Aces51

Six very good riders, some exceptional and one who lives and breathes Poole. That really is a magnificent 7.

The Diamond Lodge hotel is within less than 5 minutes walk. Nothing special but Travel Lodge type accommodation, fine for a night or two http://www.diamondlodge.co.uk Tickets are on sale, details here http://www.speedwaygb.co/britishfinal or here http://purchase.tickets.com/buy/TicketPurchase?agency=BVA_&organ_val=47609&schedule=list Perhaps I should add that this is not the most salubrious area of Manchester but I would feel ok if I was staying there for one night after going to the final. The are many hotels close to and in the city centre, which is less than 3 miles away.

I was thinking more of the lack of consistency and poor form  but I am expecting a stronger performance now they have the benefit of Stefan Nielsen to advise on set ups and lead from the front.

Wolves average away score from their 2 league and one cup meeting is 38-52. So far this year they are poor travellers. You really are in trouble if you can't win with ease but of course there may be other reasons for keeping it close.

Apart from the other considerations Tuesday and Wednesday are the traditional race nights in Sweden and Denmark whereas in the UK they are probably the least attractive and commercially viable nights of the week, with the exception of those very few teams that traditionally race on a Monday.

Kyle has the talent and determination to succeed and Workington are doing the right thing in not putting him under any undue pressure. Be patient and I am sure the points will come. Last night he was apparently in second place on the last lap when he fell, which would have given him 11 points, the same as third placed Leon Flint.

You're right that they should work together but it is a fact of life that the top league in any sport has to be the most important. It is the PL that features on TV and has a higher profile and therefore should be the league where every every effort is made to make it successful. That in the end is to the benefit of speedway as a whole. However, that doesn't mean neglecting the other leagues nor does it mean doing things which have a serious detrimental affect on those leagues. Every effort should be made to work together and certainly not to have a situation, as we have currently, where the CL is making decisions which are causing harm to the PL.

Unless there is a dramatic upturn in crowds for those who have suffered from having to change their race nights I can see a serious risk to FRN's continuing next year. Teams could be lost to the PL making it no longer viable.

They only raced on a Monday at the dog track because their landlords decided that they were going to have dog racing on a Friday. Crowds have never been as good on a Monday and that was why they moved to Friday as soon as they could. When they moved to the NSS and to Friday crowds increased significantly and now this season, with no difference, other than the change of race night, they have dropped alarmingly. I agree with you that we need to find a system to avoid doubling up clashes but FNR as presently operated seems not to be the answer at Belle Vue and other tracks. So far it has brought about a bigger percentage drop in crowd numbers season on season than I have ever witnessed, apart from when we moved from Hyde Road. We have lost between a quarter and a third of the total at one fell swoop. Continuing with doubling up clashes, though far from desirable, is highly unlikely to have had anything like that affect because most of those so disillusioned with it that they have stopped attending have already gone. For clubs to survive they must, like any business, be able to race on whatever night is the most commercially viable for them. We must then find other ways to resolve doubling up clashes and the many other problems which beset the sport.

Apparently, there have been two bids of £1,000 so with 2 sets of passes that adds £2,000 to the total collected for Mitchell.

That strikes me as a post from a supporter of a club which has been able to retain its race night and who is blind to the affect it is having on the sport at large. The fact is that Belle Vue last season with doubling up clashes and despite many fans being unhappy with it attracted significantly larger crowds than they are this year without those clashes. It would seem that at least some of the others who had to switch their race nights are in a similar position. It is still early days into this season and I think we should wait a while longer and see how things develop but I have no doubt that if there is no significant improvement in crowd levels we are getting into a situation that could have disastrous consequences for the PL.

I've added this on other threads in other sections. Craig Cook, on Twitter has offered 2 Cardiff pit passes to the highest bidder with the proceeds going to Mitchell and Team Hancock have now offered the same. Craig Cook @CraigCook111 · 9h So impressed with the walk @LeeRobertKilby is doing to raise funds for my mate @daveyracing91. Here’s what I am going to do. I will donate a pair of Cardiff Pit passes to the highest bidder - all monies to Mitch. Place your bid below.

