BobC

In typical British fashion,I know of a couple of riders who were asked to go as late as THURSDAY. Absolutely no time to get a full medical,licences,arrange ferry,drive out there,etc.Its at least a 12hr drive from Calais,plus stops. Surely British Speedway hasnt got anymore feet left to shoot at?

Master of the understatement there Phil. Without any doubt,the unluckiest rider of the night was Ben Hopwood.Although 2nd highest scorer behind Howarth in the heats,Ben was looking a very likely meeting winner.To shed a chain at the start of the 2nd Semi Final was so cruel. The scorers: Kyle Howarth 3 2 3 3 =11 John Resh 2 3 1 2 = 8 Andrew Braithwaite 1 fx ns fx = 0 Shane Hazelden 0 f 3 1 = 4 Daniel I'Anson 0 0 f 0 = 0 Adam Wrathall f f 2 0 Aaron Baseby 3 1 2 3 = 9 Brendan Johnson 2 2 2 3 = 9 Gary Cottham 1 2 2 2 = 7 Ben Hopwood 1 3 3 3 = 10 Ashley Birks 3 2 fx 1 = 6 Ashley Morris 2 1 3 1= 7 Liam Rumsey 1 0 ns ns = 1 Reserves Richard Andrews 1 fx = 1 Luke Wiltshire fx fx = 0 Semi Final 1 RED Johnson BLUE Howarth White Birks Yellow Resh Result Johnson,Howarth,Resh,Birks Semi Final 2 RED Hopwood Blue Baseby White Morris Yellow Cottham Result Cottham,Baseby,Morris,Hopwood(ef) Final RED Johnson BLUE Howarth White Baseby Yellow Cottham Result JOHNSON ,Howarth,Baseby Cottham After 7 months of going to hell and back,suffering those injuries with him and his family,it was payback time. BIG TIME. Thanks Bren,and very,very well done.

Almost right,Youngy! Seven riders have been seeded.Woffinden,Bridger,Mear,Lambert,Auty,Haines,Hart. Then Top 3 from each Semi Final. Rubbish race format,but this didnt detract from a cracking meeting at Plymouth.Most folk would have put Hughes to win it.He did,but boy did he have to work for it.Outgated in all but one of his races,he produced some brilliant manouvres.Inside,outside,he never gave up.His Semi Final win had to be seen to be believed.Outgated by Newman and Bates,who were enjoying a shoulder to shoulder battle,he bided his time.Newman knowing to keep it tight,as Bates prefers the inside run.Hughes took what was left and blasted round Bates on lap two,and then set about Newman. It didnt seem possible he could catch him,unless Newman made a mistake.He was a couple of bikes lengths back going into turn three,then blasting round the outside.Newman only very slightly locked up,but it was enough.Hughes had the speed to make it over the line by half a bikes length or so.Many locals round us saying it was one of the best races they have seen down there. Paul Starke was riding very smoothly and quickly.Thoroughy deserved his 2nd place.Dont expect any easy points from him this season.I fully expect to see an 8pt average from him. Kyle Newman put in a very hard and workmanlike performance.Sensibly riding himself back in,nothing too special until it mattered.Cat amongst the pigeons in the Semi and Final.A little fortunate when in 3rd in the Semi before it was rerun,but took his chance with both hands.Of course,I am a little biased,but like him,I was over the moon with this result. Tim Webster was a revelation.Ive never seen him ride with the sort of aggression he showed .Probably the 2nd best rider on the night.Excellent effort,but got tailed off when it mattered.A distant 4th when he fell in the Final.Shame,because the way he rode,he deserved something from this meeting. The rest? Matt Bates worked hard,but still lacks it to makes fast starts.Essential in these meetings.Impressed with Tom Young,who quietly picked up points.Although it didnt alter anything,the ref missed Jaimie Pickards grass tracking exploits.He was a good metre inside the white line off turn two,and quite how he missed the drainage ditch there,Im not sure! Gary Irving worked hard all night.I must admt,I do like watching him race. Probably the most difficult round of the three,it was certainly an exciting one. Well done to all concerned,except the person who thought up that abomination of a race format! On to Weymouth tonight.More of the same will send us fans home more than happy.

