KIRKYLANE

This is the play off and it is all to play for!!! Both Swindon and Belle Vue are capable of getting to the final and win it . Just like the old Ko Cup , it all depends on the performances on the day It would be great to see Belle Vue reach and hopefully win the play off..... Just in time to say a fond farewell to The Greyhound stadium !!!

Teterow is a super race track. I would rather go to a good track for a SGP than hope a one day track comes up to scratch. The Finnish gp was in the centre of a good city with a poor track due the restrictions of the size and nature of the stadium.

The " jump starts " are getting more frequent and more irritating with the passage of time. Whilst referees simply pull them back for a restart then riders will keeping trying and hope they get away with it occasionally. The referees have it in their power to stop this.... They can fine a rider for delaying the start once he had jumped the start..... perhaps all riders should be warned before the meeting by the referee that they will be fined if they jump the start.. They can then also exclude the rider if he repeats the offence . I wish that all referees would have it announced over the tannoy that the race is being restarted with a warning to rider A for jumping the start and if he does it again then he will be excluded from that race. Too harsh you might say ???? it will only happen to those who are not standing still at the tapes until they rise.... and if you read the rules it states that riders should remain stationary until the tapes rise !!!!

IF you go through the season as a whole it is littered with examples of riders missing meetings in GB having just ridden before somewhere in Europe or even riding the day after being missing from a GB meeting. The root cause of Matej Zagar not riding on Monday was the fall during the meeting at Gorzow. In my opinion adrenaline kept him going in that meeting. Damage from that fall has taken it's toll and he is obviously missing for a genuine reason. I am not going to name names , but not too long ago a rider rode in Europe on Saturday and Sunday then had a doctor's note for non attendance at a GB meeting on Monday followed by scoring a shed full of points in Sweden on the Tuesday... nobody is going to convince me that the non attendance in GB that Monday was genuine.... the only question is how much did the doctor's note cost ?????? There are obviously cases of abuse where absence from meetings occurs... but in the main they are genuine reasons..

The new track at Belle Vue is approx 350 m. in length . approx 20 m shorter than Hyde road. Straights are 13 m . wide.. approx 42 feet in real money!!! Bends are 17 m. wide . approx 55 feet in real money !!! There is banking on the straights and the bends. The first and second bends will not be identical to the third and fourth bends to provide different race paths . All in all it looks like a recipe for multiple race lines and accompanied good racing. The stadium is designated as The National Speedway stadium as approved by the BSPA and also at the express wishes of Manchester City Council who stated it was part of the remit of them being involved in the Belle Vue Sports village which would include speedway. The total bill for the Belle Vue Sports village is 11.5 million which includes the Speedway Stadium , the 2000 seater Basketball stadium ,the upgrade of the Belle Vue Leisure Center and a 3G pitch. .