And of course we are still without the injured Steve Worrall. I can't see any available PL riders who could be adequate replacements at the NSS. Kurtz is inconsistent, Holder not as good as any of those missing and Josh G is struggling. The proper decision is to rearrange the meeting but it doesn't look as if that will happen.

If you're referring to the standard of track preparation it wasn't always diabolical. It certainly had its moments when it was poorly prepared, which resulted in several changes of track staff but was fine for the first few years, reasonable for most of the time and very good from when Colin Meredith took over as track curator until we moved out in 2015.

Craig Cook on Twitter has offered 2 Cardiff pit passes to the highest bidder with all proceeds to Mitchell Davey. Josh Gudgeon of Team Hancock has now done the same. Highest bid so far £300. Craig Cook @CraigCook111 · 9h So impressed with the walk @LeeRobertKilby is doing to raise funds for my mate @daveyracing91. Here’s what I am going to do. I will donate a pair of Cardiff Pit passes to the highest bidder - all monies to Mitch. Place your bid below.

Craig Cook has offered 2 Cardiff GP pit passes to the highest bidder on Twitter, with all proceeds to Mitchell Davey and now Josh Gudgeon of Team Hancock has offered the same. Highest bid so far £300 Craig Cook @CraigCook111 · 9h So impressed with the walk @LeeRobertKilby is doing to raise funds for my mate @daveyracing91. Here’s what I am going to do. I will donate a pair of Cardiff Pit passes to the highest bidder - all monies to Mitch. Place your bid below.

I think that's a valid tactic but so is using a rider who may help hit the opposition hard with a heat advantage in heat 1, preferably a 5-1. Both options are tactically sound providing you have riders who can give you a reasonable chance of either benefiting from the first heat and then winning heat 2 or getting the 5-1.

Bewley is averaging over 2.5 points more than Ellis so far this season so I think he deserves it but it was Rosco who decided so blame him if you disagree. Having watched Ellis at the NSS on Monday I was impressed but Bewley is better and only just starting his third season in the sport. I hope that both do well.

I don't think it's that simple. It also depends on Cook. If he can sort out his bikes and form he may be a better choice than Lambert, even if Lambert continues his current form. If that were the case then it becomes a choice between Lambert and Bewley for reserve. Lambert hasn't ridden at the NSS for some time but he is there on Monday, so will give us an idea of how he may perform there albeit he won't have to face Cook, Fricke or Worrall. Lambert has raced regularly in Poland, which also gives him an advantage over Bewley but Bewley looks the sort of rider ideally suited to Polish tracks. If Cook is still struggling and Lambert impresses on Monday I'd go with Lambert and Bewley. It Cook hits form, Cook and Lambert unless he's poor on Monday.

Dan can be inconsistent at the starts so to be at his best needs a track on which you can race and pass. I've no idea if Ipswich fits the bill after the recent track changes. The last time I visited was in the days when Peter Collins used to hate the place.

Start time is 7.30 and tapes up usually by 7.35. Meetings usually finish by 9.15.

You may not believe that switching to Monday is the reason for the drop in crowd numbers but it's the only factor that has changed from last season, so that seems fairy conclusive. Additionally, the Bank Holiday crowd was good, which again shows that the support is still there but just not prepared to come out on a Monday unless it's a holiday. More advertising would only be relevant to explain the drop in numbers through the turnstiles if they were doing less advertising this year than last and that isn't the case. In fact the social media presence is greater this year.

I think the crowds will generally be better than yesterday. Last night was particularly poor because of being on TV and I suspect that the Manchester City parade in the city centre may have had an effect. The poor weather at the start of the season has also not helped but there is no getting away from the fact that Monday nights have had a detrimental affect on crowd numbers. Last year we averaged 1500 but apart from the the recent bank holiday, have not got close to that figure for the team events. The management are maintaining a relatively high level of publicity on social media but racing on a Friday was a much better option for attracting fans.

I think it's just that he is developing his natural ability and making progress at a rapid rate. It was obvious that he was a rare talent from his first meeting for the Colts,. which was only at the beginning of 2016.

The TV money seems to be a secret but obviously Belle Vue know what they are going to get, they know the crowds they got for the £10 TV meetings last year and have decided that it doesn't make financial sense to offer £10 entry this year. I'm sure they would have done if they thought that the overall gate receipts would be higher or even about the same.