BobC

Dont they noramlly have an FIM nomnination,PLUS a home Nation nominee?

True mate. So why didnt either of them do that instead of going through a 3rd party? Thats what angered me more than anything. I had intended to go to Stoke for the KO Cup meeting on Sunday,but wont bother now. Rant over.

If this meeting wasnt the night before the Grand prix,I dont think a wheel would have been turned. Take away the Dudley fans and quite honestly,it would have easily halved the crowd,if not by more. Once started,I think it should have been called off after 6 'races'. Conditions were not improving. Despite Jon Armstrong twice visiting the referees box,following a track inspection,it still continued. Then the REFEREE called a halt at Ht12,despite the riders from BOTH teams saying the track was safer at that point than it had been all night! Well done Dudley,a real TEAM effort. The only saving grace was that there were no injuries.

I am no longer allowed to make further comments. Your Promoters,Mssrs Pearson and Patchett have taken umbrage at me for telling you whats what. Sorry.

He will ride at Newport,then make a mad dash through the night to get there in time for the meeting. We did the same last year,leaving Somerset just before 10pm and getting to a track (Landshut) a similar distance away by 3pm. Didnt get a ride in the meeting,left there at midnight-ish and drove all the way back through the night and got to Newport for the Sunday afternoon meeting! Then promptly got stuffed in the fence in his first ride and had to withdraw from the meeting! It is possible to do it all,but it will be very,very tight.

Ooops,just testing.Well spotted!

Start of a very busy time for Kyle. Tonight at Dudley,Weds Poole v Swindon,Thurs Ipswich v Dudley,Friday Newport v Dudley and Sunday Stoke v Dudley. However,he has been drawn to ride in Poland this weekend for the World U21 Championship,as 1st reserve. He is actively trying to get permission to not travel.If he has to attend or is upgraded to a top 16 place,Kyle will miss the trips to Newport and Stoke. Dont understand why Dudley arranged the Stoke fixture while knowing about the U21's before he signed.

Any info on why Hart only had a couple of rides? Also,what happeneded to Katajisto? Why didnt he turn up?

When we first got in,that was the only outlet open.The lady behind the counter did not have any food at all at the time I posted my comment.She did say she would see what she could do.Certainly nothing available before Ht4. I understand that pies were available later in the meeting.However it would have been good if some sort of announcement/apology had been made.I understand a mobile burger van usually appears for Colts meetings. I couldnt get back down there until late in the meeting.I was with a wheelchair bound person behind the glass and didnt want to leave them unattended. In any case,we wanted food not just a pie. Very poor in my opinion. The meeting itself was quite lively.Lets be honest here,if Howarth had been riding,and to his full potential,it would have been very interesting.Only 2 pts from his rides tells a big story. I sincerely hope those that took falls are ok,especially Bekker in Ht15.Very nasty. Well done Heathens,excellent performance.

Not a good start here at BV. NO FOOD other than a vending machine. Angry isn't the word.

I agree with Parsloes amendments. Excellent meeting.Plenty to keep everyone interested. Poor performances from Evans and Hopwood not helping the Hawks. Immensley impressed with Shane Hazelden.His only blip being caused by accidently kicking his plug lead off.Otherwise superb.I know and get on well with both Shane and Dad Gary.Considering all his serious injuries over the last few years,its great to see his talent being rewarded with performances like that.Well done mate. Of course I was delighted with Kyles paid maximum,his first ever away from 'home'.Some very determined first turns set him apart.Met a few Dudley fans,great to put faces to names. Thanks also to Parsloes.Good to meet up again and enjoy some lively banter.Also Ian from Oxford. Very well done Heathens.

Travel to Lakeside from Poole is a pain is the backside,whichever route I take! I generally go anti clockwise. This season,Ive been there twice. Both times I left at 2pm. 1st time it took me 2.5 hrs,to get within 2 miles of the Dartford Tunnel.Then another 45 minutes to travel the rest! The next time I went up,it took me 2.5 hrs and never even stopped at the tolls,the traffic was so free running. Never had such a trouble free drive. A few seasos ago,it took nearly 5 hours to do the same journey! Greyhound....if you get there before 5.30pm,the main gates to the Arena are generally locked.(Riders use a different entrance).Id suggest calling in at the M25 Thurrock Services,from where you can see the Arena. Looking forward to meeting you Dudley fans.See you at Lakeside,Scunny,Dudley or Belle Vue this coming week.Im doing 7 meetings in 6 days!!

Kyles 'mysterious' fall in HT13 was caused by a chain coming off. Not quite how Id hoped it would go for Dudley,but hey,a wins a win.I sincerely hope that those taking falls are ok today,if a little sore. If I ever find a way to travel that distance so quick,I will let you know Greyhoundp!! Still had a good night meeting up with some Plymouth Speedway fans on Poole Quay.Good pint,good food and excellent company.Its tough,but someone had to do it!!

