Wessex Wanderer

Not necessarily. I know he rode that one match for Weymouth but, as I said in a previous post, the team line ups were quite "flexible" so he may have ridden for other teams as well.

Yes he did - for Weymouth at Rayleigh.

Ron Bagley, Brian Davis, David Crane, Derek Battle, Sandy McGillivray, Ray Cousins, John Anthony all definitely rode for them. Ted Spittles and John Hook were their non riding reserves in their match at Weymouth but I don't know whether they appeared in other matches. In researching the Metropolitan League be careful though as the it was not very strictly regulated and the occasional rider could appear for different teams from week to week. Hope this helps.

Bit of a stroll in the park for the Hitmen in this one and in truth it was even easier for them than the final score indicates. Making light of having to use R/R for Nick Morris it seemed at one stage that they would hit the 60 point mark. Weymouth did rally a bit later in the meeting with James Cockle leading the way but any real hope they had of getting anything out of the match had well and truly vanished by about heat 6. There were some very close races but actual passing was at a premium on the ultra slick track. Even Craig Cook failed to overtake in his two defeats despite being obviously faster than his opponents. Robert Branford and Adam Allott gave Cook good support but it was a great shame that Jason Garrity had to withdraw from the meeting. In the early heats he had been entertainment personified. The very dusty conditions added to the woes of the home fans in what was very sparse crowd anyway.

Good to see John Resch back into team racing. He has made steady progress over the past year while riding for Bournemouth and was very unlucky to lose his place in the recent reshuffle. Good win for the Heathens - sounds like it was an excellent meeting.

A meeting of incident rather than racing but Kyle Newman's breathtaking last bend swoop to win heat 4 more than made up for some of the more processional races. Never much doubt about the result with Newport each being stronger than their opposite number pretty much throughout the 1 to 7. Todd Kurtz was outstanding again and Tom Young continues to get better and better. Good gathering of Newport fans on 3/4 bends made for a good atmosphere too. Huge shame about Byron Bekker's injury. He has been a pleasure to watch and without him Weymouth's season would have been even more dismal. Don't like to think it but without him and with the National Trophy getting into swing now, Wildcats could end up with a double wooden spoon season. I didn't see the heat 15 incident (honest!) but everyone I spoke to (mainly Weymouth fans on the 4th bend) was adamant that the ref excluded the wrong guy.

Nicki Pedersen my captain for Croatia please.

Nice trip up to Brum for this one. Pity there was no Speedway! Did find a superb pub though - The Wellington in Bennets Hill has a selection of 15 different real ales and as one barrel is finished they immediately put on a 16th and so on. A real ale drinkers paradise. And none of your scandanavian lager *&%* either. Hope to be up for the restaging but not too sure I will get out of the pub.

Any chance of the tour taking in Weymouth or Bournemouth this time? Have always enjoyed these matches in previous years.

As a lifelong Pompey fan I must say it is extremely comforting to know that people now need a visa to get out of Southampton! Sorry Tim - just couldn't resist that one.

Rune Holta my captain for Mallilla please.

Went to this one primarily to see Tom Armstrong and there was very strong talk on the terraces that he was to be the Wildcats new signing so it was more than a bit disappointing all round when it was announced he was stuck in traffic at Southampton. Also very strong terrace talk that he was to replace Ricahrd Andrews once he was signed - not a popular runour at all as the young Andrews has won many admirers with his steady progress over the season. I know these were rumours but they were VERY strong ones and were backed up by some face book comments. Anyway, to the match - outstanding for the Wildcats was the aforementioned Richard Andrews who put in his best performance of the season, beating a number of more experienced opponents. Adam McKinna was again always among the action and has become a fan favourite since his recent signing. The Saxons (nicely turned out in proper race jackets by the way - well done the Lapworths) were very much a 4 man team but their strong finish gave them a deserved win. Jake Anderson was probably their best rider and Brendan Johnson came on strong with some very determined riding in the latter stages. Entertaining enough evening but a worringly low crowd for any meeting at Weymouth in the middle of August.

Not sure of the scorers as I could not get a programme but very impressed wth James Sarjeant and Ashley Morris. Without doubt one of the highlights of this seasons NL has been the wonderful travelling support of the Heathens. Once again they added to the atmosphere by turning up in large numbers and sticking together to form a patch of the Black Country in an away stadium. You lot are a real credit to Speedway. :)

Very entertaining meeting with the Wildcats top end balancing out the youthful enthusiasm of the Young Stars. With two heats remaining it could still have gone either way and only a mistake by the otherwise flawless Simon Lambert in the last heat denied the visitors a deserved point. Every time I see the Kings Lynn second team I am treated to a good evenings racing, regardless of the actual match result and they did it again here. Jake Knight and Adam Lowe I expected to do well and they duly delivered but ther were also excellent showings from Lewis Kerr and Chris Widman. OK so their inexperience cost them a few points but that is all part of the learning curve. Overall though James Cockle and Adam Mckinna held things together to give the Wildcats all 3 points and THE WILDCATS ARE OFF THE BOTTOM OF THE TABLE AT LAST!!!!!! :)

Pity about Mallett and McDade not riding. Would have been a close match with those two around, although I think the Wildcats would have won anyway. Looking forward to watching Jake Knight again.

