SammyR

Having had a great time with a group of Polish supporters at the Cardiff GP; similarly a good laugh with some Poles at the Swindon SWC round; and been served by a charming, friendly Polish girl at a (Chinese!) restaurant tonight, just to hear someone say that 'Poles are cheats' is something I find deeply offensive. OK, you might have a gripe about a referee's decisions, or a rider's tactics, but don't equate that with the person's nationality. That's how Hitler started out.

Indeed, it does look superb. Marvellous to have a very wealthy man plough his money into building a speedway stadium. Wishing the Croatians every success in this new venture. I wouldn't be surprised to see this venue hosting big meetings in the future. Sam.

Rabbit, This SC certainly does talk a lot of tosh !!

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, but it makes me feel sick when someone declares that "Poles are the ultimate cheats". What a disgusting, racist thing to say. Then someone else calls Pedersen "the posing midget" - pathetic!

I am devastated. I can't begin to imagine how much time and effort went into producing this site, but was very grateful nevertheless. To me, it was the bible of speedway racing. To be able to pick up, at the press of a button, results, averages and information from every speedway nation was priceless. Nothing else could compete. I logged on to this site to see how riders were performing in Sweden, Poland, Czecho, etc., and would have happily paid good money for that facility. Marcus, thank you for giving me access to so much information over the years, and best wishes for your 'retirement'. Sam.

The Czechs and Russkies should be no competition for GB and Denmark anyway, but they've both made life doubly difficult for themselves. It seems that George Stancl and Roman Povazhny are both out of favour with their federations or vice versa. It would have made the meeting a bit more competitive if these guys were riding. Sam.

Thanks everyone, great info. Will check it all out. Sam.

Can anyone suggest a cheap way to get to Wroclaw from Manchester? I'd like to go, but have overstretched my finances lately, and can't spend too much. And I don't really want to trek all the way down to Stansted either. Sam.

I saw the Fundin/Craven golden helmet clashes from 1960 onwards; I watched in awe as Ove won the '63 & '67 world finals at Wembley. I was there when Mauger had his golden years at Belle Vue. But TRick is winning the argument to be acclaimed the greatest speedway rider ever. Anyone who says they're bored watching this year's G.P.s, can't recognise sheer brilliance when they see it; it's predictable perhaps, but it's a testament to Tony's skill, ability and bravery.

See the weather forecast for Prague is thundery showers for today. What's happening; will the G.P. run tonight?

Alex Ferguson at Man. United had the money to buy the cream of the crop; ready-made, proven international players, but he invested time and effort to bring on the likes of Beckham, Scholes, Giggs, the Nevilles, etc. We've all seen the benefits that accrued to United, and England, as a result. It's time for British speedway promoters to make the same commitment to youth, to ensure that home-grown talent can flourish, and make the need for expensive imports redundant. I love watching the likes of Hampel, Lindback, Lindgen and Kasprzak, but these could be home-grown kids, who have progressed through a properly funded academy system, and fast-tracked into the type of red-hot competion which would ensure they had the 'killer instinct' in order to survive, rather then languishing in the comfort zone of the Premier League.

Andy's comments re lining our teams wall-to-wall with low-to-mid ranking foreigners has got to be the most worrying aspect of the situation. I know that a Dane, or even a Hungarian, has as much right to work in this country as a Brit (as we would in theirs) but, until the best young Brits are given incentives to move up to the Elite League which they can't refuse, too many are just treading water. The promoters should have an unwritten agreement that they fill EL reserve berths with young home-bred doubling-up riders. I reckon there are 15 British riders, plus a handful more doubling up in the EL; as there are over 70 places up for grabs, it's a worrying statistic that's been getting worse year by year.

No sign of a British world champion on the horizon. I'd give Scott Nicholls about the same chance as Hans Andersen or Bjarne Pedersen, but think the next generation of champion is more likely to come from the likes of Andreas Jonsson, Jarek Hampel or Toni Lindback. Considering that our lads ride in "the best league in the world" against the best in the world, on the most varied size and shape of tracks, the opportunity to reach the top of the tree is there, isn't it?

After weeks of fruitlessly searching for accommodation in Cardiff for G.P., I struck lucky today. I've booked my pal and myself into Cardiff Backpackers hostel, apparently very close to the stadium. Cost £20 each to share a 6-bed dormitory. Not ideal, but it looked as if we would have to sleep in the car, if I were to have a few beers after the meeting (inevitable), or face a drive back to Manchester. Anyone still without a bed might want to try there. Sam.

Hired a car, Treviso airport for 24 hours, 18th June. hire-car-italy £28.50 - can't complain about that price. Cheers, mate. Sam.

Thanks for the reply, Peatbog. I'll check into that, but as I'm travelling on my own, the cost of a hire car might be prohibitive. Sam.

Hmm, I've just had a rush of blood to the head. Fancied going to Lonigo for U21 semi-final. Booked a flight to Venice from Liverpool with Ryanair for £33 return! Booked accommodation (in a cabin) at a campsite outside Venice for £57 for 5 nights! So far, so good -in fact, excellent. Booked car parking at L'pool airport for £29 - not cheap, but what can you do? Then I looked at MotoLonigo website and see that the meeting starts at 9 p.m. Can anyone tell me how I'm going to get back to Venice at midnight? I don't suppose anyone out there could give me a lift? Would welcome any advice/offers. Sam (Manchester)

Thanks Peter, Where on earth did you get all that information? Superb, mate. Sam.

It's just come back to me - Soren rode for Folkare; in fact, I think his nickname was the 'Folkare Jet'. The team don't exist any more, as far as I know. I believe they were based in Avesta, Soren's home town, where Masarna ride now. I wonder if the Aces could set up an annual challenge with Masarna for a trophy in remembrance of 'The Jet'. Sam.

I was wondering if anyone knows which club team(s) Soren rode for in Sweden. It would be nice if Belle Vue could race against them for a Soren Sjosten Memorial Trophy. Sam.

It's a shame that riders can compete in the G.P.s without having the decency to compete in their national championship.

I've just seen the line-up for the Aussie title. Must say that I'm very disappointed that Jason Crump and Ryan Sullivan aren't bothering to enter. I know these guys probably do 100 meetings a year, so deserve a well-earned rest, but just three meetings isn't asking too much, to help resuscitate speedway in their homeland. Sam.

Brizheathen, It's a real shame for Aussie speedway that those requirements can't be enforced for the current breed of rider.

You can see why they've done it. In one country, the eliminators don't count for much, especially the ones where the host country is not involved. Now, people in GB and Poland will turn out in force to watch their eliminator, as most won't travel to Poland for the finals. I think they've been quite clever; this way there'll be good attendances at, at least three of the four meetings. Much better than the terrible turn-out inDenmark, and the poor attendance at the second Eastbourne meeting.

Rob, If BSI are genuinely having problems, is that a good or a bad thing? From an Elite League perspective, the GPs are very disruptive regarding riders and fixtures. And using riders without really paying for them is really cheeky. But taking a global view, BSI's involvement has dragged speedway into the 21st century and has raised it's profile in Britain, Scandinavia and much of Europe. For instance, would the Elite League be getting all the SkyTV money(and consequent exposure) if it weren't for the high-profile televised GPs, which attracted the broadcaster in the first place..I doubt it. Sam.