BobC

Good luck to our new Promoters, Mark and Laurence. You will get the support back simply by promoting the club properly. Plymouth is great little club, but with a BIG heart. After all, we do have one of the best racing circuits in the country. Yes, I have been to every other track in the country, many times, so not a jaundiced view. Cant wait for the new season to start.

Excellent signing. My only reservation is his gating. Get that sorted, he will be a delight to watch. Fearless when looking for a gap to pass, inside or out A definite crowd pleaser.

HT, You have answered the reasons why the current Promotion have failed. It has been common knowledge for a long time that with Ashley its 'his way or no way'. He was the one who proclaimed that under his stewardship other clubs would look on in envy at the way they Promote. I dont doubt for one second his undoubted passion for the club and speedway in general. He will be hurting more than anyone else. Sadly, it has now been proven that 'his way' is not the right way. Which is why I feel he should step aside and allow others to try 'their way'. The Devils had exceptionally good crowds while in the NL. How and why is not difficult to see. They had a winning team, always near or at the top of the table. As you say, people will always support a winning team. For whatever reasons. successive promotions haven't been able to attract enough top class riders to be able to turn the SBA into a fortress. Thats all I hear from the terraces each week. Most are not too bothered about the away results, so long as the team dont get thumped. If they win at home, most are happy. I go to speedway, as Im sure you do, to watch 4 riders doing battle. It has never bothered me which League Im watching. Ive seen some cracking speedway in the EL, PL and NL and also some absolutely dire meetings as well. All I want to see is any rider giving his/her all for their team. To be able to walk up to anyone in the stadium,look them in the eye and say 'I gave my best tonight'. I sincerely hope the Devils come to the tapes in 2017. I they do,I suspect it will be in the NL. I will be there. I do not subscribe to Lee Triggers and Lewys view that 'its not for them'. Every single rider has to start somewhere. I love nothing better than seeing a rider wobble round for a few weeks before working things out and start the long road 'stardom'. Some do, some dont. Thats life. Go back to basics, be honest and up front with the fans, keep them informed and even go round the terraces and find out what the paying public are thinking. Remember Gordon Meakins at Carmarthen? He was always walking round chatting to anyone who wanted to, thanking you for coming, how far have you travelled etc. Just like good old Johnnie Hoskins at Canterbury. When he shook my hand, my arm ached all night!

The difference tonight was simply one rider......PK. Right out of the top drawer and an absolute joy to watch, just as he has always been. Legend is an over used word, but it fits PK very nicely. Had hoped for an Aces win, but Wolves just that little better when it mattered. Well done Wolves.

Plymouth is a great track to watch racing.A small tight track with everyone very close to the action. The writing has been on the wall for quite a while now. Before Seemond Stephens was bought out,both he and Ashley Taylor were pulling in opposite directions, with one prefering to stay PL while the other has always wanted NL. Just after the current Promotion took over from Bowden an article appeared in the Plymouth Herald.In it the new ownwers boasted that 'soon all others promotions will look on in envy at the way we run things here' Well I hope the others have looked and learnt how NOT to run a Speedway team . I do know how this will be hurting Ashley Taylor. However, to do this once is one thing, to the it twice within 6 months is just not acceptable. He must accept the the fact that he must now step aside and allow any potential new owner(s) to go about keeping speedway in the area without any interference from him. Worse still is the fact the riders seemingly only found out when they read the BSPA statement, just like everyone else.Appalling.

The only contentious moment for me was PK locking up. Should Ellis have not bothered to lay it down we could easily have a couple of riders out injured today. Absolutely nothing wrong with the decision in Ht15. Holder should have pushed the Wolves riders out, leaving room for Tungate on the inside. Not rocket science. Wolves deserved their win and good luck in the Final. That said, I will be cheering for the Aces. They finished top of the League and deserve to win it overall.

Fair play and congratulations Wolves. Best team on the night won the right to be in the Grand Final.

Of course,Bjarne could 'quit' and receive a 28 day ban from British Speedway.As there arent any more meetings after the play offs,nothing to worry about. Then Poole can call up guests as required!!

