MD

Starke was quite brilliant in his early heats hugging the white line at speed coming off bend four with full leg over the bike style. A lesson there for Perry who twice couldnt pass Wilson Dean as he sat mid track on the corners and TP only does the outside. Pernickety i know but 5 last places from our reserves at home is not good.

Thoroughly decent meeting to watch. PB were strong at the start with Starke superb and well partnered with OsterG. With the track slick to start, after watering and a regrade PB lost momentum but came back into it again as it dried and slickened off. Despite winning only 3 heats Peterborough kept in it by avoiding last places as Bewley and Worrall had their worst meeting of the season so far. Worrall seemed lost in the slick conditions and Bewley had machine issues to start. Holder did a good impression of Bombers gating technique and somehow never won a race but was terrific to watch. Onward to Berwick next weekend.

That same season we were due at Mildenhall the day after the Cardiff GP, which used to be a big riders night out and DB withdrew with a sinus issue! Turned an almost certain away win into a narrow defeat.

Respectable score for the Bandits.

Potentially the best meeting of the season coming up. PB are on the up, Barker is on form, Starke is always good value at Ashfield and Liam Carr looks to be turning the corner. The weak link looks to be Ostergaard who i would expect to be r/r which strengthens PB and BWD is almost a season on from where he was with Somerset last year, so what he gets is anyones guess. Bring it on.

Wind it in TS, its only ht7!

Kevin Keays legal action will bring it all into the open.

Twelve months ago Glasgow sacked BB due to slow unreliable engines and a lack of prep prior to meetings. The intention from Glasgow was clear, get him on a low-ish average which he could significantly add to as a middle order rider. Redcar have got the rider we thought we were getting last year. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Good bit of overtime for the Tigers.

Finished earlier than normal as the tractor only did 4 laps of grading at ht10! Also Dishington never pulled back any of the flyers from Bjerre or Worrall. Im sure Bates would have added a different dimension if he was there.

Quite a poor meeting tbh. Bjerre and Josh were decent but the rest werent. Howarth seemed to have the wrong set up all night but never changed. Rider replacement for Bates got 3, its open to debate if thats reflective. Think Peterborough will be a harder prospect next weekend.

Dont think so. On balance Bates has only had one decent meeting from at least 10 visits. Depends who is above him as to where the r/r rides go.

Battle of the middle order. Kurtz and Bjerre dont stick out as having any recent Ashfield form though Bates does. Avoiding last places will be just as important as winning heats, and please, no 40 lap grading at ht10.

Regarding the ht10 break it might be prudent to use the 2 minute clock to let fans know how long the break will be just as they do at the ice hockey. It should no longer than 15 minutes IMO including the kids race and grading.

One bad meeting doesnt justify a bad rider. He's scored double figures in all his Somerset meetings so far. If the track was as bald as reported that wouldn't suit him however its the same for everyone and he is experienced enough to know what he should have done to fix it.

Shades of Jye Etheridge here. Seriously though its most likely the experienced riders are back in the van straight after the meeting to get to their next meeting on the Saturday. Pickering needs a mentor just like Etheridge did to guide him to better choices in set up and build his confidence. He's had round one of visiting all the tracks, he may be more consistent in round two.

Indeed, so if we can see it .........

Justin Wolbert was pretty poor on a track he's ridden many times. Not a chance did he get second from Perry in ht14, it wasnt even close going over the line. Food for thought for Glasgow that after an extensive regrade at ht10 the visiting team came right back it having not won a heat or looked like they were capable of one and having spent their tactical up to that point. Ipswich then won three of the last five heats.

Still waiting to hear from The Scotsman. Currently bricking it at the thought of one of the lowest averaged teams visiting El Dale.

Ryan Douglas should be a reasonable replacement than r/r for Bewley. He's a rider i would haven taken a punt on, gone stale at Scunthorpe and would benefit from a change of track. On a 5.54 average he's a second string but just over a month ago he was having to ride at No1 for Scunthorpe on a low average. Be interesting to see how he goes at No2.

Vatch will see us right, four points it is.

Standard MO TS! Write down the Monarchs chances in almost every meeting whilst bigging up the Tigers allowing you to post how shocked and surprised you are when the ht15 result is known. Could set your watch by it!

The Weegies like a track grippy rather than slick.

How has Pickering managed to get to reserve on 4.50 average when he started the season as an assessed 5.00, a figure I believe new overseas riders could not go below in their first season?

Supposing we had used track covers today I doubt the meeting would have gone ahead. When the rain comes on its not exactly light drizzle and is driven in by a very strong wind. Being undercover in the cow shed would have made little difference to getting soaked and it would have been a distinctly uncomfortable experience for the paying customer. I haven't got yet to whether the riders would also actually have wanted to do it, but I doubt it.