g13webb

So fortunes really went in the Stars favours. They say 'small drops of water, little grains of sand' can always make a big difference. the answer to this problems is to be on top of everything and keep these problems to a minimum... The main reason you lost was because you top riders didn't score enough points...

The matches, a team has against Poole will have a big bearing on their finishing order.; Somerset still have to play them 3 times, Swindon twice; and Lynn, Wolves and Leicester only once, Those matches, Poole against Somerset, could determine who gets the choice of semi-final selection.

Call me optimistic, I see this going very similar to last night. Close meeting, with the lead going one way then the other. Belle Vue, as like so may others, always go well at the AFA . They can win this just like we did last night. It will be that close. To benefit from last nights success we have to win this meeting. I hope Neils and Robert do the business again and we can scrape another tight win. I'm going for a 46-44 Home win... NB: Hoping Erik Riss settles quickly and scores the points we have been missing of late... I'm sure he'll fit in the team well and benefit from the spirit that is becoming very evident with each meeting.

I was of the impression the rule of 3 programmed rides was only associated with the Reserves.. But like you say the rules are confusing...

Because the points totals the teams are unusually close together., five teams separated by only 3 points. I can see this going to the wire. Belle Vue's lost last night was massive, 3pts they could ill afford to lose. but other teams can also suffer in a similar way. August should answer a lot of questions... Of the top 5 now, Swindon having played 2/3 matches more than the rest, are looking precarious, but are still very much in it. I'll going to go with Somerset, Poole, Lynn with Swindon edging out Wolves for the last place....

Following the meeting on twitter, it was always going to be a close call, with not much to choose between either of them. Both can say they had riders who didn't perform as you would expect, and can also say they had riders who excelled on the night. Looking at the stats, both teams had similar number of winners, and also a similar number of last places . so, win or lose, the end was always going to be close. The Stars are fortunate to have 2 top riders to grace races 13 and 15 , when the meeting comes to the business end, you'll be amazed how many times they have secured the win for the team I felt confident going into heat 13 only 6 points adrift, believing we can get that predicted point today, never did I expect to win the meeting outright. So a massive WELL DONE to all the team especially Neils and Robert, and commiseration to all the BV fans. I know, had this been the other way round, I would have gone home 'pig sick', to have lost that at the death.... I can understand why Lemon choose Tungate and Bewley for ht 15. Usually, you pick your top men to perform in these pressured races. but he had been let down by Cook and Friske scores, and went for the inform riders, It was a 'Big Ask' though...…..

I wouldn't take that conclusion . we perform better when less grip. Cant guarantee we will be making them gates...

Another time, another place, it might have worked out. They say 'you reap what you sow' and this saying is never far for the truth. He has loads of ability , but always over does it. Spends too much time failing off, spends to much time injured, he will never reaps the rewards his ability is capable off because of his reckfullness. I remember when he was reserve at Cardiff SGP and came in a late race. He missed the gate, then when last he made a desperate lunge inside of Robert Lambert when there wasn't a space. They both came a cropper. Such a predictable outcome to a ridiculous move. He does it all the time and he wonders why they have such a bad opinion of him. If he was to concentrate on sensible riding he could easily become a better rider, that fans want to have in their team...

With the inclusion of Erik Riss sure makes the Stars a better team. With his Long Track ability, I would imagine the NSS is the perfect place to start his PL journey. with the wide open places and fast racing lines he should feel at home., also it now enables the Stars to have MPT as reserve and he is more than capable of getting double figures there.. Still hard pace to go and get a result , but there will be far more optimism now than we had last week.... This could now be a close match, and I feel confident of at least a point.. Will probably cancel our dentist appointment (only a check-up) and make a trip up to the Manc' country for another visit to the NSS.

I made no secret of my feelings of Garrity and see the acquisition of Erik Riss a big scoop. He is someone who can be relied upon to help the Star's cause. A big well done to Dale Buster and the promotion for making it happen...

I don't need to look at YouTube, I'm well aware of the changes of the bikes and the racing. Its very hard to be exact with any conclusion but the memories are clear in ones mind. Usually, the meeting lasted 22 races, of those, probably 50% were won from the gate. but even then the majority were closely contested. of cause there were some that were spaced out, but nowhere the number of todays meeting. We only have 15 races now, and as many as 80 or 90% are won from the gate. As many as 50% of the races are spaced out, and this is all to do with the characteristics of todays engines. We now have a sport where the machine ( bike) is more important than the rider, Years ago, a class rider could win on virtually anybody's machine... not any more. Two entirely different scenarios.... I don't need YouTube to realise that.....

Its difficult to make comparisons of yesterday year, as the sport today is so different. The racing now is much faster, with these high revving engines, whereas before, the engines had more bottom end torque (power) . The effect of this means the high revving engines have to keep their throttles wide open, once they shut off they lose all their momentum. The old bikes had far more usable power, when shutting off wasn't a problem. It enabled races to be more competitive, where riders raced closer to each other. I cant remember many races being too spread out , like a lot of races are today...

