False dawn

But don't forget to get it out if the other side wins (not to mention the fireworks and the hot water for the showers).

Paramedic, surely.

AJ remained popular with the Coventry fans long after he left the club. A special talent. Have a well earned rest and come back, in whatever capacity, when you're ready.

Oh well. If AL doesn't make it, I'll transfer his spread to Max.

Is Antonio definitely riding?

Actually, maybe we should teach our kids on the grass. Then they could ride anything Poole or any other track could throw at them.

Poole is the best ~~~~~~~ track in the country.

But Lions are hungry

A smaller wave, eh?

Don't forget this is a trick track that is very dangerous. Or is that a track further south that I'm thinking of? [where's that stirring spoon smiley when you you need it?]

Personally. I'd rather face Glasgow without Craig (even with a guest) than with him.

Well he did get picked for a SON place and he is going to Cardiff, albeit as a "track reserve". I respectfully suggest that he should take himself out of the international scene, get himself a shirt sponsorship and take it from there.

A GP at Belle Vue would be a quite different event to Cardiff. On the racing front, clearly BV would provide far better racing. As a speedway weekend, Cardiff is recognised domestically and internationally as a two day experience to be savoured. Two events that surely perfectly compliment one another. Bring it on. The thought of Max or the Dude sweeping high and wide round BV is enough to get the juices flowing.

Sorry. I was obviously having an off moment

So let me see if I've got this clear. If the top 3 from the challenge don't qualify from the current year, they go into next year's GPs and if we need reserves, they are somehow "selected". But if one or more of the top 3 do squeeze into the top 8 this year, we then look for additional qualifiers from the challenge. Not an awfully consistent policy.

Hang on. If NKI or MZ should just squeeze into the top 8 this year, who gets their challenge qualification spot?

Flippin' eck. So getting into the top 3 in the challenge is an even bigger deal than ever. At least if you missed out by an odd point, you could fully expect to get into one or two GPs.

Just a thought. How many generations back can these Aussies claim qualification for the British team?

Fair play. I was about 15 yards in front of the finish line and accept that errors due to parallax come into play. Perhaps we need VAR...... God forbid.

I know it's the middle of summer, but you are skating on thin ice

We used to have all sorts of weird and wonderful equipment at Brandon to "put the shale back on the racing line". Funny thing was that none of them really worked. There has never been a proper substitute for men (or ladies) with rakes on the bends or at the start line. At the larger breaks, circular grading with the tractor, grader down on the inward run, grader up on the way out, is also very effective. These are not new ideas and there is a reason they were widely adopted.

It was Connor Bailey. And I thought Connor Mountain was well in front at the finish line.

Good news. A year end top 8 finish is out but dare I mention the word wildcard.

Ellis is always good value. One of those real triers for all 4 laps in every race. If people are right, in that Swindon might just win the play offs, it is just possible that Ellis will win three league championships this year. Oh I know that there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip, but that would have to a be a record, surely.

Interesting thought. I was a bit bemused at the time why BV didn't field both reserves in heat 4 but your logic is good. And, gate 3 was a graveyard early on. There was but a single point scored from there in the first 8 heats. Generally speaking, I would always defer if I won the toss. The relative strength of each gate is too unpredictable at the start. Surely it is better to choose in heat 15 when you know if one pair of gates is statistically a better choice.