumming around in 8-12th in the GP standings for years”? All the best Rob PS Greg has won at least one Grand Prix round in 14, yes 14, seasons.

I agree with it being “A hotel” and “An hour”. One has a pronounced “h”; the other doesn’t. I just went to a bog-standard comprehensive. All the best Rob PS What’s this got to do with the visas? Is grammar part of the application form? If so, TWK seems to have failed, so can we deport him Down Under?

If you're looking at combined Germany, don't forget Germans Champions Marvyn Cox and Todd Wiltshire. All the best Rob

Hans Nielsen won has only won World Championship since 1990 (i.e. in the last 25 years), so can I include him as my captain for Team A? If so: Team A: Hans Nielsen Jan O Pedersen Per Jonsson Tomasz Gollob Will work out the other three teams in due course. (If I'm not told off for cheating with this team ) All the best Rob

Are they? I came on here to buy some bananas I think one look around any speedway terrace gives the answer to the question being asked here (although there's no harm in asking it). Speedway has an aging population. How do we get more young people through the turnstiles? All the best Rob

Ah, might have mixed up my Lovaas knowledge. I agree with you that Dag would be right up there in that team, as well. Would he really just be the No 7? He was a 10.00+ man for three successive seasons at least (1973-1975). Mich topped the '73 averages, but I'm pretty sure Racers' No 2 (Lovaas) was fifth or sixth or somewhere around there in the BL averages that year. And the BL was pretty strong circa '73. All the best Rob

Ulf Lovaas? Apparently one of the greatest riders in the wet. All the best Rob

Although he wouldn’t be in my first choice seven, a rider worth mentioning is Brian Andersen. He could well have been World Champion at his very first attempt in 1997 – after winning the British Grand Prix at Bradford, he was just 7 points behind leader Greg Hancock with just two rounds to go. However, a broken collarbone and a disastrous choice to plate it and ride with it, left him riding with a handicap for the rest of his career. Even so, I remember him outwitting Tony Rickardsson over four laps at Oxford one night. He could still turn it on, if only sporadically. A very, very classy rider. All the best Rob First choice seven: Hans Nielsen Erik Gundersen Ole Olsen Nicki Pedersen Jan O Pedersen Tommy Knudsen Arne Pander Squad members: Niels-Kristian Iversen Brian Andersen Hans Andersen Bo Petersen Finn Thomsen Morian Hansen John Jorgensen All the best Rob