Main Man

Folks --can I thank the riders who stood in for the withdrawals , especially those who stepped in at the last moment. I hate to think what Shaun and my phone bills will be on our mobiles this month as we must have spoken to just about every rider in the UK during the days leading up to the meeting . If there weren't in Poland or Denmark they were ill, enjoying their birthday or had family events planned or enjoying a free weeknd (and who can blame them!!). We were hit by some very late withdrawals --and even then when we lined up three replacements could not take into account two of them getting injured on Saturday night and one going down with a bug that had hit his whole family!! We lost Jacek Rempala (injured at Berwick on Saturday), Karl Mason (injured at Rye House on Saturday) and Mark Thompson (stomach bug). My heartfelt thanks to Danny Giffard as I pulled in a favour --I sent him a text very late on Saturday night and he rang me back and after sorting out Danny Betson to mechanic for him willingly drove up from Sussex to fill in for David Howe who had to pull out with a knee injury. Nicky Glanz kindly agreed to replace Karl Mason at short notice (thanks to Karl's dad John of Bee Line Oils for sorting this). Andrew Bargh found a text on his phone from me as he finished the CLRC at Rye House and immediately came to rescue, answering witha Yes straight away --cheers mate!! Matt Browne flew back in from America and had me on the phone to him staright away as we lost Chris Neath to a guest booking at Newport as I lined him up with quick arrangements made for Billy Janniro to bring him down with him --nice one Matt and good luck with your riding trip to Sweden mate. Shaun must have been stressing like mad but I promised him that we would have a full 16 man line -up and we did . It may not have been the one we had planned but I think each and every one of them did their bit. I had a nightmare morning as I zoomed off to pick up the Kings Lynn Grid / Promotional Girls , getting ahlf way only to find the road closed and having to drive back to Mildenhall and find an alternative route and not getting back till 1 o'clock to sort out the final line-up for teh meeting!! That's where I found out that we had further late withdrawals and would like to thank Mark Baseby and Gary Cottham for stepping into breach at the 11th hour with Andre Cross and Dean Garrod for standing by as reserves. Mr Wong I notice has been critical of the final line-up but if he had been in my shoes trying to get this sorted I wonder what he would have done ????? I cannot allow for riders getting injured , being ill and pulling out at the last minute -nor can I have done any more to have found any other riders when so much was going on that weekend elsewhere. Shaun and I would have loved nothing better than to have had the original 16 rides at the meeting but that never happened but those who did ride put on a great show and everything (but for two tape malfunctions in teh Wimbledon v Sittingbourne match) ran smoothly --with thanks to all the staff for their hard work and co-operation for helping achieve this. The sidecars were superb and the CL mini-match brill. The 12 lap eight man Final was breathtaking with the two sets of tapes working perfectly and the sight of eight riders battling it out one to behold and but for some bad luck for Shaun and the King brothers and Mark Jones in those 12 laps we saw a great finale to what was a great afternoon. Many thanks to all those who came up and gave nice comments on how things went --made it all worthwhile!! Then the auction ended what was a superb (but tiring !!) weekend as I aimed back home via Kings Lynn to drop the Grid girls off --but one thing , next time Huggy says follow me I know a short cut --remind me to ignore him!!! What an experience that turned out to be --but that's another story!!!! Thanks to everyone who helped make Shaun Tacey's Testimonial a success. Laurence Rogers

well the weather forecast is good --so get yourselves down to West Row for what will be a fun weekend --starting with the party tonight then the meeting tomorrow. 2pm start. Gates open 12 --plenty of trade stands to look at --and t forget the auction after !!! See you there!!!

Hey what a nice bloke that Tacey fellow is !!! So see you all at the Party --and Sunday afternoon at 2pm --gates open at 12 noon folks!! For those who have not been to Mildenhall before there should be white and black Tacey Testimonial signs leading you off the main road into the stadium (just finished them and picked them up --just have to paste them on to the card now --then Shaun and I will be busy tomorrow hanging them up on the road in !!)

Thanks for that Boz. was going to post to see if someone could put results on. Unable to make it as was tied up sorting out the last minute things for Shaun Tacey's Testimonial on Sunday( a never ending job!! Having done loads of these meetings for riders over the years it never gets any easier!!). Yes little James is a great prospect and only 12 at the moment and has a super attitude. Nice to see Brendan came through ok with his arm now seemingly strong enough to ride --and that means he'll be giving it a good go at Somerset tonight and some good times off Joe in his wins as well. Sorry I missed it but had to get the bits and bods done for Sunday.

