Updated on 27th January 2006 We've not featured any of your 'Dream Teams' on the site for a long while. In this feature we ask you to select your favourite seven riders of all time and tell us about them. Brian Dench kicks off what will hopefully be a whole new batch of these, by selecting his personal favourites. In order to submit your own 'Dream Team' either send us an email at speedwayplus@hotmail.com or enter the details through our new online form. Robert J. Rogers has dug out some colour photographs that his late father took at West Ham in years gone by. It's always nice to see some colour pics from the days when the world was black and white. We'd love to see similar pictures from other amateur photographers, drop us an email if you have any to share. John Bailey has asked to respond to the comments made by Reg Fearman last week. This link will take you directly to John's comments. You'll have to scroll up if you want to see what was said previously. The "Speedway Great Britain" stand will be at the MCN Motorcycle show at Alexandra Palace (Wood Green, London) From Saturday 28th January - 5th February. See londonmotorcycleshow.co.uk for details of the event. The same crew from the successful GMEX show - Reading promoter Jim Lynch and riders Paul Oughton and Chris Baldwin - will be setting up the stand on Friday and will be present to answer any questions prospective new supporters may have about our sport. All supporters are of course very welcome and we look forward to seeing you all there to help promote British Speedway.

Bert Harkins on Costa Mesa: "Nice photos of Costa Mesa, the track we called, "Shinbone Alley" owing to the close (VERY close!) racing on such a small circuit. When Harry Oxley first showed me the track when I arrived there in the '70s, I thought that he had made a mistake and took me to a Cycle Speedway track or perhaps this small area was the car park, but no,.... this really was the Speedway track and to be one of SIX riders battling it out in a Handicap race, really was exciting. The atmosphere on race night on a warm Californian evening at Costa Mesa was fantastic. Lots of thrills and spills to keep the fans happy and fortunately, not many bad injuries owing to the lower speed on this tiny track. It just proves that in Speedway, pure speed does not always give you the best racing as, at Costa Mesa, no matter how fast you were, the other riders were never far behind. By learning their Speedway skills on such a small circuit which called for balance, throttle control and some sharp elbows for the first corner, it shows just why the Californian riders in the UK have been such a success. Learn to ride on a small track with tight corners and it becomes easier to ride the big ones." Dudley Jones on Reg Fearman - Right of Reply: "I was most dissappointed to see the remarks about Reg Fearman. I have been a supporter of speedway since 1962, at Norwich, West Ham, Rayleigh, Ipswich, Kings Lynn and occasionally at Hackney,Somerset, Poole, Cradley, Swindon and Coventry...and Long Eaton. Reg, like Len Silver, Charles Ochiltree and others, have immensely enriched my life because they put their money on the line to give us all the sport we love. Reg has, I believe, achieved much more in his life than most of us, and I believe that in retirement in France, he probably still achieves more than most of us - and enjoys it. Well done Reg, and thank you for the years of pleasure seeing your teams in action. Long may you continue." Olly: "Great site to visit when I need a speedway fix! Any chance of an article on Harringay Racers sometime, ex-Racer Lloyd Goffe used to be my mechanic." Can anyone make Olly happy by contributing an article on Harringay? It'll be fantastic to see the Boro Bears back in full scale action next season. You can catch up with all the latest Redcar gossip at their new forum. Luke Goody of the Sittingbourne Crusaders has a new personal website. Click here to go there. Colin Fanning is hoping to restore a Comet framed bike and needs information and pictures to assist. Can you help? Rob Guerain would like to buy a vintage JAP.

 

Updated on 20th January 2006 Speedway was represented at the recent National Motorcycle Show at the GMEX Centre in Manchester. Chris Baldwin was on hand to snap pictures of the stand and the models! Reg Fearman was unhappy with comments made in relation to his interview with Steve Harland. We're happy to offer him a full right of reply.

Andy Davidson on Craven Park : "I have to admit that I enjoyed watching the meetings there when I am in the UK. Sorry to see it go, the supermarket just outside was a good place to get something to eat when getting there toooo early for a meeting. Hope HULL ride again somewhere." Alan Campbell on Magazine Issue 3: "Brilliant mag again! Keep up the good work." Andy Oxley on Hyde Road: "Brilliant site, brings back childhood memories of the riders and tracks I travelled to as a boy. Still go to Sheffield but not as often as I would like. Thank you for a great web site will put it in my favourites." Oxford junior Chris Baldwin has a new and very well designed website. The address is snapper-racing.co.uk. Tracy Holmes is looking for a photograph of heat 13 in the 1971 World Final. Can you help him? Jools is looking for info on a rider called Steve Ison. Do you remember him?

 

Updated on 13th January 2006 A third edition of our 'Very Best of SpeedwayPlus' magazine is now available to download. Consider this your permanent record of the last few months here on the site. Print It, Save It, Pass It On, Ignore It - The Choice is Yours! The magazine is in PDF format so you'll need to have Adobe Acrobat reader installed to view it. Don't worry if you don't already have it, you can download it for free from here. File size is 768K Inside Issue 3 2005 - A Season in Summary Track Pictures - Hull, Costa Mesa, Leszno & Trelawny The Mike Bennett Column Running for Cover Simon Wigg - In his own words Together in Electric Dreams Sunderland Potted History Calling All Angelz West Ham's title success in 1965 Fiction - Sliding into Hell CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MAGAZINE   Back Issues are Still Available to Download

Updated on 6th January 2006 Speedway may be a male dominated world, but there's plenty of room for the fairer sex as well. The Sheffield Angelz are leading the way, this girls-only club already boasts six female riders. Find out more in 'Calling All Angelz'.

Portland Park in Ashington was one of speedway's shortest lived venues. Only two meetings were ever staged at the North East circuit. These pictures of the track are courtesy of Doug Booth. New Islander Chris Holder and his brother James are the subject of a new website. The address is redlohracing.com. The new Oxford promotion have launched an official website. You can find it at oxford-speedway.com. The Canadian Speedway Racing Association website has been redesigned for 2006. Click here to visit the site.

Have you downloaded issue 2 of our free speedway magazine? It's in PDF format and showcases some of the best features we've included on the site. Inside Issue 2 An Interview with Reg Fearman The Mike Bennett Column Track photographs of Hyde Road and Arena A Home from Home Chris Morton Book Extract The Polish Perspective Promoting in Shelbourne Here to Help Tall Tales from the Shale CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE MAGAZINE

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