whowasthatberntpersson

Off topic I know, the skipper loaning his pleasureboat is only slightly different to borrowing a 350. Actually its not entirely off topic because I would of had to sell the 350 and 125's to pay for the damage had he hit the bridge, you are indeed a brave man Captain Trackman.

Whoops think I've been told. Forgot all about the dinghy thinghy. Forgive me/us and please put it down to the inner most thoughts of burnt roast beef..honest ref the woman had the roast on the go and we had to make a fast getaway...well we did have a ref in our corner so no arguments their Capn (Deckhand 2 R Perks).....the meeting ran overtime. Our maiden voyage on the good ship shaleshifter was indeed a pleasurable one. Like all new deckhands we did need some guidence particularly on disenbarking...thanks for the debrief and our next performance (unless we are replaced) will be improved, remember we were only battling for that resrve birth. On board entertainment was brought to us by Captain Trackman, titled Speedway "The way it should be" Our Capn hammered home the rights and wrongs of our cinder sport whilst the dulcet tones of the onboard entertainment system battled with the V8 superboats and the sound of the Gold Coast's waves for second spot. We must of been moving, having left Mick Doohan behind, and becoming a tiny dot on the horizon. By the way Mrs Capn Trackman took a couple of taccy sub outings, and our No 1 is now fighting to retain his spot in the Great Britain/Expats Pleasureboating Team.

Trevor has just been intervieed on Radio Fremantle http://www.radiofremantle.com/index.htm click on archives/Saturday/1100 to listen again. Severe back injuries, back brace for around three months, Broken L12, T1, T2. Dr's have ruled out racing for 6-7 months. By the way there was an Aboriginal rider in the Ron Johnson Memorial lineup last weekend, does anyone have any details on this Guy? (Where he's from, racing background, etc)

Tonights meeting promises to be a cracker, quite often in the past the Under 21 Championship has overshadowed the Senior Title. Its hard to look past Chris Holder but I don't think its a certainty by any means. We've also got the 350cc Under 16 Championship this year, which should be another brilliant meeting. I think I'll have to organise my holidays a little better next year.

Just listening to the weekly speedway show on Radio Fremantle at http://www.radiofremantle.com/index.htm I met two of the hosts Nev and Phil in Perth last weekend, two true Gentlemen and dedicated speedway followers. The work they a doing to promote speedway is to be applauded. If you haven't listened to the show yet, its on every Saturday at 1100 Western Australia time (1200 Queensland, etc) Keep up the good work and thanks for the coverage of the Junior and Senior national Titles.

We'll be flying home from Perth in a couple of hours. Some thoughts on the racing at Pinjar Park over the past week. A large track by junior standards produced great racing, there was enough room to pass, an observer from the jawa factory in the Czech Republic commented that he saw more passing in one race than a whole Czech meeting.... I know of three engine blow ups, I think we all expected more than that. Most of the riders struggled to find the right balance with gearing in practice, the bigger kids more so than the little uns like Arthur, Nick and local lad Cameron Heeps, I don't think riders like Todd Kurtz and Darcy Ward really showed what they could do because of their size, although Robert B was right in amongst them and he's just as big. Easy to see why Tai Woffinden adapated so quickly overseas, he spent a lot of time practicing on this track and that would of taught him how to turn a bike on a sixpence. Thanks to all the locals for putting on a great meeting and nice to catch up with Dave Cheshire, who still has fond memories of Cradley Heath, Rob Woffindon, Neil Machin, Mick Mckeon and the Radio Fremantle duo Nev Risely and Phil Paddon.. Finally congratulations to Arthur who was in a class of his own, his speach after the pairs event was a classic... This was the final junior meeting for several of the competitors who will now concentrate on the 350's or 500's. I think its fair to say that Australian speedway has a bright future if these kids continue on.

One has to find the right balance Bryn. Racing comes first though.

