TheScotsman

Always felt the tractors were dangerous being so close to the back straight. Should they not be more in the middle of the centre green and farther apart?

Life's a bitch.

Well that was mostly pretty dire fare. Chips were better than against Somerset and risked a sausage - excellent!! I have to say the fish also looked superb so maybe I'll venture there in future. (Rye take note - I wouldn't feed your fish to our cat and she has been dead 3 years!!) Just sat down to eat them and that goddam anthem again - all be upstanding the man said. Sod that I've just sat down. Plenty of glares all round me. Track looked to have maybe a touch more dirt on it this week, not that it was needed much. My biggest moan - why does the commentator have to leave it till the riders are at the tapes to announce a change of riders? He did it every time. And there were 6 such changes. We can't all recognise riders from the front, especially the away ones. Far too easy for Panthers. - the Fish was entertaining as always whether it was banging off the fence on the 4th bend or having a tough dust up with Bjerre for a 2nd place or having a harum scarum battle with Barker in the last race - Blackbird looked excellent in his first 2 rides and then slid off when at the back in heat 8 and was nowhere in his last ride - strange - Dryml won 2 races and looked better than when I have seen him previously - not a strong 2nd heat leader though - Ostergaard surprised me when I totted up his score - paid 11 from 4 and I had hardly noticed him - Bjerre also looked much improved - 3 convincing wins followed by the dust up with the Fish (Barker was well away) and then stayed a bit behind the Fish in heat 15 in case Fish and Barker came to grief - Halsey did ok given that I think of him as a small track rider - Greenwood was the star of the team - such an improvement from when I saw him against Rye and particularly against Somerset. Fast, determined, hard, safe - and he talks the talk well on the mike once you have tuned into his accent!! Plymouth were a huge disappointment. And why oh why did the team manager not play the jokers sooner? To wait till you are 18 points down and use them in heats 11 & 12 seems crazy. Even though Barker had had a poor opening ride, it looked a decent shout to put him in heat 5 against Dryml & Ostergaard when 12 behind - but no. Barker duly won heat 5. It also looked a decent shout to have put Newman in heat 7 against Bjerre & Halsey when 16 behind since Newman had looked decent in his first race - but no. Newman duly finished second. - Barker got filled in badly in his first ride from gate 4 but thereafter looked much like his old self. His battles with the Fish were "interesting"!! - Benko was so bad - I have big doubts about whether Aaron Fox will get close to a 5 point average with Monarchs but I have no doubts that Benko will not get anywhere close. - Newman surprised me. The best I have seen him ride and straight after his outstanding performance for Poole on the telly the night before. 7 from his first 3 including a good win over the Fish. And then looking to get past Dryml at the end of the back straight when both him and his bike catapulted into the air. Maybe he clipped Dryml's back wheel? I don't know. Was down on the track for a long time and then in the ambulance off the track for a very long time, so a delay of at least half an hour. They waited for the county ambulance to arrive but in the end decided to go ahead with the last 4 races while they waited. Jeez it got cold. - Jensen was a big disappointment compared to the guy who shone at Ippo last week.There he scored a good 11 points and was doing wheelies on his way to the tapes. Here he seemed slow and no sign of a wheelie - mind you 4 from 5 would be the reason. - Simota - well he wasn't good a Ippo (4 from 4) but he did have a heat win. Here he managed 2 from 4 and only beat his own Ben Reade. 7.5 average? You're having a laugh!! - Super Kalle - was a mega disappointment. After blasting to 14 at Ippo, here he was down amongst the dead men all night. 6 from 6 - not even his bargain average. He looked very down on speed - made some gates but was left standing coming out of bend 2 and was having to over-ride to catch up. Nearly came a huge purler on bends 3/4 in heat 11 when Barker was on his joker. - Reade - didn't look like he should be riding at this level. Felt really sorry for Newman having to wait in the ambulance for half an hour being checked by the medics. But felt sorry too for us punters gradually freezing to death. Is it always the case that they have to wait for a county ambulance to be called before anything can continue? Is it too costly to have 2 ambulances on site? (I did see a second ambulance there the whole time but assumed it was not fully equipped.)

