Soundbites: 10th June 2005

Pecyna	Ksiezak

"Nobody is saying 'Krzysztof Who?' any more. We seem to be building a record of bringing people in who few people have heard of and turning them into a success. Krzysztof is getting his head around British racing and things are becoming much easier for him. He had problems with the language. But we have a mechanic working with him who used to work with Adam Skornicki and the communication has improved."
Chris van Straaten on Krzysztof Pecyna

"Neil Street and I arranged for Ashley to come over for this season to be in the Wasps team. That was the grand plan but there is always a concern when a rider is loaned out to get him back into racing mode, while you wait for the time for team changes, they will settle in at the loan club. Although Neil and I are unhappy that we have not got Ashley as we had planned it is not ethical to put pressure on a rider to be somewhere when they prefer to be elsewhere, but it's all been sorted out amicably."
Tim Stone on Ashley Jones

"I'm not expecting it to be an easy meeting by any means. Whether they get a hypnotist or not it's still going to be tough. With the way the track is now it tends to suit anyone who comes down here. Although Stoney moans and whinges whenever he's here, he has had good meetings in the past."
Graeme Gordon reacts to news that Workington's riders will be hypnotised in advance of their trip to Exeter

"We weren't phased at all by the fact that we had to pull back a dozen points from the away leg, and I think we've shown by knocking out Sheffield, who were the cup favourites, in the first round that we can march on to cup glory this year."
Islanders manager David Croucher

"I got a phone call yesterday morning from Simone (Terenzani). He explained to me he'd been told if he and Emiliano (Sanchez) don't turn up in Poland on Sunday they would not be able race anywhere in the world, including Italy. In that case I said you have to go. I've also talked to Emiliano and they're not happy about it, but don't have any choice but to go. Even if they rode for us in Newcastle they then might not be able to race for us on Wednesday as they could have their licences removed."
Dave Peet - Facing up to taking a depleted side to Newcastle on Sunday

"We knew it was going to be tough, Exeter have a good team this season, but we should never lose here to them. We should be the guv'nors at Craven Park. They've never won here and we've always thrashed them. But our team spirit is back, we've had a scare and it could be good for us in the long run."
Paul Thorp on Hull's three point win over Exeter on Wednesday

"Neil Middleditch is not your typical manager. After all he was BBC South's Sports Personality of the Year in 2004, an incredible feat to finish ahead of his riders who won the Double last year and all his football and Olympic contemporaries too. We believe he gets more exposure than most of the riders. Take for instance a recent live Sky television meeting against Swindon. He was interviewed three times and the Poole Tourism logo was in full projection each time. He embodies our motto of `surf, rest and play'. Middlo is passionate about Poole and Poole Speedway and wants to see the club succeed."
Head of Poole Tourism - Graham Shaw - on their decision to sponsor the Poole team manager

"I don't usually get too excited about speedway, but I went last year and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up. The atmosphere and the whole day was just great. It's the best speedway in the world."
Mark Lemon sums up the Cardiff experience

"Without his club in Poland releasing him, there is nothing we can do. He can't just come over and ride anyway because they could decide to ban him over in Poland then. It's a ridiculous situation, but the bottom line is that Poland is still very much a law unto itself. They are still living in the old days over there and it's about time they sorted themselves out. Something needs to be done about it. Tomasz wanted to ride for us. He was looking forward to it and had even ordered his Swindon race suit. He is very upset about the whole situation."
Alun Rossiter on the collapse of the deal to bring in Tomasz Jedrzejak

"I really didn't think it would be that close. We had a few bike problems with Paul Lee and Ashley Jones and that meant it always seemed to be an uphill battle. We had a team chat at the interval and I stressed to the riders the importance of pushing on for the bonus point and they got stuck into it."
Rob Lyon after King's Lynn clinched the bonus point against Reading

"All eight of the young riders taking part in the demonstration at Cardiff tomorrow have been asked to attend practice up there today. Fortunately one of Lewis' relatives owns and flies a helicopter and so has offered to get him back to the Wessex Stadium in time for racing. We have permission to land the helicopter on the centre green and it should be quite a spectacle. Most teenagers would be really excited about it all, but knowing how calm and cool Lewis is, he'll probably take it all in his stride. I expect he'll climb out of the chopper, get on his bike and go out and win his first race without any fuss because that's the sort of lad he is."
Brian White on Lewis Bridger's arrival at Weymouth tonight

"I got my cast off last week and I'm receiving plenty physiotherapy. But I'm still a few weeks away from racing again. My leg is still swollen and remains painful, I can't stand on it yet. Nor have I any movement in my ankle, and that's what I'm working on with my physiotherapist. The actual bone is fine but the ankle muscles are dead and need to be woken up again. Once I get the ankle moving and my muscles going I should be able to ride again. And I'm hoping this will happen within the next four weeks. We'll wait and see how it goes."
Edinburgh's Robert Ksiezak

"I can't wait for the event. I love riding Glasgow and I couldn't be happier paired with young James. I've been lucky enough to win the competition five times but if I make it six this would be the best of the lot because of James. I recommended him 14 months ago to Ian Thomas and to be riding alongside him in a major competition just over a year later makes it very special. I honestly feel we have a very good chance of winning it. We both scored well there last Sunday and hopefully it will be as good in a fortnight's time."
Carl Stonehewer looks forward to the Premier League pairs

"I have ridden in all four previous British GPs at Cardiff, and the first time in 2001 was an experience I will never ever forget. The noise of the crowd and the atmosphere made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on the premeeting parade. I don't think I will ever relive that experience, though it is still a fantastic experience every time I go there. There is nothing in the sport that compares to Cardiff, and I am glad I am part of it."
Scott Nicholls

"Virtually all the away meetings will be first timers for me, and all I can do is go there and do my best. I suppose more will be expected of me next season, but right now I'm just going along to do the best I can on tracks that are new to me. I don't know anything about Armadale at all, but that is part of the excitement of it all. It was the same at Mildenhall the other week. I'd never been there before, but I felt I rode steadily and was on the pace. Joe Reynolds had a tough time and fell off a lot, but I was quite steady and will know more about the place next time we go there."
Gareth Isherwood of the Stoke Spitfires

This article was first published on 10th June 2005