Due to the amazing response to the pre-testimonial Party on Saturday Night at Mildenhall after the Fen Tigers v Somerset meeting Shaun Tacey has decided to throw the doors open to his party for FREE!! Most of the riders taking part in Sunday's Testimonial meeting will be in attendance at the party --which kicks off with the GP on the big screens in the Bar. There will be a disco till late with a mini auction, raffle and a few fun and games !! The only charge that will be made will be for the BBQ food which will be on sale most of the night with the original cover charge of £5 for adults and £2.50 for children applied . So come on down and join the start of the Testimonial Fun weekend by joining Shaun for his party night at Mildenhall Stadium .

hoping so --as long as the last minute preparations for Shaun's Testimonial are sorted.

Kye Norton will be a doubt as he was taken to hospital last night after crashing in his first ride at Kings Lynn and suffering a suspected collarbone injury.

David he wants to ride --but common sense must prevail.

Latest addition to the line-up for Sunday is Polish International Jacek Rempala. The Berwick and Coventry Star will ride at No. 12 in place of Paul Lee , who unfortunately has had to reluctantly withdraw from the line-up on medical advice. The former Ipswich rider , who has made a successful return to British Speedway after his surprise capture by the Bandits showed his form last night at Kings Lynn when on a tactical ride scorching to a six point win ahead of home top man Tomas Topinka and he has been hitting some high scores in the Elite League in Coventry colours.

and we are still taking bids to be the Ref's assistant for the day --- see behind the scenes at what the job entails. Get your bids in to : laurencerogers@blueyonder.co.uk plus --although the programme has gone to print --we can still mention rider sponsors on the day so if you want to back any of the riders for their insurance costs or travel then e-mail us . Had a few go last night at Kings Lynn from fans coming up to me to see if there was anything they could still back --the answer is always YES!!! Just e-mail us!!

Shaun will be on the tele on Friday with Anglia interviewing him about the Testimonial and the Press Release has gone out to just about every radio station and paper we could think of as well as being posted on several websites to promote the meeting --hopefully we will see a big turn out at West Row on Sunday for Tace!!

Thank you folks. As I said once I get Shaun Tacey's meeting out of the way this weekend I will start on looking for meetings for the boys --also Matt Browne may be back over as well from what I heard the other day.

