G the Bee

It wasn't just about equipment. I think you're bothered that he might show the sort of form for Coventry, that he hasn't shown for Wolves on many occasions this season.

I'm pleased with that. I suspect Freddie has always fancied riding for the Bees anyway. Now he gets his chance to put in a top performance at the business end of the season. Stevebrum is calling Lindgren for everything for guesting for Bees and ensuring he has his best equipment available. Yet if the situation was reversed and it was (and you'll all have to do a bit of suspending of your disbelief here) Wolves in the play offs and Chris Harris was deputising for them, he'd expect nothing more than 100%. And he knows he'd get 100% from Bomber too. Of course Lindgren's going to make sure he's as prepared as he can be for these meetings. He's not going to want to be shown up in one of the biggest meetings of the year. Anyone with a degree of competitiveness will want to go into that meeting showing that they can perform at the highest level.

Home track? In theory but not practice. How many meetings has Bomber rode at Rybnik this season?

We will. For Robbo's RR rides. With the likely exception of Ward, Jason is capable of beating any of Swindon's team at Brandon.

Its hard to knock the lad as his commitment does him credit but, really, if Jason was unfit, he should have given Weds and Thurs a miss, to be fit for tonight. This home match against Swindon is more important than Weds away fixture at Lynn. With us being without Hans and using R/R for Robbo, having Garrity was vital tonight. We're going to get a pasting tonight.

That's me done too.

AAAARRRGGGHHHH!

What's happened to the stand at the end of the stadium? It's not there! Just a pile of shale where it should be. Have they taken the stand down to put the track in?

Statement from Chris Harris. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=868988173168646&id=415940791806722

I see where you are coming from, but the final part of your post seems at odds with comments made by GTR themselves and Chris Harris on social media.https://mobile.twitter.com/gerhardengines/status/617363776388657152

Yep. I missed it. My Sky+ didn't pick it up either.

How very sad. Only met her once, at Collier Street for a grasstrack meeting, way back. I think it was the 2003 World Longtrack event, because I remember myself and my late uncle talking to her for quite a while about Kelvin Tatum who was riding in the meeting (and indeed won it, if I recall correctly). RIP.

Total over-reaction from you. My post never advocated riders going out in each heat to fence each other. And I don't think there is any rider who approaches a race with that mentality anyway. But yes, I do like tough, committed riders who won't be muscled around by other riders. I like riders who are are prepared to dish a little muscle out whilst they are riding and, likewise are prepared to take it to. It's the nature of our sport. If you don't like that, why don't you go and watch dominoes. Would I advocate any rider deliberately going out to put another rider through the fence? Of course not. I suspect most of those who criticise Jason only see him race on Sky or the few times he visits their track. Anyone would think he was fencing riders and falling off in every race. No-one would deny Jason is a hard rider, and still a little raw, so he makes mistakes, but he's a lot more controlled this year than last. Havvy has clearly been working with him. He's not hanging off the bike as much as he used to and his right foot is on the peg a lot more. He's much more consistently fast, controlled and smooth as a result. The improvement in him in 18 months has been huge. I suspect this is because he has a huge desire to improve, a winning mentality and will take advice from others. Clearly he's not the finished article yet, hence why he's a ftr rider, but his positive attitude, commitment to the cause and approach with the fans make me wish the sport had a few more Jason Garrity's. In terms of his races with Nicholls and Worrall last night, both calls could have gone either way. The Nicholls incident in particular was nothing that you would not see Nicholls himself (who is known for putting himself about a bit) doing.

You can knock riders like Garrity and Nicki all you like, but they are box office. Perhaps if there were more riders like them, the sport would not be playing to practically empty stadiums week in and out. The Bees fans love Garrity because he's an all action rider who gives his all in every race. He's great with the fans too. One of the most popular riders who has worn the Fighting Bee for years. He was getting stick tonight off the Belle Vue fans because they are still sore we were able to swipe him from under their noses on the ftr list at the start of last season. If he rode for Poole, you'd love him too.

But I bet there was not a single Belle Vue supporter on the terraces tonight who didn't wish he was wearing the Ace of Clubs on his chest.

I know people don't like comparisons between speedway and other sports, especially football, but if a footballer had made those gestures to the crowd, I think he'd be looking at more than a fine. I would hope the incident was seen by the referee as I believe that he should be charged by the SCB for bringing the sport into disrepute.

All this "I know something you don't." really gets on my nerves. Either say what you know or don't say anything.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps-JMfWhgfs Watch from 40:00. Most people will know what happened. It's hard racing. These things sometimes happen coming off the bend. Knudsen was excluded for that one. It cost him a World Championship in my opinion. And for what it's worth, I believe the ref got it spot on.

I can't help but be amused at Speedway riders in full face helmets, body armour and the like, squaring up to each other. They remind me of those fat-suit inflatable sumo wrestler costumes you can hire out for parties. I would imagine you've got more chance of hurting your own hand rather than hurting the other person if you throw a punch at a fully kitted up rider.

It's a two hour slot. I'm sure it'll include all the races, with just the waffle in between cut out.

Bomber wasn't on a Gerhard in his first heat. Or the first running of his second. He changed after the fall for Gafurov.

I suspect what he's saying is that he paid 18 quid to get in when really the meeting should have been cancelled. As a result, he had to sit through '10 heats of crap' just to satisfy Sky.

I hold a season ticket at Brandon most years. I didn't get one this year, but you'll be able to count the amount of home meetings I'll miss on one hand. I've been going to Brandon since I was 2. I'm 39 this year. And... I'm sick and tired of it. Tired of the collective group of promoters, riders and other stakeholders who, together, seem determined, with every week that passes, to drive another nail into the proverbial coffin of what was once a great sport. We can debate the rights and wrongs of what happened at Coventry tonight until the cows come home. But the fact is, this is happening too often. Meetings starting with a determination to get to heat 10 then pack up. Teams involved in gamesmanship trying to get meetings called of or continued when it's raining depending on whether they are winning or not. If there is a genuine doubt that the meeting cannot get to heat 15 - the amount of heats the paying supporter pays to see - then the meeting should not start. The thought should not be 'I reckon if we get a shift on, we can get to heat 10 and then call it off'. Tonight there was not a chance of this meeting getting through to heat 15. It was always going to descend into a farce. If the time-scales we were told last season are kept to, then we have another season and a half at Brandon before the stadium is closed. I think it's fair to say that the chances of Bees having a new home to move into for the start of the following season are slim. And do you know what. When the 'closed' signs go up at Brandon, I'll walk away from a dying sport with a sense of relief... And I doubt I'll give domestic speedway a second thought.

I know what you are saying but Garrity had passed him by then. Slightlyy touched with rear of his back wheel on front of North's leg. This wasn't a wipe out, take leg from underneath pass. Homer call.

Homer decision. Hard but nothing you won't see every week in a GP. North left a huge hole. Garrity didn't touch him. Sure he cut his run off but it's a tough sport.