Star Lady

To be honest, I turned the last match off cos it was carp. I've learnt to filter out the commentary now so really am no expert on his latest efforts but going back to his first couple of shows JB was refreshing and new and I thought asked question that newbies would ask. Maybe he just got cheesed off with his questions being ignored and thought "why the hell should I bother?" I really am completely flummoxed as to why JB has been replaced and the bumbling buffoon is still there

And they shake hands or share a beer afterwards. Can still remember some of the spats from the 60s & 70 s but have long forgotten the races lol

I have to agree his enthusiasm and admittance that he didn't know everything was a refreshing change. Sadly for him he was saddle with a side kick who if he knew the answer flatly ignored the question and rambled on about something else, so no-one learnt anything. Jack did at least, at the beginning anyway, get the pronunciation of names correct. Like WW I think Jack was just the kind of presenter who would appeal to newbies to the sport, they could learn along with him. For that to happen tho he needed the assistance of someone with the ability to impart knowledge - Tatum, Norris, Louis, Nicholls, Havelock (ignoring the accent ) even Rosco. Sadly Eurosport seem to have solved the wrong part of the problem.

Be more impressed if they had replaced Ermolenko.

That's blooming optimistic. They have to have at least 3 meetings before they get round to a planning meeting

I think we are talking about at least 2. Nicki in the GP and I guess Smolinski in the German meeting where Davey Watt was injured. Surely one is one too many. At present there doesn't seem to be any deterrent.

But then the sun would be in their eyes going down what is now the back straight

Rory and Hans Andersen on Twitter today and as others have sai in the SS.

Following the Nicki/Zagar incident in the GP and the accident to Davey Watt. Some riders are calling for yellow and red cards for dangerous riding, with bans resulting from that. I'm all for curbing dangerous riding but does this rely too much on referees who let's face it are less than consistent domestically let alone getting consistency world wide. I assume if a rider was banned there would be an appeal system, would this just rely on the referee or other officials or should riders also at the meeting be allowed an opinion.

You need to think outside the box - don't ya just love management speak Instead of building up you need to go down. Just dig out the first and second bend. The riders will be going downwards so the sun won't be in their eyes and the uphill back straight will just add to the fun. Then when they exit the 4th bend they will also be looking down so the sun won't be a prob there either. Buster can use the excavated stuff to build a newsstand on the 1/2 bends. See just needs a woman's brain to find a solution

Lakeside without Davey Watt. Back injuries,

I'm all for smooth safe tracks but there are times the fans should be taken into consideration and tractors do one lap only.

Prefer Eurosport. Andy & Scott far superior to any studio combination Sky have had. Plus they show a few extras e.g. piece from Berwick qualifier. Biggest plus, their adverts advertising upcoming sports programme actually include speedway

I think we should all be far more concerned with the bacteria from the Dog Dirt Pooper Scooper being transferred to the hallowed shale of Monmore Green

Just a thought but if Harris imagined all his opponents were called Scott Nicholls he might do better in the GPs He certainly seemed to ride with more fire when up against Scotty. There again it could just be that he trusts Scott not to deck him

I really don't know, but remember when Lynn stopped doing the helmetless parades some fans complained and were told the rules stated they had to wear helmets.If you can't find it in the rule book, I'm fairly confident the rule doesn't exist Personally I think riders should do a helmetless parade BUT under the strict understanding that they pootle round so the young kids (and big kids) get to see them. If they then want to go like the clappers to test stuff they do it in the time allowance before their race. If they did more testing and less gardening it would be more entertaining anyway As with many things in speedway the fans enjoyment seems to come last.

No not about shovels Riders on parade have to wear crash helmets . Three times tonight Woffy's mechanic rode out from the pits round to the start with no crash helmet. Assuming the rule was brought in to avoid head injury, does it cover mechanics? If it doesn't should it?

I've always liked Nicki P on track. Wild in his early years, daring after that, but with his increasing years he has become more calculating and hard ( I won't say dirty cos I'm not a rider so don't have the expertise to make that judgement). However the number of instances of him being involved in incidents does seem to have increased with age. It would seem that he does not have the respect of many of his fellow riders. Maybe it's time for stewards at GP meetings who are ex-riders, something along the lines of F1 (not too sure how it works). Riders know if a move was dangerous as opposed to an accident caused by a combination of circumstances. What annoyed me most about Saturday was the kick by Nicki, complete with steel shoe which could have done damage had it connected. The Zagar slap at Nickis helmet and the handbags in the pits afterwards were pure box office and BSI must have been rubbing their hands with glee. Nicki said on twitter that he did say sorry, but so far has not answered my query as to whether that was before or after he kicked Zagar It will be a sad day when Nicki quits the GPs, he is one of the few characters left in the sport.

Blooming heck that made me laugh

I think most promoters work on probabilities. If you work out the number of times 2 (or more) riders have needed doctor/paramedic attendance or 2 riders have needed urgent transporting to hospital with qualified crew compared to the number of meetings you attend you can see why the level of cover is as it is at the majority of tracks. I'm not saying it's ideal, obviously it isn't but promoters are businessmen and have to weigh up the pros/cons and costs. Ideally every track would have 2 fully equipped emergency ambulances and at least 2 fully qualified paramedics/doctors qualified in trauma care. I'd suggest costs would make that prohibitive and push several tracks over the edge finance wise. Such facilities don't come cheap.

Several years before that they used to have a cardboard box handy for that very purpose Tsunami

Yes I saw that and prob due to my aging memory forgot it. I recall thinking at the time that it was a massive leap of faith on SGs part. IMO tho it's far outnumbered by the number of times I've seen Swindon riders fight each other for the same bit of track or the heatleaders clear off into the distance and leave a lesser rider to fight on his own when maybe trying for a lap to slow things down might bring benefits. I'm gonna leave it there. You and I will have to agree to disagree .

It's based on my observations of team mates fighting each other for position on track, presumably because they haven't spoken before the meeting/race. The lack of team riding. I've not seen any sign of riders greeting team mates on their return to the pits after a good race etc. Now I may well have missed all of the above cos you are right, I've not been near the Swindon pits but I have seen examples of all of the above from every other team I've seen this season. That lead me to my conclusion. Incidentally I haven't seen you put forward any examples of good team spirit

Great team spirit been fostered there My comment was based on observations watching Swindon on TV this season. I've seen no evidence of team spirit at all. Didn't argue with his record but his success with the riders he has this year. Agreed. I'm not the only one that can see that then Orion you are more than entitled to your opinion. I'm entitled to mine. Over the years I've come to recognise a good team spirit when I see one and I haven't seen a sniff of one at Swindon this year. Simply a team of individuals who focus on their own performance only.