Copied and paste from the BSPA website.................... Thursday March 25, 2010 THERE have been a few changes in the rider line-ups for the British Under-21 Championship qualifying rounds. The latest lists are as follows: PLYMOUTH Friday 9th April - 7.30pm Richard Andrews Matthew Bates Trevor Heath Rhys Hooper Kyle Hughes Gary Irving Kyle Newman Jamie Pickard James Sarjeant Paul Starke Timothy Webster Thomas Young WEYMOUTH Saturday 10th April - 7.15pm Aaron Baseby Ashley Birks Andrew Braithwaite Gary Cottham Shane Hazelden Ben Hopwood Kyle Howarth Brendan Johnson Ashley Morris John Resch Ben Taylor Adam Wrathall MILDENHALL Sunday 11th April - 5.00pm Scott Campos Luke Chessell Richard Franklin Joseph Jacobs Jake Knight Nick Laurence Adam M Lowe Benjamin Morley Rhys Naylor Oliver Rayson Chris Widman Steven Worrall

Copied and paste from the main BSPA website....... AS we start the new Speedway Season it is opportune to announce the new team of GB Under 21 Coaches. Once again Graham Reeve will co-ordinate the team which now consists of Graham Jones, in his 3rd year as a Coach for the British Youth Riders and we will be joined by Phil Morris, who was forced into retirement during last Season and Neil Vatcher, Team Manager for the Bournemouth Bucaneers in 2009 and formerly a mechanic to Craig Boyce and Alun Rossiter. Both Phil and Neil bring extensive speedway knowledge to the Team and the Coaching Team will be involved in all Under 21 Activities, including the Under 18 Championship and the very successful Under 15 British Championships. The duties of managing the Riders, especially when on international duty will continue to be shared by all the Coaches, a system that has worked well since the inception of an Under 21 GB Coaching Team for the 2008 Season. The 2010 Under 21 Championship, being defended by Lewis Bridger gets underway in April with 3 Qualifying Rounds (Plymouth – 9th April, Weymouth – 10th April & Mildenhall – 11th April) from where the top 3 at each meeting will go onto the British Final at Lakeside (16th April) to join the 7 Seeded Riders, Josh Auty, Lewis Bridger, Joe Haines, Jerran Hart, Simon Lambert, Robert Mear & Tai Woffinden). A Full list of the Allocations for the Qualifying Rounds is as follows: PLYMOUTH Matthew Bates Josh Dingle Trevor Heath Rhys Hooper Kyle Hughes Gary Irving Kyle Newman Jamie Pickard James Sarjeant Paul Starke Timothy Webster Thomas Young WEYMOUTH Andrew Braithwaite Scott Campos Kyle Howarth Samuel Hurst Brendan Johnson Adam Lowe Ashley Morris Rhys Naylor John Resch Ben Taylor Adam Wrathall MILDENHALL Greg Blair Luke Chessell Gary Cottham Richard Franklin Ben Hopwood Joseph Jacobs Jake Knight Nick Laurence Benjamin Morley Oliver Rayson Chris Widman Steven Worrall This season’s World Championship trail is longer than usual as there are three Finals, instead of the traditional 1 day Final, hence the early date for the British Final as International Qualifying Rounds take place in May; Lendava, Slovenia (8th May) and Gdansk, Poland & Gorican, Croatia (15th May). The qualifiers from these rounds then compete in Semi Finals; Landshut, Germany & Krsko, Slovenia (June 26th) in order to qualify for the Final Series (Gdansk – 17th July, Daugavpils – 14th August & Pardubice – 2nd October). The British Under 15 Series, once again sponsored by The Friends of Speedway will be held over 6 Rounds, starting at Newport on 22nd May and continuing onto Weymouth (19th June), Northside Training Track (17th July), Island (12th August), Buxton (11th September) and the final round will be at Plymouth on 18th September. Additionally Practice Sessions under the tuition of International Riders will be held, the first of which is planned for Buxton on Tuesday 13th April, to which all Riders who were under 15 at the start of 2010 are welcome to attend (please register your interest with the SCB office, so that we know how many to cater for) as incorporated into the Under 15 Championship Meetings it is planned to hold support races for young riders on 125cc motorcycles.

