BobC

At last,the real Daniel King stood up to be counted at Poole.I have always believed in him,and still think he will go further than Ed Kennett. A true Captains role,leading from the front.A joy to watch from the front or back. As some wag said to me at ht8........we have probably had more passing tonight than weve had all season! Not so far off the truth either! Well done to both teams,and they all came out for a well deserved lap of honour.

No he isnt! He is riding for Redcar at Kings Lynn.

You did indeed Bob. Both had become friends in their time with Poole.Lofqvist is still my all time favourite. Very Sad.

Although this meeting cannot be classed as an OFFICIAL test match,it holds the same authority over other meetings. Adam has checked with Peter Oakes,and he is expected to ride at Poole.I know what the riders are being paid per point,and I can assure you,Belle Vue wont be paying anything like it! Other riders have their club commitments to consider,and this has been taken into account. ie..Birmingham v Workington(Wright),Kings Lynn v Redcar (Auty was asked)

I did have a brief chat to George and Linda at Rye.I agree,we do owe them a huge thank you. Shame they are not involved as much as before,as their enthusiasm to get everything up and running was paramount.I do recognise that it wasnt soley down to them,but the driving force,they most certainly were. Thank you,George and Linda.

Well,we enjoyed a visit to the museum on Saturday,on the way up to Rye House. We were greeted by Tetley,and introduced to Manager Debbie.Thank you for your hospitality. A great buzz about the place.Plenty to see,and had to walk round many times to take it in.The park itself is an amazing place,if you have kids,allow all day! Many thanks guys for the afternoon of fun.

Im pleased that Steve Boxall is riding for GB. Be good to say thank you properly for his efforts for Poole recently.I would welcome him back here anytime. Didnt get chance on Weds with the delays.

Correct.His Mother is British,and he rides on an ACU licence.

Still does! I had a chat with him at Somerset the night before the Cardiff GP.Hes in this country for July.

One of the few things that spoilt my evening was the very unfunny,rude and patronising Mike Bennett. Shame the traffic wasnt bad enough to have kept him away. As I put on the British Grand Prix thread....Great Atmosphere,Great racing.

Exeter 80-1..Keith Wright Weymouth-1 Action is John Barker...Arena rider Bob Humphries Barrow-BIR7..Mike Sampson

Didnt put money on it,but I got my wish! Friday,I said IOW would win the pairs.My mates laughed at me. Saturday,I wished for NO Danes in the Final and a British winner.Upset my friends from Peterborough,as I told them neither Dane would get there,as Id put a curse on them.Not been forgiven so far today..... Cheers Bomber,terrific performance.

I had paid for a ticket in the middle tier,by the exclusion lights. When there,I was given an All areas pass by Brendan Johnson and his Dad.Our tickets were right by the pits,almost within touching distance of the riders.A point also enjoyed by all the youngsters and their families from the two demonstration races. We even managed to get Rabbit in on a freebie! Great atmosphere,Great racing,and Great Company. Cheers everyone.

All have one drink less each..........and put that money into a bucket for Garry Stead. Just a thought.

Already booked the time off work.Wouldnt miss this for anything.Yes,I will be driving up from Poole to support him.He deserves it. Got chatting to him at Weymouth a while back.He travelled down with one of the U15's riders,cant remember who.Not only did he help him,but also anyone else.Nothing was too much trouble for the guy.He was even slightly emabarrassed when asked to make the presentations to the Winner(Auty),as he had to stop helping someone in the pits! Great to see someone who wants to put something back into the sport.Im sure when hes feeling better,we will still see him around the tracks. Nothing but my best wishes for the future.

An interesting development tonight at Poole Speedway.I was happily discussing this thread with friends.It turns out that Bob Andrews will be in this country for the British GP at Cardiff.He will be here until early August. Stu, If you are trying to organise something,wouldnt it be great to get Bob along to add some first hand knowledge,and of course reminiss with former riders? I will happily lend as hand where possible,and might be able to arrange a display of machinery as well. Let me know.

Hi Stuart, Lofqvist72 is my user name on the Poole Speedway Website,in honour of my all time favourite rider,Christer Lofqvist. Please see my pm for my email details. Regards, Bob

Heat details. Ht1.59.84 Sajdutdinov,Facchini,Piaszczynski(ef) Ht2.60.83 Lawson,Batchelor,Ingalls,Stanek(ef) Ht3.61.56 Ivanov,Ksiezak,Kurz,,Tresarrieu(f) Ht4.64.37 Bridger,Diraison,Brzozowski(f/rem),Bargh(f) Ht5.61.01 Sajdutdinov,Tresarrieu,Roynon(W),Bargh.Batchelor (xt) Ht6.62.43 Ivanov,Ingalls,Facchini,Diraison Ht7.62.71 Lawson,Ksiezak,Piaszczynski,Brzozowski Ht8.62.14 Woffinden,Bridger,Stanek,Kurz Ht9.61.06 Sajdutdinov,Bridger,Kseizak,Ingalls Ht10.60.11 Batchelor,Brzozowski,Facchini,Kurz Ht11.60.92 Piaszczynski,Boxall(,Tresarrieu(x2m),Stanek(fx) Ht12.61.59 Bargh,Ivanov,Woffinden(f/rem),Lawson(ret) Ht13.61.30 Sajdutdinov,Lawson,Kurz,Diraison Ht14.61.32 Ksiezak,Bargh,Stanek,Facchini(fx) Ht15.59.46 Batchelor,Bridger,Ivanov,Piaszczynski Ht16.60.34 Brzozowski,Woffinden,Tresarrieu,Ingalls Ht17.60.53 Ivanov,Sajdutdinov,Brzozowski,Stanek Ht18.59.58 Bridger,lawson,facchini,Tresarrieu(f) Ht19.61.24 Bargh,Ingalls,Kurz,Piaszczynski(f) Ht20.59.61 Batchelor,Woffinden,Ksiezak,Diraison Run Off for 2nd place. Ht21. Bridger,Ivanov