Sure was a night to forget. We were all aware of our weak reserves, and the last thing you what is for other riders to pull out from the meeting, giving them extra rides. In total they had 10 rides and never beat an opponent. We, in effect, started off the meeting with only 5 riders, once Proctor and Jorgensen pulled out we were then reduced to 3 , and some of those struggled to impress. I'm just pleased this wasn't a true reflection of the Stars team, on a day when everything went against them. I expected them to lose, but this was an embarrassing result......

Remember back in 82' Mike Lee had planned a break only for the BSPA to insist a golden Helmet clash. He refused to ride and got fined and banned.... What Changes ?????

Although they are better than we had last night, neither fills me with much confidence....

You are missing the point here, even your most ardent supporters agreed it was done to get the meeting cancelled. The meeting wasn't called off until a few hours before the start, when most of us had already began the long journey.

Even the most blinkered fans will know we haven't a chance of achieving anything at Poole having the reserves we have at the moment. Considering they couldn't score any points at home last night, what chance have they doing much on an away track.. Our 1 to 5 will keep the Pirates honest , but that's as far as it will go. Cant believe our bosses taking the gamble on these out of depth riders.

Wow.. hang on there. this was predetermined act because Poole had riders missing. There were no crowds let in the doors were shut. only a few of us manged to get through he pit gate, to see the mess that had been created. At least when calling the meeting off a day early, you stop fans the unnecessary time, and expense that we incurred that day...

When you consider how much work is involved when changing the fences from Speedway to Stock-Car, I imagine it would take some considerable time and effort. My issue here is that if they are prepared to go to that extent everytime, why not change the shale as well. We are all of the understanding that the shale used is crap, and the speedway suffers and does nothing in creating good racing. Forgetting Belle Vue, I believe the AFA is way better than anywhere else in the country , in staging the sport, but constantly being rubbished by the racing it dishes up, and that's a shame. No, last night wasn't anything special, it was the score that kept it interesting rather than the racing. For the first time for ages the meeting flowed quite quickly and easily finished by 9.30. Amazing what can be achieved when the cameras are there. It was nice to get the win but once again it showed how weak our reserves are. Robert gifted Simon with 3 out of his 4 points and that was the total are reserves managed to score all night. The Rebels reserves are worth a mention they were tremendous, out scoring some their more accomplished teammates, it shows there are some good riders out there if we look hard enough... Very impressed with young Jake Allen, yet another young talented rider...

After travelling 360 miles just to see this prepared hole, I can assure you it was deliberate, these things don't just happen. The fact was once the hole had been created, it was just left there for all too see. There was no attempt to repair it, like most clubs would have done, it was there for a reason. So please don't have any doubts about that.....It was a deliberate act to postpone the meeting... Like I said, never again...

In what way ??

I've got no problems with Simon Lambert as our weak reserve, although given the choice I would prefer Andersen. Andersen is the new chap on the block and learning all the time. I must be very different riding our varied tracks compared to those aboard, remember everywhere he goes is new to him. I'm sure given the time to learn he will eventually be a far better rider than what Lambert is. When Dale was assembling this years team, he did so with 2 strong heat leaders and 4 solid middle-order, riders making up the nucleus of the team, that enabled us to always have a quality rider in the reserve berth. This was the main reason behind his selection, and unlike some other teams, he was making a provision to always have them reserve places covered.... Although Rose was a big lost, he has been amply covered by MPT. but replacing Kerr is even more important. We have to find someone who will be far better than the reserve status and score points for fun, just as Lewis often did. Although exciting to watch at times, I have never been a Garrity lover. He always over rides, he is erratic, he's a liability , but most of all he is unreliable and that is what we want most of all.. Unless we can find someone to fill Kerr's big boots, our chances of any success will diminish quickly.....

After travelling all that way down there, a few years back, to witness that debacle, when a massive hole had been created on turns 1 and 2, purposely to get the meeting cancelled. Even though Buster offered his services to repair the track he found there was no machinery or material available. I vowed never to go to there again. Such was my feeling of contempt that day, I wouldn't go back even if they running next years SGP......…...

Home matches have to be won by the home side. Scoring less than the 3 pt for a win, would in fact be a massive loss. whereas an away team can still lose by less than 6 and they score a very valuable point. I see this as a comfortable home win, with Lynn fighting hard for a point.... 48 - 42 A top four position will be achieved by picking up points away from home...

It's too early to talk about Wild Cards, but rest assured if Doyle doesn't make the top 8 he, as a recent World Champion, he would be a near on guaranteed choice you could find...... Usually the Wild Cards are normally use to give excising riders another chance. Very seldom do they use the opportunity to bring in new blood..