Engine man

I thought the commentary reached a new low tonight - they spent more time talking about jokers than anything else. It left me thinking that Sky need to consider some new angle - perhaps discussing who phoned who in the hours before the meeting.

Just realised my comment about deep grippy tracks might come over a bit ironic! We've rarely had them in GPs so I'm not exactly surprised. What I meant to say was that they have been particularly poor in the 5 rounds so far.

Have to agree that Holder had few grounds for complaint - he did try to cut across Pedersen (twice). I also thought the favoured gate positions eg. gate 3 changed after the interval track grading (the next 3 heats were won from it whereas it had been very poor before that) - a bonus for the riders getting the draw that way round. As for the racing, the majority of passing was for second or third place, not much for the lead, mainly because it was possible for whoever got to bend 1 first to dominate. This seems to be more typical of Cardiff when it doesn't cut up. I'm disappointed with the GP series so far becasue we don't seem to have got any deep grippy tracks.

Definitely Scottish.

I think Tom is still active in vintage riding. I also did a bit of that and met him a few years ago. By chance I also noticed a reference to him in an old Speedway Star, relating to him when he was at Glasgow.

Not sure if it's the same person, but I knew a Mervyn Hill from grasstrack racing at around that time. He lived in Warwickshire, so it's quite possibly the same one.

Yes - and no. I am somewhat involved in engine design, and race tuning , but not directly for speedway. From time to time I do have some involvement with one of the top speedway tuners - we have worked together on some projects and regularly compare notes. Tuning for speedway is not so different from other motorsport in some ways - riders/drivers all have individual preferences and skill levels, and some have a better technical understanding than others, but having had some involvement across a wide range of sports, I have noticed that the similarities are strong. The grip/ wheel spin issue is more significant in speedway than most other sports, and that's where the detuning aspect comes in. In the old days, good throttle control was enough (after all that's what it's for) but not so many riders have got it now, and with the modern engine producing about 50% more power than a JAP , racing on small tracks with slick surfaces, all makes the problem a bit more tricky.

Quote from one very respected tuner..." 90% of what riders think they have done is in their own head". And another quote - this one from Henry Ford - "Believe you can or believe you can't - you're probably right"

A short summary: 1. keep engines maintained by replacing worn or broken parts - just like a car service 2. design, make or modify parts to improve performance or reliability 3. test and modify completed engines to obtain maximum power 4. all of above to create an engine which is ideal for the individual rider - and that's the real skill- same sort of job as a race engineer in formula 1, motoGP or world rally. Having seen a few engine test results, there are significant differences even in GP rider engines. The biggest problem is that more power isn't necessarily ideal and the various ways of reducing power through trackside set-up are very rough and ready, not reliable, poorly understood, and sometimes damaging to the engine.

That's great to hear that Rick France still appears here and there. When I saw him several years ago, he looked well and I believe he was still in the motor trade at that time - should think he's retired now.

Thanks for the info. Ron was one of the most exciting riders of that era in the old National League and early British League days. He used to keep a garage in the black country I believe, and that was where Rick France worked with him. Jim Lightfoot was also mentioned here in this thread....I thought Jim might still be alive, does anyone know?

I noticed on here that Ron passed away in 1993. I remember asking his old mate Rick France what had happened to Ron, and he would only say that "..it was a bad business..." Not sure what he meant by that....does anyone on here know? Incidentally it was at one of the Golden Greats meetings (2001? ) when I last saw Rick.

An interesting thread - I 'll add a few comments and historical views. Originally speedway started with one-off tracks where large numbers of spectators could be accommodated. (a successful format) The continental longtrack/grasstrack meetings still operate on a similar basis with large crowds of paying spectators. UK grasstrack struggles with attendances (much less than the 1970's). UK and especially Swedish Speedway started (like all motorbike sports) as an individual sport, but then prospered for many decades through the innovation of teams and leagues. Teams were a combination of a few top stars and mostly local lads (travel was much more difficult than it is now) Tracks sprung up then (30's and 40's) with little problem of health and safety or town planning - (much more difficult now.) The whole motorcycle sport paying audience has shrunk as new sports have been established in the UK and bike ownership has dropped. (although speedway doesn't have the usual bikesport audience - this is a finding of one consultant's report) Having talked at length with one fairly successful elite league promoter, speedway makes less money for him than stockcars, because "the riders have to be paid" (and audience is smaller). NOt exactly a SWOT analysis I know - but I suspect BSI did that when setting up the SGP series - incidentally I also spoke at length to a rival bidder for that event. He might have some ideas. The involvement of another organisation taking over the SGP series is adding more confusion. But the fact is BSI drew riders and spectators in through two things - a credible World Championship event, and creating publicity opportunities leading to sponsorship. True- they relied on having the leagues developing riders and providing bread-and-butter income for them - and that was smart thinking. Can some canny league promoters perform a similar business success? I can think only one or two I'd put my money on.

You're spot on here. The ACU have been trying to get coaching and "academy" squads going for all motorcycle sport, including speedway, but in the end it needs support from track owners and the riders themselves. In road racing and motocross the development squads have been working quite well and are likely to receive more (private) funding. Speedway is unique in that riders are paid quite early in their careers, operate mostly without major sponsors, and rely on club interest or a personal mentor to help them develop. Having said that, the riders you mentioned are all from the youth scene and Harris in particular is already at the top level. He certainly isn't lacking much now. Your suggestion about PC is an interesting one. I remember his development qute well. He was exceptionally talented, and he was taken under the wing of Ivan Mauger at Belle Vue for a while when he was just 16. In turn, I've no doubt he could help many young riders develop their professional skills (not just riding skills). But there are qute a few who could do a good job. It's about turning talent into success. I've seen it achieved in other sports too and it makes a huge difference. But I can't see where the leadership would come from in speedway to do this on a National scale. The ACU/SCB? - probably not; the BSPA? - even less likely! Anyone else? ......

Without getting into the merits of particular tuners, if they don't use a dyno, they're guessing at the power output. If you make good power, you can always tune for conditions. I know Peter Johns does use a dyno - don't know about anyone else.