fatface

Yes, he has. Guys like Len Silver also deserve a lot of credit for keeping tracks going for a long time. But, this is about the future, not about the past. It's not coincidence that the 60-80 year old men putting on the show are appealing to 60-80 year old men who attend. That's not long-term sustainable. It's need fresh eyes, fresh thinking and fresh blood.

It needs a complete revolution, not fiddling while Rome burns. The reality is the product and package isn't good enough...and people outside of the speedway bubble couldn't give a toss over doubling up or whatever the latest rule tweak is. My vision is for the British speedway to: move to a family-friendly weekend model be part of a multi-motorsport experience including sidecars, quads, flat track etc That's the core offering from any other motor sport experience in the UK road or off road. People of all ages get a full day out and people get to see disciplines they enjoy and others that they may want to grab a burger/pint during. I know I am biased, but I still believe (possibly foolishly) that with its stadium setting, speedway can offer a much more engaging spectacle that other motorsports. So, I still have hope. Faith is another matter. British speedway doesn't have....and never really has had....the leadership or appetite to make wholesale changes to reflect public opinion. Nor, sadly are the remaining hardcore fans blameless, they too will (largely) stubbornly oppose change even whilst their fellow hardcore supporters are slowly dwindling away before their very eyes. It requires a Barry Hearn/Dana White figure...but the potential is ultimately limited, so people of that ilk are never going to come forward. And so, we will trundle on.

The only plan is to make it up as they go along...which every year means cobbling together what's left. And er, that's it.

It is very amateurish...let's stop any pretence it is a professional sport in Britain and cut the cloth accordingly.

Thanks very much

Ha! I'd made that assumption too. Another place I have spent a lot of time at, oblivious to the significance. Looks like I played 5 as side for years where the old speedway was. Pretty unusual I would have thought to have two oval circuits side by side, particularly as athletics and speedway both took place on a cinder surface back in the day.

What exactly was Ringwood? I went there once for a long(ish) track event in the early 90s...with Wiggy, Hagon, Schofield and the like. Seemed like a one off and not really sure what the place was otherwise used for?

Is it just me....or can you still see the vague outline of the track on the satellite image?

Nice work all. I'm a keen runner and have ran past New Cross many times, utterly oblivious to where it was. Same goes for a trail/cross country race in Epping Forest (High Beech) too. Thanks all.

Tim is my postman He was born in Teignmouth. I can't give you an exact age, but more Tim Grey now! Always enjoy a chat putting the speedway and grass track worlds to right...oh and Brexit (sorry...wrong thread!)

Not really a realistic stance is it? Of course it's not easy to draw the line. Riding for a speedway team is a paid job, not some sort of voluntary service. I'd say guys like PC, Mort, Lyons, Crump are all in the bracket of those who who gave great service, always gave 100%, represented the Aces with distinction and each made a significant contribution to Belle Vue's rich history....of course they would merit free passes. There are others too. Call them lifetime members. But can anyone really argue that say Barry Ayres or Bernie Collier (sorry to pick these two...they are just two who come to mind) and everyone in between should deserve free entry for evermore? I worked for six years stacking shelves at Tesco's to fund my student years....should I get free shopping now?

Hazy memories admittedly, but does anyone remember a character who called himself the Black Knight touring NL tracks in the late 80s to take on local juniors in match races? I have the name Jon White in mind. He'd be all decked out in black and would give out chocolate to fans. Also, at the other end of the scale, Hans Nielsen toured NL tracks taking on the local No1 in match races around a similar time... perhaps even early 90s? Interested to see any results from these and any other novelty match races.

Sadly I have heard from more than one source that he is not the same man since a brain haemorrhage some years ago. And if that's the case, then I think people in the position to do so, should be careful what they put into print from the PC of today, should it tarnish the reputation of someone who has made an immeasurable contribution to the sport and given so much joy to so many people in speedway.

Couldn't agree more. Was there a better British League partnership that Alan Grahame and Phil Collins? Together far outweighing the sum of their parts. A final memory was his one World Final appearance as reserve at 84 in Ullevi. 99% of the time, any reserve who is called upon tends to stay out of the way of those in the running.. Not Alan Grahame, his moment arrived and he was taking it...scoring 5 points from 2 races beating some of the pre event favourites Shawn Moran, Jan Andersson and Billy Sanders in the process. Never less than 100% effort.

