hawkeyenz

Cracker Day in Christchurch for the final evening of the tour. Looking forward to it. I hope they start on time as there are no lights and if they are as tardy as the first meeting at Ronnie Moore it will be dark before they can finish.

Big Crowd. 43 Races over 4.5 hours. No Solo support apart form the youngsters on the small track on the infield. The NZ Vs Aussie test match was 28 Heats for an eight man team. The first 8 heats were drawn 3 - 3 and after a bit of ebb and flow the Aussies scored a 5 - 1 in the final heat to draw 83 a piece. Very good racing with lots of passing and some over robust challenges that resulted in exclusions. The NZ number one had to miss the meeting to attend a funeral and the Aussies generally won races and came last while NZ packed the minor placing's but did have two 5 - 0 heat advantages. The two teams are now off to Invercargill for a meeting tomorrow.

I'm going to this. It is on our Bank Holiday Friday so hopefully they get a decent crowd and there is a decent number of Solo riders in the support classes.

England Football Team is easy. They will be built up by the press and then fail miserably in any major tournament. Having said that England won the World U20 tournament and then won the U17 Tournament this weekend beating Spain 5-2 in the final. Platinum generation anyone? If you like football try and watch the U17 final. England were 2 nil down and then played some sublime football.

I only went to Crayford once. Maybe 1982 or 1983 for a double header against two northern teams when Crayford won one of the matches 65-12. I remember the viewing was a bit restricted and the drive there from Sussex on a Tuesday (?) evening was a nightmare.

Enemies. Malcolm Ballard vs the brothers Kennett in the 1971 Second Half Finals at Eastbourne

They were the reserve pair in the very first meeting I ever went to in 1971. My guess is that they never scored maximums in the same match.

April 1971 aged 11. Step Dads workmate came round on Sunday morning and suggested I go. We lived in Hailsham. Eastbourne Vs Sunderland 59-19 Gordon and Dave Kennett at 6 & 7. Derek Cook full maximum. Loved it. Parents soon got sick of taking me and picking me up so I had to walk 90 minutes home each week. Well worth it. First away was 1973 at Canterbury, Young England Vs Young Poland

Unfortunately it would appear that there will be no NZ League Speedway in the coming 2016 - 2017 season.

Paul Gachet was one of my favourite riders at Eastbourne. Always battled from the back. I remember a World Championship Qualifier in perhaps 1974 where he scored 14 against a field stacked with 1st Division riders.

I hope the league can run again next year. The problem I see is the travelling distances compounded by the cost of getting across the Cook Strait. This year Auckland and Canterbury were very evenly matched but Oreti were very weak. Jason Bunjan and Bradley Wilson-Dean were hardly involved and the league lacks draw cards.

Second match of the season to Auckland 36 - 33 at home to Canterbury. Canterbury pick up bonus point so both have 4 points on the table. Heat Details below http://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/571826/liga-nowej-zelandii-auckland-rhinos-canterbury-comets-3633

I went to the South Island Sidecar Championship meeting yesterday at Moore Park. 30 Outfits competed from all around the South Island. Unfortunately the 8 or 9 strong solo support class got canned as the two day championship had to be shoe horned into one day after the first day was rained out. I think it was more to do with the soft, rutted, bumpy surface than time. The 40 odd races took 4.5 hours to complete with the sun setting (no lights). Aficionados of Bob Dugard would have loved it because we got to see the tractor grading, the blade taking off the surface and trying to relay it and compact it. I think they did more laps than the sidecars. There were some junior races on the small infield track but it's not like the 500's. On a positive note the crowd was much bigger than the League meeting against Auckland. Auckland vs Christchurch in Auckland next Saturday. Will the Aucks use BWD? Finch and Moss should be back for the Comets but might be short of a gallop with the postponement yesterday.

The link you have is correct Gustix. It is Moore Park Speedway which is named after the great Ronnie Moore. My mistake.

Jason Bunjan and Bradley Wilson-Dean added to the reserve list.

