ZODIAK

Phew! That means the Witches by 30!! Cheers Baldy

I'm getting a bit cheesed off with the Witches at the moment and have lost interest. This 6 man team and R/R nonsense hasn't helped. Why haven't we brought in a temporary replacement for Heeps if he was to be out this long? I know rider availability can be an issue but the R/R points haven't been all that good so the replacement wouldn't have to be a world beater to do better. R/R isn't quite so bad (although still annoying) if the other 6 are on form but they're not so R/R becomes even more of a pain in the arse.

Crikey. Best wishes to the injured trio.

Apart from one meeting away, Hawkins has been absolutely woeful all season. Yes others haven't pulled up trees either, but let's call a spade a spade here Hawkins has been crap and the worst of the lot. He's lucky to still be in the side IMO.

Use it as an opportunity to tinker and make a couple of changes? Not easy and who knows if the riders of sufficient quality are available, but try and turn a negative in to a positive. Maybe make a couple of changes that could strengthen you lower down and provide a strong partner for S Lambert.

R/R for Heeps.

LOL King has dropped two points yes two, at home all season long and Manzares is far better at Foxhall than Lanham. On the face of it, we haven't come out of their absence too bad at all, but in no way are we "stronger".

Apparently we have Bjerre and Roynon on standby for King and Manzares on Friday.

Doesn't really fit in with his "see you later next week" quote to King, as King will be at Ipswich and Coventry later next week. He may not be signing for anyone he just might be coming over for a visit!

You obviously never saw Chris win the 2000 British final then with a 15 point maximum in awful conditions...

Paco Castagna ‏@PacoCastagna411 11h11 hours ago @DannyKingRacing mate have a good one tonight and enjoy racing man looking forward seeing you later next week Next week we've got Somerset at Foxhall and Worky away on the Saturday. Next Friday Coventry are at home to Leicester. So is Paco possibly signing for one of these 5 clubs?

Craig Cook and Leigh Lanham have been booked to guest on Thursday against Newcastle, if GB and USA qualify in the WTC.

Yes it did. And Phil Hilton has explained why he's happy with R/R at 4 instead of 2, as he like having Covatti in heat 14 and to be fair it's worked lately as we've been strong in the last 3 heats of meetings.

Ahh thanks iandean. I wasn't there last night but it sounds like the track was very well prepared so yes credit where it's due! The track prep has justifiably come in for flack this season as frankly it's been poor. So only fair to add some balance and credit the track team when they get it right. Sounds like I missed a good entertaining meeting too! Oh well serves me rights for deciding against going when I could easily have done so.. What was the crowd level like?

Anyone know why Phil Hilton was replaced by Brian Messenger as team manager yesterday?

Have a few hours to kill so thought I'd look back over the Ipswich 2015 thread. Now this is nothing to do with hindsight as I said the same at the time. I was baffled at the luke warm response at the prospect of signing King during the winter. He was never going to be anything else other than an excellent number 1 in this league and a heavy points scorer. Where has Lovey gone by the way?? Good job you're not the promoter Lovey! As we would have passed up King and gone with an awesome top two of R Worrall and Ricky Wells!

Is there a timescale on Heeps' return? If he's out for another month or so I'd definitely look to get a short term replacement in. I appreciate it isn't easy finding the suitable rider, but there must be someone out there willing to help out short term who can cover 4/5/6 points a meeting R/R is currently covering. If a few of the boys are struggling, it makes R/R a nightmare.

That's a case of snatched victory from the jaws of defeat if ever I saw one!

Matt Tressarieu would be ok as a temporary signing. Said It before but I don't like R/R especially for a run of meetings.

Tell you what, you've got to tip your hat to Covatti who showed a great attitude and character. Plymouth was never going to be a good track for him and he scored a single point there with Sheffield last season. A single point from his first three rides with the texter labelling him as "all over the place", a lot of riders would have just accepted that it wasn't a track for them and let their heads drop. But Covatti is obviously made of sterner stuff and after probably making a few changes, came out and won a couple of important races just when we needed them. I had reservations at the start of the season I'll be honest, but although there's still a lot of racing left this season, so far he's been a terrific signing and a shining light in a poor start for the team.

No idea. Bar one really good meeting away, he's been woeful.

You'd think so wouldn't you, but it all comes down to what the track conditions will be like it seems. There are a few riders in our team, who unless track conditions are anything other than easy to ride, simply don't wanna know. Every time we've had a meeting this year on a track that hasn't been dry, smooth and slick, we've struggled.

Doesn't sound right does it, but to be honest part of me agrees with you in that we get soundly beaten tonight. Something just isn't right with this team, or the club at the moment. Track has nearly always been sound at Foxhall, but for whatever reason it's been going downhill for more than just recently, it's been a couple of seasons. On the team front, I'd consider getting a temporary replacement in for Heeps, if there is a suitable rider available. Don't like R/R.