Shaun Tacey Testimonial “ Back With a Bang” At Mildenhall Sunday Sept 10th at 2pm Press Release This Sunday (September 10th) sees a Spectacular afternoon of entertainment at Mildenhall Stadium as Speedway stalwart Shaun Tacey celebrates his Testimonial meeting . The Norwich born and bred racer, who has been a seasoned performer in British Speedway since his early days , has put together a top class line-up to contest his meeting at Mildenhall on Sunday. In total there are 28 races , which includes his main meeting which culminates in an eight man 12 lap Final , a special Conference league Challenge involving trackless Wimbledon and also the cream of Sidecar action. The action all starts with the Grand parade on Harley Davidson machines at 2pm with the gates opening at the Stadium at 12 noon with a range of trade stands for the fans to enjoy including one with instant photographs with Shaun and the stars of his meeting! In reality though the party would have all kicked off the previous evening when Shaun takes over the stadium immediately after the conclusion of the Fen Tigers match with Somerset on the Saturday afternoon. The majority of the riders taking part in the Sunday meeting will be joining him to kick off the Testimonial in style with a party night. It all starts with the World Championship Grand Prix from Latvia being shown on the Big Screens in the Stadium Bar whilst the barbeques are warming up to cook the food for the evening. There will be a mini-auction and raffle, disco and fun till late before the riders retire in readiness for battle the following day out on track. Tickets for the party which include the food are priced £5 adults and £2.50 children. On the Sunday the meeting will be split up with races from the main event , sidecars and then in the interval the world famous Wimbledon Dons, currently without a track, will meet the Sittingbourne Crusaders in a six heat , five man teem event, before the action returns to the main testimonial races culminating with the 12 lap , eight man final. This will be preceded by the Sidecar Final contested by the top three crews where the three times British Champions Shaun Harvey and Danny Hogg will be favourites to take the honours although they are up against the other top British based crews. Although Shaun has lost out on a few of the original line-up for his Testimonial meeting due to injuries and fixture clashes he has been able to pull in a top class field . Home interest from Mildenhall fans will centre around the likes of Jason Lyons , the King brothers, and James Brundle but there is also the unknown quantities of two young Swedish riders who ride along side Shaun at Team Bikab in Linus Eklof and Jimmy Jansson. Also out to impress will be young Australian Mark Jones , brother of the late Ashley Jones , who tragically was killed in a racing accident back home in Australia in the winter. Mark has paid his own way over here this year to get as many rides as he can and recently top scored for Carmarthen and Wales Select in Challenges at Weymouth and is keen to put himself in the shop window for promoters. Wily old campaigner Craig Boyce of Poole, now also the Australian team manager , was one of the first riders to offer his services to “Tace” whilst Oxford’s England International David Howe sent a text to pleading to be included!! Peterborough’s Richard Hall wanted to ride having spent many a trip abroad racing with Shaun whilst Arena Essex’s Leigh Lanham is a close friend and former team mate from Shaun’s time as a Hammer down at Purfleet. Glenn Cunningham of Somerset is another rider who goes back a long way with Shaun with both rides making their racing mark about the same time with Glenn staying over after racing the previous day for Somerset at Mildenhall. Paul Lee was awaiting medical clearance to see if he could take his place in the line-up for his first ride of the year and the first since his bad crash at Kings Lynn last year. He had an operation to remove some metalwork from his arm last week and a late decision on his fitness will be taken. If the decision is a negative one Shaun has another rider lined up to replace him. American ace Billy Janniro didn’t need any second asking when approached to do the meeting . A former Coventry team mate of Shaun’s the all action Yank will no doubt be “Mr Entertainment” –both Saturday night at the party and Sunday at the meeting!! If anyone fancies an arm wrestling contest he’s your man to challenge!! Entrance costs to the meting have been set at £14 for adults , £5 for the under16’s , Oap’s and under 5’s £4 –with a goody bag for the under5’s!! A special A4 sized 24 page Souvenir Brochure will be on sale which includes the race programme at £3. Rider line-up : 1. Shaun Tacey 2. Jason Lyons 3. Jason King 4. Daniel King 5. James Brundle 6. Glen Cunningham 7. Billy Janniro 8. Chris Neath 9. David Howe 10. Jimmy Jansson 11. Linus Eklof 12. Paul Lee 13. Mark Jones 14. Craig Boyce 15. Richard Hall 16. Leigh Lanham 17. James Purchase 18. Mark Thompson CONFERENCE CHALLENGE Wimbledon Dons v Sittingbourne Crusdaders WIMBLEDON DONS: 1. Andre Cross (c ) 2. Dean Garrod 3. Lee Strudwick 4. Matt Wright 5. Dan Blake Team Manager : Dingle Brown SITTINGBOURNE CRUSADERS: 1. Mark Baseby 2. Aaron Baseby 3. Luke Goody 4. Chris Hunt ( c) 5. Gary Cottham Team Manager : Graham Arnold SIDECAR CHALLENGE CUP : 1. Shaun Harvey/ Danny Hogg (Chelmsford/Dagenham) 2. Andy / Laura Kerrison (Luton) 3. Paul Moorcock / John Cook (Chelmsford) 4. Tony Cook / George Colvin ( Andover / Hastings) SIDECAR CREWS DETAILS : 1. Shaun Harvey and Danny Hogg , riding number 72. The reigning British Champions and for the last three years. This will be their first meeting back since Shaun Broke his leg at the European Finals in Germany where he was one of the favourites. Shaun only returned to the sport 5 years ago after a 10 year retirement through work commitments, Danny has been a top passenger for over 10 years. Shaun is from Chelmsford and Danny is from Dagenham. Machine Matthijsen GM .Andy & Laura Kerrison , riding number 8 1. They are the only father and daughter crew riding in Britain. They ride on a Belgium licence and the Belgium number 1's representing Belgium in the last 5 European Championships and reaching the finals on two occasions. Andy is a former speedway rider for the Isle of Wight and is one of the trainers at Sittingbourne Speedway. This is Andy's farewell season and this will be one of his last meetings although. Laura is part way through a degree and they both come from Luton. Machine :ATD/BAT Jawa 2. Paul Moorcock and Jon Cook , riding number 123. Paul and Jon are both from Chelmsford. They were 5th in the recent British Championships and represented the ACU in the European semi-finals this year. Paul is the son of former rider Geoff and has been driving for the last 7-8 years after passengering his dad before that. Jon has riding for 4 years now and has always ridden with Paul. They rode in the Demonstration at Mildenhall in late 2005. Machine : Duse WM Jawa 3. Tony Cook and George Colvin, riding number 10. Tony is an experienced campaigner who for many years rode mainly on the big tracks in Germany and France. He has been a European Finalist on three occasions and is still going strong with several good results this year. George his passenger is part of the Colvin family who are heavily involved in Grass Track and Speedway (His cousin is Shane Colvin.) George has only just started passengering Tony but they have already formed a good team. Tony is from Andover and George is from Hastings. Machine : Kiel Jawa