Nice to see some dirt on the track again! Plenty of grip!

I remember Bert Harkins used to turn up at Old Meadowbank with his speedway bike on the sidecar of his road bike!! Top man too!!

Barker was absolute mince. Rasmus was really good - a great entertainer - enjoyed his wheelies on the way to the tapes each race. Kalle was good but to be honest I expected him to pick up a couple more than the 14 he collected. The other Devils were disappointing, with Benkon & Reade not really at the races. Wells was an excellent, committed guest. Manzares looks a very good signing. Probably should have come in on a 7!! Don't know the Monarchs Yank will get to his standard. Risager & Heeps must be a big disappointment. Tungate looked good and made a good job of wiping out the tapes. Ellis would be fantastic if he stayed on the bike. Hawkins scored well - I wonder if he will make it to armadale this year?!! Just a thought - I am surprised at how much of turns 1 & 3 is not protected by the air fence. It looks a bit short. Are there regulations about how much needs to be protected? I was 2nd bend half way up the stand.

Barker did indeed turn left on Manzares coming out of bend 2 but I believe Manzares had tried to stick Barker into the fence at the same place the previous lap.

We'll need our reserves to hit 15+ to have any chance of a win.

Must be why the British team is so successful with those 2 in it.

Worky for me every time.

Does anyone get on with Barker?

Was that an outside toilet or an inside one Ben?

Panic setting in after what 3 matches?

Tartan Army rules OK!!

Overtaking at Rye House? Surely not!!

I said this on another thread a couple of weeks ago but many people didn't believe it.

You said this. And that was based on one meeting. And then they hammered you home AND away. So by that logic - you must be wooden spoon contenders. Simples.

Looks like Rye are now officially "down the toilet"!! Genuine wooden spoon contenders!!

So if Rye don't win very comfortably tonight Rye must be wooden spoon contenders.

Doubt it makes any difference myself.

