False dawn

Regardless of whether (no pun intended) the decision was correct (and I'm sure it was) we have to lament the loss of a really mouth watering opening match. I was looking forward to Dan Thompson beating Emil, preferably from the back. Well he did it to Jason Crump, 3 times world champ, and Emil hasn't won one (yet).

How about this one. I was scheduled to ride in a (sidecar) speedway meeting at Mildura in 2007 (you know, north-west Victoria, Australia, where Leigh Adams came from). And that was rained out (Oz for rained off). You won't (can't, actually) travel further than that from my then Coventry base for a rain off!

As a (temporary) Leicester fan, I can't imagine how anyone would approach this meeting as an 18 year old riding in the same team as Jason Doyle, Emil Sayfutdinov, Danny King and a few other guys that rate a mention. Watch what they do and keep your head down when the tapes rise Joe. And good luck. This is the chance of a lifetime (so far anyway).

He finished last season on 5.22 in the Championship. With his 2.5% British discount that would equate to 5.09 for team building purposes

No one told the more than 2000 fans that when Ole Olsen rolled at for the first time at Coventry's P&P day back in the '70s. I remember telling my Scunthorpe pal at the time and he said they didn't get that many at their home fixtures.

Although it's good to see Dan riding in the Premiership as a rising star, surely he is, without question, Championship material. The mad maths that has him riding in division 1 and 3 but not 2 is a bit bonkers.

I think there are better "challenge" matches to be had. Running the final of a three team tournament between two clubs, now in different leagues, with different riders, isn't a good advert is it?

It's interesting though, that this subject is nearly always raised and discussed with respect to the setting of rules and adherence to the spirit of the law. This is but a small part of the overall governance and promotion of the sport. We have to take a broader view of what is required if our sport is not just to survive, but to thrive and grow going forward. The quality of "promotion" at a club level is debatable , at the sport level, its not existent. An independent governing body / individual, needs to lead from the front. Not down in the weeds of guest riders or doubling up. Those are important facets of our sport and must be properly and fairly regulated. But get preoccupied with them at your peril. The nerds amongst us (and yes, I'm one) get absorbed by such topics but imagine for a moment. We double the average gate at every speedway meeting in the country. How many of those new fans are coming to see whether a tactical substitute is allowed in heat 8. They want to see exciting racing. The same reason you kept coming after that first exposure to our great sport. Top down. Not bottom up.

I think that is the point.

Forgive me for asking what might seem like a frivolous question. But will this team ride as the Academics?

He rode for the Lion Cubs in 2019 and finished the season on a 9.09 average. And he was a popular guy.

We could go back to Rider Control Heaven's forbid

Luke Crang has signed for Workington according to their FaceBook page

The track looks fine

For me, Scotty has got better as an inspirational leader and captain, with age. He's worth 2 more points than his average just for what he does behind the scenes. I've said it before, but I'd have him back in a heartbeat.

Persuade Scotty to come back and fix 2 problems.

Having watched him at Leicester for a while now, I think what you say is true whenever Kyle gets on a bike. I describe him as "The Terrier". Despite the team that Leicester is assembling, the loss of Kyle is of some regret.

Kyle Howarth fits

I was having a problem last night, but it seems fine now. For what it's worth, it looked like I passed the security check (?) but the connection to the actual website failed.

Forgive me for saying, but how does this statement: "Promoter Rob Godfrey said: It was a nasty crash and Zaine was fortunate to escape it without any major injuries." square with: Zaine suffered an horrific crash at the Eddie Wright Raceway in late July which ruled him out for the remainder of the season with a fractured pelvis. Especially as both quotes are contained within the same article.

Seriously, making a public statement that more time is needed, seems to be a waste of time. At least give us some clue as to the issues that need further time. Either that, or say nothing and take the flack for that. Oh, I know that this sounds like "we're damned if do, or we're damned if we don't" but please. Surely, we can be given some clue as to key subjects on the table and what might be causing further discussion?

Would you re-sign such a rider?

I heard it was rained off (have you looked out the window today?).

Oo, I think we can get a bit more imaginative. How about puce and lilac with highlights? Maureen's on standby, ready to make a whole new batch

A rider not pushing to the chequered flag when last is fixable in two ways. 1. Riders take a more professional approach to the participation. 2. A rider clearly demonstrating a "can't be arsed" attitude, should have his arse kicked by the team manager on every occasion (regardless of the rider's status or seniority).