Noelinho

Yeah, for all the great stuff the Glasgow promotion do, the actual promotion of the club and its activities has really dropped the last couple of years. They need to get back to it if they want new people coming through the doors.

Yes, but taking out Vissing’s bike troubles, the 15 points was from 6 rides.

Yes, but Vissing had a bike failure and a 2 minute exclusion, so Berwick isn't a fair barometer really.

Home fans don't need to know until later, but isn't it better to call it early for the riders? They might get it wrong, but at least it's decisive.

I don’t think they called it off for fun. The track workers were preparing all week. But they have been bitten hate by more than one cancellation in recent times after the meeting has started and there is a sense they get attacked whatever they do. They got dog’s abuse for the Berwick match, which no one saw coming. They got it in the neck when Leicester were in town, Newcastle the previous year (maybe it was pre-pandemic - I don’t remember now), I think too. Poole in the playoffs was a mess too. None of those issues were caused by the promotion. They get more abuse if they cancel once people turn up, than by cancelling ahead of time, so I can see why they do it. Their priority is always going to be to try not to mess around the home fans, or riders. Any given week, there might be 500 people. Almost all of them most weeks, are there for the Tigers. You can’t please everyone, but if you piss off all the home fans, you can’t make even a vaguely sustainable club.

It was, but not any more in Drumchapel.

It was dry until 18:30. I went for a shower then, and having come out, it's wet everywhere, and I don't mean I forgot to pull the shower curtain in.

I thought it was a light rain off, and given my track record on these things, that usually proves the rain off to be correct!

Gutted Vissing is missing. He’s been a quality watch so far this season. Richard Lawson is always good value though.

Get in the bin!

He was walking at the end of last week's meeting, so I'd guess so. He seemed to get off remarkably lightly in the circumstances.

I did wonder if this might be part of it. I suspect the bike would react much worse to incidental contact with polyfoam than the metal fence - and Harris, Basso and Vissing all regularly scrape it, especially into turn 1.

We’ve had two, and one of them was possibly intentional. I do often wish the polyfoam extended a bit further but I don’t know much about the implications of doing that, or rules. It’s not the most common place for riders to crash at Ashfield, and in the Poland Test match in 2021, one of the visiting riders (Kubera, I think) crashed into the fence in the middle of the back straight. I guess that’s why he told Marcin Nowak the place is dangerous…

Yes, they have clearly decided not to fix it, even though there are two fairly easy ways to do so (extend the WiFi, or get 4G compatible payment terminals). Edinburgh manage to make it work despite their entrances being a long way from the main bar area.

I've read before it's because the WiFi doesn't stretch to the entrance. No idea if that's the real reason, although 4G payment terminals are a thing, so it's not like they couldn't still do it. It is a PITA though - speedway is the only thing I ever use cash for. Just let me tap my phone and walk in!

The other thing not mentioned is banking. Glasgow has great racing, but not because the bends are very wide. IIRC, they're actually only just wide enough for FIM standard (which I think is why some riders struggled at the SGP qualifier last year) but the banking really makes the outside line work. Without the banking, it would be a very ordinary track.

Maybe..! Too many scoring systems between the competitions. Also, you get T/S in this, but not in KO Cup. Seems weird, but there ya go.

Leon often gets the extra rides. Happened in the reverse fixture too, I think. Surely not nepotism?

It would have been tonight, in effect, because they started equal on points. In terms of points awarded, you are right, but tonight was about topping the group.

2 withdrawals. Knudsen hit the metal fence in heat 2 and Piper had a horrible head-on impact with the air fence in heat 8. We've also had Greg Blair exchanging signals with the ref at one point (although the ref was in the right).

They read my remarks. 7 passes in heat 13!

Weather forecasters don't have to get it right though! We've had a bit of everything tonight... Apart from passing. Not a lot of that.

Right, yes, I forgot that. I'd still use a reserve in 5 and put Jorgensen in 6 for an extra ride.

I didn't understand it either. Surely IRR in heat 5, then T/S in heat 6 to replace Greg Blair would have been the best option.

Yep, draw on the night and it's winner takes all in the Super Heat, I believe. That would be the sensible thing to do anyway...