Really good day out. Leisurely drive from Devon, lunch in Dorchester, a couple of hours with my Dad (who lives 200 metres from the stadium) and onto speedway. Lovely late summers evening, if a little chilly. Speedway under lights,perfect.Well done to both teams for an excellent evenings racing. Hard fought with some good passing. Will 12pts be enough for Poole? Slightly worryingly for me is that Pooles 1-5 only outscored an under performing Wolves 1-5 by only 2pts, Im sure there will be reasons, but I found it strange that Thorssell wasnt in Ht15. He was gating and being a nuisance all night. Far more that Freddie or Tai. Couple of comments. Ht1, Holder riding hard under Lindgren. Both were out by the fence after coming off gates 3&4. For sure, Holder was going to try and block Lindgrens run.Unfortunately he lifted a little when he wouldnt have wanted to. Very very hard. What would have happened if Lindgren had gone down? 50/50 call for me. On the other hand, I thought Howarths move on Ellis was deliberate.Others had ridden hard into turn 3 and kept their lines on the inside. He knew what he was doing as when he got back to the pits he immediately looked out for Ellis and quickly tried to get out of his way. Couldnt hear what was being said, but you could clearly hear raised voices. (I was stood close to the big screen). Not a huge crowd, but round 1st & 2nd turns in was 2 deep all the way round, 3 deep in places. The 2nd leg is going to be very intriguing. Of course, I want Poole to win and hope they do, but the scoreline from last night could easily be reversed. C'mon you Pirates.

Tonights referee is Chris Gay. Advantage Wolves.......he is well known for his dislike of Poole. Starman, please do ALL speedway fans a favour, especially those of us that support Poole, Stop all your utter nonsense. I dont always agree with SteveBrum.Sure he supports Wolves and doesnt particularly like Poole, but at least his posts are thought out and he explains them. You on the other hand make the village idiot look like Einstein. Looking forward to a tough hard fought meeting later.

We will be making a very rare trip along the coast for this one. Hopefully Poole can take around a 10pt lead to Monmore. Up the Pirates!

He did ride over the weekend. He scored 5pts at Cloppenburg, winning his last ride! Just like to wish all riders of all the Play Off teams good hard and safe racing. May the best 2 teams reach the Final. Being a Poole fan since 1955, I do hope its the Pirates who win overall of course.

An enjoyable meeting with some very hard and determined riding. Best team won on the night, with 6 of the Diamonds collecting race wins. Lambert was so quick in Ht4, he actually finished a quarter of a lap ahead! That takes some doing round our little track. A little bemused by the Diamonds rider selection in Ht15, as an away win by 7 or more was easily up for grabs. I will be cheering for the Diamonds in the play offs. How do you say it 'up there'?..............Howay the Lads!!

Hi Dave, Yes all is good for us, thank you. Id be very upset if anything happens to end speedway here. Going under through finances is one thing, but this takes some believing. It really is a great circuit to watch speedway. Up close wherever you stand and produces some superb racing, inside or out. Unlike a lot of tracks now, where you have to ride a metre from the fence to get any grip. I hope the Devils win the remaining home meetings, although I will give the Diamonds a cheer or two. Still have a soft spot for your lot!

Local BBC news, See the damage for yourselves. Speedway article starts at 12 mins 40 secs. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07q2ps5/spotlight-evening-news-05092016

I remember those Golden Helmet match races. Briggo did indeed have bike problems. In one of the races, Briggo pulled up, as Charlie came round next lap, he slowed and pulled up. He apparently only wanted to beat Briggo fair and square, not this way. A public announcement was made that Charlie would be heavily fined by the referee if he didnt continue for the 4 laps next time out. Incidentally, Briggos problems were thought to be with his air filter. He needed new mesh, but couldnt find any. Where I was stood, by the pits in the West stand, he came running up asking if any lady would let him have one of their stockings.He offered a princely sum of 2/6d!! (12p today) A woman in the crowd lifted her skirt, unclipped her stocking from the suspender and handed it over. The 'half crown' was duly handed over. It didnt solve Briggos problem but was different to say the least!

A Poole legend, without any doubt. For those unsure of who he is, go to http://www.skidmarks1928.com/ , tap collections, then in search type in Ronnie Genz. Loads of images of a fine rider. RIP Ronnie.

Perhaps you can enlighten us then? The only contentious issue for me was when Starke went down, Wright was already on his way down totally independently of each other. Both should have been excluded. No one has even mentioned the alarming Luke Priest crash. Frightening to watch as he clouted the fence by the start/finish line, only to somersault so high that if it had happened a few yards back, he would have broken the tapes with his legs. After all he has been through, I hope he is ok today, although Id imagine very battered and bruised. Good on him for walking away let alone riding again.

