Technik

Maybe he was selected so as to give an option of senior rider in Ht13. with Harris already used & Tungate already in 13 it means the only rider left or the reserve in the hardest race. It might be a stroke of genius or you maybe right eithr way we're not paid to make the decision.

This could go either way, Oxford of course with R/R at #1 is a big cross to bare. Milik showed good form in the SEC event at the weekend & with Nicholls at reserve it might just tip in Birmingham's favour. All things considered home win by 4 points

It is the sad case that Mr O is holding all the aces, As he has in previous cases (Milton Keynes, Reading, & Torquay among others) Whilst supporters have passion & desire to see their beloved club & sport continue at the venue adopted by GI with Osbourne at the helm they have never had the finances to oppose him or the local councils that are required to provide land for housing projects as our country is so over populated & growing year on year.

Max Perry EDI 7.75 Luke Killeen OXF 7.73 Ace Pijper S/S 5.81 Luke Muff BVC 4.83 Chad Wirtzfield BVC 3.81 William Hocaniuk MID 3.00 Ashton Vale OXF 3.00 Total 35.93

Looking at the teams & the fact that Poole have a much changed line up I believe Oxford could upset the apple cart & come away with a narrow victory.

I know guest's & rider replacement are at times annoying within the British leagues. But we cannot be compared to other nations league system where they opperate a squad of upto 20 riders but can only track 7 just the same as our programme. In both cases if a rider is injured or unable to start then of course a full 7 rider team must be arranged. With a squad this is done as in football by rotation of the squad members. Our system means each team has a nominated 7 rider team & should one be missing we track a full team using guests or R/R. At the end of the day it amounts to the same thing two teams of seven racing against each other. Weather you love or hate our system it's better to see two full sides of seven than a five man team

I hope we will be selecting our 2024 teams soon

My personal opinion is that it was as much rider error as track conditions. Had there been multiple falls then I would say track conditions were a major factor but the track had been hard packed & dispite it looking very wet from the outside it was only surface water. By not putting equipment on it kept the track in fair condition with only the bikes turning the dirt. race times were consistent for the whole 15 races so little or no deteriation to the racing surface occured. Both sides should be congratulated on a great nights racing & the track staff must have worked overtime after the practice day to produce the track we were served.

I hear they will be streaming some of their meetings this season, but I don't know which or when

The first comment only states they will not be taking cash. So advance ticket sales or card payments on the day will be acceptable I assume

It's going to be a tough night for Birmingham. As I see it no facility is allowed for the absent Pawlicki, I don't know how they can possibly cover that for any length of time. But a healthy win for a home team in the season opener is never a bad thing for crowd figures moving forward

If I'm honest I don't believe rev limiters are a positive move at any level of speedway. It would be more sustainable to limit bore size which would mean engine manufacture & tuners would need to provide the correct parts but engine revs would be reduced without outside retarders being needed. I understand that many will bring up the expense involved but we have been hearing about rev limiters for 6 seasons now. I'd have to ask how many riders are using an engine that is over 6 years old?

I won't disagree & will conceed that your reply was the rule in most recent seasons. However as I suggest the rule was as I stated in seasons prior. With the starting procedure being updated for the coming season & all tracks having a clock there should be no reason for any rider not being ready within the time allowance

The rule always used to be "At the tapes ready to race at the expiry of the 2 minute allowance" but this was never enforced & gardening time was allowed & as the meeting went on 2 minutes gets closer to 5 minutes as we reach the big races. The clock has been about for a good while & is used to great effect in the FIM events as well as Polish Swedish & Danish leagues but as our TV meetings have shown it gets turned off if it nears 15 seconds whilst the riders continue to dig their start area & the time is extended. If it is used correctly all races will start within 2 minutes & the regular offenders will soon fall into line as they have in other leagues.

I don't mind that as long as the 2 minutes are applied strictly. The rule is now at the tapes ready to race so just being on the track on the way to the start line then a minute of on the bike off the bike dancing should become a thing of the past. But I'm sure it will become in the best interest of speedway to turn the clock off if there is any danger of having to put a star name out of any race

I understand he pumped a load of money into the Reading project which included a scale model of his proposed new racino. It cost in excess of £50K & that was over 15 years ago. I have no doubt that it would have been an investors money that paid for it.

I wonder what his average would be today. I believe he rode for Belle Vue & was below 5.00 but since he has become a GP rider & won the Polish championship

The point I'm trying to put across keeping in mind that we are only talking about the title of this page "Oxford" is last season the Chargers were a success & were declared the champions. The development of some riders means they can no longer race at this level & must move up. This seasons squad as was pointed out is 2 points under the starting limit with some youngsters that have limited track time under competition & it has been mentioned that this is a weak team & will harm the attendance levels. My ideal is this league should be used as a production opperation for young British riders we only need to look back to Tai Woofinden in his early days at Scunthorpe to see that it can work & I see the Oxford system to use riders from their lowest squad to fill reserve places in the higher league then into the main team & now into the top league thus developing their talents rather than buy in a half baked star from overseas.

It maybe stating the obvious but isn't this league about "development" rather than winning a title.

I don't think Nathan Stoneman will return to racing. Last season's injury & the arrival of a baby has made him review his lifestyle & I think he is happy to be a mechanic on race nights. I think Boughen should stay in the NL setup for another season. I know he has ambition & wants to race at higher levels but you have to know how to win races from the front & have the pressure of being a rider within the team that is looked upon to return double figures & be in the big races at the end

He's very good at interviews & tells us what a good bloke he is & how successful his company is, why else would anyone invest their millions in his ventures. Then theres the cold light of day when Mr Osbourne has done nothing in 3/4 years & he still has the investors money. some will be returned but whilst he has had it he has been using it to make himself even more profits. He is a conman A very good one but a conman all the same.

The Oxford team is going to be interesting as the season unfolds. I see any one of six riders could be at number 1 or number 6 only the rising star in Aston Boughen is almost asured to remain at reserve. I'm still not getting to grips with the "Spires" nickname. I always think a nickname or emblem should be something a child can draw & understand. The only place a city skyline has worked for me is on the credits of Frasier. I know Reading FC have a skyline on their shirts & it looks awful.

There can be no arguement over the clubs loyalty. Someone had to be left out & Lewi Kerr was that man. To ask a 2.00 rider to offer the same points return is impossible. But all the other teams in the league have the same issues. Oxford have again made the decision to track strong riders at the top in Masters & Nicholls it served them well in 23. If there is a weakness I will put it down to Heeps, he started as a top 3 rider & is now nothing more than a strong reserve & that in turn makes the two 2.00 pointers at reserve look much weaker. Atkins must move into the top 5 & has to be pushed if he is to improve. Jenkins can keep moving forward my only fear is his talent can be overshone by his desire. This team will make the play-offs again, how close they get to the title will come down to luck

I think Birmingham might suit Schlein as he has sponsors from Wolverhampton that may stay with him if he remains in the midlands

Looking at the team Sheffield have already released Oxford are going to need to be looking past their own championship squad for at least four riders of quality. I'm not saying they all need to be heat leaders but of a standard that they will improve to the highest level