mikebv

Hopefully with the inside being pretty bereft of dirt last evening there wont be the usual few inches of depth to have got soaked.. I left last night just after 8pm and they had pretty much flattened the circuit so hopefully plenty of the rain would have slid off straight into the drains.. At least Fireman Phil shouldnt be tempted to get the water cart out...

Wow!! A Speedway T Shirt that actually looks good......

Spot on... Last night had plenty of races with plenty of interest... Not sure when "how much passing there was" became the only barometer of whether a Speedway meeting was good or not, but, as you say, you can have great races which have no passes whatsoever.. Watching riders entering the bends flat out at such terrific speed, constantly swapping lines trying to find grip, with all four often within less than 10 yards of each other was great to watch... And at an average of £22.50 each for me and my lad per meeting, incredible value for money.. Hope the current heavy downpour doesnt make the track too grippy that it becomes like riding on rails on the inside, as that wont be great for the quality of racing.. Last night we had times at circa 65 seconds plus. If the track is grippy there will be a fair few seconds taken off those times by the out of sight winners..

Obviously havent seen it on TV but did see lots of replays at the track and it looked like it came across well.. The sheer speed of these lads is remarkable and when watching live the level of "hair trigger" reactions required during a race to win it is truly incredible.. Watching someone riding a foot from the fence, in the dirt, at that speed cannot be anything but breathtaking.. When watching directly down the back straight some of those first lap dices were truly ones in need of watching through your fingers, given the speed and the "lane changes" of so many of the riders... Truly in awe of some of what these guys can do in (literally) the blink of an eye..

Watching him tonight makes you realise how good he is.... But also how good Laguta must have been this year to beat him...

Just got back in from the meeting, not the best ever meeting from the NSS but still a great nights entertainment... These lads really do put EVERYTHING on the line at this level... Saw Tai's crash from the top row of the Monster Rig and feared the worst given the angle and the hellish speed he went into the fence... Great to see him walk away... All to play for tomorrow if Tai is fit.., You only need to get to the semi and Robert and Tai are more than capable of delivering no lasts in that race... And then to the Final, and who knows what may happen? Even the best can be a nano second off at the start... Met plenty of Poles tonight, who certainly enjoyed themsleves, , and a fair few from around the country.. Proper Speedway atmosphere on the 3rd and 4th bend Nige...

Another One Bites The Dust?

I think Geoff left after heat 8 so is he still included in those numbers?

If those who run the sport are happy to celebrate 'other teams' success as if it was their own, then it shows, when you add in the constant sharing of riders at any given moment, that there really isnt any rivalry at all is there? No wonder many fans, mainstream media, and major potential sponsors, dont treat it as a serious team sport, given the plethora of evidence to the contrary laid bare in front of them all the time..

On his own? In body maybe.... In his head there were at least six he was sat with. ..

We won the fans!!!! (One for any League Of Gentlemen fans out there)...

They do have three divisions so I think more teams in total.. The local council involvement is key as you say, but that is only made possible by the sports' standing nationally.. When you watch the Polish League it truly is "tribal" (as a team sport should be), and can bring true national focus and attention to that town.. There is no chance for example that Woffy would guest for Zmarzlik as both the Wroclaw and Gorzow fans wouldnt stand for it.. If he did well Wroclaw would riot, if he did badly, Gorzow would... And their TV Companies and major money backing sponsors would run to the hills with their contracts and burn them.. As is shown at Play Off time every season, the sport in the UK still has plenty of "followers" who come out of the woodwork to follow "their team".. With a Speedway meeting actually meaning something being the pull.. Many drifted away over here when "Guestfest after Guestfest" became common place, with the top riders in particular starting to miss meetings in the UK to pursue an ever growing international fixture list, and meetings got rearranged to accommodate their agendas.. Polish fans stay with their sport because they dont have such a ridiculous operating model to push them away.. Someone just needs to harness some of that pull of the Play Offs into the regular season by making every meeting an event worth attending.. The support is clearly out there, lurking in the background And that's at every club... It's frustrating how every season we end on a terrific high after watching and being enthralled by an inevitably fantastic 2 legged final... And then within a few weeks of the new season starting six months later it becomes very much "same old, same old".. Such a shame it cant be ran better...