First meeting of the season Canterbury Comets 37 - Auckland Rhinos 35 at Ronnie Moore Park. Last heat decider with the scores level entering the race. Pretty average meeting despite being close. Canterbury without Dale Finch and Ryan Moss became a two man team with Grant Tregoning scoring a paid 15 maximum and Andrew Aldridge getting 13 with four race wins and the crucial third in the last race. For Auckland Sean Mason scored 8 getting better as the meeting went on and Jake Turner scored 14 paid 16 from six rides. He benefited from riding most of his races against the Canterbury second strings and reserves. Full scores: Canterbury 1 Grant Tregoning 5 rides 14 paid 15 points - Untroubled 2 Jason McKay 4 rides 4 paid 5 points - Battled 3 Andrew Aldridge 5 rides 13 points - only beaten in the last race, otherwise fast and made the best pass of the day 4 Konnor Mckluskey-Young 5 rides 5 paid 6 points - Could have scored more except for a couple of mistakes 5 George Congreve 4 rides 1 point - Outclassed but it is his first season on a 500 Auckland 1 Sean Mason 5 rides 8 points - Poor in first three starts and then got better 2 Jake Turner 6 rides 14 paid 16 points - Didn't beat either of the Canterbury top 2 but was too good for the rest 3 Dylan Hancock 5 rides 4 paid 6 points - Poor for second heat leader 4 Dylan Moohan 5 rides 7 paid 8 points - Too good for the bottom three of Canterbury 5 Chopper Bagshaw 3 rides 2 paid 3 points - Beat his opposite number twice I guess in summary that it was disappointing that Aldridge and Tregoning found it so easy as they are unlikely to improve and apart from Jake Turner their doesn't appear to be any great improvers on the scene at the moment. The racing was very processional because of the wide range in abilities. Fortunately the sidecar support class had many close and exciting races. Still it was great to have a fix of speedway with a team format. All credit to the organisers for putting it on and the riders for travelling the length of the country to compete. With Finch and Moss back Canterbury will be very hard to beat.

No idea sorry. I'm not sure what crowds Oreti Park get. There's not much to do in Invercargill so might be decent. Mick Jagger called it the arsehole of the world when the Stones toured in the sixties. I've never been there so can't comment. Ronnie Moore Park in Christchurch probably get 500 - 1000 for the better meetings. The crowd is predominately aged 40+. It's a shame as my teenage sons loved it when they finally decided to give it a try. My 14 year daughter had to come to the NZ Midget car champs at Ruapuna and was in the biggest sulk ever but by the end of the night she was on her feet cheering for her favourite car (she liked the colour) If you provide an exciting product they will come but you have to get them there to sample it and there has to be an air of excitement and fun for the younger generation.

BWD signs for Somerset.

Bradley Wilson-Dean announced. Is he on a 5 or 7?

Report from New Zealand site. It's a shame that Hayden Sims is injured. I've never seen Jake ride but I don't think the field was incredibly strong. Auckland’s Jake Turner will celebrate his 19th birthday tomorrow with a New Zealand speedway title to his credit. The talented youngster dominated the Graham Wi...lliamson X Factor Cars New Zealand Under-21 Solo Championships at Oreti Park today, clinching the title ahead of Invercargill’s Jake Gillespie and Canterbury’s George Congreve. “You’ve got to have a lot of confidence to turn up but you can’t under-estimate any of your opponents you know because they’ve turned up to win as well,” he said. “It was good racing - I enjoyed every minute of it.” Adjusting to a new track proved challenging. “I found it quite difficult - the track’s not something I’m used to but it was hard for everyone and we all have to adapt,” Turner said. “Our track (Rosebank) is a lot smaller by 100-odd metres so you can just go out and cruise but here you have to really be on your toes.” Turner was disappointed Southland gun Hayden Sims was ruled out of contention with a shoulder injury. “It would have been good to have a go with him on his home track,” he said. Impressing in just his fourth senior meeting, Congreve’s commitment to securing a podium finish was evident when, after being crashed into by Billy Graham on the final lap, he pushed his motorbike down the home straight. The Speedway New Zealand Youth Gold Cup was also contested with Westport’s Clark Fountain winning the 200cc title ahead of Auckland Reade Crookes. Hayden Brookland emerged victorious in the hotly-contested 125cc division, coming from behind to narrowly beat Cormac Buchanan to the silverware. Dakota Crengle rode solidly for third overall. A determined Lachlan McIntyre secured the peewee division one title ahead of Mason Coulthard and Savannah Caulfield respectively, while Braxton Casey won the division two trophy over Kadin Cracknell and Rylan Casey. In the support classes, Shaun Kerr and Robin Poole won the sidecars ahead of fellow Oreti Park duo Aiden Thwaites and Shane Twiss with Canterbury’s Lionel Green and Shayne Breach in third. Gore’s Paul Highsted finished first overall in the solo support field, followed by Invercargill brothers Daniel and Adam Shuttleworth. I

