whowasthatberntpersson

He was at the Queensland Championships held at Gatton a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't the start marshall but the announcer did say he was helping out in some capacity. He did ride a couple of meetings on the Gold Coast a couple of years ago if my memory serves me correctly.

There's a meeting at Northgate this Saturday night I'll try to get more details then if not before.

Sorry to hear about the rainoff not having much luck down there are you? Looking forward to the next meeting though, looks like a pretty good lineup for the New South Wales v Queensland Solo Teams Meeting.

Keep the flag flying, just like your near neighbours in the Black Country. Speaking of the Brummies, very sad to hear of the recent passing of one of your all time greats Graham Warren, I had the pleasure of meeting Graham a few years ago and he spoke fondly of his time at Perry Barr.

Is there any chance this young prospect will apear in Oz title meetings? I would love to see him as well as Cameron Woodward who missed last season meetings because of some bad injury. I remember reports about Batchelor when he rode in U-16 meetings. Everyone seemed to be impressed. I also heared something about two Czech riders in Gatton. According to Ross Garrigan report those were Tomas Suchanek and Vaclav Verner. Any comments on them? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Not quite Dexter. Vaclav and Jan Verner were with the two Czech's. I'll check my programme however one of them was very impressive, and reports suggest the other one (16 year old) was very nervous and not coping well with his temporary surrounds. Can't remember which was which though.

Scott looked pretty good, although he looks like he's gained a few pounds. I didn't see him in the pits after the race but whilst still on track he seemed to be taking a good look to see what went wrong with his machinery rather than doing the big "Dummy Spit" I really expected quite a scene considering what he'd lost and his short fuse..Maybe it all happened out of site? He made the gate in his semi and he wasn't going to get caught....I really felt sorry for him.

Thanks to Steve Magro who first reported this on the Aussie Speedway list; Three South East Queensland Tracks have agreed to a proposal re-introducing league racing to the area. I say re-introducing because there was a Queensland State League a few years ago. The three tracks are Northgate, Labrador, and Gatton and invites have been sent to riders who would form four man teams. The proposal was also confirmed by officials at the Queensland Title on Saturday night. Basically this is a last ditch effort to stop the decline of solo racing in South East Queensland, if this project doesn't get the support of riders its going to be a long ride home for the sport in our part of the world.

About time you wrote a book Bryn, you could call it Beer, Bikes, and Bundy.

The football link on my credit card bill got me too, then I remebered seeing the same thing when I subscribed to Backtrack.

Any news on the international inclusions? Cheers Poona. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Interesting question Poona because I've also heard Labrador will have a strong support solo field for the next meeting (Queensland Sidecar Championship) which will include Internationals. Does anyone have any idea what riders are heading Down under this year?

Must say how dissapointed I am with the non appearance (at this stage) of Jason Crump in this years four round Australian Championship. I understand the need for riders to have a break but this is real downer for Australian based fans. Last years multi round Championship was a success, Jason's inclusion as World Champion this year would of given the sport in OZ a bit of a boost. The Australian Championship had been losing its appeal for many years until last year when something different was tried, pity Jason can't do his bit to try to re establish this once great event on the calender.

Just wondering who won the Michanek Race jacket? That would be a very nice piece of Speedway memorabilia.

Does anyone know when the pre ordered books are going to be sent?

Absolutely, I think the glassware idea comes from Andy's trips to Eastern Europe (I'll call it the Roman Jankowski influence).....Andy, please explain.

Not this year Jeff, but I'm hoping to join you in the next year or two. Its definitely in my "Things to do" list.

I think Lunchy is talking about Glenn R? He's not a lecturer, I believe he works in IT. I agree with most of the points made, one thing though, here in QLD there appears to be an hidden agenda. To be honest we have sufficient tracks in the Brisbane/Gold Coast areas to suffice. What i have noticed is the lack of riders/rider nominations. I can't quite work it out but its not uncommon to see talented riders watching the action from the bar area. The three tracks, Labrador, Northgate, and Gatton do struggle with rider nominations. I see the problem areas as being; Politics Cost Noise Restrictions Lack of junior development in certain States Moto X Lack of Practice facilities Poor advertising of meetings Lack of media coverage (including TV, Newspaper, and Radio) Things that will help; Simplify rules and regulations, I'm often hearing of parents getting fed up with all the politics involved,..end result the Kid is taken from speedway. Give the beginners somewhere to practice. Bring down the cost of equipment.. engines, tyres, etc. Worthwhile competitions, rather than some of the crazy programming seen, sometimes the top riders hardly meet resulting in uneven races. Advertise and make a meeting appeal to newcomers rather than the handful of die hards who will turn up rain hail or shine. Finally make the top boys contest State and National Championships, the lack of interest in these meetings is appalling and has to have an effect in the overall scheme of things.. Why do i see Moto X as being a problem area? Compare the two; How easy is it to get setup in Moto X? A kid or an adult with a Moto X bike can ride almost anytime anywhere. Equipment is easily attainable. Etc Etc. So why can't we target Moto X riders? offer them an oppertunity to ride a speedway bike, who know's once they've had the thrill they may just stick with us. Just my thoughts, losing the GP after one attempt was a huge lost oppertunity to raise the sports profile, likewise losing the David Tapp orgainised Masters Series.

It was another generous gesture by Andy, well done mate, your efforts are obviously much appreciated. All the best for the upcoming events in your personal life too

I had the pleasure of meeting both of these fine Gentlemen prior to the Sydney Grand Prix. Bob Andrews has so much energy, he was running around trying to organise group photographs for me, and generally spoke so enthusiastically about his time in the saddle, hard to believe he's 68 years young now. Roy Trigg actually visited Dudley Wood whilst on a visit to the UK last year, I think most of us know what his thoughts were after seeing what has happened there. Two fine ambassadors who still love speedway.

Bernt Persson

That team is more recent than others that have been mentioned too. Then there's the likes of Simon Wigg and to a lesser extent John Boulger and Anders Michanek all world class. In the last 30 years i reckon a fantasy team made up of Heathens would take some beating. Belle Vue look tasty over a longer period though.

Maybe young Connor Penhall will lead the Heathens in a similar way in years to come. One can only hope.

Thanks for posting the pics Andy.

For such a high profile event details of the solo part of proceedings are certainly very sketchy. I've heard the rumours about demonstration races etc. Seems the promoters don't care about the die hard solo fans who would make an effort to get to this event if there wasn't so much uncertainty surrounding it.

This is terrible news, I was only talking to a young lady recently, she's just started riding and guess where she was doing her training? With the closure of Bibra Lake following the huge loss of Claremont I guess this leaves speedway in WA pretty thin on the ground? I know Dave Cheshire was having some success with training schools, wonder where this will leave our friends in the West.

RIP Cyril. Although I can't remember him as a rider I do remember him as the manager of Wimbledon Dons, still have some old programmes with his pieces in. Hope he enjoyed his final years in Tenerife, riding his motorcycle round the coastline.