fatface

Wasn't it Berwick declaring war on Russia as well? Sergei Darkin better steer well clear of Bandits fans

You are so right. Come on fellow Englanders! You can't have it both ways a British GP and then an English GP. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> It's only fair ... they're happy to have a Welsh Assembly when they want their own laws and a British Parliament when they want handouts and subsidies to pay for it <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Bit of politics eh? It must be a cushy number being a Scottish or Welsh MP, that's for sure. Nearly all your responsibilites devolved, but a nice comfy seat in London for you to sit on, a fat salary and an even fatter expenses cheque to get by on.

You are so right. Come on fellow Englanders! You can't have it both ways a British GP and then an English GP. You're giving our Celtic cousins bloody good evidence that we are indeed arrogant. Have to say I wouldn't be interested in another GP in Britain. I go to Cardiff every year because it is special, it is a superb stadium with a great atmosphere inside and outside. If there was another GP at say Coventry or Poole, it would look quite crappy in comparison, but then there will always be those who could even opt for a cheaper GP and take people away from Cardiff. Then everyone's a loser. Anyhow, if I was to go to another GP outside Cardiff (which I have before - Czech 03), I'd choose to go abroad. With cheap flights and cheaper accomodation, the cost would not be that much different for me going to Poole or Coventry (and no disrespect to these fine English places but Copenhagan, Gothenburg or Prague would be my preferred pick any day of the week)

Enjoyed your post there Nevsy. I can't believe there is still someone with a GHOST sticker on their car! I'd forgotten all about them. Those Berwick matches were something else though - probably my fondest memories of supporting the Falcons.

I certainly would be interested to hear more of the Crump/Sanders relationship and I'm sure Tony Mac is well capable of handling it sensitively. It just seems like rather an untapped area. Was interested to see they rode together once at the World Pairs in 77, but never again. I would have thought a Crump/Sanders combo would have been in with a shout of winning the World Pairs in the late 70s/80s, but we never really got the chance to find out.

Any more details? What's Steve up to? Is he still involved in the sport in someway? What about Frank Andersen? eh? Berwick KO Cup 89? 5-1? eh? Draw on aggregate. Jumpers for starting gates Ron.

I'd be interested to know more about Crumpie's relationship with Billy Sanders. The two of them spent a few years vying it out to be Aussie no1 and I think they had a few coming-togethers. I also cannot recall them ever getting together for the World Pairs, which was strange because they were clearly their country's best at that time.

Big Loram fan - one of the few "Box-Office" riders in the sport. But I think the time has come for the GPs and Mark to go their seperate ways. He is still a class act and still GB's no1 IMO, but what has he got to gain? He's won it already, but realistically he's not going to win it anymore. I think it would be better for the EL, GB's SWC team and Mark himself if he dropped SGP from an already packed schedule.

Sounds to me like this new format is very much like the World Long Track used to be (or maybe still is for all I know). Is that right?

Fair play to you Trees, that's your opinion. Leigh is lucky to have fans like you.

So what you are really saying is that Billy is the only one of the two to win any individual senior FIM medals. Furthermore, we can also conveniently overlook Billy's part in USA World Team Cup wins in 90, 92, 93. I don't want to diss our Aussie friend, he's a smashing rider. But on the international stage Billy Hamill's successes are way, way above those of Leigh Adams - and that's a fact.

I don't think it will be sacrilege if Leigh Adams doesn't win it at all. I simply don't think he has ever proved himself to be the best on the world's biggest stage. Yes, he is great in league racing and is always the first name in my fantasy team, but at World Championship level the likes of Rickardsson, Crump, Hancock, Hamill have consistently bettered him. Speedway history is littered with riders who logged up 10-point plus averages in league racing year after year but could never quite be the best of the best when it really mattered - Kelvin Tatum, Chris Morton, Jan Andersson, Bobby Schwartz, Nigel Boocock to name just a few. Sorry, but for me it looks like Leigh will join that list.

I'm not going to pretend I know more about track preparation than a three-time World Champion and it is quite absurd for anyone else on this forum to either. It seems to me that it is a very finely balanced job, particularly in terms of the temporary tracks. It can go either way - Cardiff is the best example. 2002 - too rough, racing quite chaotic, 2003 - too smooth, racing processional. 2004 - perfect, great night's racing. We've gone both ways for Norway now, so let's have a little trust that Ole can get it right for Hamar in 2005.