I've seen him ride live in Christchurch a few times from the age of 12 onwards. He looks a good prospect. He obviously has experienced family backers and has been immersed in Speedway since age 5. I'm pretty sure his birthday is in November and he only just turned 16. If he has completed "A Levels" as suggested in Cradley's Press Release which would be NCEA Level 3 here and he is a very bright young man as well. Good luck to Bradley as we need more depth in New Zealand

I started going to speedway at Eastbourne in 1971 and will always remember Gordon Kennett passing John Louis in a really great race. The highlight of the meetings were often the Second Half final which always seemed to featured Gordon and Dave Kennett, Malcolm Ballard and Roger Johns. Heart in mouth stuff as they threw their bikes at one another. It was amazing that Reg Trott often scored heavily in the match but would come a quiet second in his second half heat thus avoiding the madness of the final!!! Another favourite memory is a 17 year old Neil Middleditch passing Arthur Price on the last corner in Heat 13 to join Bobby McNeil in a 5-1 for a 40-38 win. It was 1973 and in that year Boston were the champions and Price the BL2 Riders Champion. First away meeting was Young England Vs Young Poland at Canterbury. Bit of an eye opener after the smaller Eastbourne track.

Is that Bradley Andrews the New Zealander from Auckland?

19th December Canterbury Vs Auckland Reverse Fixture 10th January 30th January Canterbury Vs Southland Reverse Fixture 5th March 14th February Auckland Vs Southland Reverse Fixture 20th February The venues are Ronnie Moore Park in Christchurch, Oreti Park in Invercargill and Rosebank in Auckland. Hope that helps. All three venues have websites if you put in their names in to something like Google. If you are into Facebook there is also a Group associated with the competition called National Solo League. I'm hoping to make it along to the two Christchurch meetings. Shame Bradley Wilson-Dean isn't competing as I've been an Eagles fan for 44 years and I would have liked to see how much he has progressed.

Here are the teams for this years league. AUCKLAND RHINOS Sean Mason Dylan Hancock ... Dylan Moohan Chopper Bagshaw Jake Turner Caleb Glew Manager: Glen Bagshaw Assistant: Tanya Bagshaw CANTERBURY COMETS Andrew Aldridge Ryan Moss Dale Finch Konnor McCluskey-Young Jason MacKay Grant Tregoning Manager: Craig Moss Assistant: Sharee Brawley SOUTHLAND OUTLAWS Jake Gillespie Ryan Terry-Daley Bradley Stockton Glen Sole Daniel Shuttleworth TBA Manager: Derek MacRae Canterbury look much too strong for the others as they have acquired Grant Tregoning. There is no Bradley Wilson-Dean, Jason Bunjan or James Sarjeant this year. The main problem for the continued existence is the distances between the three tracks. It would be like Edinburgh, Peterborough and the Isle of WIght being in a three team semi-pro league with minimal sponsorship. Plus the average age of the crowds are usually 50+