That's very sad to hear. A proper racer in every sense of the word. For me and other Aces fans, he was often a thorn in our side through Cradley's dominant years. But even in opposition, you couldn't help but admire his no frills, 100% commitment for club and country at all times. Sincere condolences to his nearest and dearest at this sad time.

Sorry to read that. Someone who truly gave his whole life to the sport through thick and thin. Sincere condolences to his nearest and dearest.

Yep, there's definitely a frequency bias. I saw a lot more of Shawn Moran race than I saw of Kelly Moran and I always find it a little surprising that plenty rate Kelly higher of the two.

Maybe. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder....and tbh, I am utterly biased in this discussion having grown up watching Mort at Hyde Road. His World Final record is shocking. No arguments on that front. But doesn't really fairly reflect where he was at. Not many riders have a CV like this... World Pairs winner (as top scorer) World Team Cup winner (as top scorer) Intercontinental winner BLRC winner British Final winner 9 times in BL top 10 averages (six times with a 10+ average) 2nd most capped England rider ever, over 100 Seven times World Finalist note: I'd also say that all of the above where achieved when there was no dilution in quality in those events, which came later on Like Mort, I don't think you could ever say that there was a year when Adams, Crump, Moran or Knudsen were the best in the world. But his CV is at least comparable and arguably better than most of those names. And it's certainly better than Ashby or Schwartz.

Agree with that assessment. I think he falls into the "best rider never to....." camp because I think there are actually very few cases of riders who were World Champion material who never made it to the top step. Ward is the obvious one, older fans might say Tommy Jansson (though I'm not sure the compelling evidence was there) and for riders who did enjoy full careers you'd be hard pressed to find a better candidate than Leigh Adams for sheer world class longevity. Mort's in there with Phil Crump, Shawn Moran, Tommy Knudsen and the like...top, top riders, just never quite good enough to win it.

All 20 heats of Norden are on YouTube and Mort has a cracking race with Mitch Shirra...which put him on 6 at the interval...so, in with a shout. But also earning those 6 points, 4 of them were from behind. No rider, no matter how good, could win a World Final earning two-thirds of their points from behind. I'd agree that he was never clearly in the world's best three across a year, but he was in the world's top riders for the thick end of a decade. There were certainly worse riders who climbed on a World Final podium...it would have been a fair reflection for Mort to have done that once.

Would've been nice. But as brilliant as he could be, I don't think he was ever quite good enough to be World Champion, probably in the world's top 5 or so in 1980/81? A rostrum appearance would have been an achievement in keeping with his ability.

Thanks very much. I realise it wasn't the biggest event, but I remember the field being strong, great racing and Chris Morton being absolute dynamite on the day, despite being (virtually) on his own. Gundersen only held him off by a tyre width in his first race. My dad and I left thinking he could win the World Title a week later in Poland. If only! Also remember Soldier Boy having a go at PC (very publicly of course) over looking the pits. Sadly, PC just seemed to have lost interest at that time.

Has anyone got the results from the 1986 British Open Pairs at Sheffield, 24/08/86. Thanks in advance

ps. sticking with John Davis...this is a cracking little documentary... In many ways, it inadvertently puts it in a nutshell. I don't think there were many riders around then who would have had the foresight and vision to bring something like this to fruition on TV and provide a brilliant showcase for him and his sponsors. On the other hand, it also shows that he was a notch below the likes of Carter and Morton (who have a belting race here).

...and Vaclav Verner won the Yorkshire TV Trophy ahead of Lee and Penhall....and Reg Wilson won the Jubilee Trophy ahead of Mauger and Autrey. Good night's work for those riders, but pretty meaningless in the grand scheme. I don't imagine Mauger and the rest lost too much sleep either. I don't want to come across as knocking Davis. As above, I think he got the maximum from himself. I don't think it as been mentioned...but at one time (and possibly still holds true?) he reached more British Finals than any other rider. Which is testament to his professionalism and longevity. But I don't think its plausible to suggest any World Final was poorer for his absence, that just doesn't paint an accurate picture. He was a good rider for a long time, but that's it. There's a good reasons why through Davis' career he remained a fringe rider for England and guys like Louis, Simmons, PC, Jessup, Lee, Morton, Carter and later on Wigg, Doncaster and Tatum were automatic picks for a few years each.