Aces51

Wright can be good at the NSS but not as good as Worrall. 7 from 5 rides on his only appearance this year. I would have preferred r/r with everyone but Cook able to take a ride.

The Speedway Nations Pairs event is on a Tuesday so it looks as if the NSS can be used although it's possible they have got special permission from the council to run on that day.

I think that Mark Lemon will wait until Steve has a better idea of how long he will be out before deciding the best way forward. Apparently, Steve is hoping to know more on Monday. R/r against Kings Lynn.

Reading the article Bachelor wasn't complaining so much at being sacked, accepting that it is not a problem if you disagree about something but about the way in which it was done, so close to the deadline for team changes as to deny him any chance of getting a team place elsewhere. He also makes some comments about Chapman which are similar to what has been said by people on here.

The Met Office forecast isn't too bad for Monday with no rain forecast after 7am until a 50% chance of light rain at 7pm. Let's wait until Monday before deciding it is certain to be off.

I'll point out again that Jonsson had an official average when he came back to Lakeside but it was reduced by the BSPA because he was no longer as good a rider as when he got that average. Can you not see a precedent there that should be applied for reassessing riders who's form has improved or deteriorated during their absence? Governing bodies are supposed to be consistent in the application of their rules otherwise the system is unfair and lacks credibility.

You know and I know that I was not referring to the GP rider problem but I suppose it was easier for you to pretend I was. Didn't Matt Ford confirm the supposed GP rider rule or have I and others imagined that?

Gordon Pairman made the comment in this thread and it relates to two riders in the current Poole team so it seems entirely relevant to make comments about it in this thread.

Just as a matter of interest Belle Vue won the track of the year award for 2017.

Particularly not fair, right or consistent when Gordon Pairman tells us that the BSPA reduced Jonsson's average when he came back to the UK because he was no longer the rider he had been. The consistent application of the rules would result in averages being increased for riders who have clearly improved since their last time in the UK and that is what should have happened. Of course you have to be capable of viewing things objectively rather than just subjectively to understand the harm this sort of inconsistency does to the credibility of the sport.

I agree. Excellent value.

Forcing riders to stay on their bikes didn't speed up anything. It just meant that riders spent the same amount of time gardening and moving back from the tapes but without dismounting. It also made no difference to the time they spent ignoring the Start Marshall's indications that they should move up to the tapes. As has been said, to make an effective difference all that is needed is a 2 minute clock and referees to disqualify any rider not at the tapes and ready to start within that time limit.

I think you call that a senior moment.

Sounds a bit like Jim Bowen on Bullseye when the contestant didn't win the main prize.. To misquote him; let's have a look at what you could have (won) seen.

I have a season ticket so don't use the ticket office but I think it opens at 6pm on match days. At the moment the forecast is dry for both Thursday and Saturday.

Shush! That means Shovlar is accusing Matt of smoke and mirrors.

I've got the DVD and watched it again a few weeks ago. it was a good meeting and at the time I thought it was brilliant but we've had even better meetings since. My personal favourite is the 2017 Peter Craven meeting. I've seen some better races in other meetings but the overall quality of the racing throughout that meeting was superb. The weather for Friday looks ok at the moment but obviously things can change.

It's getting difficult to understand how the one 8 and over rule was passed. So far fans have reported that promoters at Wolverhampton, Swindon, Poole, Belle Vue and now Rye House are against it. Even if Belle Vue weren't allowed to vote that is still a majority against it.

And at Belle Vue.

The most progressive development in UK speedway in recent years was the building of the NSS, which took more effort and determination than anything Matt Ford has achieved and if you're looking for promotions who have raised their game you may want to consider Glasgow, Isle of Wight, the present Belle Vue promotion and maybe others as well. They have managed it without creating the controversy that always seems to surround Poole and are trying to move the sport forward in ways that benefit not just themselves but the sport at large. Matt Ford has done an excellent job for Poole but little to benefit UK speedway.

When I saw the title of the thread I feared Philip Rising had fallen on hard times.

The pre-season special is always excellent value and a good read. I'd recommend anyone who doesn't normally read the Speedway Star to either download it or to buy a copy.

We've not had that many daytime meetings so it's difficult to judge. I haven't noticed any difference in the standard of racing but as you say many prefer the spectacle of racing at night, particularly under lights and it is often said that it can be more difficult to prepare a track for daytime racing. We may get a better chance to judge this year with a number of bank holiday daytime meetings scheduled.

Kenneth said last night that he was originally due to ride in Poland but the meeting was cancelled allowing him to ride last night. Peter Collins was invited but didn't attend. Lots of other former Aces were there and took part in the opening parade.

Thoroughly enjoyed the meeting last night. Despite the rain there were many brilliant races. Highlights for me were Bewley showing the talent he has, it's difficult to remember that this is only the start of his third season of racing a speedway bike, Doyle showing his class as the meeting progressed, Nicholls at last getting to grips with the NSS track, Worrall showing he is ready to move up another step this year, Bjerre getting on the podium, even though he was riding his brothers bike and Jakobsen putting in an impressive performance in his first UK meeting. Non racing highlights were seeing Chris Morton back at the NSS and getting a deserved good reception, Brenda Craven presenting the trophy to Doyle and a good size crowd creating lots of atmosphere and clearly enjoying themselves. All in all a worthy memorial meeting for the best ever English rider and a fitting 90th anniversary celebration for the only club in the world to have raced every single year since 1928.