mikebv

Indeed it was..

Choosing to use Div One HL's (and plenty of them), in the 2nd Tier has no doubt bumped up the costs of the 2nd tier teams, hence Newcastle struggled to compete at an affordable level... With other teams getting propped up significantly by well meaning fans/promoters, with very deep pockets.. By targeting your most loyal customers for a significant increase you undoubtedly are running a high risk strategy... You only have to look around the stadiums to see the highest age demographic of followers and these people will have, in the vast majority of cases, been followers for decades.. Hopefully the right thing to do for their business...

At the very highest level it is, £29 to watch a GP is terrific value for money.. Not sure the same can be said about the lower tiers of the sport domestically when weighed up against that.. The top tier racing costs circa £20 to stand for a concession, and you get you see GP riders, so to charge similar for the 2nd tier is taking a risk I would say..

The 2nd Tier has caused issues for itself by running teams full of Div 1 HL's and SS's for the past few years. (They even had at one stage last season the Div 1 Number One rider in the averages topping their own averages too).. Even at a "reduced rate" v their top league money, teams will still be more costly to run than the standard team level from say a decade ago.. The added issue this year is that more top names have come back to the top league which you can only think will reduce the earning potential in Div 1 of several established double uppers, so I would imagine they will want a good deal in Div 2 to help offset that, and with a "weaker" Div 2, they could score more points than in previous years.. And once the Pandora's box of the majority of riders double upping and downing was opened you cannot suddenly shut it.. When you set your price position for what you sell, solely based on covering the costs of your operating model, rather than what your customers are willing to pay for your goods, then it usually doesnt end well..

But apart from that?

Undoubtedly... But it is straight line speed he mainly passes people by... I get weight to power ratio is involved and getting the power down on the track is key, however, he has such speed advantage in a "drag race" that it is quite ridiculous at times...

Zmarzlik has such an incredible burst of speed over 80m or so... He must be goingt least 20mph faster than any other rider some races down the straights as he passes his opponents... How does he get that speed out of essentially a similar power output unit that they all use?

But what a bend!!!!

The FIM had to run their meeting this morning so as not impact even 2nd level matches in Poland... That tells you everything about where the real power lies in the sport. .. And, if I am honest, I do see why. .. The money they get in Poland will actually go a long way to paying for equipment some of the lads use to ride over here, or in Denmark and Sweden, and also when following their own individual ambitions.... Therefore I get why Poland see all the riders who they give these huge contracts to as "ours".... And want to protect "their assets", and large investments...

They have signed MPT.... (For one night)....

Aces clear underdogs again like at Ipswich... Dan will be goosed given what he has done/still doing today and will be lucky to get five.. Lidsey hasn't ridden the track for donkeys, and Charlie and Tom are on each others backs... Brady may get 10 off six... An easy Panthers win in front of a 3000 plus crowd... Getting good at this Shovlar meeting review stuff...

Kolodziej... Love to watch this fella ride.... Great race.....

Blimey, left my Dad's and Rybnik were being hammered... Just got in and last heat decider..

Rybnik look like they are in fancy dress..... Pick a set of kevlars from a wardrobe...

No... Some of the Aussie ones are ran very early in the morning.. I know because I have got up and watched them..

Good lad Charlie... A bit of passion never went amiss.. You don't have to be friends to be winners in team sport.. Cole and Sheringham once won a treble not talking to each other...

I believe you may well be right, but let's follow the corporate line....

Always the issue when you go with two "big hitters"... It all pretty much depends on them when the engine room struggles.. And that then in turn puts undue pressure on the reserves.. Rew looks like the one who Ipswich may not be able to wait for, given Riss and King are known performers at 3rd HL/SS level..

No one in double figures for the Aces.. A very solid team effort... Rowe will have the beating of most No7's, so worth a permanent spot I would say.. Mulford can then develop via the Championship and NDL..

It worked then....

Ans that is the thing isnt it... There are plenty of riders available nowadays as they dont ride anywhere else on a Monday and Thursday.. (apart from Polands rain off rescheduled meetings which dont take priority anyway) (Good luck with that, however).... The purpose of fixed race nights was supposedly to allow "top names" to come back to the UK... Teams in Peterborough's and Wolverhampton's position should be required to make a signing before running another match, or just be granted RR.. That would stop any "facilities" needing to be requested with all the usual discussion around their legality... Chris Holder has a set of Panthers kevlars for gods sake, (new colour too), so he should be at No1 for them tonight... It just makes the sport look amateurish when teams borrow off others, when plenty of riders are sat elsewhere who could take places... No signing. No meeting... Would stop a lot of what goes on that impacts the sports credibility I would suggest... And if not using the power of fixed race nights to get replacements in then you may as well all ride whenever you want...

You never know when you might need to take advantage of some of the rules and regs yourself.... Best of luck to Phil Morris....

Kurtz double figures for the Aces off six rides.. No one else getting that many. Bewley has too many rides against Emil and Doyle which will lower his score considerably, 8 or so would be my guess.. Wright good for a solid half dozen, probably no wins, but no lasts either.. For the rest? 12 - 14 points between them I would think would be a measure of their "Foxhall Level"...

Ice Hockey thrives on such incidents... In the US they became very focused on losing that image until they got a fan backlash, with the fans wanting such fights to happen, as it added to the spectacle and the intensity of the rivalries.. Speedway clubs willingly share riders with each other virtually every night so making the sport one that generates passionate rivalry will naturally be difficult to achieve, therefore a bit of personal rivalry can add to it..

Can"t go wrong with a bit of Morrissey...