Dick Dastardly

What has happened to the standard of racing this year at Owlerton? Sheffield has always been regarded as a track where riders can have a real go if they've got the bottle. In previous seasons we've been used to seeing the home riders use the outside lines to sweep past opponents on the exits to turns 2 & 4 but now it doesn't seem to work. This was evident again against Plymouth apart from Damien Koppe's pass of Mark Lemon. In other heats we had Simon Stead struggling at the back in Ht 1, Richard Hall not making any impression on Todd Kurtz in Ht 5, Joe Haines, brilliant in all his other rides, couldn't catch Jake Anderson in Ht 6, Mikkel Bech last in Ht 10 and Simon not getting close to Cory Gathercole in Ht 15. Why are these quality riders finding it so hard to pass inferior ones this season at Sheffield? We seem to be subjected to lap after lap of tractor grading but it makes no difference to the quality of the racing? Any ideas?