21st century heathen

Congrats Chris. Easily the most exciting rider in the GP's this season, although not quite the best. Superb performance tonight with some truly brilliant moves.

There's time for them to get the work finished...isn't there? With any luck they'll have the sense to allow people to stand on the 3rd/4th turn.

I can see where you're coming from, and watching Mark has been a pleasure for all speedway fans. There are very few riders that have the pure racing ability that he has. However, one man does not a team make. Chin up, and get behind the boys that turn out for us at Cov (whoever gets the nod).

If we chucked the towel in every time we had one of our riders out we wouldn't have competed in the WTC at all.

I think I can say with some certainty that we'd all have Mark down as a dead-cert. I have a better way to settle it. David Howe is a member, don't know about Ed Kennett. I say we invite them both to state their case, and then let the grand jury (or forum members as they're better known) decide who has madethe best case for a place in the 1-5. That's the way to do it then. Name as many as you can (is there an upper limit?), and see who looks best at the time. I'd like to see the young lads such as Lewis and James get a chance to be around for practice. Let them see what it's all about.

I agree that their league form is roughly the same from one week to the next at the moment. You will notice that I have given credit to Ed for his form this season quite a number of times. I can understand that opinion from anyone that doesn't watch him on a regular basis. He's good at home though, and we saw a different side to him on Monday at Monmore. It's not a track he usually goes well on, but he was quick and aggresive. (have you seen the clip on the BSPA website of his race with Howe?) His form is going the right way, and he should be on the reserve list. Howe is hardly an old fart though is he?!! I agree that the younger lads should be involed in some way. Are riders that travel with the 1-5 as reserves allowed to practice? Even that would be very useful experience. Y'see I knew you'd come around. Ed doesn't have a good record at Brandon, and Howe does. It has nothing to do with bias, it's just a case of 'horses for courses'. With that in mind I wouldn't be afraid to drop a rider if there was a better suited rider for the final (assuming we make it).

Fantastic contribution. Thanks for that.

Can't believe I'm actually going to rise to this, but here we go. Cov and Poole have tracks of a very similar length, but the shape and surface are different. Howe is averaging more than Kennett in the league. Howe scored paid 9 from 4 at Brandon this season. Match report. Kennett scored 4 from 4 at Brandon this season. Match report. Allen has a current CMA of 5.33 at Brandon this season. Seasons stats. At Brandon this season Kennett is behind both Howe and Allen in the pecking order. Hell, even Barker scored more than Kennett at Brandon this season. Convinced?

Class. Have you seen Ed at Brandon? He's certainly not an 8 point rider, or anywhere near it. If the 1st round was at Poole then he'd be in...no doubt. It's not, so take off your rose-tinted etc

I wouldn't name Ed in the starting 5 (although he's having a cracking season ) as it's at Brandon. David H has a better record than him at Brandon. Joe has a good career record at Brandon, although he was crap earlier this season for BV, so he would be my first reserve. It gets tricky after that. On paper you would probably have the likes of Ed and David N next in the queue, but Olly is another option. His form is good now, and he's another home rider that knows and (seemingly) likes the track. Olly can gate as well, which is not vital at Brandon but it always helps if you can get out of the gate. David N doesn't have a good record at Brandon, and is a self-confessed non-gater. So... Scott Chris Lee Simon David H Screen Olly/Ed

I haven't checked but perhaps it's repeated in Sunday?

Cheers. Will have to check it out, see if they all us snowmen on the terrace.

You have to do your homework on the trains. I was talking to my brother about them at the weekend. He uses them quite a bit. Apparently 'they' aren't allowed to tell you the cheapest way to get from A to B. You just have to ask for what you want, and if that's expensive then tough. Anyway, what he was saying was that it's cheaper to get a ticket from W'ton (or B'ham, can't remember which he said) to Edinburgh than one to Manchester. It takes the same line to Manchester though. So buy a ticket to Edinbrugh and just get off in Manchester. Go figure.

Well Sam himself was wearing one so I doubt he was too bothered about it.