Give it time Captain Trackman, give it time. Tis the Deckhand Whowasthatberntpersson, waiting for the call to keep the scurvey away and scrub the deck of the good ship Pommyvessel.....and to check out the scenic delights of the surrounds.

So who's going to be in WA for the four days of track action? Furthermore who is up for some socialising, looking forward to my first trip to Western Australia since 1990. Hope to meet a few new (and old) faces over there, I hear the Swan Valley wineries (and breweries) are worth checking out?.

Cheers, looking forward to seeing both the juniors and seniors on the track. Was talking to Mich Shirra today, he speaks very highly of the track over there.

Any idea who's riding in the Ron Johnson meeting?

Yes Arthur replaces the unfortunate Taylor, and I'm pretty sure he'll give them all something to think about. As far as I know there are now eleven in the qualifyer. With the top four from there meeting on the 17th joining the twelve who are seeded directly to the big event on the 18th There are four Queenslanders in the qualifyer, so with three already seeded directly, theoretically there could be seven Queenslanders in the sixteen rider field.

Yes alive and well, and dreaming of a track return for the Black Country Boys. I'd love to be there for the opener. Do you go to local meetings Tony? Where are you from? Speaking of race riots, I'll never forget passing through Leicester on the way back from Kings Lynn in 80 or 81, the place was like a ghost town, everything was boarded up.

I'm all for a 350cc Championship also. Obviously the 350 bikes are a stepping stone and a good one at that but the racing is so competetive there may as well be a championship. Was talking to Jason Crump in Brisbane today, he stepped off the 125's as a 14 year old, he said he was just too big, and that is true of many junior riders. As an example of how the 350 class has improved things already, Jason gave an example of one rider stepping off a 125cc bike at Mildura and jumping straight on a 500 after turning 16 the following week. The problems will arise as inexperienced juniors step off the 125's and onto the 350's before they are ready, in my opinion that will happen sooner rather than later and will probably take a bit of gloss off. The current crop on the 350's are without exception all pretty talented riders but some kids may make the jump before they are ready. I guess that could easily be the case with the 500's anyway.

Was listening to the commentary on Radio Fremantle last Saturday, they were talking about the 350's in between rounds but the reception wasn't too good and I missed a lot of what was being said. They were talking about the possibility of running an Australian Championship for the 350's, but I'm sure I heard one of the commentators disagreeing with this concept. Any thought? I can only see good coming out of more competetive 350 meetings.

I went a few times in the early eighties. Very impressed with the late great Toni Kasper and Bo Petersen in 1981. Even more impressed with the Hawk's choice of guests against Cradley that year (Bobby Schwartz) - what were they thinking. Always enjoyed the racing at Waterdon Road and a good atmosphere. If I remember correctly one of our visits coincided with some kind of hostage scene in London, police everywhere on the way back to the motorway. Always interesting driving past the pubs after the meetings (getting close to midnight I reckon) there always seemed to be something going on around there. Then there were the Hackney legends, Bangor and Barry Thomas are two that spring to mind, as a kid I was facinated by Thommo's stance at the tapes, very unusual technique if I remember correctly. Still got the 1981 Thames TV Trophy on video, good example of the racing at Hackney.

Mine was coming through loud and clear but just as I started typing it buffered. Fingers crossed for a great broadcast, certainly the best start so far.

I'm struggling, I know Gathercole won the last one, which was heat three I think.

http://www.radiofremantle.com/ Listening now, Shane Parker being interviewed. A little buffering to start with but seems ok now.

Love it...come to think of it, I love Darwin.

Nick having is very first ride on the 350.

The Morris clan will be there. Be good to catch up.

Do you do that as well? I'm currently reading the 1993 World Team Cup Final preview edition..out of my archive box...lol Will you be at the junior championships next month?

I agree, very surprising to see one of Australia's top junior riders having to qualify., when others who didn't fare well in their State titles are through automatically.

Practice 16th January Qualification 17th January Individual 18th January Pairs & Ron Johnson Memorial for seniors 19th January