The Cheese

They could have made those quotes from him sound more realistic. "The boy Bartosz is a top, top rider" “You will never get a better chance to win a race than heat 2 at Belle Vue. My missus could have won that one.”

Well done to Zmarzlik, remarkable consistency. Kurtz couldn't have done any more. Good to have had someone else who can truly challenge for the title, hopefully one or two others can make that step up as well.

Brennan winning heat 9 felt like a key moment for Ipswich. Coming off the back of conceding that 5-1 in the previous race, he hadn't looked particularly quick himself at that point so it seemed like a great opportunity for Belle Vue to extend their lead to 10. He did a decent job in 13 as well to hold off Bewley long enough that he didn't have time to chase Sayfutdinov. Doyle deservedly rider of the night though, excellent from him in his last 3 rides especially.

Going back to Prague when Kurtz crashed on the last lap of the LCQ after Madsen passed him, I think that cost him 4 points which might end up being costly. Still, what an incredible season for him and I hope he can do it. Nothing against Zmarzlik but it would be nice to see a different winner.

Featured as the main report on BBC Points West this lunchtime. Mainly focused on the opposition to the plans speaking to the resident next door to the site and someone worried about the impact on the crematorium. Also some words from Steve Park who basically said if this doesn't work out then it's unlikely there's anywhere else.

There's not really any need for it but as a neutral I certainly don't mind seeing another race with the top riders. Before heat 15 last night I was hoping for that result for another chance to see those four. For anyone more involved I understand why it's seen as a farce though.

Excellent stuff from Kurtz. New track for him, slow start, pressure of the LCQ and then last gate choice for the final when making the start was crucial. I thought he'd start to fall away slightly towards the end of the series but he's just getting better at the moment.

It's another sign of the state the sport is in when someone can just go straight back into both leagues immediately after their 2-year ban is up. I don't have a problem with giving someone a second chance but they should have to earn it. I can't recall any comment from Morris such as an apology to his teams and sponsors for letting them down. We never even had official confirmation of what exactly he was banned for seeing as he took the cowardly route of refusing a test rather than admit to his mistake.

If they went down this route with weakened sides I would be looking into the possibility of also having a small franchise league to still be able to have top riders over here. This would be controlled and run by the BSPL. No 'home' tracks, 6-8 neutral teams of 5 riders decided by a draft system. Meetings could be either 10 or 11 heats (4 rides each + possible nominated heat) which would enable two meetings to be held on the same night. Only held at tracks that have some combination of good stadium/crowds/racing. Top 3 sides at the end of the league head to 'finals night' where 2nd vs 3rd race to meet 1st. All/most meetings to be held across the summer holidays to allow more kids to attend.

Kurtz seems to have the mentality to actually compete for the title which others appear to lack. I remember when he first started in the UK that he often went missing in the big heats so it's obviously something he's developed over time. Still a tough ask to catch Zmarzlik though. That he had an off-night but still managed 11 points from his 5 rides and then finished 2nd shows the quality and consistency needed to challenge him.

Kubera £350 more

Qualifying should be on TNT 5 as well as discovery+

You must have missed the 500 million IPL viewers turning away from cricket because opposition players sometimes have a laugh with each other. Darts rapidly increasing in popularity? Fake news. Nobody's interested because the players are too friendly during matches. And as for PL football. A sharp decrease in interest because of all the hugging before and after matches, discussions on the pitch, subs from opposition sides having conversations whilst warming up, managers sharing a joke etc. Or maybe they just take no notice because it happens everywhere.

I was thinking that yesterday as well. Lebedevs is showing enough to suggest he can stick around for a while, and if the likes of Kvech and Huckenbeck are already in the series then there's no point to wild cards anymore. There's no country without a rider hosting a GP and I can't imagine ticket sales are going to increase in Latvia, Germany and the Czech Republic because they have 2 riders for that round. Just scrap them and have a 16th permanent rider. Aside from the obvious two of Laguta and Sayfutdinov, Madsen should be in there or even someone like Dudek would offer a lot more.