TheWellBehavedWorrall

That was a huge win. Well done, Chris Harris. Unbelievable. The talk was of an on-form Craig Cook and rightly so, but to absolutely smoke him on three occasions was incredible. I said before the meeting that I hope to see Pearson, Flint and Starke make an impact, so I’m delighted to see two of the three do so. I’ve no words for Worrall. That’s outright criminal from a heat leader. It was a disgrace of a performance.

Lots of confidence and optimism from a Workington perspective - understandably so - but Glasgow are the reigning champions and it’s at Ashfield, so I remain confident. The reserve scenario has been a nightmare. Losing one reserve (Complin) before a heat has been raced wasn’t ideal, but to lose the second reserve (Pijper) in only the third meeting of the season was brutal. It’s a big meeting for Pearson, Flint and Starke. I’ve said my piece on all three, so won’t exhaust the point, but hopefully tonight’s the night they make a significant impact on the final score. Also, great to see Cook at the top of his game again. I was critical of his professionalism last season, but British speedway is a better place with an on-form Craig Cook in it. Having said that, I hope he scores zero. Only tonight though.

While I don’t disagree with most of that, I’m at a loss as to how it counter points my post. Out of respect for your employer (Glasgow, in this instance), I don’t believe it’s appropriate to perform celebratory acts (wheelies, for example) having literally seconds before finished last in a heat they needed you to succeed in. Call me old fashioned, but maybe too many years at Berwick where there’s been zero expectation to compete has created somewhat of a loser mentality. I hope he improves, of course.

Performing wheelies at Shielfied Park after heat fifteen, having just come last and subsequently cemented Glasgow‘s defeat, spoke absolute volumes about his mentality.

Boughen was poor last night, but I agree with the last post; the bigger picture shows he’s exceeded expectations this season, especially for a 16 year-old. His heat two win at Ashfield was an outrageous display of technical ability. His track craft was as responsible as his speed for his pass of Pijper.

First of all, congratulations to Oxford. Boughen aside, that was an outstanding team effort. Secondly, I think it’s safe to say Glasgow won’t be putting up much of a title defence. Flint is an odd one. He’s putting points on the board, but said points are flattering him; he’s dropped more points from scoring positions than any other Glasgow rider this season. He doesn’t look comfortable in a Glasgow race suit. Aside from his win in heat fourteen, Starke was a disgrace. As was Pearson. Nowhere near being remotely good enough. Guests at reserve are always a toss of the coin, but I genuinely think Cami Brown might have grabbed two punters off the Cowley streets and put two helmets on them. That wasn’t the same Jack Smith who guested at Ashfield on Friday night and Conor Coles genuinely looked like it was his first encounter with a speedway bike. I suppose that’s the downside with being champions, isn’t it? You have standards to maintain and when you fall so short, it requires addressing.

Just saw that heat fifteen on BSN. Wow. What a ride from Schlein. The two Monarchs seemed to ignore him after the race. Sedgmen definitely did; Schlein had his hand up for an embrace, but Sedgmen looked at him and didn’t offer the same in return. Bizarre. Perhaps a little embarrassed at being absolutely bullied by Schlein on their home circuit? Also, is it normal for the winner of heat fifteen to go straight back to the pits? Schlein did and I assume there are travelling Bandits fans who would have been grateful for a lap of honour in appreciation.

That was a great win, but it felt closer than a twelve points swing. I thought Masters and Nicholls looked untouchable at times. Masters had mechanical issues at Ashfield towards the end of last season too. Nightmare for him. That Flint and Starke pairing is doing exactly what is expected in terms of points, but I don’t know what it is; Flint doesn’t look comfortable around Ashfield and Starke appears to lack pace, rendering neither a threat to the rider ahead of them. Pijper versus Boughen in heat two was outstanding. 17 and 16 years-old respectively and they’re weaving in and out of one another. We’ll be watching them go toe-to-toe at a much higher level in the future, I’m sure. Best wishes to Pijper.

That was a good win against a a decent Berwick side. It’s worth pondering the outcome, had Flint been available. Would he have scored as many as Vissing? Doubtful, but then again, if Complin was available, I’m confident he’d have scored more than Hagon’s four. Starke looked slow, so credit where it’s due; his five, paid eight was an achievement. Borke is a rider. I can’t imagine he’ll be at reserve for long. Berwick have a great talent on their hands there. There was some great racing on show last night. Lots of passing and lots of tussling, so fair play to both sets of riders.

More brain damage speedway from the Premiership on BSN. Belle Vue, last week. Ipswich, this week. If either were my first speedway meetings, I’d never be back. Credit to BSN for more great coverage, but how has a race involving Sayfudtinov, Doyle, Harris and Janowski delivered so little? Jesus, this is a tough watch.