Good luck to Dudley tonight. I hope both Kyle and Danny have good debuts. Was coming up for this one,but work has thrown a wobbly and I cant get away in time.Unless anyone knows of a way to get from Poole to Dudley in 90 minutes.Thats other than Keith Newmans driving,of course!! Liveupdates it is then.

I understand that this has been checked and verified. He is eligible to ride in all 3 Leagues. No problems for Kyle to join the Heathens. As it stands,I believe he will only miss 2 Heathens meetings due to fixture clash.

Norman is a great character.Takes him ages to walk round the stadium at Poole because everyone stops him for a chat. Almost always with a smile and is happy to talk about speedway with anyone.Told me many a tale from his riding career. You are quite right to be proud of him. A Poole legend.

Printed in the Kings Lynn v Poole programme from last night...... Results for the Young Stars on page 7 Stars 47 Mildenhall 45. Theres me thinking it was a draw? Im sure its only a typo..............of course!

An excellent meeting.Lots of top class action. As others have said,the speedway track is on the centre green of the Longtrack circuit.Spectators are a long way from the action on this fenceless 283 metre circuit.Small flags indicating the outer edge of the track,ala our grasstracks!From the pits,it was around 200 metres to the mechanics waiting area,then another 50 metres + to the track.I hope the club filmed this meeting as it was a great advert for the U21 series. Link to some of my photos of the day.Mainly of Kyle and facilities. http://sports.webshots.com/album/580069098zivVwz

I was at the GB v Russia meeting in 1964. As a 9 year old making his Wembley debut,it was and still is the most thrilling memory in my speedway lifetime.It still sends a chill down my spine just thinking about it. To think,the real reason for going to London that day was to visit the Motorcycle Show at Earls Court.On the way there,we spotted some posters advertisng the meeting.We changed our plans in an instant. Thanks Dad.

I understand from Kyle that there was absolutely nothing against him personally.The riders felt that it was an Aussie Championship,and rightly,imo,questioned why he was in.ALL the riders made sure he knew it was nothing personal against him at all. The answer was simple.The authorities wanted someone to commit to all 3 of the remaining rounds.For their own reasons,for which I dont know,no one came forward.Kyle came forward.Hence his inclusion.He was pleased with his efforts although of course he would have liked to do better. Once again thanks to everyone in Aus for their continued reports from the meetings etc.Its very much appreciated here in the UK.

Well the Jon Erskine, of speedway fame, presented Lee Smart with the New Year Classic Trophy at Newport on Sunday. See Speedway Star for the photographic proof!

Well all I keep hearing from various friends round the country is that KL go to Elite and Plymouth go to PL. I guess we will all have to wait until Mondays new announcement.

I have heard that travel was one of the considerations. If thats the case,how the hell did Trelawny get to ride? From a personal perspective,one of the more difficult tracks to get to is Kings Lynn.I love to watch racing there,but getting to and from there is horrible.I can get to Sheffield and Scunthorpe with a much easier drive. I have also heard (unconfirmed) that Mike Bowden didnt present a good business plan. Whatever League the Devils race in,I will always enjoy my trips down there.Ive met some smashing folk down there,and made some great friends. At first,I didnt enjoy it there,however,they have sorted out the track,it does provide for some superb racing.NL wise,certainly more entertaing than provided at Bournemouth.

The Dorset Echo article.... http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/sport/8638881.Cats_run_out_of_lives/

from the Official Website. at http://www.weymouthwildcats.co.uk/html/november_2010.html WEYMOUTH WILDCATS was today forced to close in a dramatic turn of events which has seen the BSPA annul the club and the landlords repossess the stadium and change the locks. Wildcats chairman Phil Bartlett said; “It’s a relief today to learn from the stadium owners Wessex Delivery that they have today taken the stadium back into their own hands which I agreed to due to non payment. I will be collecting my personal belongings at a later stage.” “It’s a great shame as I had a buyer in place and received confirmation from my solicitor this weekend that there was an undertaking to take on all the existing liabilities and to clear all outstanding monies. The club was set to be taken forward, but this will now not be the case.” “It’s a great shame that the BSPA have also stepped in and annulled Weymouth Speedway as well. The licence returns to the BSPA along with the clubs riding assets. This is for non-payment to the BSPA despite the fact that they have owed me money for two years whereas I owe them six months money.” “I can now quite clearly concentrate on my family life and business and actually have a holiday in the summer like most normal working people. Also not having to arrange a meeting on a weekly basis for it to be unsustainable with insufficient people in attendance is a great relief. Despite the promotions that the club has done and winning the league in 2008 Weymouth Speedway has always made a loss.” “I think it’s a fantastic sport and I wish any prospective person who looks to take the club over and negotiates with the stadium owner and the BSPA I wish them all the luck in the world, but speedway in Weymouth in unsustainable in the current climate and format that speedway runs.” Training session dates booked through the off season have obviously now been cancelled.