Well,we had a smashing day out. Arrived good and early,around 11.30,and just managed to get in the car park.Almost got fleeced by Ash and Paul,who were selling the programmes. Didnt see you Rob? Then we saw the 'Ben' character mincing around.............had to be you! Good job we got our fish n chips early as well.The queue formed behind us and was still lengthy right up till past start time! KevH introducing various folk to Rabbit and myself by the start. Sure,the track wasnt perfect in Ht1,but what a great race all the same.Rarely do you see a rider go round the outside for a whole lap like Nicki did.Superb first lap.Adams rightfully exc/disq. I didnt think the racing was too bad at all.This type of meeting should be enjoyed for what it is.Riders can practice all they like,but until they get to the tapes with 3 others do they actually get back into it.Took some riders a race or 2 to wake up.Like Scott Nicholls.Dire first time out,then got going and was pleased for him. We all listened to the silencers.Yes,there is a difference but not too bad at all. Overall,not a bad meeting at all.Definitely better than the New Year Classic.No moans from me Although I was cheering for my favourite rider,KK,I have to say Nicki was the best rider on the day. He fully deserved to win it.

Ive got that one in my collection somewhere. I will let you know when I find it! (Still packed away after almost moving in 2005!!!)

You know him too well! See here........ http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/484...as_number_one_/

I must admit,I do agree with Bandits4eva. Credit to all those that made the effort to get it on.All the riders who turned up.All the fans for turning up. Sadly it was a poor meeting. I have two main grumbles.The length of time it took to run it.The Referee,Dave Robinson,didnt seem to have urgency to keep it moving.Also agree with others re tapes exclusions etc. The other was the time it took to get food.When I joined the queue,early on,I was fifth in line,yet still took nearly 20 minutes to get a cold bacon roll. Same queue even for drinks.Very poor.In the end,I went up to the bar to get a coffee,but no milk or sugar! Got it,went along to main food bar on 1st turn,same there.Very poor on freezing cold day.

Just checked the car over for today. Its only Minus 4 degrees here.... Theres 5 of us coming up. See you all later folks.

See his reply on this website. http://www.speedwaylive.hu/ See you Sunday Folks.

The rider concerned was England Skipper,Ray Wilson.

Our local papers view of events. http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/sport/465...uccess/?ref=rss

We were begining to wonder if Len had started doing a breakfast menu..........

Yep,I totally agree with you Phil. Genuinely gutted for Kyle.Did absolutely everything right in the run off,only for the chain to go on the last bend.Extremely unlucky. Meeting spolied by very poor refereeing. Congratulations to Cookie on a fine,if fortunate win.

I shouldnt worry about it Marcus. On various other threads,both Squall and Shadders have made it very clear they are anti Jerran. You have to remember that Shadders supports Rye House....and where does Haines ride?...oh yes,Rye House! To be honest,Im far more impressed that Kyle Newman secured a rostrum place.Hes only ever been there 4 or 5 times in his career.Jerran and Kyle Howarth ride the track every week,while Haines rode for Scunny in their superb Conference League team a few seasons back.

You are entitled to your opinion.He didnt 'win the meeting',as you put it.He merely ended the night unbeaten in the qualifiers. However,the rules were such that you needed 7 good rides,not 6. Sure,it appears Joe was unlucky,but that is how the cookie crumbles,Im afraid. Many congrats to Jerran. Special congrats to Kyle. Great effort mate.

Good luck to Jerran and Kyle tonight.Would have loved to have been there for this(this is the first of these Ive missed). Kyle fitted a refurbished engine for last nights meeting at Bmth.Rode superbly.Until getting back to the pits,where a problem was found.Back to the workshop late last night. Good luck Kyle,but above all,stay safe mate.

