cyclone

Roy Bester was quite decent in the second tier in the UK, 1953 - 54, better than Wills or Serrurier did.

Surely the best Irish born rider must be Eric French (mainly New Cross) who was good enough to ride for England in test matches during 1949 - 50.

Apparently NOT in the change as to how the rolling averages are calculated according to at least one Promotion, and has been imo, the major source of discontent, alleged fiddling, rider insecurity, etc.

Re the tyre packing of the track, does anyone know if the home riders were consulted on this before it took place? It would be crazy for any home side to regrade a track to suit the visitors more than their own. Quite a few years ago I remember Chris Neath moaning that Armadale was too grippy for them and foolishly all the dirt was scraped off and Rye House revelled so much in the slick conditions that from a losing position, they ended up winning the bl**dy match

If JP is really going to kick on, he really needs to work on improving his woeful gating. Given he must fully aware of his shortcomings in this department, I'm puzzled why he never takes advantage of after meeting track time to try different things out, possibly with advice from a more experienced team mate who can gate, such as Sam or Erik?

It's Bo "The Bomb" Josefsson in conversation with Bernie Persson, probably 1967. Jim Gallacher was a talent and could beat the best when he managed to get his bike going! He first appeared in second halves at Coatbridge in 1969 when the Monarchs were the home side. It always appeared Jim never had the finance to run decent equipment and this was imo, why he never became a top rider. When he returned from Swindon to Tigers at Coatbridge, he was the "victim" of one of the worst homer refereeing decisions I have witnessed at Eastbourne by a Mr Gordon Little. The rule at that time was you only got excluded for breaking the tapes, not for touching or delaying the start, and there was no replacement. Neil Middleditch totally destroyed the tapes and Little excluded JG on the pretext that he had caused NM to break the tapes, which a) was not within the rules at that time, and b ) Jim had not moved from the grid, but had just crouched over his handlebars when Middleditch shot off!!

The booze has certainly taken it's toll on you - you look at least seventy plus nowadays!

Could you provide examples of how other sports quantify long-term permanency and also inform us as to how long Schlein has been permanently resident in the UK?

Bollocks ! His first outing was at Coatbridge on on 27/4/73 against Cradley. He beat Bruce Cribb in his first race for his solitary point. Was a bit hairy but wasn't afraid to wind it on. As Max Boyce would say : "I was there"

Agree with above in overall career achievements. However George Hunter for the first couple of months of the newly formed BL in 1965 was, along with Charlie Monk, one of the top performers together with ex National League stars. However he suffered a nasty head injury in a Best Pairs meeting at Old Meadowbank which adversely affected his performances thereafter. I reckon he suffered a severe long term concussion, which then was not really diagnosed as being a serious head injury and treated appropriately as it is today. I believe if George had not had this accident, he would have been a regular World Finalist & leading top performer for several years.

Last night's results imo confirmed that Glasgow, Ipswich, & Sheffield will be the top three at the end of the Season with the rest scrapping for the fourth spot. The reason Monarchs are currently at the top is because they have completed more matches than the aforementioned trio, who will in due course, rise above them in the table. IMO on paper, Peterborough should take the fourth spot, but they continually implode when they get on track.

You can buy pics via John Somerville's website. Here is what he can offer of your grandad:- http://www.skidmarks1928.com/?ppwd=john-somerville-collection&Action=EGS&id=243991604&q=maurycourtnell

So you have narrowly lost to probably the strongest side in the CL and having to use r/r for your second heat leader which realistically, you cannot expect the lower order riders to match his usual points return at home. Get a grip, it's your first home defeat, and tbh, no surprise, given the circumstances. If your "whole team needs ripped apart", where are the replacement riders going to come from? Be interested to know what alternative 1 - 7 you would suggest that are available and would comply with the 40 pt limit. And don't use the excuse "it's not my job, it's the Manager's", as you're the one demanding radical surgery on here.

On reflection, the grippy track certainly sorted out the men from the boys on both sides, and instead of the gate and go which is now the norm at most tracks, we were treated to passing during the racing after the initial opening two bends. The match report on the Ippo website is a fair description of the racing, and at the end of the day, the riders with skill prevailed over the throttle jockeys, who struggled for the most part. Wells, Erik Riss, Masters, Sedgmen, and Schlein showed the way, with Riss Jnr clocking the second fastest time of the Season of 54.8 in heat 5. Pickering in particular really struggled in the latter part of the meeting, but I'd guess he has never ridden such a grippy track before, and hopefully will learn from this experience for the future, as I hope Edinburgh continue to prepare their track with plenty grip. Commiserations to Mark Riss on his unfortunate crash and wish him a full and rapid recovery from his injuries.

Suggest you read the current Regs. Try 18.6.2.1

Apart from Newman (Ippo) & Pickering (Edin), I reckon the remaining twelve also d/up/down with a PL or NL club. IIRC it's Masters, Mark Riss, Rory Schlein, Nathan Greaves (all Wolves). King, Erik Riss (Leicester), Wells (Rye House), Sedgmen (BV), Heeps (Somerset), Mountain (Mildenhall), Clegg (Buxton), Davey (Stoke) I believe however that the CL clubs always have priority over their NL counterparts whenever there is a fixture clash.

According to latest Green Sheet, Williamson moves out of no. 6, with Sarjeant taking his place.

Have to agree that in this instance it was a fair judgement, given all the factors, and permissible under Reg.15.12. For those who are saying this is another example of UK Speedway becoming a farce, consider how other European leagues determine the results of abandoned matches. As far as I am aware, they all have earlier cut-offs than heat 10. As an example, the Danish Super League match between Holsted & Esbjerg on 24th May was abandoned with Esbjerg leading 25 - 22. According to the report in the Star, "the result will stand with the remaining heats declared as 3-3s to give an official scoreline of 43-40 to Esbjerg". For all the apparent shortcomings in how the sport is run in Britain, in this instance I prefer how we determine the outcome of abandoned league & cup matches.

Running true to form eh Rob, when challenged to provides facts to support your propaganda, you repeatedly duck out

Monarchs form overall has been patchy recently, but it appears there is a consistent pattern in away matches emerging as we regularly concede 5 - 1s in heats 1 & 15 Expect a scoreline similar to those at Sheffield and Workington, meaning zero match points.

The actual BSPA Press Release of 21/7/2009 stated:- SWINDON have reached agreement with Croatian youngster Jurica Pavlic to return to the Robins this week following a 28-day ban. Pavlic's future was in serious doubt after he withheld his services last month, but he will now resume his position on Thursday. Robins skipper Leigh Adams said: "I explained to him what it would mean to all at Swindon Speedway to win the Elite League title. We've come so far." As no mention as to when Pavlic agreed to return is stated, you are making an unsupported supposition. As you are adamant that that a rider withholding his services will only be subject to a 14 day ban if he decides to return to the same club, can you please provide details of the current documentation source in the public domain that confirms your assertion. Look forward to your reply

Perish the thought! You're referring to the best and most fair minded Promotion and Supporters in the Universe - allegedly

Wearing your asbestos underpants AGAIN Rob?

Attended every one-off World Final from 1967 - 1994, so that means: Fundin Mauger Olsen Szczakiel Michanek Collins Lee Penhall Muller Gundersen Nielsen Jonsson Jan O Pedersen Havelock Ermolenko Rickardsson Was the real big one-off occasion of the Season, which produced some less predictable results than the SGP format.

Believe the ref is only able to declare a race result only after at least one rider has completed two laps before it was stopped.