I'm a GP convert. In my mind, anyone who trots out the "it wi' better in ma day wi' t'old one-off finals" line must have cleansed their minds of Pocking, Norden, Vojens, Munich etc. But having said that, why Norway is the climax for the series is beyond me. It is quite obviously the least atmospheric venue of all and with a very questionable track. A World Champion should be crowned on a grander stage than this surely?

Told ya so! Told ya so! Now he's cracked it, I predict we'll see a Crumpie oozing with confidence and defending his title in 2005.

That was me, by the way....... I hadn't logged in...... Didn't know guests could now post......Now I'm talking to myself.........

I suppose I will look a right a*** if I am wrong, but surely Crumpy won't blow it this time. Will he?

....I'm not one to say I told you so, but............. Sorry - I couldn't resist bringing this back to the top! Where were all the experts this time last year?

I think you're missing my point. Why should BSI expect to benefit from the development programmes of any country, whilst putting nothing back themselves? For that matter, why should any country bother to develop riders when they can be used by the SGP without any compensation (be that financial or otherwise)? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You've obviously got a big problem with BSI. It's almost as if you are suggesting that riders that have been through youth development programmes and go onto a high level shouldn't go and compete in that nasty Grand Prix, all for the benefit of those terrible men at BSI. Development programmes should be about getting more riders into the sport, new generations of riders into the sport and consequently fresh talent at the very top of the sport. Who benefits? Clubs, supporters, sponsors, promoters, etc. or in other words "Speedway", the whole sport benefits and unfortunately for you that includes your sworn enemies at BSI. If you are trying to make the point that BSI puts nothing directly back into grass-roots development, then thanks for stating the bleeding obvious for us all. What they have undeniably done is increase the profile of the sport's top men and the World Championships - team and individual. Consequently, interest in the sport is now much higher than it was in the bad old days pre-SGP and pre-SWC. Old supporters have come back and new ones have arrived. We have crossed this bridge before Kevin, but I did dig out figures that proved there has been around a 50% increase in the amount of operating tracks in Britain since our profile has been raised. Coincidence? I'm sure you will try and prove it is. Over to you, King Copy-Paste.

That's not the issue at all. The national federations should never have given away the rights (and therefore potential profits) to a commercial company with no interests in domestic speedway. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Kevin, we all know you like to slice and dice. But at least keep it in context. I was replying to someone who suggested that BSIs profits go into developing youth. I'm saying that as a private company we cannot expect them to do that. And if we (Britain) want quality youngsters coming through we are going to have to get our hands dirty and do it ourselves. Nothing more nothing less.

Likewise. My sympathies go to Steve. One of the sport's most colourful characters.

quote] Yeah I guess I do expect something different from a company running the premier speedway event in the world and that is put some of the profit back into grassroots speedway instead of keeping it all to themselves. Yes, speedway is a business but it is a sport as well and especially in this country where we are lacking facilities for youngsters we could do with some monies being put back in from the top. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Unfortunately you are living cloud cuckoo land if you expect an international private company to plough their profits back into something because it's "the right thing to do". Anyway, why should BSI give any money to the development of British youngsters, just because we have largely sat on our a***s and done nothing about it for all these years. Sweden and Denmark have developed youngsters without BSI money. Why can't we? I would exempt Sheffield from my criticism. They have shown what can be done with a little bit of hard work and imagination. Why can't other promoters follow their lead?

This discussion highlights something for me which I don't really understand - who actually owns the riders? For example, when Belle Vue paid a transfer fee for Jason Crump, does that mean they own him or are they simply buying the British rights to him?

Despite not being his biggest fan, I do worry for Mr Crump. I think he is the best rider in the world and - like him or not - it would be a shame if he didn't ever become World Champion. But, I can't help but think that Tony Rickardson breathing down his neck is the last thing he wants at this stage of the series. I think he is intimidated by Tony and feels a bit inferior to him. If he wasn't feeling any pressure before, he'll certainly be feeling it now. Was Saturday a sign of the cracks beginning to show? I can't remember Tony ever losing it like this over such a petty incident.

I'd say most of these pics were from the 1979 Intercontinental at White City. Except no5 is of PC in 1978 (as others have alluded to - cracking shot by the way) and I haven't got a clue about the guy in the last two pics.