Steve Shovlar

Have to accept Scunthorpe on this occasion are massive favourites and unless they croak big time should make it without too much trouble. Pirates never give up and will battle but the home track advantage with riders like Toft and Lambert riding like top heat leaders will more than likely be enough to see them home. Poole won here by two points last month but Kemp wasn’t riding at that time. 50-40 ish.

There’s a lot of AFCB fans who attend Poole. Crowd will be well down.

If they are running it next Wednesday that’s bad news. AFCB are playing and I have tickets, as when booking there was no clash. I know quite a few that have tickets for the footy and now won’t be in attendance at Wimborne Road. A bad call to go up against Bournemouth. Fans have to buy tickets well in advance to get in. Hopefully common sense will come into play and a different date be chosen.

Track has gone ultra slick. Needs water and wonder wheel.

It doesn’t matter if we have never heard of Infinite Reality. The fact that they have been prepared to splash the cash on speedway is great news and Zmarzlik has abused the rules. If he got away with it then all other riders would as well and the sponsorship would be lost and a possible lawsuit appearing which would kill off the sport. The fact that the WC and leader of the series broke the rules is even worse imo.

That is the rule. Doesn’t say up to that punishment, and rightly so. If you had paid a kings ransom for your company to be front and Center, then the WC came out on his own sponsors where your business should have been, you would be seriously pi55ed off.

Nasty crash.

Interestingly, on X, a lot of Polish fans are blaming Zmarzlik for being stupid, as the rules were clear.

https://x.com/MarcinKuzbicki/status/1703085466638078138?s=20

Sponsors have paid a small fortune to have their name plastered on the riders kevlars, especially the Infinate Reality splashed front and center. For the WC to not have this but his own sponsor is a major breach of the rules. More I think about it, I can understand why he has been punished. Won’t make a mistake like that again.

The problem is the rules have boxed in the organisers. There is no flexibility. Wear the wrong Kevlars, equals a €600 Fine and disqualification from the GP. There is no other option. Draconian but no option for a slapped wrist.

Bigger than recent crowds which bucks the trend but I have been to Voyens with 25,000 and it is a sea of heads. (Trick, Nielsen, Boyce runoff)

Clearly this penalty is in the rules so he’s out. Big crowd there tonight. Better than recent years. Hope the racing is better than normal.

Rather than throw him out of the GP., a points penalty of say, 25 points, would have been more fitting to the crime. Removing Zmarzlik punishes the fans, especially Polish fans who have made the trip. Ridiculous punishment.

I know I have said this dozen times but the first thing I posted after Glasgow beat Oxford was Poole, Edinburgh and Redcar and leave the battle between Glasgow, Oxford and Scunthorpe. Redcar with Wright and King are no pushovers but these riders are beatable. Plus weaker reserves. Instead we chose Scunthorpe with a virtually unbeatable Ryan Douglas and a Drew Kemp determined to put one over on us, as he will again attempt on the return leg. Ryan Douglas scores at Poole this season. 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 3. 35 out of 36 points.

It was a very bad decision to chose Scunthorpe over Redcar. But no point crying now. We won at Scunthorpe last month but Kemp is now at reserve and is riding well. Think a gargantuan effort would be needed to make the final now. Scunthorpe destroyed Glasgow recently around their place. We can’t win it every year, but it doesn’t help choosing the wrong team in our group. Having to rely in Edinburgh turning over Scunthorpe is never going to happen.

No surprise. Right call.

Easy as expected.

The Ipswich riders are also finding the track difficult. Holder said they need a motorway blade on it. The bumps have thrown riders all over the place on the first bend. Holder has a point. Witches have this in the bag.

Danny King had a near get off and Danny Hume lost it. Seems there’s a bump with grippy material. Ipswich got this sewn up with their top two.

Track is grippy and causing riders issues. Doyle nearly took a purler there. What’s happened to cause this?

Nothing wrong with the track. Slick and smooth. Needed more dirt imo but the riders obviously wanted it like that.

First of all well done to Scunthorpe who battled all night. I have said it a few times but why in earth did the Poole management chose Scunthorpe over Redcar? Couldn’t believe it when the choice was made nd thought they had seen something that I had missed. Alas no and tonight Pirates have made themselves a mammoth task now to get through to the final. Did they not see Douglas is virtually unbeatable at WR? Again tonight he proved to be the best riser around our track. Almost untouchable. And they had Kemp at reserve who did as expected. Throw in an unfit Zach, and Ben taking a real purler and the risk was there. To be fair Scunthorpe seemed to be wanting it more. Battled all night and were faster out of the traps. Making the track slick today didn’t help. Where was all the dirt from a couple of weeks ago? Full credit to Scunthorpe.

Said I had a feeling this would be a banana skin and so it has proved. Well done Scorpions so far. Kemp the difference. And Douglas doing his usual job here. Should have chosen Redcar.

Not jealous at all. But what I like, as do nearly all speedway fans, is an even playing field. Last years debacle in the PL when Lambert came in for BV killed the competition stone dead. The same has now happened in the Championship but this time it’s because of a ridiculous rule which allows it. What rule maker in their right mind thought, “Tarasenko can come into the PL on a 5, and for good measure he can come into the Championship on the same assessed average”. Yes Poole could have done this. “Sorry Kyle but we are replacing you with a guy that’s hardly going to drop a point. Hope you find some work”. Not the right thing to do and glad the Fords didn’t consider it. Last season we kept the same seven riders and this year we have done the same, except for Adam Roynon getting injured.