SEPTEMBER 2005 NEWS ARCHIVE

29th September 2005

New Photo's!

A few new photos to give the "home" page a new look. Thanks to Andy Harris and John Franic. Also check out "Phil's Gallery" for some great new shots of me competing at Welland, also courtesy of Andy Harris.

22nd September 2005

Another Season Done!

Well, as you will all have read by now, the last competitive speedway race of the 2005 Canadian Season was run at Welland last Saturday with a sensational win in Division 1 by "Jumpin'" Jeff Orosz.

With myself droppping down to division 2 for the night to help the organizers with the race program, things went steadily from bad to worse, and only now am I really shaking off the effects of the coming together I had with "Sonny" Al Chisolm.

My insides were shaken to pieces, my left leg briused below the knee and worst of all was the aggravation of a rotator cuff injury I sustained two seasons ago.

It was a shame to round off what has been a great season in general on a downer, but that's the very nature of this crazy game!

With all that said, I very much hope to be out this coming Sunday at the Paris practice session and Michael is keen for a ride too. We hope to see loads of people there, weather permitting.

With the Paris track back in the very best shape, I'm sure as many people as possible will be keen to enjoy as many rides as possible until the eventual track closure for the winter at the end of October. The Thanksgiving weekend is the only one where no practice session is scheduled.

As far as the website is concerned, I hope to make some changes and updates over the winter months, including the long awaited conclusion of my unfinished article, "Speedway Bike History 1960's - Present Day". More recent photo's will be added, (Michael is giving me heck for showing him from two years ago!), and I hope to keep things chugging along in general. Please do keep checking back for new stuff.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the CSRA awards banquet on 15th October (see the CSRA website for ticket details). Team Small Racing would like to take this one last chance to reiterate our most sincere thanks to this season's sponsors: NBL Consultant Services and JIT Shop Supplies, without whom we would have undoubtedly had to miss some events this year.

Also a big thanks to Dave and Carol Havill for their superb work on and around the Paris track, the CSRA for promoting a great season, SRP for the great Dean Bencsics Night and the CMA for the sanctioning of and officiating at our events this season. Last but not least, we can not forget the fans who come to cheer us riders on throughout the summer months. A very big thanks to you guys.

On a final note, if anyone is interested in trying out a speedway bike for the first time with a view to getting invloved in this greatest of sports, there is usually the opportunity with the loan of bike and equipment at the Sunday practice sessions at Paris.

Do feel free to come and speak with me on Sundays at the track or drop me an e-mail ahead of time and perhaps we can set something up.

See you all this Sunday at Paris!

Phil #21 & Michael #2

13th September 2005

The best of a bad deal (amendment).

It has been brought to my attention that my last news update may have been misleading.

In it I accused the CMA of "failing to supply a referee for the night". I also accused the organization of a "lack of professionalism".

I have since been led to understand that the CMA had made all the arrangements for a referee to be present and that it was in fact a failure to show by the individual scheduled to referee the event himself. The reason for this is as yet unknown.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to the CMA as a whole and any of it's members or officiating staff who may have been offended by my comments.

10th September 2005

The best of a bad deal.

The last meeting of the 2005 season at Paris last night was thrown into disarray early in the evening when the sanctioning body the CMA failed to supply a referee for the night.

With no official referee, it was clear no racing could take place as any insurance would have been voided. With fans already seated in the grandstands and a good turnout of riders in the pits it looked like a very embarrassing moment for the promoters the CSRA.

After a brief riders meeting, it was decided to hold a "controlled practice session". Fans money was returned to them and riders entry fees were also returned. Riders signed waivers understanding that their decision to put on a show for the good number of fans that decided to stay was at their own risk.

The good will of the St. John's Ambulance service saw them remain in attendance for the entire session and riders took to the track in groups of four sorted by ability.

After a few "heats" of staggered starts (the idea to keep riders seperated and therefore safer) it was decided by all to line up at the usual start line and employ the services of volunteers to initiate flag starts and four lap "races" (used in the loosest sense of the word).

This proved much more acceptable to all and in fact the fans were treated to some good action. Track conditions ironically, were the best they have been all year and everyone looked fast and smooth.

A few of nice touches throughout the evening included the donation from a fan to the riders of $150 in appreciation of at least something to watch, a small monetary donation to each rider from the promoting body the CSRA to help offset travelling expenses and finally an offer to the fans to "choose" their own races. One family chose a match race between myself and arch rival "Big" John Perry. We duly obliged with four laps of everchanging lead and a "close" finish.

After all the action on the track had concluded, a pit party ensued with Larry DeVeau and Lise Hartman's chilli available to burn your socks off! Fantastic and many thanks.

Indeed many thanks need to be extended to everyone; Dave and Carol Havill, all the track volunteers, St. John's ambulance, the CSRA, the riders and fans alike, all who pulled together in a fantastic show of solidarity and friendliness to make the "best of a bad deal".

The lack of professionalism shown by the sanctioning body last night could have so nearly been a disastrous and sad end to a great season at Paris Speedway. Thankfully, we proved what a great family we are.

With one meeting remaining in the Canadian Speedway season calendar, the CMRC sanctioned event at Welland next Saturday night, we hope to see as many there as possible. Other than that, the Paris track is now open for practice sessions on Sundays starting this weekend from 12:00 noon till 4:00 pm. This will take place weather permitting every Sunday until the end of October, except for the Thanksgiving weekend.

Hope to see you all next Saturday at Welland!

Regards,

Phil #21 & Michael &2

6th September 2005

We're Back!

Sorry for the lack of updates and race report from the Paris Fair weekend, but I've had terrible problems with my pc. I literally had to format the hard drive, wipe everything off and start again. I lost all my website files, everything.

Anyways, I guess we're back in business. Give me a couple of days to get the rest of this thing back going again and I'll fill you in on all the "old" news!