Bit of a disappointing meeting this one and at one time it seemed we might run out of riders as those from both teams fell by the wayside. Hope all the sick and wounded are soon recovered. Must agree with BobC's comments about the Wightlink Flyer travel arrangements. First time I have sampled this method of visiting IOW and, although I know I probably caught them on a bad day, I will not be doing so a second time. Tis a pity that it can break down like this as there are several hundred thousand people (each one a possible customer) sitting on the Islanders doorstep in Pompey and Gosport. Any experiencing a trip such as last nights are hardly likely to want to repeat the experience. On a brighter note I thoroughly enjoyed my steak and mushroom baguette in the bar as always. Best food currently in Speedway, only those marvellous hot pork sarnies at Cradley could better them.

Some very good racing on a VERY dusty track. Ben Hopwood was outstanding for IOW and Lee Smethills and Dean Felton both gave him good support. Nick Simmons and Danny Warwick were both disappointing but for some reason neither of them seem to ever go well at Weymouth so that was not unexpected. For Weymouth Adam McKinna again impressed and there was the usual number one performance from Byron Bekker who has been the silver lining in a very cloudy Weymouth season. Although the meeting itself was entertaining enough it rather lost its way towards the end. The decision to take an interval after heat 12 with both drizzle and temperature falling was somewhat strange but to then halt proceedings so that the track could be watered before heat 15 amid more drizzle and falling temperature was bizarre, whatever the reason. It all meant that after a good meeting up to that point it took about 45 minutes to complete the last 3 heats amid drizzle, cold and mounting grumbles from the customers. And I do appreciate that some of that time was taken up by the need to attend to Tom Brown after his heat 15 fall. Still, let not that detract from a good nights racing and another 3 points for the Wildcats.

Pity that one of the Bucs biggest crowds of the season should witness one of the least exciting meetings. Thats the way it goes I suppose. Stephens and Simmons rode well for a generally disappointing Plymouth team (very much too top heavy). Also Jamie Pickard battled for every point. As for the programme you lot at least had one. I bought one at the Kings Lynn meeting then let Wessexboy borrow it provided he brought it to last nights meeting. He made sure he put it in the glove compartment of his van but when I asked him for it in the car park he said "Oh, sorry I have brought the other van tonight!!"

No way would we let you forget that one Flyer. Buxton might have given you a get out in the match at Newport last Friday (bloody brilliant match by the way)but you are most likely to be saved by our Wildcats who look certainties for the wooden spoon. Last chance to have any chance at all of avoiding it on Friday I think. Still, Pav's Pants are not off the menu just yet awhile.

Good debut from Adam McKinna and the races between James Cockle and Nicky Glanz were "interesting" to say the laest with neither taking any prisoners. Not a bad meeting but there has to be some worry about the track on 3rd and 4th bends. It seemed like the ruts and holes from 2003-2006 have suddenly reappeared. Mind you, it was rather hilarious hearing Plymouth fans complaining about a track after having gone through the St Bumpyface era that used to be Plymouth.

So Wessexboy knew I was without my computer for a couple of weeks and of course he just couldn't resist the opportunity to have a dig at me when I couldn't reply. Nothing matters till the end of the season and we will then see just who has made the best predictions. One thing though - Pavs pants are looming very large in Wightlink Flyers future aren't they. Get yer salt and pepper ready Flyer.

Can't remember when I enjoyed a meeting quite as much as this one. Close scores, great racing, good and humorous company (JulesM and BobC) plus very few delays during the match. Good win for the Hitmen in what might very well be a rehersal for the play off final. PS the younger Kurtz looked good in an after meeting spin. Very neat style.

Pedersen for my captain please.

Really enjoyed this meeting. Very dusty (on 1st bend at least) but good racing and an exciting finish. Perhaps if some of the meetings in the first half of last season (when there appeared to be some pretty decent crowds) had been this close many of the customers would have stuck with the NL for longer. Still, thats water under the bridge. I thought what tipped the tie Lynn's way was the young pairing of McDade and Lowe but Jake Anderson also came on strong towards the end. Also some costly falls for Bournemouth didn't help the Bucs cause. I always used to like watching Richard Knight years ago and his lad Jake looks just as entertaining. Huge progress from last season too.

A win at last!!! Scott Richardson was outstanding as were Byron Bekker and James Cockle. Overall though it did seem that both teams were doing their best to throw away a win with a number of falls, efs, incidents when in scoring positions. Special compliments to Gary Irving for a splendid lay down on bend 3 and then the presence of mind to attend to the fallen rider immediately. One criticism though. I have never and will never understand why we get situations where both teams use rider replacement. Here we had both number 2s out, both teams had their number 8s present but we still had to suffer two lots of r/r. Unfortunately it reduced what was an OK but not great meeting to a drawn out, stop/start event that did its best to lose the interests of the customers. Still - WE WON A LEAGUE MATCH!!!!!