Soundbites: 4th September 2006

Dick	Kasprzak

"It's a disgrace. Myself and fellow directors, Stewart Dickson and Gordon Pairman, can't believe it. Danny missed a meeting due to illness and, under the rules, a non-related speedway injury means a rider has to receive permission to race again. The ruling body have refused this permission which has totally incensed the promotion at Ashfield. It's an outrageous decision and one that has prompted us to put the brakes on our involvement with speedway in Glasgow, We will put the club up for sale at the end of the season and if no buyer can be found, the club will die - I hope the management committee can live with this."
Glasgow promoter Alan Dick on the Danny Bird controversy

"It is huge for me. I did not expect that kind of success, but I was fully prepared to battle for it. My team kept believing in me and we were able to win gold. That is the biggest achievement in my whole career."
Karol Zabik - World Under 21 champion 2007

"I was going good and had a great chance of becoming champion, realising my dream. I had worked all season for it and now there was a big chance it would be taken from me if I didn't make a good start again and that is just what happened. I tried my best to catch Karol but it wasn't easy because on this track you really had to make the starts."
Antonio Lindback who missed out on the World Under 21 title when the final had to be re-run

"Our intention is to continue Premier League speedway at Mildenhall but it means streamlining and re-structuring the whole club. It is an expensively-assembled team at the moment and during the winter we may have to completely revamp the squad. I have subsidised the club and am willing to do it a little bit next year but Mildenhall needs to stand on its own two feet."
Mick Horton

"To be honest, I am quite upset at having to learn I had been released by Weymouth promoter Phil Bartlett, when I thought I would be riding for Plymouth against Buxton. I've tried to speak to Mike (Bowden) this week to find out what was happening but haven't been able to get in contact with him. I find it a bit strange really given that my Premier commitments with the Isle of Wight are winding down and the points I have scored for Plymouth, and how well I've always been received by the fans."
Chris Johnson after being sacked by Plymouth Devils

"If we don't get the bonus point, Chris van Straaten should be sacked. But seriously - after a win like that we have got to be looking good to get it."
Brian Havelock who missed the Redcar trip to Workington and was replaced by CVS.

"Nobody really distinguished themselves on a poor night for us but I felt sorry for Ben Powell, our guest reserve. He'd forked out on a brand new engine and it blew on the start line the first time he used it."
Graham Drury on Comets defeat at Redcar

"I want to ride for Pirates for as long as I can. I have raced for Poole for three, almost four, years and I like the track and everything to do with the club. I have good equipment specially prepared for the track and I like the people, the venue and my sponsors here. I want to stay here."
Krzysztof Kasprzak of Poole

"I have always had that 100 per cent mentality and hope that I am a team player just as much as the next man. Scoring points is what I do for a living and it's what pays the bills. But whether this season will be my best for Stoke is maybe not for me to say. I just try my best and prefer to let my racing do the talking."
Robbie Kessler

"Richard has been fantastic lately. It is great to see a young British rider develop so impressively and I am delighted Richard's brave decision to come into the Elite League during the winter is paying off for him. Richard is the sort of rider who will never give up and his persistence has helped him get plenty of points. He will ride through brick walls for this club."
Peterborough manager Trevor Swales on Richard Hall

"This is great news, I had a sneaky feeling that I might be lined up to ride at Swindon, which is owned by Terry. I can now enjoy the rest of this season and hope-fully look forward to staying with the Witches again in 2007."
Mark Loram after Terry Russell gave him to go ahead to re-sign for Ipswich in 2007

"Boston must have given five or six points away during the meeting. But it shows me that Plymouth are beatable. They might be a 'monkey on our backs' at the moment but I am really confident we can beat them in the play-offs and we will go there full of confidence in the first leg of the Conference Trophy final this Friday night."
Scunthorpe co-promoter Rob Godfrey after watching Plymouth clinch top spot in the Conference League

"You could see how pumped up they were and they went at the home riders right from the start. I thought their attitude towards the meeting was first rate and if they perform like that against Weymouth, they should pick up another two points."
Stoke Spitfires manager John Woolridge on their 54-29 win at Sittingbourne

This article was first published on 4th September 2006