RoundTheBoards

Exactly. The Workington promoters were at BSPA HQ this week where their application to enter the Championship for 2024 was accepted. It was the only option open to them since Godfrey and pals have decided to scrap the NDL in 2024. Godfrey doesn't like stand-alone clubs in the NDL in case they make money. So the NDL has been scrapped to force Workington, Mildenhall (& Kent) to move up to the Championship or close. Workington are moving up. Mildenhall & Kent are gone.

Yes. Sam's mother is Martin Dugard's sister Charlotte.

Yes. Martin Dugard is his uncle.

6 teams in premiership. 9 in championship. No NDL. Just 15 teams in the whole country. Wolverhampton, Peterborough, Mildenhall and Kent closed.

I would imagine they are.

I'm hearing Sunday 15 October provisionally for the NDLRC

AFAIK, when you give a sample, they first test the specific gravity to make sure it is genuine pee, not appletise or a mix of 10% pee 90% water. If you have tampered with the sample (given them appletise or water) then you get a second chance to give a genuine sample. Having given a genuine sample, it gets tested by a basic "dip test". If this is negative, the procedure is over. If it's non-negative, a sample goes away for the proper testing. The sample is split into two vials "A" and "B". The "A" sample is tested. If it is negative the procedure is over. If it is positive, the rider can pay to have the "B" sample tested. If I was guessing, from the little information we have, I'd guess that Morris tried to give a fake sample, and then refused when given a second chance to give a real sample. Hence he never gave a sample and was banned accordingly. Richie Worrall gave a sample which was non-negative. There's no option to do a second sample. The sample taken will be sent off to be analysed fully. If I were Richie Worrall, and I was convinced I was clean, I would do exactly what he's done. I'd get a private test done just to make sure I hadn't had food or drink spiked without my knowledge. If my private test was clear, I'd at least have peace of mind to believe that the SCB full test will be clear.

I read somewhere on here someone saying that you always hear about positive drug tests, but we never hear of any meetings where tests were done and all was OK. Interesting that this is now on the SCB website During the month of August two events were selected for Alcohol and Drug Testing...• Belle Vue v Workington - NDL - Friday 25th August 2023• Poole v Birmingham - Championship - Wednesday 30th August 2023At both event's four riders (two from each team) were randomly selected and in all cases all riders produced a negative result.The SCB will continually select fixtures for random testing.

How would you rank Britain's best tracks? I'd go.... 1. Belle Vue 2. Peterborough 3. Redcar 4. Workington 5. Glasgow 6. Scunthorpe 7. King's Lynn 8. Sheffield 9. Berwick 10. Poole 11. Oxford 12. Leicester 13. Birmingham 14. Ipswich 15. Edinburgh 16. Wolverhampton 17. Mildenhall 18. Kent 19. Plymouth

Has the interest in the closeness of the battle for the 4th play-off place crashed the BSPL website?

So Cardiff 2024 is 17 August

Can't use Lambert as a guest because he's on an assessed average.

I assume it's Killeen

There's no guessing. He's signed for Oxford and makes his debut on Friday against Plymouth.

He didn't provide a sample. That's why he's banned. Failure to provide a specimen, which is treated the same as a positive test. Some people mistakenly think you do two samples because there's an "A" and "B" sample. But this is a single sample which is just split into 2 different vials. The only way you get to re-do the test is if you don't give a sample of real pee. When you give a sample they test the specific gravity to make sure it is actually pee and not appletise or a tiny drop of pee in a load of tap water. If you do mess them about like this you get a second chance to give the sample. It sounds like Morris may have attempted some kind of skullduggery since he was also charged with "c) Any attempt to influence improperly an official in the course of their duties.". But this was dropped when he was convicted of failing to give a specimen.

Didn't Ben Barker give a "non-negative" due to use of painkillers, rather than a positive doping result?

Everyone in motorcycling has a right to compete in a safe and fair environment with an emphasis on safety in motor sport, and regardless of the level they participate at, have the right to compete knowing that they and their competitors have not taken any banned performance-enhancing drugs. Led by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is responsible for the collaborative worldwide campaign for clean sport, The ACU works in partnership with UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) and the international governing body FIM to crack down on doping and ensure the integrity of our sport is protected. Now that we are out of covid restrictions and events are getting back to pre-pandemic levels, we have recommenced drug testing which have and will continue to be carried out at random events throughout the county during the season, and should a test be positive, the minimum penalty for a first offence will be a two-year suspension. All involved in motorcycle sport have the right to compete in knowing that they, and others involved in our sport are clean. The use of performance-enhancing drugs and other doping behaviour severely damages the legitimacy of sport and undermines the integrity of those who are clean within our sport.

Sounds very petty and unprofessional from Mr Vatcher

Ashton Boughen won't be able to guest in any playoffs unless he becomes a Premiership rising star. He'll be riding for Leicester in the NDL playoff and, once he turns 16 on Monday will be riding for his Championship team in the Championship playoffs...

Two years is the Minimum penalty, not the Maximum. He was always going to get the minimum two years. He could have got more, but presumably the hearing found no reason to give more than the 2 year minimum. There is no "taking the B test". You pee in one container. The pee is then poured into two separate vials. One is labelled "A" and is used for the test, the other is labelled "B" and is kept. if the "A" sample tests positive, the rider can pay to have the "B" sample tested. But it's highly unlikely to be any different since it is the same pee.

All-in-all a more than decent meeting. Congratulations to all 17 riders who rode and gave it everything. Well done too to the track staff and everyone involved in organising a good meeting against the odds on a track that was not just rideable, but raceable too. All the moaners with their "should have called it off" and "it's a disgrace of a line-up" were made to look silly. 16 fully-committed riders... brilliant. Not always been a fan of Ben Barker (e.g. I wouldn't buy anything off his ebay shop) but I had to smile at his interview on the track mic "I'm always proud to pull on a Union Jack race jacket, and I will always want to ride in the British Final... even though I'm fat". Nice to see Richie Worrall in the Peter Craven suite tucking into his cheesecake. The three-course meal was a better choice than riding in the meeting. After all, how could Richie be expected to compete against the top three - The six-stone Dan Bewley, the five-stone Ben Barker, and that guy in second place who is definitely not the same height, weight, size and shape as Richie Worrall? Wonder if Richie's meal was a spare that was left over when the BSPL Chairman couldn't be arsed turning up for the meeting?

It's the way you tell 'em

You make no sense again.

Correct

I think something has fallen through at the last minute, because at 9am this morning it seemed to be all systems go for Woffinden and his name was going in the programme. The redeclaration must have gone through since it's no facility for Woffinden rather than a facility for Holder. All seems odd, and I can understand the conspiracy theories with both teams being in the same ownership.