szkocjasid

When Plymouth decided to start their season a couple of weeks later, there was a discussion of how that would affect the BSN series / hold it up. But now Oxford & Scunthorpe have had postponements, with the weather looking very dodgy up in Scotland, doesn't look like Plymouth's delayed start will cause any issues.

Scunthorpe look good on paper, but not had a chance to show what they can do yet. Luke Harrison could score a few from reserve on a track he knows well.

Was working on the outskirts of Edinburgh & it was non-stop rain all day. I know Armadale is a wee bit away, but can see Friday being cancelled.

After calling off a few meetings last year when all the fans were in the stadium, you'd think Oxford would be praised for calling it off early? As they are racing in all 3 leagues, there's no way they want any postponements, so they must have been sure the track wasn't raceable.

I would wait till Lampart gets an average, then if he hasn't improved, replace him with Riss, Laguta, Zmarzlik etc (wishful thinking). That way if they want to try him in future seasons, he'll be on a better average for team building. The team total will be well below the limit anyway, so Brummies don't need to keep him on a 6.00 average to make changes.

What normally happens, is a foreigner would be signed & Brits left on the scrap heap, think we'll have to agree to disagree on the merits of the RS scheme. I honestly think it's the best thing to happen to the Prem, since it stopped being the Elite League.

I agree, Joe has outgrown the NL because they've dropped the points limit to 36.25 & stopped any of his close rivals (all above 4.00) for racing in it. Last year it suited him, this year not sure if it'll help him develop much at all?

Allen's average would be about a point above Kemp's, would've had to lose a point from the top 5 for that swap. Personally I disagree about the RS in the top league being a joke, so far Brennan, Jenkins, Flint, Hume & Mountain have all progressed with team places after being "rising stars".

Good shout, if he fits

I'm not sure there are any National league quality riders at RS. To me Joe T has outgrown / is too good for the NL, despite the fact he still races in it. Boughen could also still race in the NL, but Oxford must consider him stronger than Atkins, who's not eligible for the NL, by that logic Boughen is above NL level.

Plus they'll get a high averaged guest when he doesn't turn up.

That is certainly true. Unless it was an Aussie called "the next darcy ward"

No one can convince me that Celina is getting opportunities based solely on her ability. When she got a wild card for the SGP2 there were many riders who scored more but were overlooked, the Peter Craven memorial has really been for Prem heat leaders / second strings and Aces reserves, so Celina stuck out like a sore thumb there. I can't blame these promotions for trying to get extra publicity / increased attendances & I'm not saying she can't ride at all, but she clearly benefits from being a female. Now I'm sure Workington are hoping she proves a good signing & will score points at reserve, but they must also have considered the publicity she'd bring in too. I'm sure other Champ teams will be pleased she's here, I've already seen comments from people who attended "just to see Celina". I honestly find it insulting to female riders if she gets treated as a "novelty" rather than for her ability. Sadly this is nothing new, I'm sure Kai Huckenbeck wouldn't have got a wild card if he was Polish, and Kolodziej may have got a pick ahead of Kubera if there ages were swapped. I don't like it when riders are picked for anything other than ability, wether that's age, nationality or gender.

When does the 28 day facility start? When it was announced or the day of the first meeting?

Source?

I do feel he's too negative, as when Birmingham have been bad, he's pointed it out, which is fair. But when they had a couple of decent away performances, didn't give them any credit.

Not sure if that was a joke, but they get a point for being predicted 7th. So this means everyone predicted them for bottom.

Not sure of there's many options at RS. I'm sure Joe T will be given time, I guess Hagon or Henry Atkins are the next best waiting in line, but will they be any better than Joe at home (when he's not racing Dan)?

Rew's non-scoring heats were very tough heats too. Basically racing against 2 heat leaders.

You may be right, even if Dan T started, Ipswich might have needed Joe to cover injury in the play-offs. But they certainly shouldn't have picked him to begin with. I guess it's possible had Joe not started the season & struggled, he may have had more confidence when getting a chance later on?

Indeed, if they can't win with Nicholls at reserve, how are they gonna beat anyone.

I know it's not gonna happen but Brummies need to beg Nicholls to stay for another 3 weeks till the EuroSport meetings start, rest Lampart when bringing in Pawlicki. Then when Nicholls leaves, Lampart will take longer to drop to reserve still on his assessed average, so Zach Cook can be your potent reserve. Maybe even Milik will be the reserve?

Nope Charles Wright could go in heat 13 with Tungate, no reserve needed. That's why I questioned it, using a reserve early on gives them less options later on. Obviously in this case didn't harm them. But if I was Klindt I'd be saying, "I scored above my average away from home, why didn't I deserve an extra ride?"

The bizarre thing is had Ipswich not been silly and signed Kemp as their "rs" they wouldn't have dropped him, Leicester wouldn't have had the option to strengthen up by dropping Dan T & he'd still be their "rs" this year. So by perhaps costing themselves the league by using Joe T last year, Ipswich may have helped themselves win it this year by using Dan T.

I think the RS is the most important position in the team, the difference between Dan T & Joe T / Gilkes is massive. Last year it was more equal I feel.