Yes sorry Lynn-- was going to announce that one last few days but have been a tad busy getting a certain rider's programme done!! Yes a cracker of a collector's item for someone to come away with on Sunday --so crack open those piggy banks folks!!

Got the e-mail / messages Steve and starting to look at this after I've finished with Tacey Testimonial at the weekend for the lads mate.

Too busy m8 --- Kevin Long on duty . Kindly coming back from Eastbourne having been down there for the Ipswich match on Satuday night.

Glad to hear it Mr Wong --the concessions price is currently under discussion due to some misunderstanding and confusion and the price quoted may not be correct. Also there looks like being a minimum age for children for paying --more news later !!!!

Just tissue damage --he's hoping to be fit!!!

meeting doesn't start till 9 pm tonight.

Right folks I've had an e-mail from HQ from Lynn and we have some openings for backing the rider's insurances at £25 per rider , travel and expenses at £100 and a few heats in the meeting remain at £300 per race. So get your offers of backing in as quick as you can !!!

Mark is really looking forward to taking part too --plus we have a major coup in that on stand-by we now have , for his UK debut, JAMES HOLDER ---brother of Isle of Wight sensation Chris!!! James flew in with dad Mick this week to accompany Chris on his trip to Italy for the World u-21 final and is staying on after for as many rides as possible . So James may well have his first taste of a full British meeting at Mildenhall on Sun Sept 10th in the Shaun Tacey Testimonial --watch this space for more news! *** STOP PRESS ***** Well within one hour of releasing this news I got a text of Chris Holder to say that both he and James will now not be able to do the meeting as the Isle of Wight away fixture at Newcastle has been rearranged for the same day!!! So James will now not be making his full meeting debut after all in Shaun's meeting --which is a great pity. Back to the drawing board!!

Thanks for the news Tommy.

Don't shoot the messenger!! Just relaying what Oaksey told me and asked not to go out too quickly until it was logged at BSPA although at Scunny on Monday most of the lads I saw knew anyway!!

With Tace's Big Day "Back With a Bang" looming nearer and nearer ---Sunday Sept 10th at 2pm at Mildenhall--- there are a few remaining chances to sponsor the meeting remaining. 1. Referee's assistant . Still taking bids for this. Spend the day with meeting ref Paul Carrington behind the scenes and at the button in the ref's box. Unique opportunity to be the Ref for the Day. Highest bidder wins. Bids to be e-mailed to : laurencerogers@blueyonder.co.uk 2. Rider's race jackets. There are two sets being made for the meeting. One set will be signed by the rider and auctioned off after the meeting and a replica will be signed by your sponsored rider and presented to you --with a photograph. £50 per rider. 3. Rider individual sponsors ---- you can sponsor a rider for their travel costs, fuel. oil, insurance or tyre --whatever you choose from the menu of backing. A full list of what riders still need support will be posted later so you can contact us to back them. Many thanks to Di Farmer who has kindly stepped forward to sponsor the great goggle giveaway --where each rider will sign their Wulfsport goggles and after their last race will , at a designated point, throw them into the crowd for a lucky fan to take home with them as a souvenir of the meeting. More later folks --see you at Mildenhall on Sunday Sept 10th --remember it's a 2pm start for a fun filled afternoon of entertainment!!

I think you will find that is an Academy match not a full Under 15 round on Thurs Sept 7th . No date as yet for this. Next Under 15 round is at Somerset on Friday Sept 8th.