Got to the track just before 5pm,and stayed in the car until 6.50,as I didnt fancy swimming to the turnstiles! Honestly,it really was that bad.Luckily for me,I had 'inside information' about what was going on inside.John Sampford was keeping me updated as things developed. I wasnt at all confident when advised 'its on'.Despite a short delay,once things got under way,we were treated to some impressive speedway. Best two riders by a mile were Emil and Troy.Had Troy not touched the tapes,he would have been a worthy winner.Very classy performance. As for Emil,well,quite honestly...WOW! Ive read many a glowing report on him,on here and elsewhere.Everything Ive read is true.Awesome performance on a difficult track.Looked very comfortable,fast and determined.Eased up in his last ride,and rode sensibly for his 2pts to win the meeting. Compatriot Ivanov was almost as good too.In the run off for 2nd/3rd,he seemed to give up after a lap,as Bridger almost lapped him at the end. Early pacesetters,Lawson and Woffinden can both be exremely happy with their performances.Wuffy was trying a little too hard,when experience would have told him to keep what he had.That will defdinitely come though.Very exciting to watch. Biggest surprise for me was Ksiezak.Very determined,solid performance,and he gave Batchelor a lot to think about,before he got by. Obviously,the very wet track played its part in the final result.If the Poles had been riding a different track to Rye,I think they would have qualified.Some good youngsters coming through. The biggest applause should go the officials.I text Rabbit with the words 'they are bonkers' going ahead with this. I owe them,Len Silver and all his helpers a big apology.You were right to go ahead.The quality of the racing,although processional at times,was as good as you could have expected in the circumstances. Well done to everyone involved in this meeting.Riders,officials,and anyone who stayed around long enough to watch. By the way for those interested,the referee was former Leicester Lions rider,and Finnish Star,Ila Teromaa (excuse spelling)

As this meeting forms part of the World U21 Championships,did the riders have official practice? Im sure I read somwhere that it was scheduled for Saturday afternoon.Can anyone confirm this? This might explain the unusually slick track.

You are right there Shazz.!We stood just in front of the family,on the 2nd turn.When Ed was on track,Barney became very vocal,barking out his orders.I dont think Ed would dare argue with him! He was a big lad in his riding days,and hes bigger now! Comes across as a gentle giant,but I wouldnt like to meet him on a dark night!!

I dont know what was being said,I cant lip read through full faced helmets!!!

Tough! Thats Speedway. It happens all the time. I think he thought it was going to be an easy rerun,when he saw Barker receiving attention.

Scorers: Bowen 3,Glanz(winner of the race off)3,Barker 12,King 11,Kennett 14,Auty 1,Courtney 4,Roynon 9,Woffinden 12,Smart 4,Wright 5,Wilson 7,Bridger 12,Boxall 8,Baseby 3,Lawson 10. Wuffy was excellent.Very good effort indeed.I thought he deserved to finish second,he was riding that well. Kennett was superb.Apart from missing the gate in ht15,when Lawson beat him,he was in complete control throughout.Barker surprised me,but was in the Final by right,on countback. Bridger 'spat the dummy',not once but twice.His arrogance is beginning to annoy people.In ht15 he was leading when Auty f/x.Leading again,when Wilson f/x,with Barker clipping Wilsons bike,and needing attention.In the rerun,Barker gated,which seemed to upset Bridger.I dont think he was expecting it at all,judging from his body language.At the end if the race,he got very stroppy,storming off in a huff. In the Semi Final,he tried an inside lunge on Wuffy,coming out of turn two,and sent him sprawling.Deservedly excluded.He then looked perplexed when Wuffy shoved him away!Stopped next to Wuffy a second time,and they nearly came to blows.Bridger is very talented,but needs to control his emotions on track.Again,storming back to the pits in a huff.Soundly booed by all but the Eastbourne faithful.I know he is still a 'boy',but hes already getting a reputation for sulking.I would accept this,if he hadnt caused any of it,but it was all of his own making. Had to feel sorry for James Wright,leading twice,and throwing a chain on both occasions.Almost certainly been in the mix at the end otherwise. Enjoyable nights racing,although quite why we were still racing at 11pm,I dont know.I know we had a delay while they installed a new starting gate,but this was testing most peoples patience. Many Congratulations to Ed Kennett,a thoroughly deserving wineer.