Soundbites: 8th May 2006

Collins	Max

"This year is dedicated to my grandfather who has been diagnosed with a serious illness. It was a great night for me, especially with Pedersen going out in the semi-final and Rickardsson not qualifying for the final stages. It was a great race with Hancock in the final. He's a rider who will let you race."
Jason Crump on his GP win

"The next few weeks are very busy, in particular for Daniel, who also has Mildenhall meetings coming thick and fast. We said at the start of the season that we would be using both double-up riders and the time is right to give Carl an extended run. This will enable Daniel to have a short break to re-charge his batteries."
Ipswich boss Mike Smillie on the decision to bring in Carl Wilkinson instead of Daniel King

"Adam's memory was all over the place straight after his smash and although the old seven-day concussion ban doesn't apply any more, we must be sensible about giving him some time off."
George English on Adam McKinna's injury

"I've got bruising on the left side of my chest the size of a rugby ball and the chest is swollen; I'm black, blue and yellow. I've also got broken ribs - probably three - but the hospital was more concerned about the collarbone. Even when the doctor saw me again and said I had improved, I still felt like a zombie. I have no idea when I'll be back riding again. Initially, the talk was six weeks, but then it became three to six weeks."
Neil Collins

"Lee has undergone surgery but obviously this is terrible news for him. He'd made such a determined bid to do well in the sport after his previous set-backs. One fracture is bad enough but to suffer breaks to both legs in the same crash is devastating. Outside his speedway career, he was also preparing for some University exams next week so the injuries will affect those as well."
Denise Drury on Lee Derbyshire who has broken both his legs

"Apart from his first meeting for us, Michael had not really looked at ease either in the pits or on the bike. My decision was not based purely on the away performance at Workington and, after speaking to some of the more senior riders, it may be that we were caught out by track conditions. Supporters take on board results and we had to move quickly to arrest the slide, though no-one is attaching blame purely on Michael Coles's shoulders. Team averages change after the club has done six home and six away fixtures which might allow for a change, though you can go 'like-for-like' before that which is what we did in the case of Trent. His average is a fraction under Coles and therefore we were able to make the change fairly early."
Dave Tattum explains bringing in Trent Leverington to replace Michael Coles

"Tonight we finally got our act together as a team and I feel sure we will use this result as the springboard to really start putting together a good run."
Jason Bunyan after the Islanders' first win of the season

it's going to do me good to go back to England and ride more frequently. It's funny, I had this date in my mind for a long time. But I didn't know until recently that it would be against Wolverhampton. "I'm sure Peter and Magnus will be up for it."
Mikael Max who will face Wolves and his brothers in his comeback match for Arena Essex

"My throttle stuck at the end of the straight. When I got to the corner at around 60mph I tried to shut down but I just carried on. I think I was fortunate they had an air fence and I broke my arm on a post behind the fence as I went under it. I didn't make the turn at all. I am hoping that if all goes well with the operation I will not be out for so long as I was last season, at the moment my arm is up the size of a small balloon."
Craig Watson on his crash at Stoke

"When you win something as big as the World title, and then lose it the next year, the only thing you want is to get it back. He says he felt the pressure of defending the title last year. I don't think it showed and he still finished second. I saw him a lot and there didn't seem to be too much wrong."
Joe Screen on team mate Jason Crump

"Before the tournament I said that a place in the Final would be a dream for me. But now I see why the fourth place is the worst in sport."
Jarek Hampel after finishing last in the final at Wroclaw

"The rumours are absolutely not true, it's rubbish, Tony is not retiring early. Tony will be back on track for the Swedish GP at Esklistuna on 20 May."
Olli Tryvainen on speculation over the future of Rickardsson

"This maximum is just what I needed to kick-start my season. I've had some good away scores and now I'm sure I've finally found the right set-up for our home matches."
Newcastle's George Stancl

"The track was in brilliant condition, it can absorb a million gallons of water. But the riders were worried about the visibility so we had to call it off for their safety."
Rob Godfrey on the cancellation at Scunthorpe yesterday

This article was first published on 8th May 2006