What’s the script with Clouting?

Which referee and what happened?

I’ve just watched the highlights of this meeting on Berwick’s YouTube channel and I have one question… was Stevie Wonder the referee? Etheridge’s exclusion in heat five was beyond harsh; his front wheel was taken away from him by Thomson in what’s surely the perfect definition of first bend bunching. If that was how the referee was governing the entire meeting, then fair enough, but he then went on to allow Castagna back in the re-run of heat fourteen after clipping Borke’s rear wheel, causing a crash. I thought both incidents were the natural risks of bikes hitting a 10M wide corner with no breaks, so all four should have been back for the re-run, but for the referee to discriminate against one - arguably the least offensive, too - and not the other, is outrageous. Are referees held accountable in speedway? If Berwick dropped points on Saturday night, they would have had every right to be furious. Shocking, bizarre and outright poor refereeing.

That was tremendous TV. Greg Blair - an outstanding pundit - on BSN wanted Boughen‘s professional observations while being shown the replay, but what he received was ”got over him… and he’s just f*cking ran straight into me”. In five years time, we’ll hopefully be watching these two compete at an even higher level because what they’re doing as teenagers and the company they’re doing it in is nothing short of incredible. They’re both a credit to themselves, regardless of how many times they fall or come last.

If we didn’t wait for him, he wouldn’t have joined Pearson for a 5-1. Edinburgh would subsequently have entered heat one as the stronger pairing; a positive result might have set the tone for the rest of the meeting. How many ”ifs” are we talking here, Lisa? If my gran had wheels, she’d be a bike. Pijper has received criticism because he rides full-hearted and in doing so, races hard. Andre Compton, Jan Pedersen and Tomasz Gollob used to do it. Pijper’s doing it at 17 years-old though, so he’s getting nothing but credit from me. The way his dad is by his side the second he’s in need is one of the most endearing things I’ve saw at the speedway.

What happened with Pijper and Coles? I didn’t have a great view, but definitely expected Pijper’s exclusion light to come on, so was pleasantly surprised when it was Coles’. I also heard the announcer mention handbags, but didn’t see anything.

Brilliant. What a guy.

There wasn’t a minute’s silence or applause for John Louis at Ashfield last night either. Sad. I never saw him ride because he was well before my time, but knew he was a legend.

I loved it, but I’m not going to lie, I’m suspicious. I want to believe it, but the sceptic in me is screaming ”gullible”. Harris’ delays were relayed to me, and others, several times by multiple different people associated with the club. I’m not sure if that was strategic. The timing of his arrival was Hollywood-like. Nothing short of spectacular, if it played-out naturally. Having said that, why would Edinburgh agree to play along with Glasgow’s orchestrated drama? They wouldn’t. I’m 75% sure it was real, but 25% suspicious it was a set-up. Either way, what a situation. Brilliant.

No way I’m witnessing this helmet chat. What age are we? Honestly, come on. Can’t we just assume that Chris Harris has handled enough helmets - the Bishop said to the maid - to know how to put one on while adhering to SCB standards? If I’m an Edinburgh fan, my focus isn’t on finding an excuse; it’s wondering how my number one, ”Joshie”, has just been smoked by a guy who’s jumped out a van 60 seconds earlier.

That’s an absolute nightmare. Gutted for Kerr. I saw an interview with him during pre-season where he spoke about having the opportunity to be an out-and-out number one in a very humble manner. So, even though we lost and he excelled at our expense, I was pleased for him on Saturday night. He didn’t just beat Harris three times. Not a single one was close. By the time Harris settled into second in each race, Kerr was long gone. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Glasgow, first. 729 feet of sh*te. Everyone else.

I’m with @iainb on this one. I’ve just watched the meeting back on BSN and Cook’s demeanour when speaking to Roynon during the pre-meeting captain interviews was shocking. Considering the last time Cook was at Redcar was the CLRC where he looked like he was trying to impersonate a speedway rider, it’s no wonder someone may anticipate the worst. Again, delighted to see Cook back to winning races and meetings, but let’s not deny what was clear for everyone to see.

I’m merely making observations. Flint started very well at Shielfield, then conceded a 5-1 to one of Berwick‘s reserves and finished dead last in the final heat, guaranteeing defeat which he celebrated with a wheelie. I’m by no means writing him off - absolutely not - but being tee’d up, then passed on the line by Fredriksen this evening was worth noting. I wholeheartedly agree with your comment that nothing is won at the beginning of the season, but this is a competitive sport and observations, both in positive and negative nature, are part and parcel of that.

Has this been rescheduled?