As a semi-neutral (I am a fan of the Fish but Charles Wright is an ex-Monarch), I really enjoyed the match. It was nothing like as cold as on the Rye night, but the chips were nothing like as good either so you can't win them all. The track was a bit short on dirt around bends 1 & 2 after a couple of heats so it was usually a case of charge out to the deeper stuff near the fence. Despite that the racing was competitive and far more interesting and entertaining than at the tracks nearest to me - Rye and Ippo. The crowd was down on the Rye match but still looked a decent number (maybe c1200?), though I don't know how that compares with last year. For Peterborough.......... - The Fish was excellent, apart from heat 13 where he looked slow until he made up a lot in a frantic last half lap. He was ahead by a country mile in heat 15 starting from the outside and riding round everyone on bends 1/2, before it was stopped when Nick Morris decided to do cartwheels on bend 2 lap 3(?). In the rerun he didn't get a good start until bend 4 lap 3(?) when he came forcefully under Olly Allen to get ahead and make space for Lasse Bjerre to also get through. - Lewis Blackbird was excellent too. Only dropped a point to Allen and another to Charles Wright in an all action heat 8 where they were both neck and neck crossing the line but Charles got the nod. Might have been in with a shout for a heat 15 ride. - Lasse Bjerre looked another candidate for the "Waste of Space" award after 3 nothing rides yielded 3 thirds. He then came from behind to pass Brady Kurtz for a win. Strangely enough this qualified him for heat 15 where he did the hard work the first time and got past both Rebels before Morris' gymnastics stopped it. He then took advantage of the Fish's efforts to get the second place. - Ulrich Ostergaard was steady but unspectacular for his 9 points. He managed a win over Morris but was comfortably behind Pontus Aspgren and Allen in his others. Might have been in with a shout for a heat 15 ride though. - Ales Dryml was poor and a very strong candidate for the WoS award. He did however manage a win in heat 11 against Morris and was well pumped up when he crossed the line which seemed to show he cares. Certainly having him in this form riding with the reserves, who are not very strong, gives 3 very weak heats. - Joe Jacobs was got great either. I usually get stick for saying this, but after 5 seasons racing he should be doing better. He made a decent start in heat 14 to lead Aspgren, but was easily moved out of the way and the Ostergaard overtook him, somewhat unnecessarily on the final bend. Almost in the running for the WoS, but not quite, thanks to a good point over Wright in heat 14!! - Oliver Greenwood disappointed me - I thought he looked much better against Rye. However he was unlucky enough to be targeted by Rebels for a couple of reserve switches and ended up having to face Wright 4 times. He did at least take a point off Todd Kurtz though. For Somerset......... - Nick Morris was a great disappointment. Didn't make the start in heat 1 when the track was a bit heavy and made no inroads on anyone. Then lost to Ostergaard! Then lost to Dryml!! Made a good start in heat 13 and picked up a 5-1 against the Fish (though it got tight at the end). This must have earned him the heat 15 gig or else it's in his contract that he must get it each week, because most people would have put Aspgren out with Allen. He held Bjerre back for a lap in heat 15 but was at the back when he did his spectacular exit to bend 2. Fortunately he was soon back on his feet. - Todd Kurtz was Rebels' main contender for the WoS award. Totalled the tapes in the first attempt at heat 1. Did nothing in his next two (losing to Greenwood in the process) and then managed to beat Jacobs in his last ride, with Morris protecting his back. Very poor. - Brady Kurtz was better than his brother! But not yet the great white hope, but it is very early days. He has a neat composed style and should be able to hit his new average comfortably. He beat Dryml but only Panthers reserves apart from that. - Pontus Aspgren was a big surprise. In heat 3 he absolutely flew round the boards on bends 1&2 lap 1 to pass Ostergaard and Bjerre and was a mile ahead at the end. He then had comfortable wins against Dryml and Ostergaard but sandwiched in between he lost a 1-5 to the Fish and Blackbird, courtesy of a great start by Blackbird from gate 2 which kept Aspgren stuck on the kerb. Can only imagine it was that loss that kept him out of heat 15 (or Morris' contract!!). Did Garry May actually make a mistake?!! - Charles Wright was another big surprise. He was fast and controlled and full value for his 10+2. I wish Edinburgh hadn't let him go and replaced him with some German non-scorer!! - Paul Starke was slightly disappointing too. However he was swapped out of 2 of his easier rides and never got to face Dryml!! I think he would have scored another 2 or 3 if he had been kept in his programmed rides. So all in all a good match to watch with the lead changing hands several times on the night. Somerset look to be a strong team, especially once Morris and young Kurtz get going. They might be keeping an eye on the elder Kurtz though given the way they like to make changes!! Peterborough are a 4 man team at the moment and Dryml and the reserves are going to have to pick up the pace otherwise they are going to drop points at home. They did play the queen's song which was a bit of a bind when you are expected to stand up on your dodgy knees having just started on a tray of chips and a hot coffee. Does any other track actually go through this rigmarole?

What does b*ggered mean?

You noticed! So much raw talent - just needs to get back on the rails. Still only early twenties. Has won heat 15s away at Newcastle, kings Lynn, etc. And now on a steal of an average.

Double figures for Kalle !!

You may well be right, I wasn't there. However it was Kalle's first meeting after the horrendous facial injuries he got in his comeback meeting at the end of last season (a comeback that only lasted a few yards and followed a longish period out of the sport). So it would take a few meetings to get his form back. He may not even get back to his previous level but if he does, there are few more exciting riders in the league and he is certainly heat leader standard. Remember he is still young, but needs to be kept in check to keep him away from the liquid distractions!! I hope he has a great season and wish he was in the Monarchs lineup.