mikec

My comment about "charm" was somewhat tongue in cheek Acef. The place has clearly seen better days, the track was really difficult too, particularly early on. Would I be dashing back there? Who knows. I've read the considered thoughts of the likes of HalifaxTiger & others about Loomer Road in recent times. Had a good idea what to expect.

Should be an exciting meeting, think BBC Radio WM are covering it live too. Will definitely be tuning in. 49-41 Wolves I reckon.

My first trip tonight to Stoke since the Cradley season there 20ish years ago,was just as I remembered it. Facilities are a bit rustic, all part of its charm. Track was really difficult for most of the lads early doors, even Smith & Payne struggled early on. Dan Bewley just took the rough conditions in his stride, a bit like he did in tricky conditions at Buxton last year, as others struggled to slide the bike. The kid clearly has tremendous technique & throttle control, so exciting watching him develop. Was impressed by Wallinger for the Potters, got stuck in & should do well for them this season. Great start for the Colts, looking forward to watching Armstrong & young Jenkins at the NSS on Friday night,should be a cracking night of speedway

Excellent meeting, ran in good time despite plenty of RR breaks. Leicester were terrific, fully deserved their point. Always enjoyed watching Palm Toft at the old BV track, clearly improved since then & shone again on a track he enjoys. Expect him to wear the Ace again in the next 12 months. Great to see Max showing real speed again at home. What a ride as well from Dan Bewley to hold off the hard charging Josh Bates in heat 14. Plenty of Lions fans up here tonight,hope you enjoyed the racing, your team did you proud.

Got the makings of a cracking meeting, are BBC Radio WM covering it?

What's going on with Tungate? Was so quick when I watched him last season at the NSS, this year so far from results I've seen he seems to be really struggling.

Agree with you Sommelier, it should be a cracking meeting. Lambert the obvious favourite, will be fascinating to see how the likes of Shanes, Hume, Mountain etc go, as well as the young tyros from my club, Bewley & Smith. Really good line-up, I'm sure the Poole (& other southern based) fans will turn out in force to support the young lads, there's some exciting talent out there, I reckon they'll be in for a real treat!

George was stood at bar with a couple of guys at the side of me in the PCS after the match. Chatting n laughing, seemed happy enough. Have said on here before that I hoped he'd be involved this year, was very positive around the Colts & a huge supporter of all things BV. Hope he is looked after properly, his support of the Aces over some dark years for our club should count for something.

Bit of a slow burner of a match, due to the extra grippy conditions early doors after the morning rain. Another win against a spirited Wolves side. Howarth rode well, Masters was good early on, Thorssell was excellent throughout. Lindgren was fun to watch as ever at the NSS. Solid team effort from the Aces, Bjerre electric again, though made to work mighty hard for his maximum in a cracking heat 15. Can't end this post without mentioning heat 11 - just wow! The 4 lap battle between Cookie & Fast Fred was absolutely fantastic, & a sporting handshake to boot after the race. 60 seconds which summed up why I love this sport.

Oooh you cynic you!

Wasn't close, but.... POOLE 56 - B. Kurtz 12 , N. Klindt 11+1, H. Andersen 11+1 ...... Typical i had no money on those lads though! Poole will be there or thereabouts come October, no doubts about that..

Fancy Poole to edge this, 46-44ish. Wouldn't use last night's result as a form guide, they met a home side running red hot. It happens, seen my team on the wrong end of that plenty of times. Was no lack of effort from the Pirates imo, they were simply outgunned. Expect Andersen, Kurtz & Klindt to go well, hopefully good close racing on a perfect Saturday evening for watching speedway.

Must admit that I was pleasantly surprised by Kenneth Bjerre last night. I've always seen him as a fast gater on immaculate kit. But swooping round the outside & passing people for fun wasn't something I expected, especially given the fact he's had a couple of nasty injuries. One pass in particular he made on the 4th bend last night took tremendous skill, speed & bottle. If he continues like that & Cook, Fricke & Worrall perform, we could be in for helluva season.

Echo the previous posts, simply brilliant racing all night, passing & close racing galore. The race where Max Fricke dive bombed Sedgeman on the 3rd bend was a beauty, though at the time thought it'd end in tears! Kenneth Bjerre carried on his form from the Lambo Testimonial, he was brilliant, a worthy winner. Brady Kurtz was rapid too, rode really fast lines out by the fence, he'll be a huge threat to the Aces on Friday night. Troy Batchelor was back to his best, told the fans at the after-meeting press conference how much he enjoyed it. Ricky Wells surprised me a bit too, performed well. Great from an Aces perspective to see Matej & Joe mixing it & bringing back memories of last season. Roll on Friday night & the visit of the Pirates. If last night is anything to go by, if you love great speedway then get yourselves to Belle Vue, you won't be disappointed!

