Sings4Speedway

Spot on Waco. Morley in great form at present, Hopwood doing his job and Campos punching above his weight (partial pun intended). The tail does have serious problems though. Verge will have better nights but Widman is a major concern and Sealey being beaten by the home guest asks a lot of questions. However IOW are a loyal club to their riders and will give them a fair chance but alarm bells must be ringing. Eastbourne had their top end not entirely firing and still won comfortably as the reserves are going from strength to strength. To be fair it won't be the only team to get turned over by the Eagles but feel the Warriors are slipping out of the winning habit again.

At what stage into the race did the stoppage happen? I know there is a rule introduced this year where a ref MAY start the remaining rider off 15metres IF one team is on a clear 5-1 when the stoppage occurs.

Largely as expected last night. Brum heat leaders just edging it, Kent second strings slightly better than their opposition but reserves 16-4 in Birmingham's favour. Flint was always going to be a treat but once he could take all the reserve rides it was game over. Sets up the return match quite nicely where i think it will be closer overall but the melted easter egg cup looks to have a big red B on it.

Think the Brummies will be a bit too strong on home shale. Bowen may be one of the few riders in the league who could trouble Davey on current form but is still likely to be rusty. Thomas obviously went well last week but i fear there is little support elsewhere and there is a huge risk that Flint will run riot at reserve. If the Kings keep it to a 10 point defeat they will have done alright.

Any update on Adam Ellis who ended Sundays Grasstrack in a sling?

I believe the joys of the new ruling is that Starke could start from 15m back if the referee decides so. Basically another appallingly worded ruling.

Great to hear there has been a positive outcome to this and hope you enjoy many entertaining matches on the Island. As for runners up definitely a success plus you can only truly appreciate winning after you have tasted defeat.

Think the Colts will be looking for 60+ here. Smith, Bickley & Lawlor all had several rides early on and should be enough to do some damage. Normally the opposition tail would cause some problems for the home side but Buxton also lack punch in that area so im expecting 2 races in one mentioned a lot in the updates. Douglas turned Dicken over in the U21's last night so if the kid has is to do something he needs to get a few points on home turf.

If current form is anything to go by then it will definitely weaken Eastbourne however i suspect Kelsey will get a confidence boost being at reserve and hammer in the points and when it clicks for Brookes he will really show what he can do as ive seen him ride several times and he is extremely talented. From reports smaller tracks might take a bit of work for him but i suspect one good meeting is all it will take for him to start flying.

Stoke bowl just holds water and surely better than riders arriving and then decision made to not race in a swamp. Early signs have Stoke struggling to get all the fixtures in again

Yup lucky its not £25. Wasn't the U19's held a Berwick a couple of years back? How well was that supported out of interest?

Can't disagree with the above. Brum will bring Davey & Bacon who are both excellent at Central Park. Flint should walk all over the Kent reserve pairing but Cupitt hates the place so evens it up a little. Bowen & Thomas will have to be on top form to get much out of these and id put Rowe as key to any joy the Kings may or may not get.

Crikey.....well that about finishes it then with Stoke being notoriously tight at booking guests despite options a plenty. No pre match write up from either club on their websites.....bit poor tbh

Bit surprised there is no thread for this given the strong Brum support on the forum? Has to be said looks like a home banker but should give the Brum tail a few pounds in their pockets. Sadly i can only see Clegg offering much resistance from Stoke atm

Definitely no accusations against Flint or Roberts

I believe he is not taking up his SDL place so unlikely to feature in the MDL too. Speedway is a family and ripping people off is poor form

Was Tony Atkin riding? (Joking love you Tony)

Whilst its very clear that costs need cutting perhaps a new engine on the market that is a competitive all rounder might be the answer to this? For those that do give a fig does anyone know anything additional about these Godden development motors or what then end goal is?

You make a very fair case and there are probably just enough riders out of work in the wings that could have swapped in for one of the 3 pointers per side if teams had chosen to build that way? There is also a very strong possibility that promotions would have spread the additional points over the 1-5 and still named newbies at reserve and potentially put 5 pointers out of work? Lets not forget some sides still struggled to build to the limit. Averages will continue to be false until the BSPA agree a limit and stick to it for a set number of years rather than continually fluctuating.

and therefore increasing the averages of the genuine main body members meaning a glut of 9-10 point riders that are either discarded at team building the following year or included creating the need for 2 x new 3.00 riders at the tail and so the circle continues. Riders are no longer given the time to hone their skills as any rider aged 15-17 with bike is deemed ready to be gambled on in the NL. For every success there will be 5 times as many failures who may have made it if they were given longer to progress. Ive seen riders who are unable to lay a bike down or make the decision to do it quick enough in the NL and fortunately no major injuries thus far but i do feel its if rather than when it will happen and yet the promotions will still take no accountability when that dreaded day comes.

For far too long promotions have taken no responsibility for the riders they are tracking or the safety of those around them. There have been many riders who are simply not up to the standard of NL racing but placed on the line with others despite their questionable competence. Others of course have been hauled along with the speed and initially given the appearance of being capable only to have a big off at a later date. As you mention there are then the riders like Liam Millar who get dragged into a NL team (and can't always blame the rider if a NL team thinks you are ready then you are ready right?) does a couple of meetings, scores duck eggs then is dropped and tarred forever as a NL failure despite being introduced too early to stand any fair chance. Many NL clubs do very little to generate the next riders to the sport yet are happy to moan like crazy when the standard of suitable 3 pointers just isn't there.

Any new engines need to be as competitive as what is currently available otherwise they wont be touched. Half the maintenance has been attempted before and was found to be inaccurate and expensive. The other option you quoted does potentially make sense, make them cheap, make the parts cheap and almost create a throw away engine. Should a rider choose to maintain and service it regularly it will last a long time or run it until it blows and buy new again? Not saying any of the above apply to the new Godden as know very little about the intended concept.

Clearly a competitive engine from early showings. Anyone know what its USP is? Are Godden going for the extended reliability like the Gerhard claimed or just an alternative to the GM monopoly? Think the external design could / will need improving before it takes off. Make it all black? and ditch the biscuit tin lid timing cover and Drake may be on to a winner.

I take no joy in getting the amount correct as i got no speedway fix all weekend. I went with promotions that are ~ rightly or wrongly ~ more stubborn to the treat of adverse weather.

If Wlliam can get his nose out front he will score good points but he has yet to show a willingness to mix it in the first corner / scrap in a race. He might struggle is Loomer road is bumpy. That said he will probably outscore Alcock most weeks. Some sides will offer up points for them but other weeks its going to be the battle of who gets the 3rd in heat 2.