Bagpuss

Looks like Mr Andersen's naughty manouvre on Thursday had started a trend! At least the GB boys are only chopping across half the track and not from the kerb right to the fence

Well you have come out with some pretty astonishing stuff on this forum my friend but THAT takes the biscuit However your post would make a great dictionary definition for the word chauvanist

Woah! I don't think the track is that bad tonight, could do with a little more shale perhaps. As pirate paul says our gating is dreadful. Hopefully we can pull our socks up and get back in contention

Its called having your TV and computer in the same room In any case Sky had so many poxy commercial breaks that there was plenty of time to do both

As I said, it was mainly because of the practice! Not blaming the track staff at all.

I thought that but didn't want to say it I think it was more to do with practice to be honest.

For me Andersen's move on the third bend was not fair, but there you go, its all about opinion isn't it! Its a pity he has to do that now and again because he is a damn good rider and I would have him in my team every time. I think people are being a bit unfair on Scott, he was quite obviously riled (as I would have been) and it was all a bit of a storm in a tea cup to be honest Choosing their line is the right of a rider in front I agree, but there has to be a limit and for me that is reached when that rider chops straight across an opponent to stop them in their tracks. If Nicholls had not shut off so promptly a nasty accident could have ensued Isn't it time you were going to work MrMungo

Job done, although GB's gating tonight was atrocious and we are fortunate that it took Poland so long to get 'dialled in'. Unfortunately due to practice and scorching weather the track was poor tonight (I'm not a fan of blue groove racing) although there was some decent stuff early on. Hopefully the track will be grippier on Saturday to give us more of a chance, however if it is not I would consider replacing Stead with Louis who would have loved it out there tonight

Yep, they have both overstepped the mark regularly too

I like Hans Andersen but he does himself no favours with moves like those he pulled on Nicholls tonight. Neither do I mind hard racing but riding straight across someone goes beyond 'shutting the door'. And then to cap it all off he has the temerity to moan when Scotty rides him to the fence

Just wondering if anyone was planning to go to the Final in Italy as I need some information on travel / accomodation? Thanks in advance

Spot on.

Unlucky Troy, but for falling whilst in front in heat 8 he would have scored 10 and qualified comfortably. Feel for the Brits too, dreadful luck on a big weekend for them

1. Yes indeed he did! I'm not saying King should have been selected anyway 2. It didn't ever say that 5th and 6th would qualify as far as I am aware but the ONLY fair way to do it after Screen and Nicholls declined is surely to select the next two in the scorechart. Was it ever said that qualification may be left to one person's discretion? 3. I can't take this point seriously due to your obvious dislike of Lanham or indeed anything Arena Essex. True his away form doesn't pull up too many trees but he still finished ahead of the chosen two in the British Final! No doubt if Lanham was a Rye rider and EK wasn't you would still hold the same opinion 4. I have no chip on my shoulder, just observing (as have many others) that Kennett appears to be the favourite. Good luck to him but I personally don't think its fair. The reason I took the U21 final into account for Cardiff reserve selection is that the authorities obviously did when selecting Ben Wilson! If Bridger and Kennett were chosen as the two highest averaging young Englishmen then fair enough, I would have had absolutely no arguments. Good luck to the chosen two in the qualifiers but I would imagine Lanham and Smith feel very miffed. Middlo obviously does rate EK very highly, so do I, but so too do I Danny King and James Wright and Steve B. I have nothing to 'get over' in that respect. Happiness and joy to you old boy

I would like to point out the same before I get accused of bias against Rye

1. Maybe the only reason Ed Kennett qualified was that the Semi was on his own track (not arguing about the venue as Rye do more than anyone to produce British talent and therefore deserve to hold such a meeting) 2. If there was an agenda as to who would go through anyway then why label the British Final as a 'qualifier' as such? I hope those interested who finished above the riders chosen (ie Lanham et al) kick up a fuss 3. Lanham must be able to ride Belle Vue as well as a Arena to have finished where he did you berk 4. While King has no relevance to this debate the decision to make EK (or indeed Bridger as originally intended) Cardiff reserve ahead of him stunk to high heaven consdering Danny finished ahead of them both in the U21 Final. I'm all for helping British youngsters more but I wish it was spread out evenly and they were all treated the same

Thoroughly enjoyed this meeting, have to say the the race between Bunyan, Holder, Smith and I forget the other rider (Wilkinson maybe?) was the best I have seen for a very long time and was a credit to the track satff. Shame the Lynn lads both had a bad afternoon! Quality stuff nevertheless

Yep I am certainly glad I went! Lewis was trying lines that most PL and some EL riders don't / didn't at Lynn and was the most exciting rider on view by some distance. Will certainly make the effort to watch him in an EL match when Eastbourne come to East Anglia

I am no more or less of a fan of Edward Kennett than any of the other 15 riders who rode on Wednesday night Rob S, however I did expect him to put up a much better performance than he did. By his own admission Lynn isn't his favourite track but with him being on paper the the best British rider under 21 years of age I expected a lot more from him. And yes he does give up to easily for my liking, and that has nowt to do with his colours as I felt the same about Olly Allen last year

Thought there was some excellent action on Wednesday evening on a track where riders could have a good go round the outside....could have done with a touch more grip but some great racing nevertheless. The four finalists thoroughly deserved to be there and were all excellent, special mention to Boxall who rode superbly considering the size of his home track. Jason King was almost as good while Wright was mildly disappointing although fairly quick, and Brundle & Kennett a huge let down Josh Auty was the best of the rest for me and looks a great prospect So well done to Ben Wilson. Finally though I have to say I was quite astonished by Lewis Bridger having only seen him in an under 15 match before. To have that much speed, control and thought (he stitched Kennett up like a kipper when they met) at sixteen is almost unbelievable and he seems set for an enormous future. I have been one of the loudest shouters on this forum concerning his missing out of the PL in his speedway education, and although my opinions are too strong to change already I have to say that his performance along with some recent scores are making me look a little foolish. He also dispelled the myth that he can only ride small tracks and shook hands on every slow down lap, as well as not giving up until the flag every time (Kennett take note). Top marks Mr Bridger

Wouldn't call him much of a Lynn specialist myself! And I would agree that he probably won't be good enough to get through but you never know. No doubt the cream will qualify (including Kennett as I can't see it being too grippy) with probably one surprise, quite possibly Ben Barker who rides Lynn well. Will you be attending Chris?

This bloke has far too much influence in speedway for my liking. I presume he picked the seeds too, if so why on earth was Bridger put directly into the final? Just because he rides EL? Boxall would have been a better choice in my book Looking forward to the final, hoping that Simon gets the last spot