The crowd pleasing aspect is never in question Ray is it? It's the contrived nature of how the leagues are ran which sadly holds it back (massively).. The two legs of the final show how great it can be from an entertainment perspective which makes you wonder why stadiums are not full every week, mainstream media are not all over it, and why major sponsors are not queuing up to put their cash in.. However.. The other side of that coin is that the truth is Peterborough won by using riders from Ipswich and Kings Lynn, after (just like many others), using all and sundry through the season on an adhoc basis to get them there.. And that unfortunately will nullify the importance of the events during the season from a fan perspective, and keep both major sponsors and mainstream media away from the sport.. There is a reason Poland doesnt follow the same operating model, and it is because they know a team sport has to have a tribal following and element to it to make it appealing and successful, as you need that emotional involvement. Very frustrating isnt it that such an incredibly exciting sport is so hamstrung by (in the UK), it's very own devised infrastructure..? As an example of the flawed thinking, many "followers" of Peterborough and BV would have joined the regulars in the two legs, and it should be a launch pad for next season to entice these "followers" to become "regulars" each week, or even just more frequent visitors.. And it's the same every year. Bumper Crowds at the Play Offs!! However. The Champions every season seldom get a chance to keep the same septet should they want to, thus severing that connection created... A truly great sport. Sadly undermined in the UK badly, so the riders wont ever get the publicity nor financial rewards their incredible contribution deserves.. Still, at least we still have it, so roll on 2022, and the SON is only a day away for me!! Come On GB!!!!

The three you mention have been at a certain level for a long, long time, therefore, as you say, are not going to improve... However the same could be said for Peterboroughs team, and, in fact most of the riders in every team... The reality is that there are not many established riders who will now improve their averages unless the standard weakens to allow them to win more races.. And there are not many riders of say five years riding experience or so that look like they are making any kind of move forwards, hence I presume, so many end up never making that leap to overseas leagues and international success.. Last nights victory for Peterborough was down to their riders who are of a similar level to the Aces lads, simply handling the pressure better, and riding harder... Which having watched the Aces 'engine room' for the past couple of decades, (whichever the personnel) you always had a feeling could happen...

Dan is comfortably the No1 rider in the UK, so not sure that keeping doing the same thing will improve his game... He has reached that level now where he can regularly miss the gate in the UK and still often come from the back to win.. However. Learning to NOT miss the gate as often as he does will be the difference for him, as he has all the other attributes to reach the very top.. Therefore, riding (with and against), several riders from the highest level EVERY meeting he races in can only benefit him I would say.. Last night he again weighed in with nearly 40% of the Aces points, which he has done so, (and even better), several times this season already, so not sure that by doing this so regularly he is getting the challenge he will need to remain race sharp at the highest level.. Talking of % points of the teams total. Dan and Tom got 66% of the Aces total last night.. What an effort... Yet 18 rides from the other four yielded a total of just 13 points.. Your'e not going to win many Speedway meetings with that return...

By the end of every season, whoever are the Champions need to make around a dozen medals or more to give to all who have guested and helped them to win the title...

Unfortunately that is the regular comment every year post play off time... A fantastic sport, sadly undermined and undersold by the very ones who underpin it with cash... Can never cross over into mainstream sports or wider media due to the way it's ran, but still a great spectacle and night out if you don't take the team element too seriously and just enjoy what can truly be (uniquely) a breathtaking sport.... As shown particularly on Monday and to a lesser, (but still entertaining enough), degree tonight...

And to be fair to him, he was only a 'soldier of fortune' for one night only, so quite understandably could have felt 'job done', said his goodbyes and cleared off for a long old drive home.. And looks like some work to do on his bike too in time for those two matches so the faster he gets that sorted the better...

Geoff had given him a lift down and didn't want to hang around...

I would go Peterborough beating maybe the Aces in the final..

Probably only made seven medals and Hans has got one...

Should have let them do a lap of honour sat on a Chieftain Tank...

Internet issues?

Well done Peterborough... Fitting the league leaders end up winning the league.... Typically the 'engine room' for the Aces, as always seem to happen, come up short.. Dan must feel like Crumpy did when riding for the Aces.... Rob Lyon too proved himself (again) a very astute manager... Great send off for Bjarne as well, not bad to still be that good after all these years is it? And Cookie gets a winners medal. Quite ironic after all the years he rode for the Aces and didn't..... Scotty a class act in that interview...

What a ride from Bewley... Quite fitting the amount of times he has scored a massive % of the Aces points in several matches... Didnt team ride again though... Just took the easy route of passing all three on one lap....