Still not sure how the Devils won this in the end.Did they win or did Rye throw it away? The track was holding moisture all night due to the damp night air.Very grippy in places, catching a few riders out. Even when it started drizzling, they brought out the fire engine to water the track! Luckily, common sense prevailed. The drizzle did its job perfectly. Where was Kennett? Everyone I spoke to all said the same thing....if Ed had been there this would have been an easy 4pt away win. Why wasnt Branford in Ht14? He caused mayhem all night. Weaving inside and out, hed make a wild Garrity look quite pedestrian! He apologised to Boxall for his antics in HT8. Going from white line to scraping his shoulder along the fence and back to the white line all in the space of 50 metres or so.He rode into the side of Douglas in Ht11 and fell. Got up quickly and cleared the track. Fair play for that. In Ht13, he gated superbly and it looked like trouble for Plymouth, and it was! He held onto 2nd until both Devils went by off bend 2. But such was their speed that Barker almost put Newman up on the A38 slip road, allowing Branford back into 3rd, just holding it on the run to the line. Everyone fully expecting him to come out again in Ht14, but didnt, luckily for Plymouth. Barker: Always in the mix, Dealt with Robbo in Ht15 allowing Newman to get clear. R/R; Stefan would have scored more than 4+1 Boxall ; One ride apart seemed to be riding a lawn mower. No change there then! Kurtz ; Worst Ive seen him this season, HT14 apart. Newman ; Appeared to shed a chain in Ht4 after locking up, Warned in Ht7 for moving at start, but got an even bigger flyer in Ht11! Simota ; MoM and seasons best.About time too. Perks ; Sacrificial lamb all night. Douglas: Never at the races R/R : Heeps wouldnt have scored 7pts. Lykke : Worked hard. Lanham : Steady and barely noticeable. Robbo : Fantastic to see him back at his best. Barker shoved him out wide in Ht15, otherwise would have easily got a deserved paid Max. Morley : Started quietly, then got into it. Branford : See above. Not the best racing Ive seen this season, but that gawd awful tactical ride gave the Devils the win. After Ht9, I dont think there was anyone at the SBA who would have put money on that.

With Lakesides meeting at Coventry off tonight, I hope Ed Kennett can make it to the SBA for tonight. No offence to Ryan Douglas who is scheduled to guest for Ed, but Kennett is normally superb down here. Worth your admission money alone. Going to be messy with R/R at No.2 for both sides (Nielsen riding for Swindon and Heeps on W21 Team Cup duty) Also a 2nd half where Devon Demons ride against Exeter.

Slight correction to your comment. The fire engine broke down the week before, not on Friday. Totally agree regarding the Risager/Kurtz comment though. In the Edinburgh meeting, Riss got excluded for much much less contact, if any. This week Risager was going so fast into turn 3, neither he nor Kurtz could turn quickly enough. Todd couldnt even get his leg out to help with steering and had no option other than to bale out. Nothing intentional from Risager at all, BUT, had this happened on turn 1, I have no doubts he would have been excluded. The rerun would have been totally different as Im sure the Devils would have got the required 5-1 to win the meeting. Pretty mundane for much of the time, but it did liven up a bit towards the end.

Shocking news. Always stopped to say hello and exchange points of view. I well remember a few years ago at the WT Cup at KL. I offered her close friend Susie, who wasn't well, a lift to the event. When we got there, we walked round to turn 1, where Sandie and the troupe were stood. Shazzy couldn't stop saying thank you for helping her out. Even when I used to be on Facebook, she would often say hello and thank you. She wouldn't stop saying thank you! Even when she came to Poole, she would always pop by and say it! I don't go to speedway very often now, less than 10 meetings a year. There are some things you miss and some you don't. Shazz will always be missed. All I can say is, Shazz, for letting me get to know you, just a little , a huge THANK YOU. Sincere condolences to her family and friends. R.I.P Shazz. x

Excellent read. I too have got a canvas (about 6 years old) with the same image as used on the front cover. I also have the actual photograph from which its taken. Link here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/119751419@N03/ Look very closely and you will see that its Poole's Malcolm Simmons on the inside and Neil Middleditch on gate 3. Possibly John Titman in gate 2, don't know about gate 4 though. Possibly Leicester v Poole? That's my best guess.

Times are a changing Rob! Still have a big soft spot for Oxford though. Just 12 months ago I would never have thought that Plymouth would be my regular 'home' team! Only watched racing at Wimborne Road twice all season! Newcastle is run superbly.A role model for any prospectivd Promoter.

Paul goes very well round here.At least he did in the NLdays. Spoke to him at Cardiff,and hed welcome the chance to stuff Bowden.He was treated very badly last time he was a Devil. Id love more meetings here this season.If only for the riders,PROVIDING they get paid. That said,I will be cheering and willing the Diamonds to go on and win the Play offs. I made so many friends there last season while travelling with Kyle Newman.Other than my team of birth,Poole,the Diamonds are my 2nd team. Howay the lads! :-)