Not a typical example. It didn't start until after 8, and there was a delay while they fixed the tapes. Next week I'll keep my eye on the clock for you. But to be fair to whoever said that, Werner didn't start too well. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My comments copied over from the backup site. We estimated 3,500+ but it wasn't easy to tell because loads of people stayed inside (and there's plenty of room for them to do so). It certainly filled up more and more as we approached start time. Andre was the pick of the bunch as most of the big names had a bad ride that cost them. However, he was a tad lucky to escape an exclusion. There was nothing dirty about the move he put on Aidan, and he (AC) kind of invited the move, but he seemed to clip Aidan's foot on the way in to the corner. Luckily the corners are plenty wide enough, and it was a firm bump into the fence rather than a really good whack. On a general note I really like the look of the track. It's got proper straights that don't tapper into the corners too quickly. If they did you'd have ended up with a little circle as the racing line rather than an oval. The straights seems a tad narrow, but it's not a problem. The corners are wide enough going in and coming out. That means that when the track settles down the full width of the corners will be used by those that want to chase the dirt. Viewing is not perfect for speedway, but it's not bad at all. I found that the middle of the first and second turn gave a good view of the entire track. With no air fence the view is unobstructed, and allowed me to see Andre clip Aidan. From the straights I found the view a little flat. You're looking across the track at the same level rather than down onto it. The two temporary stands are small, but filled up fast. That suggests the view is good, and perhaps more could be added around the bend (they're only on turn 1). There was plenty of food and drink outlets. A snack bar, a drinks bar (booze), and a restaurant inside. Outside there were about 3 burger/chips/hot drinks vans, no ice cream van though (essential at any speedway meeting). The stadium is bright, clean and tidy. The only drawback, and it's not the biggest problem in the world, was that there was no light on the crowd on the first and second turn. This made it very difficult to see your programme. In the grand scheme of things that's not a disaster, but a minor issue. Teething problems such as the problem with the start gate can be excused on opening night, but for the image of the sport it must work faultlessly next week. Starting off the green light failed miserably as the riders jumped the start about three times in one heat, and that was followed by an 'all four back' for bunching in the same heat. The track was packed down hard as it needs to be to get the base established. There was a little dirt on it, but not a lot. It was dusty straight from the off, and that soon gave a blue groove. As the dirt that was there moved out a second line began to develop a little. It desperately needed a sprinkling of water to bind it, but that never came. That meant the few outside moves came from riders that were fundamentally quicker than the guy in front rather than really using the dirt. There was some overtaking, and close racing. I think that when the track can be prepared with more dirt, some watering, and hopefully ripped up a bit to create some grip, it'll be a really nice track.

I'm not sure I can remember how a standard meeting actually runs. It's very pleasant out there today, but the sun will be long gone by tapes up.

Clear blue skies with no worries about snow/rain until after the meeting has finished. Pah!! No chance. He won't get to grips with the new track. There's quite a few who could go very well. I was just having a go at predicting the top 3. I did quite well at Monmore on Sunday. I got all 4 of the finalists, but not quite in the right order.

Wright, Lyons and Ostergaard as the top three. Anyone know what race format is being used?

I shouldn't laugh, but that really is funny.

Everybody seems to be wearing Nicholls caps.

And you call Shawn Moran a pretty boy?!! Does anyone else sense a thread that's drifting?

I think that's fair comment. Without Bruce would we have seen the great American riders that followed? Bobby, Denis, Shawn, Kelly, Jon, Lance, Rick, Sam himself, then Ronnie, Greg, Billy... (I'm sure I missed someone) Has any other nation introduced the level of charisma, character, and showmanship as the Americans did? Personally, I think not. It's a natural character trait that Americans have. The other Bobby (Ott) was the one I missed. Even Chris M looked good in the mid 90's, but that might be strethching the term 'great' in most peoples eyes.

To be fair Bruce retired as Sam was starting out in his career, and Sam rode professionally until last season. Anyone expecting anything but the pair to ride side-by-side was dreaming. As a Cradley fan it was great to see Bruce go out and have a skid. I thought that considering the old boy was riding a very old bike on a tight track, and in tricky conditions (esp his first ride), he did pretty well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall it was a good day of speedway, with all the riders giving it their all. Even when the track was slippery after the snow they were only a little slower than before the snow. As the track cleaned up there were the two great races between Joe and Trav, and Greg and Freddie. Those two heats were as good as any speedway you'll see anywhere this season. Joe and Trav traded places 5 times, and Greg was pure class in outwitting Freddie. He looked to the outside, and as Freddie moved out to cover him Greg switched lines half way along the home straight to force his way past Freddie on the inside. Earlier Trav had ridden the race of his life to pass Greg and Leigh in one move. Along the back straight for the first time Greg and Leigh looked to be elbow-to-elbow racing for third turn. To their surprise as much as ours Travis found a gap in between the two and passed them both into the corner. Such was his determination to squeeze between the pair that he made them both back off to let him get into the turn. Greg did get back at him but the bike then quit. Sam is never going to be a fave rider to a Cradley fan but... I recognise, acknowledge, and respect a good rider. Sam has always given 100% commitment to British speedway, which is something that is not always the case with today's top riders. He's been a fantastic servant to Wolverhampton Speedway, a great captain, a brilliant individual, and one of the best team riders in the world. His achievements on the world stage (in particular) cannot be ignored. He has always been an out-and-out racer, and that has cost him on many an occasion. He's suffered a number of injuries, and a few particularly bad ones. He's always come back from injury with nothing less than a fully committed attitude. Sam - For every time I've stood on the terrace and booed you , for every time I cheered when you were beaten , and for every time I laughed when you overdid it (esp when you fell off when doing a wheelie in front of the Cradley fans ), I thank you. All the best Chris

We've having showers of soft hail. They are pretty frequent, and mostly pretty heavy. However, they are short-lived and won't cause any problems for racing. When the sun comes out it doesn't feel too bad. When the showers come along the temp. drop by a few degrees in a matter of a few mintues. The wind then feels that much colder, and it's not too pleasant. But like I said the showers blow through in a few minutes. Traffic info. here. Weather info. here, and here.

Who do you think may have been thinking what you think they were thinking?!!