Sings4Speedway

Very impressive performance from Jason Edwards on the IOW last night. Joint second highest qualifying scorer & winning the final beating Georgie Wood & staying upright which Morley failed to do. Going to be a big year for this rider.

In all probability he is going to end up at reserve if either Thompson delivers on their potential. There is a danger of course that Ryan could find himself getting 3 rides a meeting but its up to him to step up and make sure he doesn't.

Bombers ability on the bike has never been questioned its his brain that largely lets him down and the fact that despite many many years of racing he still has limited knowledge of how to get the best out of his machines. If Matt Read is now in his corner he can only benefit as he is a true hero in every sense of the word (although i thought he was mostly involved with progressing Adam Ellis to the very top).

Pretty much spot on except that Ben Wilson will be donning his finest tunic & sandals this year as a Plymouth Gladiator.

Add in the dubious secret ruling of only 1 rider per NL team who has a Champ level average of 4.00+ (or has achieved that at some point in the past) which i think all barring Belle Vue have already included its a very small window of opportunity for List. But things do happen and a club may be desperate for a long term replacement for a heat leader but with guests available for number 1's its a long shot during the season.

If he has a British passport / Is British i believe? Rules changed after BWD & the Spillers came over and cleared up.

Agreed although to be fair its closer than several teams are likely to get. As for gates whilst its really disappointing that there was such bias towards gate 1 it can't be used as an excuse as only Rowe & Thomsen failed to score from gate 1 (or at all) with everyone else from each side registering wins or seconds. The Oaktree used to be a little more favoured to outside passing so i hope that returns but Rory isn't famed for liking lots of dirt.

Well marginally quicker than i expected but better for the Cubs to be rid of Kelsey. I really don't get why riders who show little or no commitment and "retire" time and time again still get so many opportunities. Ryan Mac has had plenty of chances himself and is still to prove he can cut it fully at NL level but has shown slow improvement over the seasons so is probably the best suited replacement available at present.

I did wonder if the early tapes infringement would have unsettled Anders and hampered him throughout the night. Henry has probably done more laps of the OTA than any other rider on show and is wise enough to ask & get assistance with setups from the more experienced riders so i expect him to score well at home quite often this season.

Very alarming that the top spot is occupied by two teams who are not top flight. Plus a NL in third is equally disturbing. In fact throughout the list there is little to suggest that admission prices/attitudes reflect the levels teams compete at. It has to be said that everything for the £18 bracket down "seems" reasonable and extra credits to those who admit under 16's foc. Certainly not shocked to see IOW as one of the best yet again.

How far adrift were Rowe & Thomsen if they were? It has to be said that the number 6 rides are far harder than the number 7 so the disparity between Atkins & Rowe's scores are not always reflective of the match itself.

Who next Ben Hopwood? Don't get me wrong Phillips has had far more time at this level than many riders ever get and still shows no signs of making the step up but if a change is going to be made i would at least suggest a rider who could become a real asset but the ship has sailed on the majority like Jason Edwards etc. Luke Harris is a fair shout although also still a little too early. Would think the best opportunity is Jordan Jenkins as suggested and as a wild card i would say Danyon Hume would be a better option than Simon Lambert. However at present the diamonds issues are far bigger than who fills the number 7 jacket.

If rumours are to be believed Louie is more than capable with his fists

At present best chances P'boro have open to them in the not so distant future is to replace Bjerre & Barker with Nicholls & Garrity.

If its "the best league in the world" then surely the best riders should be able to compete in it regardless of age. Let ability be the deciding factor for participation not ridiculous restrictions.

3 local Rugby teams if rumours are to be believed

Hopefully Summers gets a hat full tonight but feel he will need to along with Hans, Tungate & Wright to stand any chance of keeping this one close.

This meeting looks like my idea of Speedway hell with a huge gulf in class, barely a rider i like/rate in the line up and being held at Stoke (the worlds most welcoming club). I wouldn't attend if i was air dropped outside Gloomer Road and handed a free ticket.

Feel like this is a hiding to nothing for Brum but equally hard to gauge anything from. If Schlein & Harris don't go through the card then they have had mechanical problems. Will be a tough test for the home reserves though and will provide a little indication of the direction the Rebels season is heading in. Ive been hard on Paco but he has done well so far and will be interesting to see how Grobbelaar gets on as there have been encouraging noises about him where in straight contrast i couldn't care less how Todd Kurtz stagnates for yet another season. Fingers crossed whatever the scoreline that one of the countries best race tracks produces some decent entertainment for those present.

The safe fact is that with Batch, Doyle, Holder and the remainder of the Aussie crew making up a third of the riders due to compete on the 18th if the track is even slightly iffy there will be a lot of fuss being made.

Excellent from a Scunthorpe supporter side anyway. Basically his family has paid for him to come over, be set up with equipment etc so he might as well hang around a bit longer.

Do the Visa rules still apply now he is out of the team? Namely will he / his Father be paying for his stay in the UK while he travels around and gets in loads of free practice at the EWR? Or will he still be taking the required salary, accommodation etc from Scunthorpe and indirectly the paying supporters?

I don't know the numbers involved but the basics are that Wight likes both tracks, Wright will be one of the top performers in the league this year and had Wright been offered a deal on terms with that offered to Harris or Schlein i don't doubt he would be at Somerset right now (even with the poor way he was treated previously). Redcar could put him a deal forward as one of the top 2 in the side and thats where he ended up. I feel the Rebels loss is definitely the Bears gain this year.

Whilst taking neither side in the Belle Vue debate as that has been done to death previously i think everyone knows the SCB inspections are tick box exercises only. How many times have people seen a ref walk onto the edge of one corner then back to the box for a track inspection or poke at one air fence panel and deem it secured only to see them lift later in the meeting and riders disappear underneath them.

Thats it. Help required. How do i put someone on ignore?