moomin man 76

Tero Aarnio has signed for Masarna.

Can't see any benefit of having France and Italy in front of Finland, bearing in mind the scores in the first semi-final, plus Finland qualifying for the final two years ago.

Timo Lahti has a Swedish passport on account of him riding in Sweden for numerous years, but it makes him as Swedish as it makes me a Finn (my wife being Finnish). Rding on a Swedish licence is out of convenience too, as although he is a Finn, he counts as a Swede for team building purposes in the Elitserien. Sadly speedway in Finland is really struggling, withno meetings held this season, due to the well documented insurance nightmare. Otto Raak being picked at reserve is largely due to their being no one else left to ride, rather than his ability as a 16 year old up and coming rider.

The situation regarding insurance for speedway in Finland is getting beyond a joke now. The sport was already struggling and the insurance issue could potentially finish off the sport. The sums quoted are astronomical per bike. You can practice, but cannot take part in a competitive meeting without insurance. Sadly there will probably be no speedway meetings in Finland at all this year, as the planned pairs series has also been cancelled.

Otto Raak for Finland at Varkaus.

Good stream on Tapes Up production, but with the dust already flying, the track at Abensberg desperately needs some water.

Not sure if Timo Lahti is doing himself any favours riding as a Swede, when it comes to allocating wild cards.

The Finnish rider at Ludwiglust will be Otto Raak from Varkaus. Sadly there are no other Finnish U21 riders of the requisite standard.

Even with my own profound dislike of Chris Holder, it can't be denied that he was a deserved qualifier and the quality of racing was excellent. After attending in person the qualifiers at Glasgow in 2019 and 2021, I would be delighted to see the Facena family awarded with another qualifier in 2022.

I am in the stadium. There are two ambulances here. The delay is apparently due to the medical teams checking over both Brad Wilson Dean and Tero Aarnio. Both are meant to be going to hospital to be checked over.

Riders in Heat Eight at Glasgow trading places until Brad Wilson Dean locks up mid bend turn three/four lap two leaving Tero Aarnio nowhere to go. He takes a bad fall and leaves the track in the ambulance. At least he was able to walk into the ambulance. A lengthy delay ensues.

I'm not a Diamonds fan, but I donated the cost of an adult admission. We can't afford to lose more clubs. Here's hoping the appeal raises more money in the coming days. Every little helps.

Not surprised this one was called off. I was on a crazy long drive from North Cumbria to Heathrow and back; nipped in to see my parents in Willenhall at 4pm, when the heavens opened like a monsoon. I can't imagine Monmore fared any paper. As I wasn't there, my only surprise is that they tried to run the meeting!

This meeting has now been scrapped and will no longer be staged at Belle Vue.

On results from last season's SEC; Timo Lahti should be included this year, if the organisers are simply going to pick/nominate riders.

A tad sentimental here. A potentially good race has just been reinstalled, but it doesn't have SCB let alone FIM approval. The spectator facilities at Odsal are also sadly a decaying wreck (crumbling terracing) if my last visit a couple of years ago for rugby league is anything to go by. Odsal needs massive investment to bring it back into the modern age. One of the reasons for the return of the stock cars is that neither the city council, the RFL or Bradford Bulls are willing to fund that investment.

Fairly similar to his reported comments in the Speedway Star this week. I'm honestly not sure how or why Castagna thinks speedway is somehow exempt from the Wada ban; however, unlike the Ice Speedway World Final, it is hardly as if alternative venues do not exist, or alternatively the option of running one less GP.

Ultimately the BSPL have shafted Isle of Wight speedway for all that it is worth, in the manner in which the NDL for 2021 was constituted. I suspect they also hoped to shaft Mildenhall out of the league too, to turn the competition into a reserve team league. The BSPL need to wake up and realise that speedway in this country is on borrowed time. They can't afford to lose teams and tracks, as once gone, it is far harder to bring them back. Regardless of the current mantra of 'promoting youth,' speedway in Britain is rapidly heading towards the state it is in other European countries e.g. Norway and Finland with a handful of spectators watching largely amateur riders take part in what for most of them is an expensive hobby, unless those who claim to 'promote' the sport go out and actively promote it, rather than finding methods to shaft one another for minor gain.

Four good choices, but I personally can't see Nicholls averaging much more than 8pts.

Not wonderful, with a 'frozen conflict' in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions in the east. Rivne, rather fortunately is in the West of Ukraine and is relatively close to the Polish border.

Max Koivula was impressive for someone with little experience on the ice. Aki-Ala Rihimaki's move in the final seemed too soon and too desperate going for a gap on the second bend of the first lap. Unfortunately, the stream then broke up, so we missed the re-run final between Isoaho and Suolammi.

Stream working well for me.

I don't think that is a valid comparison. There are potentially a plethora of venues that could stage a GP, or alternatively it would be possible to run the GP series with one less round, so WADA's ban should still apply. The Ice Speedway World Final this year was unique, as there clearly wasn't a venue outside of Russia that could have staged the event with all those nominated to compete in attendance, plus with spectators permitted.

It makes for interesting reading. Given the reported lack of communication from the BSPL, it appears that the stand alone NL clubs were sold down the river with a take it or leave it for the NL this year. I suspect this is all part of a plan to 'consolidate' the sport and turn the NL into a reserve team competition, with the stand alone tracks driven out of business. How Mildenhall will survive with six league meetings, plus a few 'open' filler meetings is beyond me.

The current allocations for the Under 21 Qualifiers are as follows; Manchester - Czech Republic 1; GB 2; USA 1; Germany 2; Denmark 2; France 1; Latvia 1; Australia 2; Poland 2; Finland 1; Sweden 1. Riga - Czech Republic 2; Estonia 1; Romania 1; Ukraine 1; Latvia 2; Australia 1; Hungary 1; Russia 2; Norway 1; Poland 1; Slovakia 1; Sweden 2. Ludwigslust - Czech Republic 1; GB 2; Austria 1; Slovenia 1; Argentina 1; Germany 2; Denmark 2; France 1; Italy 1; Latvia 1; Russia 1; Poland 1; Sweden 1.