Sad news but definitely sounds like the right decision has been made. Always enjoyed watching Kylmakorpi, win or lose rode the old Kirky Lane track at Belle Vue like it was Bydgoszcz! Cracking racing style & a real trier. Happy retirement Joonas!

My last experience of the racing at Poole was following the Aces at the 2015 Grand Final 2nd leg. Track shape fine in my opinion & the racing was terrific, with Cook, Nicholls & Janowski in particular excelling on the night - shame about the final result though. Negative comments about the Poole track have been circulating for some time, with ruts, holes & the dirt line being too wide too early etc. I'm really surprised that Matt Ford hasn't taken action to put this issue to bed, especially as it seems to be a standing joke with club legends Holder & Ward that the track has had issues both now & in the recent past. Hopefully any necessary remedial works will now take place.

Thanks Sidney, couldn't agree with you more. The Belle Vue track looked in terrific condition last night at the Shakedown, despite a very wet March here in Manchester. With the Aces lineup looking very competitive & the Colts side full of promising young talent, there's a really positive vibe amongst us fans right now. Regardless of whether this season ends with silverware or not, it looks set to be an exciting ride!

I went down to the stadium last Saturday, to get an exchange for my unused Peter Craven Meeting ticket. I saw people there who, like you, had sent their tickets in last year. The staff there had a large A4 box file containing letters (with tickets/photocopies attached). All those people were due to have received a refund cheque from the previous BV company in October last year, sometime around Oct 10th. It would seem that none of those refunds happened. Hopefully your letter will be in there, however they do have some computer records from last year's ticket sales too. In short, if you wish to exchange, they can action that for you. If you want a cash refund from the previous promotion however, I believe that you shall need to chase this with the liquidator dealing with the previous BV group of companies. Like Aces51 has suggested, I would definitely email Adrian Smith about it directly. A good friend of mine emailed him at 9pm on a Thursday & had a response from him before 10pm the same evening!

Prem: Shanes (Poole) & Allen (Somerset) Champ: Douglas (Scunny), Berge (Berwick) NL: JPB (Brum), Brennan (Eastbourne)

Like other Aces fans on here, feel desperately sad for Bees fans everywhere. The loss of an iconic name & iconic speedway track is terrible news, have many great memories of our battles with Coventry down the years, including some cracking matches last season at home & at Brandon. Hope you're back on track somehow, somewhere, just as soon as possible.

To be fair to Phil the Ace, he called it on Twitter when announcement about the previous promotion's implosion was about to be made public. And again called it correctly when the news about the new management team was about to be announced earlier in the week. I'd be tempted to take him at his word on this particular subject, each to their own view of course. And for the record I only know Phil by sight, I'm not his agent! He does speak to riders & management, not pretend like some of the keyboard dreamers on here - we all know who they are... That aside, really hoping Lemo & big George are involved in some way with the new management team. George's involvement with the Colts last season in particular was hugely positive in my opinion. With the prospect of an exciting (& very young) Colts side in 2017 I'd be massively disappointed if he isn't involved.

Not the worst team, respect Schlein for coming back from dreadful injuries & he would bring experience to the side. However I'd like to see Berge given a go, imo he'd be a handful for anyone round the NSS, away who knows, would be interesting to find out.

Seen a fair bit of Branford racing at the NSS in 2016, I was pretty impressed with what I saw. Think he's improving & surrounded by experienced heads in the Rye pits I'd expect him to kick on again.

Main difference I've noticed is that Andy at 17 was exciting to watch, but occasionally had my heart in my mouth at times that he was gonna hit the fence some time v soon. Not a criticism by the way, Andy was one of my first Aces heroes! With Jack, seems more in control at same age. He's quick, brave as a lion & happy out in the deep dirt on the outside. Would love to see Jack in BV colours once the club's issues are (hopefully) resolved.

That's a pity. A no doubt quality field nullified by a track that is so notoriously difficult to pass on (unless someone makes a mistake). Shame really, as Gdansk is a really enjoyable city to visit & the stadium is only a 15 minute walk into the old town.