Id say watch out for Nick Simmons.On his day at this level,hes the one to beat. Definitely looking forward to this one.See you somewhere near the start line Will be good to meet up and chat with George and Linda Barclay,a must every time I visit the place. Best of Luck to Jay and Jerran,and Kyle Hughes,my favourite non Buccs rider!

The team were known as The Junior Pirates.I think they raced in about 1972. They raced in the reverse colours of the Pirates: White background with blue skull and crossbones. Riders who plied their trade then included Martin Yeates,Steve Lomas,Steve Claridge,Russell Foot,Melvyn Soffe and others. I will have to look up my programmes when I get home!

I agree in Ht3,Allott did cross the white line.However,it wasnt his fault at all.Mallett stopped while in 2nd place,and drifted into turn 3,Allott had 2 choices,hit him,or head for the centre green! I assumed when Bryn announced that the ref was on the phone to the pits,and the delay to giving the result,was to check the facts.Common sense prevailed.imo. In Ht6,Simmonds did stop to have a word with Baseby,but he certainly wasnt checking his welfare.He told Mark and his Dad,that it was 'payback time' for an incident at Bmth on Thursday.Not what I would expect from a seasoned rider like him. Ht18.Maths not your strong point? When Hughes packed up,he was in 3rd place,that would have given Plymouth a total of 22pts.With Bmth getting 6pts from Ht20,that would have been enough anyway! Of course,had Plymouth scored a 7-2 in Ht18,they WOULD have automatically qualified for the Final,even if Bmth got a 7-2 themselves in Ht20. I hope Chris Johnson is ok today.Nasty tumble in Ht19 while leading.Seems he hurt his shoulder. Ultimately,the Best Pair won it. Newport fully deserved their victory.

Congratulations to Newport. Thoroughly deserved their win.Easily the BEST PAIR on the night. Jay Herne was the individual star of the night,with a new NL track record and a Maximum.(Doesnt win Trophies though ) Some strange goings on with helmet colours.In at least 3 races riders came to the start in the wrong colours. Yet the programme was correct,apart from a couple of gate errors. I hope all the riders that took falls are ok today.Surprised the ref didnt disqualify James when Burrows went down.A huge barge into him,sent Buzz flying.Very nasty.Told he was ok-ish,but the bike was badly bent. Good to meet up with Parsloes,ArnieG,Ancient Mariner,RobP,Guesty and my travelling companions Mr & Mrs Rabbit. Good lively banter between us all night.Cheers. My parting shot for the night was to 'encourage' and debate on the programme,format,gates etc between Parsloes and Rob.Then walked swiftly away!!

What is the criteria for this meeting? I ask as Bmth wanted to nominate Herne and Hart,but were refused,as Hart is officially only a reserve. Yet I see that Buxton have nominated Cook,who is officially still a reserve! If Bmth dont win this,then I hope Plymouth do! I will be cheering for Kyle,unless its Bmth v Plymouth.

After being up close to both Lewis and Tai recently, I am genuinely chuffed to bits for the pair of them. Their dedication and determination is second to none. Well done Lads.

Great to hear positive talk from Sonke Petersen. The Wuffy entourage,which included former rider Loius Carr,did drive through the night,and arrived at 8am,just as we were having brekkie at the hotel.After a quick bite to eat,we handed over our room keys so that anyone of them could at least take a shower and freshen up.The Brits had to go through scrutineering at 10am,yet the meeting didnt start till 2pm.Glamorous life being a speedway rider,isnt it? Crazy though it is,smoking was supposed to be banned in the under cover cowshed part of the pits.Fair enough.Rob Woffinden and crew brought out a very well used camping stove,the only instructions we were given was to help ourselves anytime,as Rob wasnt going to act as mother! Very tasty,as Ive not had a decent cuppa while abroad.Perfect.No smoking in a wooden shed,but you can light up a burner! Yep,that makes sense! Its only when you see the sport from the riders view,that you get to appreciate what actually goes on.Its another world completely.Its so easy to sit and criticise from a keyboard.Brendan has given me this opportunity to see it for myself.I wouldnt have missed it for the World. As PhilK said earlier,it has only enhanced my admiration for ANY of the guys.