Col

Redcar got their revenge in the league visit, insisting on every morsel of dirt being removed from the track, delaying the meeting by and hour and taking home the points.

I'm sure had Brennan not been programmed to partner Allen in heat 12 he would have replaced him, but Etheridge had not looked like doing anything until his final ride either. Likewise Blodorn only came good in his final ride, which he had to take as his mandatory 3rd programmed ride having been replaced by TS Fricke earlier in the meeting. The back straight looked quite busy as did the pits end of the grand stand but the other end where I prefer to sit was pretty empty, probably a little less than half that were there last week. Thought that reduction was old news, but fair enough that takes Tigers total down to 38.84. In answer to the original question using the averages poste don the Belle Vue site yesterday and removing Allen, Aces have 7.93 to play with.

Forgot that one. Because Fricke had beaten Ellis twice, once from the back, Wright had not looked like beating either Holder or Ellis all night. If gate 1 was the poorest why did Aces choose gates 1 & 3?

I though t I must have an average wrong when I totted them up (Cook combined KL/Ip average maybe), but they were listed on the Belle Vue website in the match preview yesterday. Holder 8.87 Cook 6.98 Musielak 6.21 Howarth 6.19 Ellis 8.12 Nielsen 3.00 39.37

Auty. No functioning bikes available for what is nothing more than a glorified practice, what a pro. CVS must be miffed having to pay Lawson for the extra points

What was the crowd like? Hardiest only I'd imagine. Hope it wasn't full price entry. At least Lawson & Morris got amongst the scorers, would have surely been more interesting if Wolves hadn't used Masters and given their #8 more Monmore track time.

Quite easily! Last averaged 7.54 I think, for Belle Vue in 2016(?) Aces have more to play with than that nearer the 8.1 mark I think 39.0 has been quoted on here as the points limit ignoring the RS but Sheffield are 39.37 so it must be 39.5

So the Tigers head over the Pennines with a deserved win from the NSS, despite being not tracking two of their top 4 riders. R/R yielded 5+1, would have expected more from Cook, Worrall scored 7+1 (ignoring his R/R) more than could have been expected from Musielak. Didn't think the track was as good as it can be, but some decent racing. Gate 4 was a handicap as it was last week, especially early in the meeting. For the Aces. Fricke - poor showing from a GP rider, failed to beat Holder and couldn't find a way past Worrall on two occasions. Etheridge - poor until heat 10 when he joined Fricke for the only Aces 5-1 of the night. Allen - poor, ponderously slow, looked overweight. Overtaken by Neilsen in heat 12. Wright - did what could have been expected of him, had the beating of the Sheffield middle order, going from 3rd to 1st in his first race. Kurtz - a little hit & miss, only rider to beat Holder with what looked the quickest rider of the night in heat 11 certainly the only time any rider ventured near the air fence. Plugged away on the slower inside in heat 13 keeping Holder honest but never really looked like overhauling the Tigers #1. Blodorn - showed potential in his first ride amongst the Tigers reserves, overtook Howarth in heat 14 to make the home side favourites in the last heat decider. Brennan - won heat 2 by a country mile, poor second ride - way off the pace, good win over Ellis in heat 8 then ran a last behind Allen & Neilsen in heat 12 but was never far behind. For the Tigers. Holder - best rider on show by a distance without ever really getting into top gear. Worrall - somewhat hit & miss, two defeats of Fricke. Howarth - largely anonymous, never looked likely to win a heat. Ellis - much better than last week, ran a last in heat 13 other than that will be happy with his night. Neilsen - was the better of the two visiting reserves, crucial pass of Allen to join Worrall for a 1-5 in heat 12. Mountain - picked up 2 points beating each home reserve once is all that can be expected from a visiting reserve. IMO stupid decision in heat 15 from Lemon, Wright hadn't looked anywhere near quick enough to beat either of the visiting top 2 so why use him rather than Fricke and having done that why give him gate 1 rather than Kurtz? Aces only needed a 3-3 to win the meeting. If Aces are going to make a change and it's one of Etheridge or Allen to make way... Etheridge 1, Allen 0 after tonight. But neither really impressed.

Not sure Janowski would rank it as one of his favourites.

On last Monday's showing I'd be inclined to agree with Richie Worrall being better than Musielak but I doubt Musielak would have been as poor again this week. Test of Stead's team management, got to get the R/R selections correct.

Thanks to those that sent weather details, shame Sheffield missing two riders. Ellis, Worrall & Howarth can take Cooks R/R I believe. Looks like a home win now.

Musielak riding according to @TigersSpeedway tweet 8:23 today.

You have to love the clarity of British Speedway rules... No updates on either BV, Sheffield official sites or Musielak social media today as to whether he is riding tonight. Weather forecast was good for today, before I head North could a local confirm all is dry in and around Manchester please.

From sportowefakty.wp.pl via Google Translate.

I see, fair enough.

I'm not saying Ellis riding would have made any difference to the result on the night, merely suggesting it may have made the second leg more interesting. Are tactical substitutes not allowed in cup competitions? EXACTLY!

As Musielak has yet to make his Tigers debut are they allowed such a facility? If so Cook & Howarth along with the reserves can take a ride.

Ellis could only score 18 points but while it wouldn't have altered the result on the night it may have given the Brummies a chance in the second leg. The second leg is now a dead rubber for which only the hardiest of fans will turn up to.

Would I wouldn't really consider Peterborough, Ipswich & Kings Lynn particularly southern.

So finally the septet's are known... Aces - Fricke, Etheridge, Allan, Wright, Kurtz, Blodorn, Brennan. Tigers - Holder, Cooke, Musielak, Howarth, Ellis, Neilsen, Mountain. Riding orders according to P&P photos. I'm going for a 43-47. Ellis & Musielak with much improved performances on last Monday. What odds can I get on Cook winning heat 8 and Musielak winning heat 13?

Sheffield - Top 5 are light years ahead of anyone else, only weak link are their reserves. Ipswich - Doyle may not be the force he was but he's still one of only two GP riders in British Speedway sadly, solid middle order and they'll have a decent reserve. Peterborough - Dad's army maybe waning but better septet than the three I'll mention below. Belle Vue - I think Fricke will top the averages and Brennan will be the stand out RS, but question marks of the other 5. Can Kurtz finally realise his potential? Can't see there is much more to come from Wright, Etheridge & Allen. Blodorn is unknown. Wolves - Masters isn't in the same class as Fricke, NKI, Doyle & Holder and won't find points against the likes them easy to come by. Nothing more to come from Morris & Worrall, not sure Douglas has much improvement in him. Becker could be their shining light, but he's had his "sophomore slump" second season now and it's time for him to challenge the heat leader positions before he becomes the next Ricky Wells. I hope Kemp begins to realise his potential but not sure Monmore will suit him. Kings Lynn - At least they should hold their own at home this year, but once NKI leaves unless Kildemand has a revival they will lack a #1. Should have a good reserve all year at least.

Sounds like they're waiting for NKI's time at KL to come to an end.

Don't think so... Kenneth Bjerre 7.75 in 2019 for Belle Vue.

Then Ace's have 7.63 for final rider if Blodorn is 4.00. Sheffield's six come to 39.37?

I am assuming points limit is 42.5 as Sheffield team adds upto 42.37 if Mountain is 3.00 as RS rather than the 3.14 he attained, which if he was 3.14 takes Tigers to 42.51 according to my spreadsheet! Fricke, Kurtz, Wright, Brennan (3.00?) & Etheridge leave 12.13 assuming Blodorn is 4.00, it leaves 8.13.