Nickinho

I got there early and still ended at the back of the queue. It may have been a Good Friday thing though plus the good weather but i hope that all the new people who attended will have liked it and will come back

About 300 pounds judging by that waistline

For some reason i thought it was 8

Can anyone explain how Chris Harris was able to come in as a tactical sub in heat 14? Is this a new BSN format rule? I didn't understand it seeing that the Tigers were only down by 6 points.

My thoughts on the two teams after last night's meeting: 1 Chris Harris rode like a number one and looks really 'dialed in' for this season. 2 Josh Pickering is the most inconsistent gater i've ever seen but one of the most exciting racers. Frustratingly brilliant. 3 Marcin Novak is terrible on every track that isn't named Ashfield. 4 Tom Brennan has plateaued. He's still young but i don't think there is a 'next level' for him but i could be wrong, i often am 5 A few people in the crowd grumbled about Kyle Bickley but he was on pace all night and was unlucky in heat 2. He certainly won't be the worst reserve in the Championship this season. 6 Ace Pijper would have benefited from one more full season in the NDL as he looks a step behind all the other riders on track. 7 Cookie was sheer class and looks like he's moved on from his miserable final season in Glasgow. 8 Claus Vissing looks every inch the 8 point heat leader he used to be and will play a key part if Glasgow are to push for silverware this season. 9 There was a lot of talk before last night's meeting about Kye Thomson needing to take a step up this season and after his opening ride that talk didn't get much better. However, his set-up was way off in that race, his bike lacked any real speed and he was left trailing and that was clearly highlighted by his following three rides where he looked different class and ended the meeting with 8 points, thus putting an end to any worries. I think he will be a really good No. 3 over the course of this year. 10 Paco was a completely contrary Paco last night, he did brilliantly in every race apart from his usually favourite Heat 14 Is this the new Paco and if so who will step up to keep the Monarchs competitive in that heat? You gotta love his passion though. Top class. 11 Jacob Hook looks like he's made a lot of progress on last season and his 6 points from 4 rides were very well earned. I can confidently predict that he can maintain that kind of score over future meetings, certainly around Armadale anyway. 12 Lasse was well worth his 6 points from the traditionally difficult 2 spot and will easily justify his 4 point starting average when the season really gets underway. 13 Lee Complin spoke a lot over the offseason about his need to come back slimmer and fitter. Last night he still looked decidedly 'big boned' and reminded me of Lee Dicken. Did Cammy get the two Lee's mixed up and re-employ the 'funky chicken' by mistake..? Please note these are just my opinions and based on the results of just one meeting. I may well be eating my words after Sunday... I've been more complimentary about the Monarchs riders but i believe that this is due in part to my slightly higher expectations from the Tigers this year. Benjamin Basso didn't put a foot wrong but i was expecting him to really blaze a trail this season and he probably still will but there are times (except around Ashfield) when he doesn't really seem to have that 'killer instinct'. He scored 9 points from 4 rides so i've no right to criticize him but he really should have been fighting with the team manager to get put out in Heat 15 over the underperforming Tom (yes, i know Tom is the captain but a good captain makes sacrifices for his team). I'm not privy to what goes on in the pits but young Mr Basso has to be more confident in these kinds of matters as well as in his on-track ability which is there for all to see. Good marks though for Chris, Claus AND Ben and they all performed really well in Tiger Red. I'm looking forward to Sunday already.

There's much more chance of Ashfield being called off if last year was anything to go by as it would often rain all week, then the sun would come out on Thursday and stay off until 7pm on Friday night when half an hour of drizzle would usually put paid to the meeting. I don't know why they don't bring it forward to 6pm, it's not like most people work a 9-5 anymore these days.

You're giving Pijper a wee bit too much expectation imo. He will be lucky to have 4.00 by season's end

I'll edit it.

Then Pickering at 1 and Cook at number 3. Whichever.

How about this line-up for Edinburgh? 1 Pickering 2 Castagna 3 Cook 4 Hook 5 Thomson 6 Fredriksen 7 Bickley Moving Kye to 5 would pit him in against Harris and Brennan in heat 13 and around Armadale i think Kye could have the beating of them, same with Pickering. Putting Cookie at 3 would give him plenty of time to prepare for heat 15 and Paco is a lot better than Novak and Pijper around Armadale so placing him at number 2 might up his game in Heat 8 and also help out Bickley. Jacob and Lasse would be good enough to go up against Vissing and Ace in Heat 14 and it would also be a very entertaining and unpredictable race. Just suggestions and i doubt the line-up will be too surprising for either team come race day.

He will lose a lot of money doing that.

I agree but then i'm someone who doesn't like any change in speedway at all and i still miss riders wearing tassles under their arms (big shout out to the member of the Armadale team who wore them in 2022!) Now the only tassles i ever see are in Diamond Dolls but it's just not the same and i wish they would bring them back or at the very least bring back the yellow & black helmet colours. I hate yellow, it's barely indistinguishable from white.

I once had the pleasure of meeting Mary Hopkins when she attended Shielfield to witness the Bandits take on the Canterbury Crusaders on a rainswept October night in 1977 and she did indeed say that at the time. We all thought she was barmy though.

That's odd because it's nice and dry in Scotland atm. You know you're getting old when you find yourself mumbling "I remember when riders rode through sleet and snow!". Club owners will one day have to come up with some sort of solution to keeping the track dry up until tapes-up. Large sewn-together track-shaped cut tarpauling (four individual segments?) draped across the track from over the top of the air fences and weighted down on the centre green perhaps? They have to do something soon otherwise these milder summers with more rain are ultimately going to kill this sport.

That's the incident! Last night i found the old video of the meeting but couldn't figure out how to clip it and post it here. Thanks for saving me the effort

Yep. It must have been 2009 because he moved to Berwick in 2010. I've also been trying to remember who he went over and i believe it was Chris Schramm.

Pretty sure he went right over the 3rd bend fence during a double header in 2009 or 2010 (?). Only broke his ankle that time. Wasn't his fault though as the rider in front slid off right in front of him and he unintentionally used him as a ramp and just took off.

Chris Morton couldn't gate but he had an okay career

I've often wondered what level he would have reached if hadn't retired and i think his career would have been very similar to Ben Barker's, his former team-mate at Stoke as they are around the same age, the same height and they are both very aggressive and passionate racers. At the time i thought Lee would have had slightly the better career as he is more of a natural speedway rider (imo) than Ben but there wasn't much between them.

I remember reading this a few months ago or maybe it was in one of Lee's video blogs, i can't remember but he did recover quickly from it and it wasn't why he put a pause on his speedway career, i believe he reached this decision long after the crash because i remember him racing in 2009 and 2010.

Didn't you hear? Roary was shot whilst on safari in Africa. An American hunter under the misapprehension that he was extremely dangerous unloaded his blunderbuss into his backside. He will be sorely missed

Thanks

Thanks Steve. Well, that would have been this thread done and dusted if it hadn't been for Jack Thomas' unfortunate accident last week so it's now just Poole left to name a full team. They currently have a figure of 5.21 to play with so it shouldn't take too long to complete their 7. Apart from Birmingham i don't think there's a weak team in the entire league and the new season should be terrific. I also can't name a favourite but i do think that Plymouth and Oxford will be the dark horses this year and it will be interesting to see who lifts the silverware come October. Thank you to all those who have contributed to this thread, it made my life a lot easier

Lots of places are now rejecting cash but if they don't want my money anymore then so be it, i can spend it on something else.

This is how rumours start...